kurgy
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by kurgy on Mar 9, 2008 1:12:27 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I wish I could say I was going to Paris for a week, but unfortunately I need to go to the US to satisfy US immigration so I can keep my precious Green Card. I know this is a Paris forum, but I'm really over TA. I'm trying to find a forum similar to this for NYC, but have hit a wall, and I really should be studying. This could be a huge faux pas - but please if it is - don't kick me off the forum. I love it heaps.
I am going with 2 other girlfriends (we are in our early 30's), and we are staying at the Sohotel in Soho/Chinatown for 7 nights. We plan to go to some musicals, museums and eat. I plan to infuse a french flavour to the trip somehow. hehe!
thanks heaps.
k
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Post by Shoesy on Mar 9, 2008 2:21:11 GMT -5
Kurgy - Since this is an off-topic section, you're allowed to discuss anything that you want, so feel free to do so. You'll undoubtedly have a fantastic time in N.Y., and I'm sure that Geordy and aio33 can answer questions that you may have.  |
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kurgy
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by kurgy on Mar 9, 2008 2:44:19 GMT -5
i just realised, i didn't really post a question on my post.
so, if anyone has anyone fab NYC tips or experiences, i would greatly appreciate your input. I'm pretty open to anything.
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Post by geordy on Mar 9, 2008 9:34:13 GMT -5
Well you are staying in a "HOT" area....no problem falling into some great spots! And you'll have no problem giving the trip a French feel..Le Cercle Rouge, Balthazar, and on and on....French/Vietnamese...
Ask away!
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Post by Shoesy on Mar 9, 2008 9:38:23 GMT -5
Geordy - When I'm in N.Y. this summer, I'd like to have lunch in a cute little French place like last year. I can still taste that yummy salad. ;D
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Post by geordy on Mar 9, 2008 9:53:59 GMT -5
Me too Shoesy! I have not had a salad like that since..but as mine was chicken livers..it is just as well..it included about as many chicken livers as one woman should eat in a year!  (smashed up in pate doesn't count! or foie gras  ) |
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Post by mez on Mar 9, 2008 10:16:40 GMT -5
Yeah! Another city I love  When are you planning on going? I'm trying to get together a trip for later this year and hopefully stay for 2 weeks. Last year's trip felt so short - I left with a list of things to do that was longer than my done list Mez |
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Post by sandy on Mar 9, 2008 12:55:40 GMT -5
I'm also planning a trip to NY with my 15 year old daughter this July (we still have to wait to know if she has an exam to pass on that date). I was starting to research on hotels in NY and I am startled at the prices, why is NY so expensive?
The hotel kurgy mentioned (Sohotel) seems to have very reasonable prices (it's us$171 through Venere), and the pictures look nice. Have you been there before or do you have direct references?
I will also welcome all the ideas and recommendations!
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Post by Anne on Mar 9, 2008 13:31:16 GMT -5
I was starting to research on hotels in NY and I am startled at the prices, why is NY so expensive? NY hotels were never cheap, buy I guess that all Europeans rushing there these days in order to take advantage of the cheap $ maybye led to an increase in prices . I cannot believe the number of people that I know who have visited NY recently or will visit shortly . Some of them go there purely on "shopping trips"  . |
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Post by holger on Mar 9, 2008 13:46:50 GMT -5
Compared to prices in Paris and London, hotels in the U.S. even in New York are OK. We are paying 145 sterling for a small hotel in London. Just about three hundred dollars and the hotel we have stayed at in Paris was 260 euros last year and is now 270. I love the Kimpton hotels and use them in any U.S. city where they are located. They have two in NYC so check their web site. June is into the peak season. More bargains are to be had in February-early March excluding Easter.
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Post by sandy on Mar 9, 2008 15:44:37 GMT -5
Anne, if it were for me, I would go anywhere else. But is is my daughter's birthday present and she chose NY... for the shopping of course!!
holger, last year I found a very nice hotel in Paris for 69 eur a night, including breakfast, maybe that's why now I find NY hotels so expensive. I could not find a single hotel in NY for less than us 170, and they don't even include breakfast nor taxes.
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Post by geordy on Mar 9, 2008 17:05:03 GMT -5
The notorious hotel tax, much debated, does not help. and yes shopping trips abound..it is like a big 2 for 1 sale with the exchange rate!!!
I do not know anything about that hotel..just that it is a good location.
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Post by sistereurope on Mar 9, 2008 17:14:43 GMT -5
I checked the price for my fave "budget" NY hotel and they've also gone up. I do think that the NY hotels have probably realized what a bargain the US is now for you Europeans so they've jacked up the cost (Australians, is it a bargain for you too? Or is your dollar tanking too?! And Sandy?)
Anyway Sandy, we've stayed at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca many times and found it to be one of the better "budget" hotels. (It gets pretty good reviews on that "other" site). I see that it's also now over $200 a night ...whew!!! But compared to $400, that's cheap...maybe you could find it cheaper from one of the consolidators, or through someplace like Expedia...
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Post by mez on Mar 9, 2008 18:13:34 GMT -5
Australians, is it a bargain for you too? Or is your dollar tanking too?! That's big fat NO! WooHoo!!!! I just checked www.xe.com and the rate is 1AUD = 0.927601 USD. That is why I am contemplating a trip to NYC later this year...it's the best rate in many years. And will I be shopping? A big fat YES! Clothes, shoes and accessories are cheaper and the variety is much more diverse than here. As for accomodation, last year I stayed at www.secondhomesecondavenue.com for $92 including tax - this was a shared bathroom arrangement with only one other room. This time I have chosen www.chelsealodge.com where they have private bathrooms but you have to share the toilet - fine with me for $119+ tax. Mez |
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kurgy
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by kurgy on Mar 10, 2008 8:03:16 GMT -5
Hi ALL
Shoesy/Geordy - where is this cute little french place that you had an amazing salad? I ate at Balthazar in 2006, i loved it! but my favourite all time meal was the lobster roll at pearl's oyster bar, not at all french inspired, bar the shoestring french fries, but it was just unbelievable.
Are there any french places that aren't ridiculously expensive?
Sandy - Sohotel is costing us only $80AUD per person per night!!! There are 3 of us sharing a room with a private bathroom.
I have stayed at the Cosmopolitan Hotel like sistereurope. I went in 2006. I chose it because it was so cheap, and it was great. It was clean and it had no bed bugs! Its also really convenient with 2 subway stations right outside. I have recommended it to a couple of friends who have gone and stayed there, and they have had no complaints at all. I would have stayed there again, but my girlfriends want to be in the Village or Soho. there were hardly any hotel options in the village, and the Sohotel was the cheapest i could find. the reviews are mixed, but hey, I just need a clean place to sleep with a bathroom.
Mez - ive read your review on the 2nd home on 2nd avenue. they had no rooms suitable for us. and i did try chelsealodge, but they were booked out.
I'm leaving Sydney on the 6th of June and returning on the 13th. its a quick trip so i have to plan with some degree of precision, yet still be somewhat fun and spontaneous....c'est possible?
I will research more, and ask some more questions later. it is now midnight and i have to tear myself away.
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Post by sandy on Mar 10, 2008 11:26:41 GMT -5
Thanks kurgy, Sohotel looks nice. I also checked the ones Mez recommended but they are more expensive, and I need a private bathroom too, especially in the middle of the night.
I also checked the Cosmopolian, it is over 210 us a night plus 157 us in taxes!
Sis, I don´t even alow myself to think about our exchange rate. One dollar fos us is 3.15 pesos, which means everything is 3 times more expensive. It´s even worst in Europe, where it is 4.5 times more expensive, and London 6 times!
That´s one of the reasons why there are so many tourists in Argentina right now, everything is so cheap for Europeans and Americans (and Canadians) here. Even though hotel rates are also in us dollars, you can find a room at one of the finest boutique hotels for us$ 120 a night, and a 1 bdr apartment from us$ 300 a week.
Bur for us going abroad is really very difficult, that´s why I´m always on a budget, and I mean budget!!!
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Post by geordy on Mar 10, 2008 14:52:03 GMT -5
Shoesy and I went to Mon Petite Cafe, 63rd and Lexington.in the heart of Bloomingdale's/59th St/Upper East Side shopping area.
Petite dejeuner, Sunday Brunch, Lunch and Dinner menus.
There is another cute little place a few blocks north on Lex called Sel et Poivre...like a" French country house" also reasonable.
Plenty of places downtown less expensive than Balthazar...
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Post by mez on Mar 10, 2008 19:19:20 GMT -5
Thanks for tips Geordy - I have saved them in my NYC file Kurgy, I also looked at the sohotel site - it looks good. Sandy, have you checked out the forums on Trip advisor? From memory there have been posts in the last couple of months about people staying in either New Jersey or Queens because Manhattan accomodation was just too expensive for them. Their trips went ok - and I think they all had kids. Mez |
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Post by cigalechanta on Mar 10, 2008 19:34:49 GMT -5
go to the US forum on fodors.com and type in New York City and the threads will show or ask questions, you'll get lots of replies
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kurgy
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by kurgy on Mar 11, 2008 7:55:20 GMT -5
thanks for the french foodie tips geordy.
I have just received my NYC Moleskine diary in the mail today and i will dutifully write those restaurants down.
Sandy - keep me up to date with your hotel searching and any other info you gather about your trip
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(smashed up in pate doesn't count! or foie gras 
)
.
hahahha