New York 2020

Soldato
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So for my fiancé's 30th Birthday I want to take her to New York for 3 or 4 nights. I thought I'd start now to get some savings saved. What kind of budget do you think I need for not a super luxurious trip but don't want to look budget either. a budget trip as She always thinks I'm a cheapskate so need to surprise her. I'm a cheapskate and can't afford luxury.

Any recommended hotels in the best places. Any with a stunning view? How much spending money for worthy tourist attractions?

There's probably a thousand other questions but no idea where to start.

Hit me with your knowledge and tips...
 
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Soldato
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Aim for about £500 for accommodation and about £4-500 each for flights

You can get cheaper but who knows what the prices will be in 2 years and if it is cheaper you’ll have more spends while you’re there
 
Soldato
OP
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I don't have a decent camera. Current normal camera is a Canon G10 bought in 2009 lol

I may have to purchase one next year and learn how to take pics if those are the kinds of pics I'd get.
 

Deleted member 11679

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Deleted member 11679

I've stayed in New York three times. In each case the hotel cost was about £150-£200 per night. Well worth it.

The first time was at the Hyatt near Grand Central Station, the second was a Hilton near Radio City music hall and the third time was at a hotel near Madison Square Garden. I can wholeheartedly say the first two would be my recommendations, or almost anywhere on Times Square. New York is great for walking around and 3-4 nights will get you to plenty of the sites. The reason I'd avoid Madison Square is there are a lot of homeless that end of town. It's quite a tough City anyway and I'd suggest avoiding areas that might affect the experience for you.

I won't go into all the sites, you'll know what you want to see. However, as someone who is also money conscious I'd suggest a few things:

- Hotels in the States are now often charging a resort fee. Ridiculous in a City but they're doing it none the less. This cost can be around $35 per day and covers things like WiFi access. Worth checking as you don't want to get stung on the final bill.

- Get around by walking. However the hop on hop off bus was really worth the price (not cheap). You can take in the whole City, it has audio guides and let's you really see the entirety of Manhattan.

- Factor in the cost to get from the airport (likely JFK but not necessarily) to your hotel. There are standard taxi fees of about $50 to anywhere in Manhattan. It can be made significantly cheaper though if you're willing to travel by train. I've done it, wouldn't do it at night again but in the daytime it's great.
 
Soldato
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Stayed here when I was in New York last May/June during Whit Week (necessitated by the Mrs being a teacher). Cost around £900 for 5 nights, rooms were nice with super king size beds and walk in showers. The place itself is literally around the corner from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and a less than 5 minute walk from Time’s Square. Also, there was a rather nice bar downstairs in the hotel, and a place just around the corner called the Westway Diner where we went for breakfast every morning. Cost about $25 for the two of us. Would highly recommend both places.
 
Man of Honour
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You wouldn't even be able to afford business class flights for 2.5k?

I got 2 Upper Class returns to Boston on Virgin for £1,162 last year in August. I booked them on a whim 2 nights before we flew however.

Sorry just checked I used 150K air miles too.
 
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Man of Honour
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Frankly if you want to show your fiancé a good time in NYC and to do a proper luxury trip you need to budget 5K-6K as a minimum and I am talking flights and hotels, spending is extra and add another 1500 for food, cabs and nice stuff. Problem is luxury is such a subjective thing as Trip Advisor constantly shows when you read reviews of average or rubbish hotels with comments like "this is the best hotel in the world....I never knew Travel Lodge could be this good".

So the question is, what is a sensible budget for you OP as pointless us listing a load of $500+ a night hotels if your budget is $150? NYC is an expensive city too, not least if you plan to visit some of the well known classic eateries where you could be looking at $150 a head per meal. If you really want to impress her then look for at worst a First/Upper class flight back so you can chill out and finish in the right way, assuming you get a red eye flight. I would also budget for at worst Premium economy seats to get a little extra comfort and airport check in luxury as the small things help soften the flight.
 
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Man of Honour
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Is there some kind of nice aerial view of it available? Balloon or something. I'd pay for that if I was on holiday there. It's a very striking view and an iconic one for New York. Massively built up area with a large perfectly rectangular park in the middle of it.
Good view from top of the Rockefeller centre and suspect you could get a helicopter view too.
 
Associate
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15 Jul 2005
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Frankly if you want to show your fiancé a good time in NYC and to do a proper luxury trip you need to budget 5K-6K as a minimum and I am talking flights and hotels, spending is extra and add another 1500 for food, cabs and nice stuff. Problem is luxury is such a subjective thing as Trip Advisor constantly shows when you read reviews of average or rubbish hotels with comments like "this is the best hotel in the world....I never knew Travel Lodge could be this good".

So the question is, what is a sensible budget for you OP as pointless us listing a load of $500+ a night hotels if your budget is $150? NYC is an expensive city too, not least if you plan to visit some of the well known classic eateries where you could be looking at $150 a head per meal. If you really want to impress her then look for at worst a First/Upper class flight back so you can chill out and finish in the right way, assuming you get a red eye flight. I would also budget for at worst Premium economy seats to get a little extra comfort and airport check in luxury as the small things help soften the flight.

5k-6k for NYC!? you would find it difficult to spend that much on holiday in London let alone New York for 3-4 nights. i know this of off topic.. but if you are looking to spend that much for a holiday, i would goto San Francisco instead, blows NYC out of the water and much more to do in my opinion. Agree with you about the tripadvisor reviews though, been stung by that on a couple of times.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
21 Feb 2006
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29,297
5k-6k for NYC!? you would find it difficult to spend that much on holiday in London let alone New York for 3-4 nights. i know this of off topic.. but if you are looking to spend that much for a holiday, i would goto San Francisco instead, blows NYC out of the water and much more to do in my opinion. Agree with you about the tripadvisor reviews though, been stung by that on a couple of times.

I’m not sure what the London comment is about as you don’t need flights to get there and NYC is a more expensive city than London these days. You will need to budget circa 2-3k for 2 x return premium economy seats for a start, more if you plan upper. I paid $550 a night for my hotel room last time I was there because I did a luxury break and I could have paid much more. It really isn’t that hard to spent such an amount, Ive done it often including the end of this month...

Id take NYC over San Fran for a short break too by a mile. San Fran is a small city and a long way for a 3-4 night break and it’s value is more what’s around it.
 
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