Everything You Need to Know about New York City

Best Things Nearby:
Delis across the street, walking distance to Broadway and Central Park, restaurants and places to shop and sightseeing all around!

Best Things About the Resort:
You couldn't ask for a more convenient location. Units are much larger than a NY hotel room and clean.

Resort Experience:
We exchanged into an Executive Suite (Studio) 4/2. I called the MC the day before to request a room upgrade. I was told that special requests were blocked the night before. Upgrades were given on the morning of arrival if available. They did not have availability for an upgrade, but blocked a room with a view of 7th Avenue and a handicapped room (2204).

The building is U-shaped with the Park Central Hotel sharing one side. The MC units seem to be on the bottom of the U (and maybe one side as well, I‚m not sure). I could see from my window that some units have a brick wall in front of their windows, some face the other side of the hotel and others face the street. I would suggest that those who have claustrophobia not get one of the L-shaped studios. While the bedroom is more separate from the living room than the standard studios, the bedroom is very small, very dark, and has no TV. It was also very stuffy. This was the worst part of the stay. I would have preferred the smaller studio with more light.

Everything after that was wonderful. The unit itself was well maintained and had enough amenities for the little that we stayed in. The bathroom was very nice. There was maid service each day. There was an in-room hair dryer and bathrobes, and daily shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, popcorn, and coffee (though not enough sugar and creamer if you both use it).

We would get up each morning and get breakfast and bring it back to the room. Across the street on 7th is Fluffy’s Bakery, which sells very reasonably priced egg sandwiches and yummy muffins. Up the block on 7th was a Bean and Bagel, which had great bagels and spreads.

Parking is by valet. Just leave your key with the bellman and they pick it up. The cost is $30 for each 24 hours or part thereof. It’s very convenient, although expensive. You can also park two blocks down on 56th for $20 a day and walk to the Club.

I recommend stopping in a Visitor's Bureau and getting discount books. We were able to get 40% off Beauty and the Beast tickets. Also, handicapped seats are a third of the price for the handicapped person and a guest. The show was wonderful and is highly recommended for all ages (we were from ages 3 to 67!). I bought the tickets on the day of the show (Sunday matinee) two hours before at the theater box office with the discount code. We watched the St. Patrick's Day parade. The bands were great. It isn't as much fun as the Thanksgiving Day parade, but still nice.

I love the MC -- the location is perfect and there is always something to do in NYC. I can't wait to go back!

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Not Available
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

I heard that Ruth’s Chris had the best steak in New York. I heard wrong. The atmosphere was nice but nothing exceptional. The service was attentive, but the food... yuck! The steak was ordered well-done and came out rare. It was sent back twice and both times came back red inside and charcoaled on the outside (swimming in butter to make it sizzle). It was no better than the steak I buy at the supermarket.

We ordered the broccoli side dish for $7.50. It came out as a half a head, partially steamed and cold (no sauce or taste). We ordered the house specialty potatoes au gratin for $7.50—these were canned potato cubes covered with cheddar cheese (again, totally tasteless). I took a spoonful and all this water came out. The meat was served on a hot plate with not even a sprig of parsley. After sending back the steak twice, the already awful vegetable side dishes were ice-cold. I tried asking for the steak to be wrapped (figuring I would try to butterfly the meat and cook it properly at home). They returned it stuffed into a piece of tinfoil and thrown into a foil bag (for a $40 steak!). I threw it out at home.

The bill for three people came to over $150 with no cocktails, no appetizers, no salads, and no dessert.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Children Of All Ages, prepare yourself for mesmerizing stunts, laugh-out-loud humor and a spectacle of animals and entertainers in the all-new 134th Edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey!

SHOW:
The 134th edition of the circus features some old favorites as well as some new. The "Prince of Laughter," David Larible, brings audience members into his unsuspecting magic and comedy performance as his act returns this year (replacing Bo and Bello’s routine). The spine-tingling lion tamer, Jason Peters, replaces the tiger show. The lions seem less energetic, but it’s still spooky to watch a man put his head in the mouth of one of these giant beasts. You won't believe your eyes when you witness Crazy Wilson on the Wheel of Wonder and in the motorcycle globe. My heart was in my throat as he jumped high into the air with a simple foam mat beneath. The choreography of the motorcycles is beyond comprehension.

The theme this year is "upside down." While most of the show seems similar to what is done each year, the inclusion of a clown act performed completely upside down is something I haven’t seen before.

TICKETS:
The tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster. If you sign up with them, you can receive special notification for presale tickets at a discount. Also, if you have an Entertainment book, you can get one ticket free with purchase of an adult ticket. Lastly, the Ringling website has specials including a free ticket for a newborn.

Prices range from VIP seats (which didn’t seem like a big deal to me) at $150.00 to lower level $23.50 - $45.50 to upper level $9.50 - $17.50. I suggest going for the $23.50 seats that put you in the lower rows yet don’t cost an arm and a leg.

SOUVENIRS:
This is where they get you. The usual circus trinkets are on sale: pennants, light-up spinners for $14 (big hit), dolls, T-shirts, stuffed animals, cannon shooter, motorcycle, etc. Spending $50 is easy.

FOOD:
Eat before you go. It’s expensive! Must haves while there: popcorn and cotton candy ($8-$10 with a paper circus hat). The snow cones look really cool but taste kind of awful. Bring in your own candy or fruit.

PRESHOW:
They advertise that you can come an hour before the show for the big pre-show event. It is really not much of a big deal and the audience is packed into the rings. We watched from our seats but didn’t see much going on anyway.

The Ringling Brothers circus is one show I never miss each year. It is well worth the price of admission and truly entertains children (and adults) of all ages!

The Toys R Us in Times Square is a must-see when visiting the Big Apple. The 110,000-square-foot, multilevel flagship store is fun for all ages. The store boasts a working 60-foot Ferris wheel with themed cars to make everyone happy: Toy Story, Barbie, Lego, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Pony and so on. There is also a two-story Barbie doll house and a 5-ton, 20-foot-high, 34-foot-long animatronic T-Rex dinosaur. Don't miss the Candyland candy store on the third level.

The bottom floor is electronics (gamers) and race cars (Matchbox). You enter on the second level, where they will take your photo for purchase later. Ensure that there is a background behind you (otherwise it looks like nothing). You stop by the computer on your way out to see the photo. You can also stop by and get your photo with Geoffrey, the Toy R US giraffe.

There weren’t any good sales that I could find, but just getting a little something made the kids happy.

Another bonus to stopping into the store is the clean restrooms (in Times Square!).