1. Hotel: When planning our upcoming trip, I started by pricing out hotels. Since we wanted to go at the beginning of 2017, I specifically looked at January and February. We needed to visit on a Friday and return on a Saturday. It turned out, there was one particular weekend that was cheaper than the rest. However, it was still a little pricey.
So I went on Priceline and Hotwire to check things out. In the end, I decided to roll the dice with a "name your own price" deal on Priceline. When you name your own price, you don't find out which hotel you get until after you've paid. I've had luck with this in the past, so I picked my neighborhood and number of stars (4), named my price and hoped for the best.
I was happy to see Omni Berkshire Place accepted my offer. The total cost--$156.87. Booked direct with the hotel, the best rate is $219.34 for a King, Deluxe room. So I got a great hotel at a great price. I booked the hotel three months in advance.
2. Show tickets: I have to admit, when I booked the hotel, I didn't realize we'd be there during Broadway Week. I didn't even know there was such a thing! I found out in a Travelzoo email just a few weeks ago!
Broadway week in New York city this year is January 23rd-February 5th. There is usually another one during the year as well. Basically, you get 2-for-1 tickets! Since I found out so late in the game, some of the top shows were already sold out. We decided on Chicago and got two tickets in row B for $166 total. How great is that?!
We were originally going to stand in the TKTS line in Times Square for discounted tickets but now we don't have to. Instead, we can be out doing other things!
3. Dinner: My planning gets even better. In addition to it being Broadway Week during our stay, it is also Restaurant Week in NYC! It runs from January 23rd-February 10th. This is a great event in which more than 300 restaurants offer a three course prix-fixe meal for lunch and/or dinner every day but Saturday. According to nycgo.com, the Restaurant Week prices are 30-50% off the regular menu. Three course dinner is $42 per person. Lunch runs $29.
If you go to nycgo.com, you'll find the participating restaurants and their menus. So you can see ahead of time, what each restaurant is offering and make your decision from there. We made reservations at Empire Steakhouse on 50th Street. Unlike some of the other restaurants, this one offers eleven main courses to choose from instead of three,
4. Transportation: My husband doesn't want to bother with the hassle of driving into the city so we take the train--relaxing and stress free! We snagged round trip super saver tickets on Amtrak for $88 a person. I subscribe to their emails and that's how I found out about this promotion. The value tickets run $118 round trip per person, so we saved $60.
This trip is right around the corner and my suitcase is excited! I'll be sure to report back and let you know if I ran into any other deals along the way. Happy travels!
