redanman

I guess that I had to post to stop getting notifications for this thread.
So:
I hate NYC, really hate it but if I have to go

St. Regis
W on Lex
or Hyatt property

Hopefully the notifications will now stop. Don't be dramatic if you love NYC, each to his own ...

vandalby

$330 is a really excellent price at this property

vandalby

Surprised that the W on Lex made your list.

raunow

I'm planning a 5 days NYC family (2 adults + 2 young teens) trip next summer 03JUL-08JUL, and getting ready to book accomodation with SPG points. Have stayed at several NYC properties, but never with family for a pure leisure trip.

With the following priorities, which property would you recommend:

1st. CAT5 Max for 48k/room cost.
2nd. 2 double bed rooms (only have points for one room)
3rd. Chance of SNA upgrade
4th. Solid Platinum breakfast for all 4
5th. July 4th Fireworks view
6th. Free softdrinks/coffee
7th. Informal/cheap local quality diners/takeaway
7th. Relaxed neighbourhood with easy Subway/train access
8th. Easy transfer from/to EWR

Currently all NYC CAT5 properties are available on points, but for a July 4th booking I'd like to fix it early.

With these priorities I'm thinking:
- Sheraton Tribeca (for neigborhood, lounge and terrace with view)
or
- W Hoboken (for more upscale property with great fireworks view)

Any better suggestions ?

grandgourmand

I don't know if it's better but the Westin Grand Central is pretty good. And the traditional room that you get on points is bigger than the traditional room at the Sheraton Tribeca (31 vs 27 m2).

I prefer the location of the Tribeca hotel. It's a bit dingier in the immediate area but not far from some pretty cool spots around soho. Lots of good walking around there. Westin is in a busier area, walking distance to Times Square if that's your thing. Also not a bad walk to Penn Station to get the train to EWR.

I'm sure some others can comment on all of your points, but that's my 2c for now. Oh, and if you don't mind putting your kids on a sofabed then the Westin Grand Central king + sofabed option is pretty good.

Eujeanie

Do they even know where the fireworks will be next year? (they change between the Hudson and East rivers, and not always on a consistent basis, and not usually announced until a few months before).

Antonio8069

None of the properties meet all your criteria. Recently, I had a 48K SPG recently @ the Sheraton at 7th & 51st - decent breakfast, soft drinks & coffee. Great subway access^. Lots of rooms with 2 beds, but upgrades are few & far between. Also, a great gym. It was much better use of points at the Westin Jersey City (54K) but none of the other amenities, it does have a pool. I took NJ Transit to Penn Station & walked - wheeled luggage - up 7th.

My PF is the Westin Grand Central (bigger rooms, much better views) - but - brekkie is a joke. I have not tried the Plat breakfast at the W - but - reviews are not great. Also, its worth noting that every outing begins/ends on the PATH/ferry @ additional time, expense.

Valmiki

Westin Times Square currently has the best breakfast for Platinums in Mannhattan. Recently it applied to both the wife and I --- not sure if all 4 of you will qualify unless you have 2 rooms.
There is also a subway entrance right outside the hotel.
My SNAs worked 2 out 3 times I stayed there this year.
Several eating options in the area

CLEguy

Downside...it's in Times Square.

I think raunow is on the right track; I saw those requirements and immediately thought of the Sheraton Tribeca.

What I would do is to book the points stay now at the selected property (whichever it turns out to be) and several cash stays around town for the secondary room, then perhaps change the points stay as necessary.

FlyertalkST

SPG Gold, no plat this year.

I am planning a roughly 10 day trip to the east coast for myself, my wife, and our 13-month old baby (at time of travel) for July 2016. Itinerary is still in the planning stages, but right now we're looking at spending time in DC, NYC, and BOS. This trip is partly a fun east coast American history trip for us and partly an attempt to burn off some points based on today's news about Marriott, as I'm assuming some amount of "use 'em or lose 'em" at least in terms of value. We'd have taken a summer trip anyway, but now we'll be using points for sure. The plan right now is to fly into DC, and then make use of the trains as we move north.

For what will primarily be a sightseeing trip for a couple of lovers of American history, what would the board recommend for our hotel? I'm thinking that primary considerations will be:

-Ease of transition b/w hotel and Penn Station
-Solid breakfast
-Proximity to landmarks

Looking at around 3-4 days in New York, looking at Cat. 5 hotels primarily.

Keyser

the westin is a cat 6....op is only looking for a cat 5....

Keyser

i find the westin grand central to be a better property than the sheraton tribeca....the sheraton times square is also an option but the property can be a bit of a zoo....

dcstudent

Hi all,

Planning a long weekend (3 nights) trip to NYC with my wife on points. Looking for no more than Cat 5. Sheraton Tribeca, Sheraton Times Square and W Hoboken are available at 12K/night for my dates.

So far I've booked the W Hoboken because it rates so well (4.5 on *wood, high on TripAdvisor) compared to the others, but as most of our activities will be in Manhattan (Natural History, the Met, Broadway...). We generally don't mind commuting (both of us have ~3hr round-trip commutes for our jobs) and 15-30 minutes from Hoboken to 33rd street seems ok to us, but just want to check with the experts here to see if the W Hoboken is so good that it outweighs the location of Tribeca or Times Square.

Thanks all!

Eujeanie

I've not stayed at that W, but have looked wistfully at the huge bargain the 12,000 pts are compared to the $400-$500 they often want for the rooms.

But to me the location is a big problem...yes, what do they say, 30 mins on the PATH? But once you get to 33rd St. (or another stop), you often then have to change to get to where you really want to go. And don't you want to freshen up/change before going out to dinner and the theater? That's that commute twice a day then.

The Sheraton TS to me is in a great location - it's out of the fray of Times Square, close to the theaters, many subway lines close by. The rooms are small, nothing special, if your status or credit card or extra points can get you upgraded to the Club Level, although really crowded during breakfast and evening, it is open 24/7 and is a great place to stretch out, grab a water/juice whatever/whenever and adds more "space" to your tiny room.

I know nothing about the Sheraton Tribeca, but we liked the location of the STS so much we're staying nearby at the newish Residence Inn on our next trip.

KENNECTED

If you want alternative that may be cheaper, look in Brooklyn or Long Island city.

Going back and forth to Jersey is a pain and a huge waste of time. The money you may save, will be eaten up by committing and paying for transportation on two different transportation systems.