<p>OK
So you have the opportunity to be in NYC for a birthday milestone…with a group of BFF</p>
<p>How would you fill the day/weekend?</p>
<p>Hotels?
Meals?
Shopping?
Spa?
Show?
Limo?</p>
<p>I would want to stay at a nice hotel…go to a show, and go out to dinner someplace nice.</p>
<p>I agree with Thumper. When in NYC, a Broadway show, opera or ballet is a must. I woudn’t waste the $$ on a limo and spa treatments there are grossly overpriced.</p>
<p>How many people and what time of year? How much time do you have? </p>
<p>This is just my personal opinion, but if budget is of any concern, I wouldn’t pay for a true luxury hotel in NYC as you will not be inside the hotel all that much. The city that never sleeps, and all that…Will need all your spare cash for dining, drinks, shows and taxis.</p>
<p>The San Carlos in midtown is nice but not high, high-end and offers these suites where two bedrooms adjoin a middle suite room. The shared suite space is convenient for group weekends as it leaves a hanging out space that is not the bedroom. But, you may not have much hanging out time inside the room, so may not need that.</p>
<p>Moving down a level is the Affinia chain. The one I stayed in looked like a converted Upper East Side 1950s apartment. Nothing posh, but clean and spacious. </p>
<p>But, if you want something spectacular, options abound in NYC as long as you are willing to pay the price. (I am too cheap. It would be like staying at the Four Seasons when on college tours. Reserve those stays for beach vacations where I can appreciate the amenities.)</p>
<p>As to shopping & spa—only if that is what you want to do. Both are plentiful in New York. Again, it gets back to how much time you have. NYC still has some location-based districts: diamonds, buttons/ribbons/trims, photography…all of these are much smaller than they used to be say twenty years ago. Each block of the 20s and 30s used to have a different specialty: hats, sewing machines, furs, etc. So, speciality shopping is not what it used to be either. </p>
<p>New York is such a walking city that if I only had one day, I would much prefer to start in Central Park, exit at the SW corner, walk through Lincoln Center, down to the High Line, around Chelsea Market (stop for food), then cab it downtown to WTC, subway over to Brooklyn and walk back over the bridge as the sun was setting. </p>
<p>Limo–could be useful for a tour but not all that helpful if just to use to travel from restaurant to show to shopping. We had a car & driver on one of our NYC girls’ weekends (long story) but it didn’t add that much.</p>
<p>Far more of my personal opinion than you probably wanted. Hope you have fun!</p>
<p>what Thumper said.</p>
<p>Well…we are going tomorrow for Mr. Ellebud’s milestone birthday. We are going to a show…among other things. We will tell you about it when we return</p>
<p>I am actually going to NYC to do this very thing in two weeks! A few of my college suite mates and I get together every few years to celebrate all of our birthdays for the year in one weekend. Previous trips have included Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Napa. For the upcoming NY trip this is what is planned so far:</p>
<p>Staying: San Carlos - We picked this for the location, size of the rooms (suites & queen size beds) decent reviews on TA and other sites, price is reasonable. (FYI - I have family in the city. The other places we like to stay when visiting are The Warwick and or The Affinia Gardens).</p>
<p>Show: Kinky Boots</p>
<p>One Evening (two other evenings are yet to be determined): First night we are going to dinner (maybe @ the Central Park Boat House) then on to Brandys Piano bar.</p>
<p>Other: Here are a few other things on our “to do” list: Visit the 9/11 Memorial. Go on a Circle Line cruise tour. Check out the High Line. Go to either the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Guggenheim. Shop ( I always buy a cook book and a pair of shoes when I travel - those are my souvenirs).</p>
<p>Additional Group Requests: These items are still being researched - one lady wants to eat in a real diner (such as the one in Seinfeld and other TV shows) and another wants authentic New York style pizza.</p>
<p>“New York is such a walking city that if I only had one day, I would much prefer to start in Central Park, exit at the SW corner, walk through Lincoln Center, down to the High Line, around Chelsea Market (stop for food), then cab it downtown to WTC, subway over to Brooklyn and walk back over the bridge as the sun was setting.”</p>
<p>I am going to suggest my group follow this advice from CT1417!</p>
<p>These are good suggestions.
Used to love 40 minutes from midtown as a kid.
Last 2 visits have been on college tours! So a totally different thing</p>
<p>This birthday milestone with be a girls weekend/weekdays things…several days in the spring (likely April) somewhere between 3-6 of us. If winter 2014 is going to be harsh -maybe May ;)</p>
<p>I know they are likely to ask my opinion and so I had better think about it …</p>
<p>How far in advance would we have to book those hotels (like San Carlos)?</p>
<p>I also would recommend the Central Park Boathouse restaurant, but we were there for their Sunday Brunch, not for dinners. Also, it’s seasonal, so not sure if it’ll be open by April…</p>
<p>Have these friends been to NYC before? Definitely a show or off-Broadway shows are good too. We actually went to some comedy shows and enjoyed those…</p>
<p>Exploring different neighborhoods is fun…Little Italy, SoHo…uptown…H&H Bagels…we loved Arties Deli all the way uptown (VERY casual), sort of a diner atmosphere…museums are soooo big & interesting & beautiful to look at inside and outside for architecture…we’ve heard LOTS of good info, re: Brooklyn, but haven’t made it over there to explore yet…Piano Bars are fun!</p>
<p>Have fun planning!</p>
<p>If the budget was infinite - I’d go to one of the fancy restaurants I haven’t been to yet. I loved spending Sundays watching people play with model boats <a href=“http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/great-lawn/conservatory-water.htmlwhile[/url]”>http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/great-lawn/conservatory-water.htmlwhile</a> while doing the Sunday puzzle. April is a little early though! I’m not a big Broadway fan, like plays better than musicals, but there’s always something worth seeing at the museums. I especially like the smaller ones like the Frick that don’t tempt you to get exhausted by seeing too much.</p>
<p>What Mathmom said: Theater, Frick, Restaurants. (with window shopping in between)</p>
<p>Ditto on the Frick Museum. Make sure to see the Vermeer paintings–he only did 34 and the Frick has 3 Vermeers in its collection. They are spectacular.</p>
<p>My H is a foodie–so we’ve been to all of the Michelin 3-star restaurants in NYC. They were all great–but my favorite places are two of Mario Batali’s restaurants–Babbo and Del Posto. Both are wonderful.</p>
<p>The Bryant Park Grill is a lovely restaurant in a beautiful setting in Bryant Park just behind the library on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue.
I also recommend a trip to Brooklyn Bridge Park and Dumbo … and my favorite, a walk on the promenade in my old stomping ground, Brooklyn Heights.</p>
<p>For something in a different vein and perhaps not so celebratory, you can register online and go the 9/11 memorial. It is well done, the museum is not yet open however. The line moves fairly quickly and you can spend as much time as you like at the memorial itself. It is a short walk from there to the promenade at Battery Park City and you can easily get there on the subway or by hop-on, hop-off bus.</p>
<p>Ten years ago we had Hs family come to NYC for MILs 80the birthday and stayed in the Casablanca Hotel in Times Square. It was small and included a full breakfast, with great location. </p>
<p>We hoted a family dinner for 20 at Triomphe, a small restaurant just a few blocks east. </p>
<p>The 9/11 memorial is impactful. The emotions will depend if you know someone who’s name is there.</p>
<p>I would go to Balthazar and order a seafood tower. Like a birthday cake, except in raw bar form–a very grown up birthday cake.</p>
<p>We made the reservations for the San Carlos at the end of June for a September trip but they were running a special that was almost over so we wanted to take advantage of the special. I can post details about the hotel when I get back.</p>
<p>Some of the other things we are considering:
For Piano Bar / Show type places: Don’t Tell Mama, 54 Below
To Do: NY Botanical Garden, We would love to find an outdoor green market/flea market
Places to Eat: Pastis, Sarabeth’s Kitchen for breakfast , The Four Seasons Restaurant </p>
<p>I am going to check out Balthazar and Bryant Park Grill. I saw those suggestions on this forum - thanks to those posters!</p>
<p>A show - the ticket booth has an app you can download and keep track of shows that go on sale so you can monitor which ones aren’t selling out and have a couple choices when you go get in line. Most economical way to buy tickets. We loved War Horse - beautifully done.</p>
<p>I did this last year–long weekend for my (and my twin’s) 50th, spent with our other sister who was living in Brooklyn. We did the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tour (meaningful to us since our grandparents landed there),several museums, shopping, show, cheap restaurants etc. Unfortunately, our long weekend turned into a week after Sandy hit. Certainly an unforgettable birthday!</p>
<p>While absolutely delightful, the Botanical Garden is way up in the Bronx and is a day trip in itself. I would suggest the Union Square Greenmarket, where all the chefs shop. Very pricey veggies and fruit but fun. That’s on 14th Street, and walk over to Chelsea Market, 16th and 9th Ave.for more foodie stuff. And, OMG, don’t miss Eataly–23rd and Broadway–Mario and Lidia’s market. Out of town visitors would enjoy the Tenement Museum, down on Orchard Street, where " persons of the past" give you a glimpse into old NY, and follow up with lunch at Katz’s–I’ll have what she’s having. A show is an absolute MUST, but I would look online at playbill.com, or broadwaybox.com and get your tickets ahead of time. The TKTS booth is not half-price any more, and these two sites offer discounts. You don’t want to waste precious time standing and waiting when you could be walking and eating. Have a blast!</p>