V-Flyer

3 lounge invites available ,I'm flying on vs17 but will be there from mid afternoon

Lol, will miss ya in the CH by a day

Never mind ,you going to NY on the 24th ?

Yep, 24th - 29th. Purely a pleasure trip, staying with friends most likely so will not be in Manhattan much.

I sense a few drinks maybe on the cards then joey! Any thoughts on hotels in midtown ?

Lol, plenty..

Favorite is The London on W54th and 7th. Amazing and I happen to know one of the managers there which is quite handy, never had a bad stay y)

Second choice would be Le Parker Meridien on 56th and 6th- there is an awesome burger joint in the main lobby, always a queue but well worth the wait even if you are not staying there :w

Hilton around the corner on 6th is not too bad and they do some pretty good package offers, although with the amount of delis, bars and eateries in that part of town the B&B and exec floor offers are a bit of an overkill.

The Sheratons (both of them) are terrible places... don't go there

The Hyatt in grand central (not really midtown I know) would be a backup if all else fails, it does get really busy and touristy though.

Thanks joey,will have a look later,time to watch the mighty spurs

I stayed at the Dylan in January - close to Grand Central and the Public Library - not technically mid-towm but still very accessible.

The wi-fi sucked though (but 10% refund given after a little pressing) but apart from that enjoyed my stay there !

I actually got it via an expedia 'secret deal'

Blacky1 wrote: Any thoughts on hotels in midtown ?

Lots! It may be easiest if you tell us some places you are considering and then we can give some views?

BTW with the subway as good as it is in NYC there really is no need to HAVE to stay in midtown. I have stayed down in the financial / WTC district with no major impact or extra travel times yet saved $$$ on hotel costs.

Made a shortlist from the hotels on FC which are this,
Millennium hotel broadway
One un New York ,formally millennium un plaza hotel
New Yorker
Intercontinental Barclay
The manhattan at times sq
Intercontinental times sq

Good point tonty,embarrassed to admit it but have yet to travel on the subway,must do it this time

have stayed at the One UN (under its previous name) a couple of times - fab views as the rooms start on the 28th floor but it it about 5 blocks from the nearest subway station which is Grand Central. If you can get a good deal then it is worth it (but things like wi-fi are costly but you may not need that). It's the green glass building in the background when the BBC reports from the UN.

But the rooms in one tower are a lot better than the other but even the 'old' rooms were still very good (mind this was 2002 (new room) and 2006 (old room) so things may well have changed). The pool on the 27th floor is well worth a visit!

Hmmm an interesting list. Stayed at the intercontinental before and it didn't blow me away to be honest. Can't say any of those jump out at me.

There are more hotels available on VH btw, so don't go and limit yourself by what the rather limited FC page shows ya - guessing you are looking for max mile earning

To be honest there is a lot more on FC than VH which was only coming up with 24 hotels ,will have another look though,need to boost my miles again,only have 840 left! Lol

I do look at what VS is offering re hotels but I have only booked via them once and that was because after checking against the likes of Expedia and the hotels own website it was Virgin that had the best price.

Miles earning is not my only consideration (I still used my VS Amex) it includes cost and room options (better room for same price on expedia against virgin for example). I also factor in Quidco cashback.

You need a degree in advance maths these today to choose a hotel !

Odd, given the hotels on the VS website are powered by VH

Have seen more selection on VH, but usually a better deal to book directly with the hotel, of course using the amex 8D

tontybear wrote:You need a degree in advance maths these today to choose a hotel !

Ha ha ha, agreed )

you can book hotels through Shops Away, from Expedia, Hotels.com etc and earm miles per £ spent

Blacky1 wrote:Made a shortlist from the hotels on FC which are this,
Millennium hotel broadway
One un New York ,formally millennium un plaza hotel
New Yorker
Intercontinental Barclay
The manhattan at times sq
Intercontinental times sq

I've stayed at the Intercontinental Times Sq and thought it was good. I think it had been refurbished, so it was very tidy. Haven't stayed at any of the others of those, but know the UN and the New Yorker by reputation. If I were picking from that list I would put the Intercontinentals ahead of the rest by some distance.

I very much agree with tontybear about not just looking in Midtown. I am typing this right now in my hotel room overlooking the World Trade Center site, and in 15 minutes on the Lexington Ave subway I can be at Grand Central.

Thanks at 240 ,what hotel are you staying at?
Blacky