I'm thinking it is better to be safe than sorry. It is still plenty early to book a hotel and cancel this VRBO.

So.....now my next question for the board. I picled our VRBO due to the unbelievable view's (60th floor, with floor to ceiling windows). NYC at Thanksgiivng is a bucket list trip for us and my wife really wanted something with an awesome view.

Can some of you folks recommend the best hotels that might have a similar experience/view for us?

Ag_07 said:

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Short term rentals are illegal but there are certain stipulations that qualify something as a short term rental.

It's something like in a building that has over a certain numbers of separate living spaces. It essentially makes it illegal to have a short term rental in a multi family building.

VRBOs in private homes like studio apartments or built out basements are legal. What's illegal is VRBOs in apartment buildings that take up rentable spaces for people to live.

Search the TripAdvisor forums for good info on it.

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According to that article I posted, if the building has three or more units, you can't rent any space for less than 30 days unless the owner/host is living in the space, too. The only way around it is if you rent out an entire single home or home with less than three units.

This is a 60-story condo building - hundreds of units. From what I can see in looking at articles about the law, it is clearly an illegal rental. I am shocked that XRBO allows these listings - there are tons of them and Had I not posted here I would have been clueless, and possibly roomless in NYC in November.

I didn't read that article but yeah that sounds familiar.

We went a couple years ago and stayed in a brownstone that had a built out basement apartment. In that case its considered two units and legal.


And yeah I'd be leary on renting a place from a 60 story condo. VRBO allows them but they don't take any of the risk. It's all on you and you're out the money if it doesn't work.

Bump... my wife and I fly in on July 12 and leave that following Sunday. 4 days and 3 nights.

We are staying at the YOTEL which is kind of between Hell's Kitchen and Times Square.

Lots of great insights in here!

irish pete ag06 said:

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Bump... my wife and I fly in on July 12 and leave that following Sunday. 4 days and 3 nights.

We are staying at the YOTEL which is kind of between Hell's Kitchen and Times Square.

Lots of great insights in here!

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I was actually looking at Yotel because it is a 4-star hotel and the prices are really good. Please let me know how it is when you get back.

• Rip the bandaid off and use the train from the beginning
• Get reservations where you want to eat
• Be on the look out for neighborhood bars, usually around where you schedule dinner. I love the Rusty Knot on the westside highway.
• If you can stay near a major rail station especially Grand Central, do it
• Staten Island ferry gives you a free view of the Statue of Liberty

AgGrad99 said:

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I really like Park Lane Hotel. Get a Park View. It's pretty affordable, nice hotel, and in a great location.

It's right between The Plaza and Ritz Carlton, on the south side of Central Park. It's nice to step out of the hotel, and see some greenery, rather than just tall buildings.

http://parklanenewyork.com/

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We are looking at doing a trip between Thanksgiving and Christmas to see the city during the holiday season. I was looking at Park Lane and I love the price for the location/views. I got a little concerned with some of the recent reviews saying that the hotel is old and dirty. Others said it is old, but kept very clean. What was your take on it?

It's been about 18 months since I've stayed there. It's not the youngest property in the city, and might need a little updating...but I never really leave feeling like it was old. Admittedly, Im not too picky on hotels....I just want a clean place to sleep. My wife is very picky, and she likes Park Lane. Don't know if this matters, but we book the 'Executive Park View' rooms. If you are picky about places, Im sure there are nicer places to stay, but we always have a good experience at Park Lane.

Also, if you're flexible when you can go, and want to save a few bucks, book your trip for January 2nd. The city leaves the tree, and decorations up for a week (typically until the 7th or 8th of January). But everyone leaves after Christmas and New Years, so the price plummets for most hotels, etc. We notice a lot of the foreign tourists are still around, but the crowds are a lot lighter overall.

Also, if you want to ice skate, we like Bryant Park, rather than Rockefeller Plaza. It's a neat holiday atmosphere.

Just went in March for our 3rd time. Stay near Central Park if you can afford it. Great access to the subway, Central location to get everywhere, and nothing beats waking up and taking a walk in Central Park. We stayed at the Parker New York (loved it) and always grabbed a pastry from Maison Kayser and walked through the park in the morning. One bonus is that the Parker has an amazing Burger Joint hidden in the lobby (just ask if you can't find it). Joe's is my favorite pizza, followed by Prince Street, and then Artichoke. As others have said, learn the subway, you can get everywhere quickly and there's an app that is helpful. I'm not a museum guy at all, but the Met is amazing and a must see. Skip the Central Park Zoo, ( only good thing is seal feeding) but go to the Bronx Zoo. It's a quick subway ride there. There's good shopping down on Prince Street if that's your thing. I really enjoyed Ellis Island and others enjoyed the 9/11 memorial depending on what you are interested in. There is so much to do there, you will find you want to come back multiple times. Also, don't get caught up in Times Square it's an expensive tourist trap.

If you remotely like History, definitely head to Ellis Island.

We found signatures of relatives, who came over on ships. It's amazing to see what so many people went through to come into this country.

FYI-

For those of you with kids...FAO Schwarz is reopening this fall, in/near Rockefeller.

"Biggest piece of advice on NYC is to go ahead and get comfortable with the idea that you can't do everything in one trip. "

Ding! Ding! Ding!........winner!

TXTransplant said:

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OldAg92 said:

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We will be there Thanksgiving week and staying in a VRBO high rise near 42nd and 9th in Hell's Kitchen. This is the first trip to NYC for both me and my wife. Anyone that is very familiar with this part of town, please chime in regarding "don't miss" restaurants, etc. We hope to walk a lot and explore the area

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VRBO? I'm surprised because short-term rentals (defined as anything <1 month, IIRC) were made illegal by the city shortly before our Thanksgiving 2016 visit. Our Airbnb hosts honored our reservation (and others that they had already booked), but now they only rent the place for a month at a time. Are you renting something like a timeshare?

Granted, there is no penalty for the vacationers who book a place in violation of the law - it's the owners who get fined if they get caught (which typically occurs because other residents turn them in).

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We did a VRBO in that exact area in apr 2017. The guy that rented it to us was real nice, but always said if any other tenants talked to you tell them "I'm friends with Emil, he's the apt owner". Lol. Never saw any neighbors the whole time. We were in the 4th floor off W52 and 10th in Hell's Kitchen. Was a cool, tiny apt. Use the App Conductor. It works great. Gives you a walking route showing which side to enter the subway to any destination. Get hot chocolate at Eatily in Flatiron. Amazing.

https://parklanenewyork.reztrip.com/classic/en/special_offer?action=show&controller=landings&locale=en&rate_code[]=EBJUN8&rate_code[]=EBJUN8&starting_page=special_offer&utm_campaign=july-2018_eblast&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cendyn&vr=3+


Here's a link to discounted rates if you do end up staying there. (copy and paste the entire text...dont click on it)

irish pete ag06 said:

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Bump... my wife and I fly in on July 12 and leave that following Sunday. 4 days and 3 nights.

We are staying at the YOTEL which is kind of between Hell's Kitchen and Times Square.

Lots of great insights in here!

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Hey irish pete, how was the YOTEL?

It was quite the experience, but as long as you won't be turned off by super small rooms, I would recommend it. The price is really great for the property's location and how nice it is. I really liked Hell's Kitchen. Great food and bars everywhere.

The only thing I could see being weird is that there is not 100% privacy in the bathroom. You can pull a curtain and closing a sliding glass door but any sounds that are at a certain volume will be easily heard throughout the room. My wife and I don't care about that, but if you are going with non-spouses or with folks who haven't heard you fart yet, it would be a tad awkward.

Thanks for the update!

Wanted to bump this thread for recs for places to eat for each day near where we will be and other places we should see while in that area:

Wife and I are going early August

Flying into LaGuardia and Thinking of staying at WestHouse Hotel on 55th.

• We land at 3:30pm on Friday and the plan is to watch the 8pm's To Kill a Mocking Bird to get the broadway show out of the way - Recs on things to do and places to eat before and after the show?
• Saturday -
Should we check out 9/11 memorial in the morning then walk the Brooklyn Bridge, Have lunch in Brooklyn or do the opposite?

Lunch (We've seen Hamilton touring show but we were thinking of doing the lottery for the Saturday 8pm show, so depending on if we get it or not could eliminate Bryant Park and Time Square)Check out Empire State Building and Bryant Park and Time Square then rest at the hotelDinner

• Sunday -

Breakfast
Explore central park in the morning
Lunch
Not sure what to do next; maybe museum or some kinda of tour??

• Monday
BreakfastCatch flight back to TX