Help with manhatten vacation rental apartments

[jestley]

HELLO EVERYONE,

Can any of you New Yorkers give me some advice on vaction rental apartments in Manhatten?

We are a party of six 4 adults and 2 kids aged 15 and 12 ( 2 families of 3)from the UK and we are booked on the Explorer of the seas on the 2nd August 2012 sailing out of Cape Liberty. We are hoping to fly in early on Sat 28th July 2012 and stay 5 nights pre-cruise and was thinking that a rental appartment would work out cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. An apartment in a Brownstone would be nice. We have been to New York before but it was a few years ago, we stayed at the Hilton Times Square, the views from the room were amazing and the location was spot on.....however those days and money are long gone since the kids came along:rolleyes:. We were wondering how easy access was if we stayed just outside of Manhatten. There seems to be a lot of rental apartments in the Williamsburg area. I know its too early for most hotels to price that far out, but I would like to find a few rental apartments to get an idea of price.

Any help, recommendations or advice will be greatly appreciated......we cannot wait to return to this wonderful city:D

Thanks in advance

Jo:)

[138east]

What is your budget for 5 nights and 6 people? What kind of sleeping configuration do you require? I'm assuming the parents can bunk together, but what about the kids? Are they boys, girls, or one of each and can they share a room/bed?

[jestley]

What is your budget for 5 nights and 6 people? What kind of sleeping configuration do you require? I'm assuming the parents can bunk together, but what about the kids? Are they boys, girls, or one of each and can they share a room/bed?

 

We are hoping to find something for around £1000 to £1300 for the six of us, a 3 bedroom if possible, is that realistic ? The kids are two girls and can share double bed if they have to and us adults are two couples. If we did a hotel we would have to have 2 rooms ( 2 adults and 1 kid in each).

thanks

Jo:)

[138east]

That would be a budget of about $2100 at current exchange rates. I really don't know a lot about NY short term apartment rentals, but a brief look around shows that they can be pricey and you can't really tell from the pictures exactly what you would be getting. Williamsburg is an up and coming area, but I would be leery of just picking a place there - the location might not be all that convenient for getting in and out of Manhattan. Perhaps some other folks who have had short term apartment rentals can post.

 

I did look at Candlewood Suites in Jersey City for your time frame for this year's prices. They are offering an advance purchase queen suite with sofa bed "Including full-size refrigerator with ice maker, dishwasher, microwave and stovetop, plus a variety of dishes, cookware, and utensils" for $154 - about $176 including tax. Two rooms would be well within your budget. They are a popular hotel chain specializing in "extended stay" hotels and their room offerings are consistent. They are located near the Newport Path station which would give you easy and quick 7x24 access to either midtown or downtown NY for $1.75/pp. http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps.html It would be worth putting this hotel on your watch list for 2012. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cw/1/en/hotel/EWRJC/welcome?start=1

[CruiserBruce]

I would be EXTREMELY careful. A friend just had two back to back NYC apartment rentals (I think he was using CraigsList) turn out to be scams. I understand you idea, but perhaps a stay at Embassy Suites in Secacaus for about $150/night with some bus rides would be a safe bet.

[138east]

Another consideration is the airport you will be flying in and out of. Newark Airport is very close to Cape Liberty whereas JFK is not. If you fly in and out of JFK you will spend more on transportation - $45 + tolls and tip to Manhattan - I believe meter rate to Brooklyn - and you will need 2 cabs. Don't know what a car service for 6 would be. Then you will have to pay to go to Bayonne NJ (even more $$$ because it is across state lines) and then again back to JFK. This could easily add up to $400-$500 in cab/car service fees. If you fly into Newark and stay in NYC, you're looking at $350-400+ in fares from Newark to NYC, NYC to Bayonne, and Bayonne to Newark.

 

If you can fly into Newark and stay in Jersey City, you will pay for a cab/car service Newark to Jersey City - perhaps $100-120 for 6 people and about the same from Jersey City to Bayonne. However, you will have a public transit option from Jersey City to Bayonne if you can manage your luggage - light rail for $2.10/pp and cab into the port for $10/3 people. From Bayonne to Newark you can get a shuttle for $15/pp.

[Cruising Nomads]

Have you heard of The Radio City Apartments. These are located just off Times Square and have various sized apartments.

[138east]

I thought of Radio City, but they only have apartments for 2, 4, and 5 people. This summer an apartment for 5 days for 3 people is $1700 including tax.

[jestley]

Thanks folks, I will look into the Candlewood Suites. We will probably be flying in to Newark.

I am wary of booking an apartment without a recommendation...there are quite a few on tripadvisor. I will do some more research, I will post what i find and see if anybody knows anything about them.

loads of thanks

Jo;)

[138east]

Candlewood Suites would be like having an apartment - with 2 suites each family would have a level of privacy plus 2 bathrooms and 2 kitchens. There is a nice mall in the area (no sales tax on clothes) http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?id=114 The hotel is on the Hudson so there would be views of NY from the area if not your actual room.

 

There has not been a lot of discussion on this forum about renting an apartment in NY. My husband had a short term apartment rental in NY about a year ago for several weeks - it was a miniscule 1 bedroom that you could barely turn around in. The location was nice on the upper East Side, but it would have been super inconvenient for running around the more touristy areas of NY - much further away from most destinations than Jersey City is.

[Betsy's Mom]

We had to rent an apt. to do a family thing (no hotels last minute) and it was horrible!:( Sounded good on the web, but was just dreadful and $250 a night! Please, do yourself a favor and go with a hotel type reservation. Candlewood Suites sounds good to me.

B.

[RHefley228]

And here's the really bad part: it is usually illegal. Most people offering their apartments up for vacation rentals do not own and are renters themselves. Now, people here do this all the time and get away with it. BUT--and this is a big BUT--you could find yourselves rousted out in the middle of the night if the owner/landlord objects to the illegal rental, and you would have little if any recourse for recovering your money. If you want to be 100% safe, you can rent a vacation apartment legitimately in many hotels. A hotel apartment costs a little more, but you have the peace of mind and security of a real business. They are also located in desireable areas plus you get the perks of a hotel like room service, maid service & can use your credit card as opposed to dealing with a stranger. Below are some popular sites that offer hotel apartments:

 

http://www.hotel-alternatives.com

 

http://www.nycnightlyapartments.com

[138east]

Thanks Betsy's Mom - I totally agree. You have to be so careful in NY - it's really expensive and you get what you pay for. $2100 is only about $400/night for 6 people, which unfortunately is low budget for NY.

 

Jo - rates for Candlewood for July 2012 should be out in a few months. How important is the "self-catering" aspect of the hotel? I realize that coming from so far away, you want to have a definite plan. However, in checking on Hotwire for similar dates for this July, I am seeing a 3* hotel in Secaucus for $125 + tax and a 4* hotel in Jersey City for $155 + tax - both properties have a pool and restaurant. In the summer when business travel is down, there are likely to be deals out there if you can be patient.

 

Can you purchase travel insurance that would cover the money you spend if you prepurchase accommodations? That would give you peace of mind to go ahead and make a commitment when the right deal comes up.

[138east]

RHefley228 - those look like good sites and would definitely be worth exploring. Staying in Manhattan is always optimal, however sometimes it's just not financially possible.

[jestley]

Thanks everyone for your advice....seems the apartment thing might be no-brainer!

 

Betsy's Mom- sorry you had a bad experience, thanks for the info

 

RHefley228- thanks for those websites, I have saved them to my favourites and will check them out.

 

138east- your right, our budget is low....and probably too low! I was living in hope I think:rolleyes: the self catering aspect does not matter at all, I was just thinking an apartment would be cheaper than a hotel. I will certainly not be cooking!! I'm already planning to dine at Bubba Gumps and Carmines:D

I don't think we can get insurance to cover a pre paid hotel room. I have registered for email from quite a few of the big chain hotels so I don't miss any deals when they come out. I guess I will have to wait it out until our dates are on sale at the hotels to give us an idea of what we realistically need to budget for. I'm just impatient and like to get things booked, but on this occasion I'm gonna have to sit tight!

 

Thanks

Jo:)

[138east]

Good luck! It sounds like you have a plan even though you can't implement it right now.

[mrsihopes]

Have you heard of The Radio City Apartments. These are located just off Times Square and have various sized apartments.

 

 

We have stayed there in the past and are going to stay there again in Oct for our next cruise. It is a nice hotel, very very convienient to everything. The subway is right down the street. We LOVE the location and as far as I am concerned it is well worth the money. There are 3 of us and we reserved a one bedroom. It is very nice.