Trip to New York

the most "happening" hotel now in NYC, is the newly opened Mandarin Oriental in the Trump AOL building. Might wanna check that out.

 

Neither of those hotels will give you the quintessential New York experience (unless you feel that New York is about staying in a stale, corporatized hotel chain that could be anywhere in the midwest).
Try (and this should not be much more expensive if you are good at shmoozing, an artform in NYC): the Waldorf Towers (adjacent to the Waldorf Astoria, on Park Ave., but semi-residential. You can get a suite for a very reasonable price, its "old world" in a NY sense); there are also any number of small botique hotels that you may find interesting, quirky, etc.
I would tend to stay away from the trendy chains, like W, but some people like that kind of scene. The Peninsula in NY is also a bit of a scene, but higher on the food chain in terms of service and accomodation; i actually like the 4Seasons in NY, but its hefty, pricewise, and i suspect anything in the new AOL building will be a big bite. There are some very good hotels in NY, but you will pay dearly for any one which has a high level of service and a physical plant to match. (Essex House is another older big hotel, on Central Park South, you might be able to grab a suite with Park views for alot less than the Plaza; the latter is the icon of the romantic NY hotel, but unless you buy a serious room there, it is not so special).

Let us know if you want some restaurant recommendations; i avoid the trendy places for the ones with good food.

I am not an opera buff so i can't help you there; Carnegie Hall, for classical music, is a more interesting venue than Lincoln Center and its Avery Fisher Hall. The concierge at the hotel should be able to help you sort this out; get a copy of the NY Times, or Time Out magazine (they may be online) for NY events. (NY Magazine is another source of info).

Best way to get from airport is to pay to have a town car service meet you in the baggage claim area. There are some high quality ones and some low rent ones; figure 75 -100 dollars, compared to 1/2 that for a yellow cab, but cabs truly suck.

 

whart, as usual, made some great suggestions. Here are a few more. Depending on what you are looking to spend, you might enjoy the Pierre (managed by the Four Seasons), City Club, Mandarin Oriental at the Time Warner Center (Columbus Circle and adjacent to Central Park), St. Regis or perhaps The Mark (on Upper East Side). If you would like to stay downtown (SoHo or Tribeca), you might want to try the Mercer, SoHo Grand or Tribeca Grand.

 

I agree...I think downtown in the SoHo area would be the ticket if you are bringing the lady...just cozier and not so wide open. Alot of cool restaurants (Zoe, Barolo, Mercer kitchen, etc...) and she'll love ya b/c of the shopping.

 

I was gonna say that! lol As for opera..... "Don Giovanni" is being performed at the Met on that friday night. There is only limited seating left though, so if you want to go, you better order tickets ASAP.

 

Mark

Whart has some good advise, let us know if you need any other help,, we always love to welcome f-chatters to NYC. If you were flying into Newark, I'd come pick you up in the f-car Unfortunately no one from NJ does the JFK pick up thing - even for loved ones

check the web for limo service (though called a limo their basic service is a town car). as Whart says will cost you about 100 bucks, but with the dollar in the tank that is nothing to you Brits here is one though I have never used them

http://www.limousines.com/visitors/visit.cgi?url=http://www.gothamlimo.com/?12

 

If going to visit NYC and if you want a hip and cool NYC stay, I recommend staying in the SoHo area (South of Houston street.....thus called SoHo if you didnt know). Some people suggest the Tribeca Grand Hotel in SoHo. I am highly AGAINST staying at the Tribeca Grand. The rooms there look like dorm rooms and are as small as dorm rooms. I also agree with someone who said that staying in SoHo....your wife will love it! all that shopping!

If you like the feel of the W hotel....I would recommend staying at the W Hotel Court OR the W Hotel Tuscany .... and NOT the W Hotel New York. The w hotel court and w hotel tuscany rooms are huge....at least 450 square feet in size. The w hotel new york rooms start at only 120 square feet.

If you want luxury old school class.....The Plaza or The Waldorf

check out:

http://newyork.citysearch.com/

if u want to search for nyc stuff.

 

If you are staying at the Plaza, you are in midtown which is central to everything.....at most 15 minute cab ride to anywhere in NYC so don't sweat about the transportation. You can easily hail a cab within a minute.

JFK airport to NYC will be $35 plus tolls and tip, which come out to be $40-50 maximum, and will take approx. 45 minutes if traffic is moving, an hour if there is traffic.

Try Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall for classical music venues. Both places are only 5 minutes away AT MOST from The Plaza.

 

I just got back from my stay at the Plaza today! It was amazing, wonderful, my favorite hotel in NYC. I'm a devout Eloise reader - make sure you check out the Eloise painting in the lobby! It was really wonderful.

Teh 17th and 18th floors are not finished. I actually had a very funny experience because I was going to an afterparty in the gigantic suite on the 18th floor, but there's only one elevator that will take you to the 18th floor, and I couldn't find it. So, a big group of us decided to walk up some stairs from the 16th floor. We ended up in the middle of unfinished storage areas where they held carpets, etmpty cribs (it was actually really creepy) but we finally found out way and had a great time.

Our room was on the third floor - three rooms overlooking the park... it was incredible. I've attached a picture of the living room. I just think everyone should stay at the Plaza

Word of warning - they charge $25 a day for internet, but they do provide computers in every room. I brought my laptop but I figured I could go without the internet at that price...

Edit: you should check out the mens and womens Bergdorf Goodman department store right over the street. It's fun to browse!

 

My parents spent some time at the Plaza during their honeymoon; would love to stay there myself someday. NYC is probably no. 1 on my list of places to see right now!

Got any more pics, zypj?

 

You bet. Not sure what the room rate actually is - I'm sure it is pretty expenxive. But, we got a gigantic group rate because we went to a party that booked most of the hotel (it was like $250 or something ridiculous.) I had my own one room, which was overlooking fifth. It also was not that bad - chandalier in a hotel room is key! Anyway, this was my parents' room. It had an office, a living room, and a bedroom. They pamper you! They got fruit and water in the room, then got Plaza stationary with their names on it saying Mr. and Mrs. ___ "in residence" haha, it was very nice indeed. Here are more pics.

 

Looks awesome. Thanks for the pics.