[JCtx]

We decided to make a trip to NY over the spring break (our first), the week of March 15th. Prefer to book the trip ourselves, since every time we've booked tours thru travel agencies have been a disaster.

We're arriving and leaving LaGuardia, and want the most economical hotel that's clean (only sleeping there), and close to a subway station (we're told), since you can go anywhere from there. We'll be arriving Saturday (March 13) at night, and leaving Friday afternoon.

We want to do the typical, visiting central park, the metropolitan museum, statute of liberty, seeing a couple of shows (daughters want Wicked and Lion King, but would like suggestions, as we want at least one show to be attractive to us old farts ), etc. We're open to suggestions what else to do, places where to eat, and how to go about our days. Does central park take the whole day, or can it be combined with something else?

I'm not setting a budget, but losing my job and crashing my M3 (on the same week ) dictates we can't go wild. So fancy restaurants and such are not on the menu, but want to have fun, and eat 'economical' (heard that word doesn't exist in NY) but nice food, like pizza, good mexican/chinese/american food, even good chain restaurants like Olive Garden, etc.

Finally, want to rent a car (no, not an M3 ) for one day to sight see around, but need suggestions as well. Will take our Garmin GPS to help with the navigation.

Using Orbitz, the following hotels look nice and seem attractive, but need your opinion: Clarion Hotel La Guardia, Holiday Inn La Guardia, Crowne Plaza Hotel La Guardia, 3 Fairfield Inns La Guardia (Astoria, Flushing,Or Long Island), and Ramada Queens. And as I said, don't want having to take any taxis, so want something that's within walking distance of a subway station. ALL comments welcome; haven't booked anything so far, but want to reserve plane and hotel tickets asap. Thanks in advance for your help folks.

[jpsum]

Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel is a nice hotel. Stayed there once. Valet parking wasn't expensive at all considered that you are in NY ($12 per night I think). Very close to the subway. However, it's in a chinatown district in Flushing. If you are into chinese food, there are plenty of great places there, othewise, you are out of luck. Only a short drive to Manhattan. The area is pretty safe to walk about, unlike most other areas around the JFK & LaGuardia area.

Rental can be found at the airport. GPS is a MUST in NYC!

[boymonkey]

For transportation I recommend you get a MetroCard 7-day pass. That will give you unlimited subway and bus rides for 7 days. Cost: $27, reduced fare $13.50.

Central Park does not take a whole day. I only spent about two hours there including lunch. It's a short walk from there to the Met.

I got show tickets from the same day discount place in Times Square. We watched Phantom of the Opera and really enjoyed it.

I highly recommend staying in midtown if you can find a room and price that work for you. I stayed at the Roosevelt in the shittiest room ever in my life for $180/night, but the location was well worth it. I've heard good things about Holiday Inn by Times Square.

If you're on a budget and want to save, the Met and some other places are by donation, so you don't have to pay the full suggested donation. I was on a CityPass.

For restaurants I recommend the following:
Ruby Tuesday, Times Square (good steaks w/ salad bar)
Bubba Gump, Times Square
Olive Garden, Times Square
Joe's Shanghai Restaurant, Midtown, or Chinatown (Soup dumplings/buns)
Koreatown on 32nd Street, lots of Korean restaurants if you like that

These are just some of the more affordable and easy to find restaurants. I'll leave it to the New Yorkers to tell you what are the must-try foods.

[takedown8]

Manhattan is one of my favourite cities in the world. Little bit cold in the winter, but still.

Hotel: my favourite hotel there so far is the Club Quarters Midtown (I think it's Midtown....either way, it's the one closest to Times Square). It is literally a block or two from Times Square so the location is perfect. The rooms are very small, but nice and modern. Like you said, you just need a reasonable room to sleep in. The rates are generally very reasonable too.

DO NOT stay at the Best Western President. It is a craphole. Worst hotel I've ever stayed at.

I would recommend you stay in a hotel in Manhattan (right near Times Square). Hotels downtown don't necessarily cost that much more. Trust me, you don't want to stay at an airport hotel and subway it every day. It's really not worth it.

A couple of reasonably priced places to eat at include:

Junior's - famous for their cheesecakes, but they are also awesome for breakfast and lunch.
Burger Time? (I can't remember what it's called) - it's a famous little burger place hidden in one of the downtown hotels. Cheap and tasty burgers. I'm sure someone else will be able to provide the details (sorry!).

A nice place to relax:
Go to the Asian restaurant at the top of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel by Columbus Circle. Just sit in their bar/lounge area right by the window. You get an amazing view of Manhattan and Central Park while sitting on their soft couches. Just order a drink plus or minus a snack for a total of $3-10 per person. If you want, you can have dinner there. It's highly rated but somewhat pricey.

Car rentals can be had at any number of places in Manhattan. All the major rental companies have stores right downtown with cars in their garages. Just book it on expedia and then go pick it up.

DO NOT drive, however, in Manhattan. Way more trouble than it's worth. Parking & traffic are nightmares. Pick up your car and drive directly out of the city. If you like shopping, go to the Woodbury Premium Outlets about 45-1h outside of Manhattan. Best outlet mall I've been to.

Recommend going to the top of Rockefeller Centre instead of the Empire State building. Less crowded, better view, and cheaper. Empire State is over-rated. Definitely check out the Met & MoMA. Gugenheim is small and so-so IMHO.

Central Park is a must, but cannot be truly appreciated unless you visit in the summer.

I hope you have a great time and put all that badness behind you.

[number335]

Check out Hotel QT. Modern design, centrally located and great rates.

[boymonkey]

Originally Posted by takedown8

Manhattan is one of my favourite cities in the world. Little bit cold in the winter, but still.

Hotel: my favourite hotel there so far is the Club Quarters Midtown (I think it's Midtown....either way, it's the one closest to Times Square). It is literally a block or two from Times Square so the location is perfect. The rooms are very small, but nice and modern. Like you said, you just need a reasonable room to sleep in. The rates are generally very reasonable too.

DO NOT stay at the Best Western President. It is a craphole. Worst hotel I've ever stayed at.

I would recommend you stay in a hotel in Manhattan (right near Times Square). Hotels downtown don't necessarily cost that much more. Trust me, you don't want to stay at an airport hotel and subway it every day. It's really not worth it.

A couple of reasonably priced places to eat at include:

Junior's - famous for their cheesecakes, but they are also awesome for breakfast and lunch.
Burger Time? (I can't remember what it's called) - it's a famous little burger place hidden in one of the downtown hotels. Cheap and tasty burgers. I'm sure someone else will be able to provide the details (sorry!).

A nice place to relax:
Go to the Asian restaurant at the top of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel by Columbus Circle. Just sit in their bar/lounge area right by the window. You get an amazing view of Manhattan and Central Park while sitting on their soft couches. Just order a drink plus or minus a snack for a total of $3-10 per person. If you want, you can have dinner there. It's highly rated but somewhat pricey.

Car rentals can be had at any number of places in Manhattan. All the major rental companies have stores right downtown with cars in their garages. Just book it on expedia and then go pick it up.

DO NOT drive, however, in Manhattan. Way more trouble than it's worth. Parking & traffic are nightmares. Pick up your car and drive directly out of the city. If you like shopping, go to the Woodbury Premium Outlets about 45-1h outside of Manhattan. Best outlet mall I've been to.

Recommend going to the top of Rockefeller Centre instead of the Empire State building. Less crowded, better view, and cheaper. Empire State is over-rated. Definitely check out the Met & MoMA. Gugenheim is small and so-so IMHO.

Central Park is a must, but cannot be truly appreciated unless you visit in the summer.

I hope you have a great time and put all that badness behind you.

I strongly agree.
My gf and I enjoyed Empire State a lot though. She got lots of photos out of it and I liked the audio tour.

[Peanuto]

Lived in Manhattan for a bit when I worked at Details magazine. Totally agree with the lounge in the lobby at the Mandarin. Also Ruby Foos has good reasonable asian food. And for the kids two places with 'fun' atmosphere are Jeckyll and Hydes (a few all over the city) and Ninja.

[jlstyle]

I agree with above about getting a room in the city rather than outside the city as it won't be easy for your family to commute to the city for the tour. But it won't be cheap.
Since you are coming in as a family, I would search for a home stay like place or an apartment rentals. They are much cheaper than the hotel and you get to rent the whole house for your use.
Click
Click
Yea sorry for the korean link, but this dude is offering a 1 bed apartment in midtown for $210 per day, it seems bit expensive but place is nice.
If you want cheaper rooms, you could easily get a studio or 1 bedroom apartment with 2 beds for less then $100 a day in craiglists under vacation rentals or temporary housing section.
IMO this is much better option if you want a trip on the budget. You get the full finished house and you don't need to worry about eating food outside all the time as you could cook simple breakfast and lunch in your kitchen for your kids.

Also, as far as places to go, typical tour guide works well if you don't know about the city well. If you had been here before, just pick the prime places and tackle it.

For the food, there are too many eat outs here, but for your kid, I would recommend visiting Mars 2112 near time square for fun. You take a space shuttle down to underground and there's a mars like place and it's quite fun even for me, but food is not too good. And you could always go to saigon's grill in union square for relatively cheap menu but place and food is very nice.
And for the bars, don't forget about the bar89 in soho.

Also, while you are here renting a car, you might want to drive up to upstate new york for Woodbury outlets for your shopping. It's biggest outlet around here and alot of tourists go there for just shopping.

Anyways, good luck planning and have fun!

[DrockNJ]

check out hotel metro...a nice little hotel right next to the Empire State building....they have a very nice rooftop lounge with one of the best views of the Empire State building in the city...it wasn't too expensive maybe 275 for a night

[Derek Zoolander]

There really is no cheap in NYC. I wouldn't try to cheap out on it either. The food is probably the best part, so IMO it's worth dishing out for good eats.
Check out SoHo too. Some cool shops and places there.
The W hotel in Times Square is kickass, but then again, I stayed for free
Now my brother lives UES, so it's a different story when I go.

[stumpy221]

+1 on the sheraton in flushing

However during the week that 7 train is horrendous. but you can get on the LIRR to get into city for a more comfortable ride. Unless you really want the grimmy part of the NY Experience.

+1 on the HOTEL QT
For NY its price is not bad, considering the location. close enough to everything

Maybe its cause im from NY that i dont think there is much to sight see. Unless you want to goto other boroughs. Do not attempt to drive in the city, Guaranteed tickets when you park on the street. Too many commercial zones in the city. Parking enforcement has been more aggressive since we hit this recession. Everything is accessible by public transportation

Food:
I would say if you want want asian obviously you wanna go downtown manhattan, Chinatown for chinese, Woh Hop Restaurant, is awesome. The family favorite is Danny Ng's Place on Bowery. Japanese head over to st.marks TAISHO is a favorite hole in the wall for your non traditional japanese styled restaurant, my absolute favorite right now is korean style fried chicken www.bonbonchicken.com, for something a lil different that isnt too expensive Ninja restaurant http://www.ninjanewyork.com/
Trattoria Belvedere is the only italian restaurant i really enjoyed but if your downtown take a look at little italy.
Five Guys burgers is pretty awesome as well. For the late night halal craving the the street vendor on 53rd and 6th ave is the goto spot for cheap meal.

outside statue of liberty, time square, central park, the met, museum of natural history, soho shopping, and broadway plays, i really couldnt tell you what else to do. except if anyone is an apple fanatic head over to the glass cube Apple store on 5th ave. FAO Schwartz i've heard come up whenever my cousins come to visit, but dunno if you are into over the top and over priced toys.

[JCtx]

That was some GREAT HELP folks; really appreciate it. I'll PM some of you for more specific info on your recommendations; hope you don't mind .

Since Manhattan is the way to go, we'll definitely explore the rental suggestion. With a family of 4, most hotels require 2 rooms, which is out of the question. By the way, my 'kids' are 2 girls ages 15 and 18, so nightlife is out of the question . Good day.

[scollins]

When I was in NYC this past December, we stayed at the Renaissance, which right on the north end of Times Square, in the "wedge" between 7th and Broadway. It was $300/night plus all the taxes and BS. I thought that was an extremely reasonable rate.

It is pretty centrally located, so walking to a lot of places is pretty easy. Of course, we were there during the blizzard, so we were cold and wet walking around. But that didn't stop us. Plus, the wife got to ride in a carriage through Central Park with about a foot of snow on the ground!

For quick and cheap eats, RAY'S PIZZA!! A very short walk north of Times Square on 7th.

Don't go to TGI Friday's or Olive Garden. They have the "Times Square" upcharge on their prices, and besides, they are boring chain restaurants. There are plenty of other places to eat, visit the local non-chain places if you can! We also went to Tao, which is over on 58th just past Madison.

[DrockNJ]

try checking out any of the heartland breweries...good food and good beer...definitely a place you could take your kids

[scollins]

Originally Posted by DrockNJ

try checking out any of the heartland breweries...good food and good beer...definitely a place you could take your kids

Yep, ate there too. Good food.

[stumpy221]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

With a family of 4, most hotels require 2 rooms, which is out of the question. By the way, my 'kids' are 2 girls ages 15 and 18, so nightlife is out of the question . Good day.

LOL then def get 1 room, cause they are going to sneak out

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by boymonkey

For transportation I recommend you get a MetroCard 7-day pass. That will give you unlimited subway and bus rides for 7 days. Cost: $27, reduced fare $13.50.

Central Park does not take a whole day. I only spent about two hours there including lunch. It's a short walk from there to the Met.

I got show tickets from the same day discount place in Times Square. We watched Phantom of the Opera and really enjoyed it.

I highly recommend staying in midtown if you can find a room and price that work for you. I stayed at the Roosevelt in the shittiest room ever in my life for $180/night, but the location was well worth it. I've heard good things about Holiday Inn by Times Square.

If you're on a budget and want to save, the Met and some other places are by donation, so you don't have to pay the full suggested donation. I was on a CityPass.

For restaurants I recommend the following:
Ruby Tuesday, Times Square (good steaks w/ salad bar)
Bubba Gump, Times Square
Olive Garden, Times Square
Joe's Shanghai Restaurant, Midtown, or Chinatown (Soup dumplings/buns)
Koreatown on 32nd Street, lots of Korean restaurants if you like that

These are just some of the more affordable and easy to find restaurants. I'll leave it to the New Yorkers to tell you what are the must-try foods.

Is this a joke? You left out two of NYCs finest dining establishments, McDonalds and Taco Bell. New York has some of the best restaurants in the world and to come here and eat at the Olive Garden is beyond ridiculous.

If you are looking for a pleasant Hotel that is reasonable and is located at Rockefeller Center check out Club Quarters on West 51st Street. There is also a Club Quarters on West 45th Street Near Times Square and Grand Central. I just checdked them out and for the dates you are looking for their rates were $239/night for 2 adults and 2 children.

There are Hertz and Avis outlets all over Manhattan.

CA

I live and work in Manhattan. Feel free to PM me.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by jpsum

Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel is a nice hotel. Stayed there once. Valet parking wasn't expensive at all considered that you are in NY ($12 per night I think). Very close to the subway. However, it's in a chinatown district in Flushing. If you are into chinese food, there are plenty of great places there, othewise, you are out of luck. Only a short drive to Manhattan. The area is pretty safe to walk about, unlike most other areas around the JFK & LaGuardia area.

Rental can be found at the airport. GPS is a MUST in NYC!

If you are going to stay at the Sheraton LaGuardia on a visit to Manhattan you might as well stay home in El Paso and drive in every day.

DO NOT rent a car if you are visiting Manhattan. Much more of a hassle than it is worth.

CA

[boymonkey]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Is this a joke? You left out two of NYCs finest dining establishments, McDonalds and Taco Bell. New York has some of the best restaurants in the world and to come here and eat at the Olive Garden is beyond ridiculous.

OP said he's looking for fun and economical places to eat, and doesn't mind chains.

Originally Posted by captainaudio

If you are looking for a pleasant Hotel that is reasonable and is located at Rockefeller Center check out Club Quarters on West 51st Street. There is also a Club Quarters on West 45th Street Near Times Square and Grand Central. I just checdked them out and for the dates you are looking for their rates were $239/night for 2 adults and 2 children.

That's a pretty good rate for 4 people.

[Spoolin335]

I would stay in Manhattan since you are close to everything and can basically walk/subway it anywhere you need to go. Parking in Manhattan will be a nightmare.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn on 8th and 52nd i believe. It had free breakfast in the morning, and free coffee/hot chocolate all day in the lobby. Nice hotel close to central park, times square, broadway, etc. We walked to everything we wanted to see.

I think we paid close to $350 a night(4ppl), but depending on the season, the price will obviously change.

What ever you do, DO NOT stay at the Manhattan Broadway Hotel. That place should be condemned, I wrote a review on tripadvisor i was so pissed off at how dirty that place was. I have no idea of the standards in the states, but in canada, that place would have been knocked down.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by boymonkey

OP said he's looking for fun and economical places to eat, and doesn't mind chains.

Honestly, you don't have to spend much more to eat at some great restaurants in NY. You really should stay home if you're going to eat at chains since you're clearly missing the whole point. Also, why would someone need a recommendation to eat at a chain? If you've had Applebees in Fort Worth, it's going to taste exactly the same in Manhattan.

Burgers:
Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien Hotel
Rare

Pizza:
Any name you've never of or seen a commercial for. Little Italy on 43rd btw 5&6th was probably my favorite within the 5 block radius of my office.

Mexican:
El Rio Grande but you're coming from an area that probably has much better tex/mex food. I like the place because they have the strongest Margaritas in the city.

Steak Houses:
Sparks very famous old school new york place and my favorite steakhouse ever.
Peter Luger may be better than Sparks but they only take cash and are in Brooklyn which has always made it a bit of a PITA.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Honestly, you don't have to spend much more to eat at some great restaurants in NY. You really should stay home if you're going to eat at chains since you're clearly missing the whole point. Also, why would someone need a recommendation to eat at a chain? If you've had Applebees in Fort Worth, it's going to taste exactly the same in Manhattan.

Burgers:
Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien Hotel
Rare

Pizza:
Any name you've never of or seen a commercial for. Little Italy on 43rd btw 5&6th was probably my favorite within the 5 block radius of my office.

Mexican:
El Rio Grande but you're coming from an area that probably has much better tex/mex food. I like the place because they have the strongest Margaritas in the city.

Steak Houses:
Sparks very famous old school new york place and my favorite steakhouse ever.
Peter Luger may be better than Sparks but they only take cash and are in Brooklyn which has always made it a bit of a PITA.

Good recommendations except I would warn that not every lousy piaaz joint in NYC is a chain.

I work with a guy from Mexico City whose family is in the restaurant business. We both agree that that Maya on First Ave. is a first rate Mexican Restaurant.

Peter Luger is in Brooklyn and is very hard to get a reservation at.
Wolfgang's on Park Ave. South is as good a Lugers and much easier to get a reservation at. Menu is very similar to Peter Lugers. I have heard that it is run by some ex Peter Luger employees.

Bond 45 on 45th St. just off Broadway is excellent, best Veal Parmigian I have ever had and I grew up in an Italian family and my mother is a chef.

CA