In spring, New York City beckons with bargains

By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Staff, 5/04/2003


		All Along Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

"My City of Ruins"

New York City tourism continues to rebound, with the number of domestic visitors -- about 30 million last year -- sometimes even surpassing pre-Sept. 11 figures, according to NYC & Co., the city's tourism bureau. But hotel occupancy remains lower, so it's still a buyer's market, and the city is wooing visitors with price cuts, discount packages, excellent attractions, and, perhaps just as important, the kind of style and sass you find nowhere else. Here are some spring and summer possibilities:

From June 1 through Sept. 5, a Summer Breaks promotion offers one-, two-, or four-night hotel packages that include a Broadway show, dinner at a popular restaurant, and sightseeing. The packages start at $126 in June and $116 from July through Sept. 5. Rates are based on double occupancy.

In addition, a free Summer Breaks savings card provides discounts for American Express cardholders at more than 300 hotels, restaurants, retail stores, museums, attractions, tours, and Broadway shows.

For a free Summer Breaks guide detailing the deals, visit www.nycvisit.com (the city's official website), call 800-NYC-GUIDE, or stop by either the Official Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Ave. at 53rd Street or the City Hall Park Visitor Information Kiosk at the southern tip of City Hall Park. While you're at it, get a free copy of the Official Visitor Guide.

This year, Summer Restaurant Week is actually two weeks -- June 23-27 and June 30-July 4. More than 170 restaurants will offer prix-fixe, three-course lunch menus for $20.03 and/or three-course, prix-fixe dinners for $30.03 -- a fraction of the usual cost. More information is available at www.nycvisit.com or at the visitor centers.

Bateaux New York's Celestial is celebrating "Spring and Summer Abroad" on lunch and dinner sightseeing cruises on the Hudson River. The goal is to emulate cruising on a European river yacht without crossing the Atlantic.

In coming months, the European-styled, glass-enclosed Celestial will spotlight Italy, Spain, and other countries through its wine, cuisine, and entertainment as the ship sails past icons such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Ellis Island.

Lunch cruises are $45.62 per person. Dinner cruises begin at $102. The Celestial departs from Pier 61, Chelsea Piers, West 23d Street in Manhattan. Bateaux New York is operated by Spirit cruises, which has dining ships in seven US cities, including Boston.

Call 866-211-3806 or visit www.bateauxnewyork.com.

"Gangs of New York" may not have won the Best Picture Oscar (or any others), but it has stirred interest in the seamy side of New York City's past. A three-hour guided walking tour devoted to that hoodlum history departs the 46th Street lobby of the Hotel Edison at 1 p.m. each Saturday. Visitors take the subway to Lower Manhattan to stand at the intersection known as Five Points, where much of "Gangs" was set, and also visit Elizabeth Street where the film's director, Martin Scorsese, grew up. The tour then moves on to Chinatown, where visitors walk along the Mulberry Bend and Doyers Street where the Chinese tongs warred. Little Italy, where several scenes from "The Godfather" were filmed, provides the setting for the final segment. The cost is $15 per adult ($7.50 for children ages 2-12). Subway fare ($1.50 per person each way or $4 for an unlimited daily pass) and tour guide tip are extra.

Visit www.nycvp.com and click on Walking Tours or call 866-474-3247.

The Park South Hotel has a weekend package aimed at sending you soaring. "Bird's-Eye View of Manhattan" includes two tickets for a helicopter tour of the city, two nights in a newly redone room, a continental breakfast each morning, amenities that include unlimited high-speed Internet and dinner credit for two at the new Black Duck restaurant. Rates start at $399 plus tax, double occupancy. If you would rather keep your feet on the ground, the Park South, a boutique hotel in Manhattan's Rose Hill neighborhood, has a variety of other packages starting at $299.

Call 800-315-4642.

"Insight Guide: Shopping in New York" by Amy Richards (Langenscheidt Publishing, $9.95) lists not only the major big-name stores such as Macy's and Bloomingdales, but also lesser-known establishments, known mostly to New Yorkers. In addition, the book covers special interests, including bridal resources, jewelry, and music.

For $1,499 plus tax, you or your loved one can be a goddess -- for a couple of days anyway. The Goddess for a Weekend package includes a two-night stay for two in a suite at the Carlyle; champagne upon arrival; dinner at the new Dumonet at The Carlyle; admission to "Goddess," the Metropolitan Museum of Art's show at the Costume Institute; a private appointment at Gucci with a personal shopper; a $500 gift certificate at Judith Leiber; and an afternoon of pampering at the Frederic Fekkai beauty and hairstyling salon.

The package is available any two nights between Tuesday and Sunday until Aug. 3.

Call 888-ROSEWOOD or visit www.rosewoodhotels.com.

Half off

Intercontinental has launched a promotion called "The Whole World Half Off" with a reminder that you don't have to leave North America to save with this worldwide hotel chain. Prices begin at $97 for Puerto Vallarta. Among other destinations: Cancun from $105, New Orleans from $129, Miami from $169, New York from $199, Montreal from $225, and Mexico's Mayan Riviera from $273.

Visit www.intercontinental.com/halfoff

or call 800-327-0200.

JFK package

A new exhibit titled "The Wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier to John F. Kennedy," marking the 50th anniversary of the Sept. 12, 1953, nuptials, opens May 15 at Boston's Kennedy Library. In conjunction, Le Méridien Boston is offering a package that includes overnight accommodations, two passes to the exhibit, a continental buffet breakfast for two, and complimentary self-parking. The package is available May 15-Oct. 31, and prices are $189-$279. Le Méridien also has a variety of other specials for spring and summer.

Call 800-791-7761 or visit www.lemeridienboston.com.

Web world

A new website, www.coolcapi

tals.com, concentrates on what's hip and happening in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Vienna, and features deals and specials to those cities. Sample packages, including a six-night hotel stay and round-trip air fare from Boston: Amsterdam, starting at $849; Berlin, $789; Vienna, $729. (The fine print: Airport taxes add $99 per person to the prices.)

Many of the packages are offered in conjunction with coolcapi

tals' partner, go-today.com, and you may be switched to that website when clicking on links to the specials.

$69 Nassau rate

The Quality Inn in Nassau, across the street from Junkanoo Beach, has rates starting at $69, single or double occupancy, through Sept. 21. You may not get the ambience of the high-priced resorts but you do get a pool and all the essentials. The hotel is within walking distance of Bay Street and its famous Straw Market.

Call 800-4CHOICE or visit www.choicehotels.com and ask for hotel BS008.

Pampering Mom

The Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster has a Pamper Package for Mother's Day that includes a $100 gift certificate for her choice of services at the Grettacole Spa, with three locations in Greater Boston. Mother and companion also get one night in a hotel guest room or one-bedroom villa, dinner for two in the Ocean Grille or Linx Tavern, and breakfast for two. The package, at $259, is available May 8-12.

(The fine print: Tax, service charge, and administrative fees are additional. Some restrictions apply.) Call 800-343-6074 or visit www.oceanedge.com.

Day trips from London

BritRail is best known for its passes that are good for extended travel through England, Scotland, and Wales. But it also offers BritRail Days Out day trips to the countryside and top attractions near London. Examples: Leeds Castle, starting at $49; Stonehenge and Salisbury, $65; the Potteries Antique Center, $85. A flexible rail pass, meanwhile, lets visitors travel on nonconsecutive days to destinations such as Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury, or Brighton. Prices start at $59 for two days of travel within an eight-day period. Options for longer periods of time are also available.

(The fine print: BritRail products must be purchased before leaving North America.)

Call 877-677-1066 or visit www.britrail.net.

Hop on the bus

A tried and true means of travel for many people is an escorted tour in an air-conditioned motorcoach. Moment's Notice offers 14 East Coast tours for four to 16 nights from $345, departing from Boston and bearing such self-explanatory titles as Blues & Jazz, Dixie Magic, Florida Adventure, and Southern Charm.

Call 888-241-3366 or visit www.momentsnoticetravel.com.