1st visit - hotels, apt, etc

We need some advice, please. We thought we were going to use VRBO to book our accomodations while in NYC for 7 days in September but after reading posts here I%26#39;m really afraid to do it. Am I crazy? Should I use the service or just forget about it and book a hotel? I%26#39;ve looked at so many hotel websites I%26#39;m getting crazy. I have pages of notes. I%26#39;ve made phone calls and I%26#39;ve sent emails.

I%26#39;m really beginning to panic.

We%26#39;re considering the Ipanema for the price and the location seems good.

We%26#39;d like Radio City Apts but they are booked most of the trip, we could get in for 4 days....would it be worth it to take those days and book another hotel for the remainder of the trip?

We%26#39;d like a room with 2 beds, can be singles, a fridge and a private bathroom.

What about Astor on the Park?

I sent emails to ancostudios....a townhouse with rooms, anyone have additional info?

I looked at Club Quarters but it appears you must be a member, am I correct?

Please offer any suggestions.

We will be doing all the tourist sights and I%26#39;ve read many, many posts here plus the stickies.

Thanks so very much for hopefully getting me past this panic!

1st visit - hotels, apt, etc

I don%26#39;t have any recommendations about specific ones, but I will say this: book a hotel. Save yourself the anxiety and give up the apartment idea.

Hopefully NYWhiz will chime in about hotels for your situation.

1st visit - hotels, apt, etc

Definitely book a hotel. You do not have to be a member to stay at Club Quarters; I stayed there a few years ago. Nothing special, but clean and well located. There was just one bed and no fridge in the room I had, and the bathroom was miniscule! I like rooms with a fridge, too, and just got back last night from a stay at the Belvedere. The renovated rooms are very nice, and they have a fridge and microwave. Check out the Affinia group also. Watch quikbook.com and hotels.com. Sometimes you can find really good deals the closer it gets to your trip. Book something cancellable now and keep looking.

';I sent emails to ancostudios....a townhouse with rooms, anyone have additional info?';

Yes- that%26#39;s an illegal hotel/apartment. Stick with a hotel.

How many people are in your party? What are your dates? What are you willing to spend?

There are so many hotel choices, it really is overwhelming. I%26#39;ve visited twice in the past year, and each time we%26#39;ve stayed in two hotels. It wasn%26#39;t a big deal to us to move mid-trip, and I liked being able to see the differences. Our first trip we stayed at Radio City apts for 3 nights. It was roomy, and a good location for sightseeing. My advice would be if you even think you might want to stay there for part of your trip, book it now! You can always cancel at no charge if you book off their website. And check back often. A lot of times rooms will be released later that weren%26#39;t available at the time you booked. Also, check hotelconxions.com. Sometimes they have the Radio City apts available, but I believe you have to prepay on that website, and they do charge a fee to cancel. For our trip in October, we booked Best Western Hospitality House through apartments2book. Even though the website sounds like it%26#39;s apartments, it is suite type hotels. You also pay a nonrefundable deposit on this site, it varies with the hotel, but the prices are less expensive for most, and they may have availability where the hotel website does not.

Thanks to those that have replied.

Are you saying that VRBO is an illegial site or Ancostudios is illegial?

Sept 14-20,08 are our dates, but we are flexible as long as we are in town on the 16th, we have tickets at Yankee Stadium for a baseball game.

We%26#39;d like to pay $200 per night. Probably wishful thinking.

What about staying in Long Island, is that workable as far as subway, safety, ease of getting back and forth into the city?

I%26#39;ve looked at apartments2rent and emailed them.

Thanks. Please continue to offer suggestions, we appreciate the help!

I meant that Ancostudios runs an illegal operation. VRBO also rents out many illegal or non-existent apartments, but that%26#39;s because anyone who wants to can list an apartment (real/fake/illegal/whatever) on that site.

When you say Long Island- do you mean Long Island City? They%26#39;re two different things, and the subway does not run to Long Island. LIC would be okay for tourists, but Long Island is a trek.

Again, it can%26#39;t be said enough how much you should avoid renting an apartment. Terrible, awful, horrible idea. Check the FAQs for the reasons behind that.

Thank you so much, we will not be renting an apt.!!

I%26#39;ll look at staying in LIC and be certain we can catch the subway at any time and that it will be a short distance for evening travel.

I looked at the Best Western City View Inn in LIC, any suggestion on that hotel? They offer a free shuttle to the subway and to the airport.

There is also a Quality Inn in LIC but I don%26#39;t know about shuttles or if the subway is located close, etc. I%26#39;ll check.

If anyone has anything to share on either of these hotels or a suggestion of another place please offer them.

Again, thanks and please continue offering suggestions - about everything, from hotels to sights to restaurants. We appreciate it and I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll be asking many more questions as we go along planning this trip.