Need hotels - San Fran, New York, Paris

[candyflip]

This one should be easy pickings for most of you here!

As part of a RTW (non-Business) holiday, I need double bed rooms in the three cities I mentioned in July 09 (already have Las Vegas and Tokyo dialed in) for 3 nights in each town.

A. do you have personal recommendations for non-Business hotels (or inexpensive Business ones) in the three cities, and

B. Would you book now, or wait, considering rooms generally are getting harder to fill in 09 and further sales may be on the way?

cheers

[Alanslegal]

Hi Candy,

What is your price range roughly per night? This could give us a few leads....and I would assume you would want to be in the "heart of the action" given its a leisure trip.

[candyflip]

Hi Candy,

What is your price range roughly per night? This could give us a few leads....and I would assume you would want to be in the "heart of the action" given its a leisure trip.

Obviously that varies depending on the city - I know Paris will cost me at least double what I'll get in San Fran for the same class of room.

Let's say at least US$100 per night.

and yes, heart of the action would be great - I have no use for conference centres, fax maxhines, airport hotels and the like here..

thanks

[NM]

I would be booking something now, but using flexible rates and not pre-paid rates. Then continuing to check for better deals as the trip draws closer. Then using some of the last minute booking sites in the week or two before arriving to see if I can find anything better. That way I have a backup plan (the flexible booking) if nothing better comes along. And if I find a better deal I can cancel the flexible booking at no penalty.

As for actual hotel recommendations, you probably need to be a little more specific about you requirements. For example, we stayed at the Novotel at Gare de Lyon as it was adjacent to the train station we would use to depart Paris. Similarly we stayed at the New Yorker hotel in NY because it was a few blocks from Penn Station which we used to arrive and depart from NY. Our choice was based on proximity to transport (walking distance from train stations) for easy connections rather than proximity to sight-seeing which we figured we could use public transport to get to.

You need to decide if you want to stay close to attractions, close to transport, or a little out of the city and use public transport to get around.

[candyflip]

As for actual hotel recommendations, you probably need to be a little more specific about you requirements..

OK, fair enough, more specificity follows....

Location is everything. I've stayed in $90 dives that my fiance would barely have considered otherwise, except that the cities finest locations were no more than a few hundred metres away and we could sleep at night. Everything else is secondary (we find our own fun, meals, shopping, other needs)

So, in San Fran, Financial district/Chinatown and Marina are all fine (as long as the rooms are quiet)

New York : anything downtown would be great, although something funky and/or unusual in SOHO etal., or with a clear view across to Lady Liberty, would be fine.

Paris: something quaint and 'of the city' (architecturally) would be nice. Central, not suburbia, unless right on the train lines.

thanks for your help

[Batesy]

• In San Francisco. The Mosser
• In NYC Hotel 373 in 5th Ave.

Both have small rooms and no real hotel facilities, but are clean, modern and centrally located so no need for hotel to have restaurant, concierge, etc.

We were on our RTW and found them both to be great. Have stayed at the Mosser again since.

[QF009]

OK, fair enough, more specificity follows....

Location is everything. I've stayed in $90 dives that my fiance would barely have considered otherwise, except that the cities finest locations were no more than a few hundred metres away and we could sleep at night. Everything else is secondary (we find our own fun, meals, shopping, other needs)

So, in San Fran, Financial district/Chinatown and Marina are all fine (as long as the rooms are quiet)

New York : anything downtown would be great, although something funky and/or unusual in SOHO etal., or with a clear view across to Lady Liberty, would be fine.

Paris: something quaint and 'of the city' (architecturally) would be nice. Central, not suburbia, unless right on the train lines.

thanks for your help

You said "at least $100" but is there an upper limit?

If not, I highly recommend the Soho Grand in NYC. Rates are $300-400ish, quite moderate by NYC standards especially given what you get. It's very trendy and happening. Great place for star spotting. Was invited to a party hosted by JLo there once. The W Broadway location means you're right in the middle of lots of shops, cafes, bars and restos in SoHo.

Another one I like is Hotel Gansevoort, right in the middle of MePa. Lots of interesting coffee shops and bars around.

For something truly edgy, try Soho House NYC, also located in MePa. They only have 24 bedrooms, really intimate. Gothic style, sited in an old warehouse.

As a big fan of Ws, I'd also throw in the W Union Square as a suggestion, though this isn't exactly DT. Great social scene, and the concierge service there is excellent. Union Square is a great neighbourhood. The rates for this W is a bit on the high side, but Starwood is running some great promos (stay x nights get x nights free etc) across all brands atm. Great thing about Ws is they combine the interesting elements of boutique hotels, with the functionality associated with big chains - some boutique hotels can be rather understaffed or lack the resources/bargaining power to provide decent concierge services.

A W is also going to be opening Downtown. But not sure if it'd be in time for you.

I'd also be in NYC in July btw. Currently booked at the W on Lexington (a bit too midtown for me, but the rates are great and the new decor is fab!) but hoping to check out the new W DT.

[candyflip]

Thanks QF009 .. some great recommendations there!

I agree on the W's - they look *exactly* like what we are after, but are tracking just a little higher in price (currently) than we would wish... still, as a SPG member, perhaps I can get wheel a deal in the next few months. I'm also interested to see what deals might be created for the 4 Points Sheraton Midtown once it opens in a few weeks time - could be some opening specials there?

I'll check out the Soho House NYC in MePa - sounds terrific!

Thinking about the St.Francis in San Fran - very reasonable at the moment.

cheers

jon

[QF009]

There's also the 4Pts Soho, but it's not exactly in Soho.

As for the Ws, Times Sq, Lexington and the Court were all going for USD269 when I was booking for a friend who'd be there in 2 weeks. Union Sq was slightly higher. Plus this rate is eligible for the '3 nights for 2' deal. Bargain! Perhaps rates go down closer to date of stay.

If you're not ruling out Midtown, can I also suggest Dream Hotel NYC? Located at Broadway and 55th, near shopping on Madison and 5th. It's a most fun hotel with a fantastic bar.

Westin St Francis in SF is a bit dated. Have you looked at Westin Market St? They usually have rather good rates. It's been renovated when it was reflagged as a Westin. It's near Union Square, around where the St Regis and W are also located.

PS, the ongoing SPG promos based on length of stay are here:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promot...egory=GENDRE_H

You can also find a list of property specific ones by going to the Starwood forum on Flyertalk.

Be warned though that the promos are non refundable, advanced purchase rates. I'd do what NM suggests - book flexible rates now, and only settle on a restrictive rate when your stay is imminent.

[Flying Fox]

In NY you could try the Best Western Presidential (Corner of West 48th and 8th Ave). Its very convenient, simple, clean and price is OK.