Touristy as shit trip notes Spoiler One spot I enjoyed was Izakaya Mew. It’s in a basement in midtown. I rolled solo but even still it was a fun/loud vibe and good prices on solid food/drinks. Could see it being a great time with a group of friends. Caught Mark Normand at the FBPC, really enjoyed the show. US open was cool but so damn overpriced and I was wiped out by the time I went so I didn’t do much but go to my seat and watch Osaka and Alcaraz lose. Next time I think I’d do GA tickets and enjoy more matches during the day. Messed up and didn’t get tickets for Summit at One Vanderbilt so did OneWorld observatory at night and it was just ok. Think I messed up on that choice vs the options overlooking Central Park. Loved MoMA but got there at 4pm so only had 90 minutes to enjoy. Favorite thing I ate was probably the Salmon on an everything bagel at Russ & Daughter’s. Ofc I’m a big Jew so that’s no surprise. Walked around the Jewish quarter after eating at Winson in Williamsburg and ooh buddy that was something. Kinda freaked me out tbh. Stayed at the Langham using Amex FHR and it was nice. They actually put me in the top floor with a huge suite and insane view but there was a crazy humming coming from the elevator (they warned me ahead of time this can annoy some guests) so I moved into a lower floor that was nice a quiet. Only knock was it was a 5-6min walk to the subway. Would prefer to be right near an entrance. Spent a lot of time walking the upper east side, finding historic homes and chilling in Central Park. Overall love the city, jealous of anyone living there or nearby. So much to do!
It’s not worth getting into it but I have very negative feelings towards orthodox and Hasidic Judaism. Some personal experiences and others second hand. Even still I wanted to roll over and check out the area. It wasnt much different than I expected, but there was a moment when I saw some young girls, like 6-7 years old, playing outside but speaking in Yiddish. Just made me depressed (probably a much better descriptor than freaked out) their lives are basically decided for them and they’re unknowingly being held captive. A 10min subway ride away lies a completely different world they most likely will never escape to. Sorry for the derail.
Gonna pull the trigger on a family trip to NYC sometime in December. Will be me, the wife, and my 11 and 9 yr old. My wife and I have been multiple times, but this will be the kids first trip since we did a 1-day stop on our way to see my wife's grandparents in Jersey about 8-9 years ago, so I need some updated recs on family activities. The main purpose of the trip is to go see the Lion King on Broadway because the son of one of our friends was cast as Young Simba for this current season. Any suggestions on where to stay? Good subway access is a must. We've always opted for lower Manhattan by the WTC for this reason because every line converges there, but we'd be open to other ideas if there's another spot in the city like that.
If the kids are into Harry Potter make sure to go to the HP store, its amazing. Museum of Natural History is incredible too. LEGO and Nintendo stores in Rockefeller Center are great as well if they are into those
TIL Los Tacos No1 has a breakfast burrito cart at their Grand Central location. This is delicious and dangerous
Roc center over Xmas is awesome and, as mentioned, you have some decent attractions there (plus Other Half has a bar there which is nice if you like beer). As much as it pains me to say it I'd probably opt to stay somewhere in Midtown or FIDI given that it's likely to be cold and your kids probably won't wanna walk 15 minutes to a subway. My normal advice is West Village bc it's the best neighborhood in Manhattan and provide so many good things in walking distance.
I always stay in little Italy or Chinatown. Maybe not the choice with kids though but subway lines all very close there. Little Italy does decorate a bunch Have to do Bryant Park with kids for Christmas. After dark walking up 5th Ave from Rockefeller to see all the window displays, the light shows. Christmas in NY #1
hotel prices are out of control in NY, they desperately need to build more hotels and obviously housing in general
Hotel pricing everywhere is silly. I travel weekly for work and I’m paying $300/night in the Ohio suburbs. I got what I thought was a good deal in nyc this summer ($430/night at the Langham) but some hotels were $800-$1000/night for standard rooms. Ok nice properties but who the fuck are paying these rates?
My wife attended a conference there, so her company paid for the room. I naturally tagged along as one would whenever the company is footing the bill for travel expenses. Definitely a nice hotel and good location!
This trip ended up getting pushed to March and is looking like a 5-day venture. Booked a hotel in Midtown and have already started a list of non-Lion King things to do. I'm sure we'll do an observation deck at some point and wanted to get some input. Have done WTC and ESB multiple times and wanted to try one of the other ones. Is there a consensus or recommendation ranking for Edge NYC, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, and Top of the Rock?
I like to do Top of the Rock during the day to look at Central Park and then Empire State Building around closing time post-dinner and drinks which can be get in at 10:15pm - 11:15pm.
Thinking about spending May in the city. I imagine that’s a pretty solid weather month? Average temps seems nice but wanted to make sure I’m not choosing a bad time. Found an AirBnB in Hell’s Kitchen that seems reasonable. Other option would be to hop area to are each week.
May is usually beautiful in NYC. The spring season seems to feel shorter here but temps for that month probably range from 60 to high 70s.
Not sure what Airbnb prices are in manhattan but there’s a company called Blueground that has 1 month rentals of furnished apartments around the city. May be worth looking into
Idk how I missed this last week but thanks, they have much nicer places. Of course that comes with a higher price tag but could be worthwhile.
The one time I visited was late May, memorial day weekend. Dealt with some rain and cold temps. /anecdotal
Ok I can’t decide between west village and the upper west side about where to stay for the month. I’ve found some good AirBnB options in both. The upper west side seems a bit more chill/quiet, near the park, but is a bit farther away from the areas I think I’ll spend most of my time. West or Greenwich Village is a great location, a bit more expensive and could be a little louder/busier. Someone help me decide.
West Village or Greenwich Village is better than the Upper West Side. It could depend on where your AirBnb is though. If you’re on the corner of 6th Ave and W 4th it could be loud. Feel free to PM me if you want an opinion based on the cross streets.
Going to NYC the 14th-19th. Lion King matinee on the 15th, St. Patricks Day parade on the 17th, hopefully a walking food tour in Little Italy/Chinatown and something in Central Park on one of the days as long as it's not raining. Having to plan a trip to a fun city with kids kind of sucks, lol. Like I love going to the Comedy Cellar and to fun/unique bars, but those aren't options this go around.
Expanding my search just into Chelsea really improves my price and options so I’m curious what makes you say this? For sure a lot more to do just not all that tough to get down there. I’m also not going for any sort of night life outside of nice dinners. Would save me a $2-3k and be more quiet in the UWS.
Spending the last 5 days in NYC taught me 2 things. 1. Going to NYC with kids under (lets say) 16 kinda sucks. 2. I totally get why people go to NYC for the sole purpose of seeing Broadway shows. This trip was for our kids to see their friend, who is currently young Simba in Lion King. I planned a lot of stuff I thought they'd like, but either didn't care about or outright hated. But Lion King was great and the girls and boys split off for last minute Aladdin and Harry Potter shows and both were incredible (taking wife's word for it on Aladdin). Things kids loved (11 and 9): - the Broadway shows - Museum of Ice Cream (way overpriced and the ice cream wasn't great) - Squarena: this cool floor is lava game that is undoubtedly the next big thing for kids parties/team building if they franchise. - Prospect Park Zoo - Ice skating at Rockefeller They ranged between liking, tolerating, and hating (often during the same experience) on everything else. Summit One was really cool, but I strongly recommend going on a cloudy (not foggy) day or a clear night. We went on our 1 sunny and clear day and the sun was kind of a hindrance. Sunny and clear go to Top of the Rock. The one "adult" thing the kids were at least respectful and engaged in was the 9/11 museum. We've been a few times but the kids had a lot of questions, so we took them through it. I think they came away with more understanding.
Going to Othello in a few weeks. Might add Dorian Gray Food wise laser Wolf, radio bakery, Gramercy tavern, the new spots I know I'll get to
Laser wolf is solid food, hopefully you guys are seated as the sunsets over the city skyline because that is a great part of the restaurant.
Saw Paul Mescal in Streetcar Named Desire @ BAM last night. Highly recommend it if you can make it happen.
These are solid picks. LW view is killer. Radio is good, but the lines are silly. Are you going to GT for the full menu or burger chasing?
staying at the hotel LW is in so hoping I can sneak by Radio early before it gets too crazy just the Tavern menu, not necessarily burger
The lobby spot there K'Far is great. Sounds like you got a good handle on things but if you want any recs there or in greenpoint lmk