[E60MKF]

Hi All,

I am off to NYC and Toronto in a few weeks and blimey the hotels are expensive.

Before I spend a lot of money on a sub-par hotel, does anyone have any recommendations?

I am pretty flexible as long as it is clean and central!

Also any tips on what to do/see in either city would be grand.

Thanks!

[MashinBenzin]

My New York go to hotels were three around the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan - the W, the Millenium and a cheaper one that I forget the name of next to Club Quarters (basically in the same tower). I would take them in that order or preference.

I really liked the Hilton Garden Inn in TriBeCa. Not an incredible hotel; just exactly what you'd expect from a HGI, but a great neighbourhood to be in. I preferred being around that part of Manhattan.

My don't miss these list - walk the High Line; Chelsea Market; the pools of remembrance at the Freedom Tower; a pint or two in O'Haras (asking the bar staff to have a look at the album of 9/11 stuff); a breakfast bagel from Leo's bagels in lower Manhattan. All of that stuff is easy walking distance from any of the hotels I listed.

Toronto - great city but haven't been for a decade so my hotel recommendations would be too out of date. There are some great live music bars along King Street West if memory serves.

[Pentland]

You may find an apartment (air bnb) is cheaper depending on exactly when and how long you are going for. We rarely go for hotels on holidays these days. Apartments have more amenities, space and we feel are nicer to come “home” to as you are not living in a bedroom.

Not been to Toronto but for New York the natural history museum is amazing, Rockefeller building for views of NY at night (including the Empire State). We took a trip to DC when we were there and a tour of tv and film spots is fun and will give you an orientation of the city.

[MashinBenzin]

Also remembered this old thread of mine asking for local knowledge:

Manhattan tips https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1411822

[Nibbles]

I've always stayed in mid-town when in NYC for a holiday as you can pretty much walk to anything within Manhattan from there. The Archer Hotel is very nice and central, I've stayed there the last two times I've been to New York. If you're looking for cheap in December it's probably not going to be central through. MashinBenzin has covered most of the highlights, maybe also walk the Brooklyn Bridge and spend an afternoon wandering around Brooklyn. I'd also recommend dinner at One if by Land, Two if by Sea if going with Mrs E60MKF.

[lobeydosser]

We stayed in the Belvedere Hotel in West 48th Street which was very handy for central Manhattan. It is a quiet side street within easy walking distance of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier museum on the Hudson River, Times Square and Columbus Circle / Central Park. We stayed there in 2001, 2 months after 9/11 so the prices then won't be relevant now.
The Planetarium in the Natural History Museum on Central Park West is great for relaxing in comfort after a hard day pounding the pavements. It's also close to the Strawberry fields John Lennon memorial in the park.

In Toronto, the CN Tower is a must, plus the nearby Rogers Centre baseball arena is worth a visit. They have a (replica?) of the World Series trophy there.
A short ferry trip out to the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario is highly recommended for the great views back to the Toronto City Skyline and a quiet place to wander away from hustle of the city.

[RobUK]

Stayed at The Bowery Hotel NYC for a couple of weeks back in 2019 and it was excellent. Ideally placed for all the touristy stuff. Tripadvisor entry.

[ArthurKing]

NY is a sightseeing holiday and having been a few times before, I would say a central location is best if budget allows, something in mid town. That way you can walk to a lot of things and the rest are not too far away north or south.

I think we just looked a Midtown hotels, 4 stars and above with decent TripAdvisor reviews last time we went. The hotel is just a base for the most part so personally I don't see the point of spending twice the money on a slightly better room. Ours was at the back of the hotel with a window facing a wall but we were out most of the day so it was irrelevant as the room was perfectly fine otherwise.

NY is expensive, or at least was a few years back when we went.
We must have spent the best part of £3500 for 5 days including hotel, flights, travel and food/drink and we certainly didn't drink loads of eat in posh places. I recall a bottle of beer in an average mid town bar was $8-9 dollars so $10 including tip. Two bottles of bud for $20 which worked out about £16.....needless to say we didn't buy many drinks.

[cramsnik]

I stayed at the InterContinental Times Square back in March 2018 which we had as part of a package including flights with BA. It's the only experience I have of an NYC hotel but it seemed pretty well placed, we walked everywhere for the 3 days we stayed in the city. Coincidently it chucked it down with snow for the entire time we were there so it seemed to be the best option! I think the only time we were in a taxi was to and from JFK.

I can't remember all the places we ate at, obviously no shortage of options but I do recall some of the best places being really informal, a typical pizza cafe just around the corner from the hotel was really good.

We went to a game at Madison Sq Gardens, worth a look even if you're not massively into Basketball, interesting to see how the Americans do sport.

Also, as others have said, Freedom Tower, Statue of Liberty via the boat (or Helicopter!) Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, Rockerfeller Plaza.....

[MashinBenzin]

One more tip on transfers from JFK (and probably Newark too, but I always flew out of JFK). Use GroundLink. Prebooked cars, fixed price including tips. The car will be good, book a SUV for a spacious experience with a better view.

And how are you getting to Toronto? Feasible to take the Maple Leaf train and break the journey with an overnight in Niagara Falls, Canadian side. It's not fast, but get to see upstate New York scenery, plus the Falls (obv).

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by E60MKF

Also any tips on what to do/see in either city would be grand.

NYC...

I would always suggest spending time at MOMA and possibly the Whitney... and, depending upon what exhibition they have on, the Guggenheim (although the building itself is worth seeing)...

In fact, right now, I would go to the Whitney to see the Jasper Johns retrospective

https://www.moma.org
https://whitney.org
https://www.guggenheim.org

Other than that, there is something to see just about everywhere you go on Manhattan...

Like all new places, be mindful of your environment and be sensible when it comes to exploring areas you don't know... speak with the folk at the hotel for tips on this and local knowledge...

Toronto... Sorry, can't help... Flew there quite a few times, and I can give you cheaper and verse on the airport there, but I always bypassed the city as my destination was about an hour east of the city...

Remember Canada needs an ESTA as well as the USA (unless you are on Visas)...

[DaveA]

ps - check out the web sites of the places you want to visit as there will be covid restrictions to comply with, and you may need to pre-book some timed slots...

[E60MKF]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I am looking through them all!!

In the end I have opted for an Airbnb next to the High Line, good location and good price. For toronto I have gone for an airbnb too, I like having more than just a room

[goram]

If you’re into sport try and get to an ice hockey match. There are 3 teams in NY - Rangers, Islanders and Devils. Toronto have the Maple Leafs who are pretty terrible at the moment though.

[BMWILUVU]

Just remember to bring your vaccination card. Was there a few weeks back, forgot to bring our vaccination information, and had a hard time finding sit down restaurants during our trip. Got in a few places unofficially and ate a lot of street food.

[bytejunkie]

deffo do the falls on the way between the two if you can, the scale is mind blowing.

[TouringPleb]

The Falls are better on the Canadian side.

However don't do what we did.. parked on the US side and walked across to the Canadian side. Then found to come back you had to go through passport control and our passports were locked in the boot of our hire car!

We were lucky, being Caucasian and English after a few questions we were allowed back to the US. An Hispanic family which had done the same thing as us were getting a much harder time.

[E60MKF]

Originally Posted by BMWILUVU

Just remember to bring your vaccination card. Was there a few weeks back, forgot to bring our vaccination information, and had a hard time finding sit down restaurants during our trip. Got in a few places unofficially and ate a lot of street food.

is the NHS App/Apple Wallet Pass good enough?

CDC specifically mentions the NHS QR Code as an example for entry into the country but unsure about restaurants etc

[DaveA]

Just a heads up to take into account that the change requiring -ve PCR tests on return might keep you all in self isolation for 4/5 days… depending where/how you do return tests and then how long they take to process the results…

This could impact on returns to work, school etc..

I appreciate you will most likely already be factoring this in… but just in case…

[E60MKF]

Originally Posted by DaveA

Just a heads up to take into account that the change requiring -ve PCR tests on return might keep you all in self isolation for 4/5 days… depending where/how you do return tests and then how long they take to process the results…

This could impact on returns to work, school etc..

I appreciate you will most likely already be factoring this in… but just in case…

Yep, just changed all my day 2 tests to PCR, £300 in wasted tests but its sunk now!

But thank you!

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by E60MKF

Yep, just changed all my day 2 tests to PCR, £300 in wasted tests but its sunk now!

But thank you!

Just changed mine also… my provider was doing an upgrade deal and not a full price swap… but I also booked a drive through for a few hours after I land… save the time lost posting samples…

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by E60MKF

Yep, just changed all my day 2 tests to PCR, £300 in wasted tests but its sunk now!

But thank you!

Hope you have managed to get sorted with pre-departure tests for your return… If you are yet to go, look into the possibility of taking self-test kits away with you from UK suppliers that will verify the results through email/app… That way you may avoid scalping prices at the airports…