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Thank you for the suggested itinerary and tips ... I did not think about staying in Baltimore and doing Philly from there but that sounds a good plan. I need to price out the hotels as I got a really good rate at the Hilton Millennium last time I was in NYC, which was under 200/night. I will look into Stamford and other suburban areas (a friend suggested this who used to live in the area) to see what the cost ratio of hotel and transit into and out of Manhattan.
I'd use trivago.com which shows the hotel rates comparatively in one place. So if you want Hotal ABC for example, you can see hotels.com has it for $130, Expedia for $140, Priceline for $155, etc..in one place..with convenient hyperlinks to get you to the booking site. You do have to watch as it will show some that may be cancelled, some that may not..but it avoids tons of mouseclicks. I'm going to the last week of Spring training in a few days, and locked a rate in 2 weeks ago using trivago..that is 25% below the lowest comparable star level rate I found in the town I'm staying in.
2-2.5 weeks..minimal hotel stays.150/night goal. I assume the last is your average for the whole trip, not your max.
I'm assuming you are flying to stop 1. I'd make it Baltimore, tour DC with it, and I'd suggest staying 4 days if you wish to go through a lot of museums/history. You can do Philly from Baltimore, short Amtrak train run.
Now to keep your cost down, I'd avoid NYC hotels. Take Amtrak from either DC or Baltimore to Stamford (3.5 hrs or so-once). Stay 5 days, you can hop Metro North daily, be in NYC in under 45 minutes, and save $100 minimum/night on a hotel, as you should be able to keep to $150 or so in Stamford. I'd use a Priceline or Expedia deal..does not need to be Name Your Price to keep Stamford rate sane. Metro North-NY is chump change relative to hotel cost gap. It goes until wee hours of morning so you can stay late in NYC, too. May need acab/rental in Stamford.
I'd than take the train from Stamford to Boston(3.5 hrs or so-once). Stay about 5 days, you could even do daytrips from there to Providence, RI, Mystic, Ct (great seaport), or Portland, Maine. Hotel would most likely top $150, but combined average with 10 days in Baltimore & Stamford should be closer to 150 than 200.
Now fly home from Boston.
What do you think, annerk?
I think you are under-estimating the cost of hotels in Stamford and the cost of Metro-North, which is going to run $25 a day. I wouldn't want to stay in Stamford as a NYC tourist. Same thing with Baltimore to Philly--it's a 90 minute ride and $90 round trip!
I think you are also spending a ton of time on trains instead of exploring. Mystic is cool but in my opinion not worth the hassle of getting there--you really need a car in that area. Portland is really walkable, but out of the way--it's 2.5 hours north of Boston.
The Hilton Garden Inn in center city is usually right around $200, and well located. A few blocks away is Chinatown, lots of good restaurants and Chinese groceries. In the other direction is the Liberty Bell. I'd plan on three days in Philadelphia, although if you don't want to spend a ton of time exploring two is enough. If you are there on a weekend, tea at the Rittenhouse is expensive but lovely. (I have a gift card for the Rittenhouse with $15 or so left on it that I'm happy to mail you if you want.)
!
Want a good laugh, annerk. Via Name Your Own Price about 3 years ago I got that HGI for $48/night..with fees and taxes 4 nights cost me $250. I went to 3 weekend games Phils-Mets, and a guy seated near me got a 4 star near HGI for $72 plus fees..unreal.
Many HGI's seem to go that route, so if you are comfortable with that star level you may want to use that option..but I would never do so in NYC.
In Philly, center city, at that star level, all other possibilities were chains like HGI I liked.
Now today I'd have to bid 70-75 to get HGI, but with taxes and fees..its 100 max. My brother gets the HGI in Milford, Ct regularly even as late as 2012, for under $95 with taxes and fees. But all you get to choose is city/neighborhood and minimum star level, dates.
I think you are under-estimating the cost of hotels in Stamford and the cost of Metro-North, which is going to run $25 a day. I wouldn't want to stay in Stamford as a NYC tourist. .
Stamford-NYC weekly pass $93
The hotels were a tad more than I thought, the 2.5s ala the Hampton Inn are about $125-150, but I'd expect $225 plus for a 2.5 in Manhattan.
I picked Stamford because there are many express trains to NYC, stops east are locals..adding 1/2 hour or more.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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WOW! Thanks for the tips both of you guys. I'm leaning more towards staying in Manhattan as I don't feel comfortable traveling back towards Stamford after a Broadway show - I haven't did a price comparison recently but two years ago, it wound up being more expensive and more hassle commuting to and from NYC from Stamford. I'm going to look at all avenues but last time I was there, I stayed near Ground Zero and was satisfied with the location. This time, I might try for Times Square or vicinity if I can secure a good rate. I'm going to check HGI as I have Hilton rewards and my best hotel stays were the three HGI's I stayed at. I think both of your suggestions are great and I'll have to customize it to meet my needs. Never thought about visiting Providence or other New England cities but that also sounds like a good idea, especially if I can do a day trip from Boston ...
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk
The point is that she'd be spending two hours a day (or more) commuting. That's crazy.
I would not mind the 2-hour commute if I were not planning on doing night-time activities in NYC ... Because of that, I am going to research hotels in Manhattan for safety reasons.
I would not mind the 2-hour commute if I were not planning on doing night-time activities in NYC ... Because of that, I am going to research hotels in Manhattan for safety reasons.
HGI West 35th best rate shown on trivago via Priceline $299.
Obviously, I just chose a random date.
You could check out uptown, and that may be lower, but hotel rates are up, and I'd be surprised if $250 is even easily doable.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobtn
HGI West 35th best rate shown on trivago via Priceline $299.
Obviously, I just chose a random date.
Wow! Well ... I know two years ago, I was able to get the Hilton Millennium for under 200/night and that's a more upscale hotel - maybe it was the location being near Ground Zero but it worked for my needs. I'm persistent and WILL find a location/price that will work ... It takes patience
Wow! Well ... I know two years ago, I was able to get the Hilton Millennium for under 200/night and that's a more upscale hotel - maybe it was the location being near Ground Zero but it worked for my needs. I'm persistent and WILL find a location/price that will work ... It takes patience
It does. It took me a lot of time to get the rate I wanted in Scottsdale,Az next week.
I saw a Holiday Inn near Wall St at $217. Star level was not available, but most are 1/2-1 star under an HGI.
Like I said, I find trivago saves time. I would never use Name Your Price in NYC..too many possible hotels per neighborhood. I had good results with it in smaller cities like Philly & Miami, as well as Memphis. The difference is, if I want 3 stars, center city Philly, I'm down to about 6 possibilities.so as long as I'm happy with any of them..and on top of it, the top 3 in price will NEVER take a bid, so I knew it would be 1 of 3.
HGI seems to book that route often.
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