Plan B Forum

Brahms and I are in the process of planning our trip to the USA, as you know 2012 was an incredibly stressful year for us, my mums illness, Brahms retiring from the RAF and having to find somewhere to live and a new job in civvy street, my mum dying unexpectedly, buying my brother out of the house we jointly inherited and moving back to Wales after 25 years away leaving Xeno and our DIL behind in Wiltshire. We set aside a sum of money to be used for a "big" holiday in the states, Brahms wants to go to NYC (bucket list trip) I wasn't as keen but have been persuaded and we're going to include a few days in Boston via the Amtrak (also on the bucket list). We've got several quotes and itineraries 1 is for 3 nights Washington, Amtrak to NYC 3 nights NYC Amtrak to Boston and 3 nights Boston, the 2nd is for 5 nights NYC Amtrak to Boston 5 nights Boston. Both these options cost the same price. We think we've settled on just the 2 cities as we'd have more time to explore each one rather than just a taster of all 3.

I want to keep the cost as low as possible within reason i.e. we're not prepared to "slum it" but we're also not looking for a 5* hotel unless its at 3* prices lol we'd like to be in Manhattan and close to the subway, Times square area probably though thats where I'm hoping you guys can help in advising if there's better areas to look at. I smoke so somewhere that I won't feel unsafe at night stood outside on the sidewalk having a fag last thing at night and ideally with a place we can get breakfast close by as we tend to have a really good breakfast and then snack lunch or graze on the go whilst doing the touristy stuff. Same thing for Boston.

The hotels we have been offered in NYC are Milford Plaza or Candlewood Suites Times Square and Omni Parker Hotel Boston.

Can you suggest any others which might be slightly cheaper or better?

Dates are flexible but we have been looking at end of May beginning of June as the weather should be warming up a bit then but not be too oppressive in NYC plus its our 30th wedding anniversary in May 2013.

Reality Bytes wrote: I smoke so somewhere that I won't feel unsafe at night stood outside on the sidewalk having a fag last thing at night .

You may want to rephrase that, they have some funny ideas about fags our American cousins do.

Reality Bytes
Just read thyour post and I live on the "Isle of Long" (Long Island) just to the east of Manhattan (aka NY City even though there are 5 burrows that make up all of NY city. They are: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island).

Anyway, I am not a fan of Manhattan, but I'll check and see what I can find out about hotels in the mid price range, although your mid price range is probably lower than Manhattans mid price range. Most/all hotels are near subway stations and finding a place for breakfast would not be a problem be-it in the hotel or nearby. This is Manhattan with plenty of eateries on just about every block. Times Square has been cleaned up remarkably and poses little to no threat for the outside "smoke break". Fags (as we know them) are gay people and pose no more threat than straight people.

PM me with some more details (when, budget, etc) and I'll check out with my cousin (a Brooklyn native who works in Manhattan) and my buddy (Lives on Long Island but works in Manhattan at CBS) to see where deals can be found.

Also a F2F would be appealing. Bring you out to the Isle of Long and show you our destroyed beaches (compliments to Sandy). Hopefully the clean up and much of the reconstruction will be done so I don't ha ve to put you to work on your visit.

PM me, we'll see what we can find for you.

Boston: The Mariott at Crown Colony in Quincy. It's not in Boston proper, but getting there is easy (5-minute walk to the MBTA red line) and you do not pay the "Boston markup". It was nice enough that visiting NFL and MLB teams have stayed there. LINK They even have an airport shuttle to Logan when it's time to leave.

And that is about all the help I can give you as far as getting around Boston on public transportation...if I do, I'm usually driving. Well, mostly: you MUST do a Duck Boat tour of Boston!

HoJo's

dales wrote:HoJo's

Are they still around?

Not in New England.

RB -- sorry I just saw this, I've been sick all week. I have a couple of quick thoughts and will sort out some other ideas once I'm better.

NYC: last spring I stayed at the Club Quarters World Trade, in Lower Manhattan. The place was clean, neat, just removated so modern, small but efficient, and rooms were about $125/night (I think). The rooms look out over the WTC Memorial, and is just a block off of the Hudson/Battery Park City. I love lower Manhattan -- its smaller and cozier than midtown, quieter on the weekends, its the oldest most historic part of the city, and there are train lines that can take you any where. Plus the views into the harbor, of Liberty, the bridges, Hoboken, can't be beat. There are other Club Quarters properties in other parts of the city, but I don't have any personal experience about prices or condition.

Boston: welcome -- we'd love to have you! Parker House is nice and very centrally located, and probably mid-range price and condition. Hotels are very expensive here (NYC prices). I'd look into the Marriot Waterfront and the Sheraton Back Bay. Boston is really quite small, you can walk from one end to the other in an hour. The Quincy Marriott is nice, but you're going to spend travel time back and forth, and I'm not sure its much less expensive than being in the city, and the running back and forth takes a toll when you're doing a quick trip and trying to see as much as possible. There are tons of things to do and see here. Yes, and Duck Tour is a MUST -- they are much fun. Freedom Trail will hit many historical highlights in Boston -- make sure to include the Constitution in Charlestown. A Red Sox game at Fenway is also a must if you're here at the right time. If you can get out to Lexington and Concord or Plimouth Plantation (a good day trip for either) they are the two out of town sights I'd place at the top of any list. Not sure if there is public transport to either, but its something to explore if there are tours that provide transport. I'm not sure I'd want to drive to either being from away, and using the other side of the road.

What time of year are you planning on visiting?

FWIW, DC is (in my opinion -- and I've lived in DC and Boston, and spent lots of time in NYC) the loveliest of the three places, but I agree its an awful lot to hit all of them. If you are going to come back, then save DC. If you think this is your only shot in the US, it might be worth adding a couple of days and DC.

Guin wrote: Not in New England

Perhaps not but there's a HoJo's near Fenway.

http://www.howardjohnsonboston.com/

RB: Times Square and the Grand Central Station area are not bad places to start from, since it's easy to get on/transfer to most any subway from those points. However, there are hundreds of hotels in NYC, and almost everything is within a coupla few blocks of a subway station, so you might want to narrow your search by figuring out what part of town you want to stay in based on the things you want to do while in the city (theater? museums? symphony/opera? nightlife? historic sites?). Depending on what you want to do and where you stay, a lot of stuff is within easy walking distance. Check out hotels.com to see what hotels are in your desired neighborhoods. I agree with Guin that staying downtown can be cozier and make for more of a "New York experience." I would look at neighborhoods below 14th Street, particularly the East Village-Washington Square-Noho-Soho area. The Financial District-World Trade Center neighborhoods get pretty deserted (by NYC standards) at night and on the weekends. It's easy to walk around lower Manhattan, and depending on where, it's about a 15- to 25-minute stroll from one side of the island to the other.