New York

[teabag20048]

How long do you need there? What time of year, has to be in school holidays. Any ideas for accommodation, 13 years boy, 9 years girl, hubby and I ideally not in one hotel room.

I've been twice. Once at Easter so it was pretty warm. April I think. I spent 4 days there and saw a lot. Second time was March and it was bitterly cold but so much fun. Was cool to see it in snow but had to wear lots of thermals. That time we stayed for 9 days and moved hotels half way to have a diffrent base. I'd recommend using airbnb if you don't want to have to share rooms. Also consider Brooklyn then getting a metro pass. Good value for money. A lot of people would feel that 9 days was too much. But it was out honeymoon so we wanted plenty of scope for not doing much some days. NYC isa lot of fun but be prepared to walk a crazy amount without meaning to.

I think 4-5 days can be enough time!
The empire hotel does cheap adjoining rooms if you wouldn't mind that or possibly air b&b.
I don't know when school holidays are but I'd avoid Feb or July/August.
March and April are lovely as is late October early November.

Spring and autumn are good times to go to NYC.

Do not book accommodation via Airbnb or any such apartment rental sites; practically all such lets in the five boroughs are illegally sublet by the tenant. Also such sites never check the veracity of such listings and people have been swindled.

You may want to look at suite based hotels where the rooms tend to be larger so you would all have more space. However, children cannot occupy a room without an adult in it if they are under 18.

Air Bnb is illegal in NY so wouldn't risk it.

Was just about to post about Airbnb. A friend who lives in Manhattan strongly advised against it - he knows of cases where visitors have been thrown out of their accommodation, its frequently illegal to allow short term lets.

Surprised to hear that about Airbnb! I've looked at New York places often and thought what a great way to do New York. What a shame.

Bearing in mind you're stuck to school holidays, October half term is a good time. Still have the leaves on the trees and it's normally sunny and not yet freezing cold. Well, except for the two years in a row Halloween got snowed off!

Unfortunately Paperdoll the laws re short term lettings in NYC are extremely strict and there has been a real clampdown against Airbnb and the like over the past few years. Such subletting has been also blamed for a rise in rental cost, a shortage of property to rent and pricing local people out of the rental market due also to a lack of property for rent.

What many people also seem to miss is that such sites do not check the veracity of such listings either. Many people have been thrown out of such accommodation. This can and does happen particularly if the other residents of the apartment building in question see various people traipse in and out constantly and complain to the super. Heavy fines have been imposed on tenants who sublet illegally.

Other cities are also taking a similar stance when it comes to apartment rentals; Amsterdam is one and Barcelona is another.

We went for 8 days over new year and it was fantastic. Wonderful lights and decorations, skating in Central Park, Radio City Christmas show... there was so much to do and we could have stayed longer. Weirdly, it was hugely cheaper to stay for 8 nights and take a daytime flight home, than for 7 nights with a night time flight. I booked a package in the Virgin sale and it was a real deal.

i was there for 5 days and it wasnt enough to see everything on my list - seen the main sights tho

At least 5 days, but the longer the better. Air BNB isn't illegal in NY, have used it many times without any problems...

We stayed in the Hotel Beacon on the upper west side. Huge suite, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a sitting room/kitchen. It was great for DH, me, DD12 and DS9. Great location for central park, riverside park, museums, restaurants, subway. Supermarket across the road for some self catering. Would love to go back

Remember that winter is bitterly cold in NYC. I was there is January a few years ago and temperatures were regularly -10. It was the coldest I have ever been (and I ski a lot!). So I would never go back in the winter. March can be fine, but I would go for April - June.

"Air BNB isn't illegal in NY, have used it many times without any problems..."

You may not have had any problems with it but that itself does not mean to say it is legal.

Short term lets of less than 30 days in the five boroughs are certainly illegal and tenants have been caught subletting illegally.

We took our DDs when they were 10 and 6, in a May half term and then we took them again at Xmas last year aged 17 and 14.

May was very hot! WE stayed Mon to Fri and saw such a lot! They loved The Empire State Building, the carousel in Central Park, Dylans Candy Store, The Natural History Museum (fans of Night in the Museum at the time). We took them to see Lion King on Broadway.

Our trip at Xmas was completely different type of fun. There was snow on the ground it was -6 but -10 with wind chill and beautiful! It looked just like the Xmas movies. The Xmas tree at Rockefeller Centre was beautiful and snow in Central Park!! The decorations were amazing! Teenage DDs wanted to shop and loved the restaurants. We went up the Empire State Building again but this time to watch the sun go down over the city and see the night lights. We ice skated in the park, a huge highlight and we saw Kinky Boots on Broadway, the girls choice. Both different trips but both a lot of fun. Enjoy!

Sorry forgot to say first visit in May we stayed Mon to Fri and second visit at Xmas we flew on Sat had three nights there and flew back overnight on Tues.

chronicleink you might like to read this and this

Most air bnb rentals in New York are illegal

Basically, an apartment in a multiple dwelling (containing 3 or more apartments) cannot be rented for less than 30 days by the same person. It is also illegal to advertise short term lets in multiple dwellings.

However, the host can rent out a room or part of their apartment if they are still present, or can rent out a single or double accommodation - so they could rent out a house or a house containing up to two apartments.

They have strict air bnb laws in Berlin as well.

We are just back from a great few days in NYC. It's hot at this time of year so walking around was a bit uncomfortable, If I went again I might try Springtime.

We did stay in an Airbnb. Yes I have read all the articles and knew the issues. It seems it's the NY hotel industry lobbying local government that has caused the change in legislation. As we are a family of 5 I was finding it very difficult to get an affordable hotel that didn't involve someone on a sofa bed, all squashed into a tiny room. I've done Airbnb in the UK and found it a really good choice for kids because it's more relaxed and flexible (e.g. getting take-outs to eat rather than dragging kids to endless restaurants). So we decided to take the risk. We do have relatives who live outside New York so we knew we had a back-up if the Airbnb fell through or was awful. But you do need to read the reviews carefully. In the end our place was fine, we got 3 bedrooms, and a kitchen / diner / living room. It was noisy though due to the road outside - I am used to traffic noise but hadn't counted on the fact that New Yorkers like to honk their car horns at every available opportunity! Also I did miss having a hotel breakfast (I love a hotel breakfast!)

We enjoyed the view from the top of the Rockefeller Plaza - much shorter queues than the Empire State Building. The kids loved Central Park!

I live on the East Coast and have family in New York. I'd do October half term. American kids are in school so attractions are quiet, the weather will be beautiful for walking around but nowhere near as cold as in the UK in October and there'll be lots going on in the run up to Halloween and Thanksgiving. Make sure you take a trip on the Staten Island ferry. One of the best free things you can do in NYC. I'd also recommend Brooklyn, walking or cycling across the Brooklyn Bridge (you can rent bikes).

Thanks everyone for your information. Sounds great, will do some more research.

Just booked the Wellington Hotel for my son's 21st in October. We have booked a Queen suite which has a queen bed and a double sofa bed and a kitchenette for snacks. Really central good reviews too. The suites sound great for a family

Radio City Apartments is a hotel with suites available, and it's legal. Hotels will often have roll out beds that you can ask for - just double check when booking.

I'm going to NYC next year, I want to visit the Tenement Museum, it's meant to be really good. Link

Also elektrawoman most AirBnB's and short term lets are illegal not just because of the hotel lobbying but because there are issues regarding security for other residents in an apartment block and also an housing shorting issue. It's happening in cities across the world.

Imagine living in a secure block of flats and one of your neighbours has decided to sublet their apartment to tourists and there is a new group of strange people arriving every 4-7 days. It wouldn't be what you signed up to.

Hotels are more expensive but it's fair to the residents of the city.

I would go for 5 nights in the first instance and Easter or October half term is best. We have stayed in a variety of hotels but tend to have breakfast in cafes as breakfast is rarely included in the nightly rate and you can spend a huge sum of money on a hotel breakfast for four!

I think it is best to stay in a fairly central location for a first visit as you can walk to places from the hotel. The last time we went I booked into the Soho Grand and we loved this area. It may be better for a return visit though but it is more like a village than other areas. On a previous occasion we have stayed in a suite at the Michaelangelo Hotel which has a great location. I tend to look at booking.com and filter with best score and cheapest rate. Just see what comes up. We are also prepared to have two rooms if that is cheaper and split up with an adult in each room. There can be great deals with BA and Virgin too.

We have been to a Broadway show but you can get tickets in London far cheaper for the same shows so look carefully at what is on and prices. There is nothing particularly special about some Broadway shows.

We like MoMa, The Met, Central Park, the Top of the Rock, Radio City Music Hall tour, Grand Central Station, Staten Island Ferry, Brooklyn Bridge, the High Line and loads more!

Your money doesn't go far these days and every transaction will have local tax added and in restaurants you double the tax for the tip. So the extra on top of the meal is about 30%. It is a great place to visit but the subway is pretty yuk. Sometimes a taxi is just better.

I've stayed at the Wellington Hotel before Billy. Massive sized rooms, friendly staff and a great location. You're near both Central Park and Times Square. Fluffy's deli a couple of doors down do a great breakfast and lush cheesecakes.