If you're coming from out of town, here are our recommendations (all four-star hotels):
1) The Millennium Hilton near Wall Street. We've negotiated a group rate of about $209 a night. It's a very good price (we think) for a hotel that is in a very safe area, a short taxi ride or subway ride to the wedding. If you'd like to book a room, please call 888-273-0734 and refer to the Graeff/Olsen Wedding, or use the group code GOW to get the group rate. You must book before September 29 to get this rate.
2) The Westin Times Square. You can probably guess where that is. The group rate there is $299 a night - again, as long as you book before September 29. If you want to stay there, you can just visit the personal booking website below:
http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/graeffolsenwedding
3) The Thompson LES - a slightly fancier option. We do not have a group booking discount for this one. It's about $360 a night on Hotels.com right now. It's on the Lower East Side - which is where we live. I have no idea how to describe the Lower East Side if you've never been here (but if anyone else wants to describe it, feel free to employ the "comment" function below). It's not midtown. This hotel has a kind of fancy, trendy, expensive bar, and a outdoor terrace and stuff.
Finally, websites like Kayak.com and Hotels.com have NYC hotel rates that seem comparable to those that we can negotiate. (Maybe we're not great negotiators.) So if you want to book somewhere else on your own, here are some thoughts:
We recommend staying in Manhattan. You can find lower hotel rates near the airports, or in Long Island City or New Jersey, but you'll probably more than make up for the savings in transportation costs. So again, Manhattan is probably the way to go. In our searches, the hotels below $200 a night in Manhattan typically involve shared bathrooms, so make sure you check about that if you're not into it.
Staying Downtown: Since the wedding is in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, staying downtown (near the South Street Seaport, or the Financial District, or the Lower East Side) will be closest to the wedding site. If you stay downtown, it will be a short subway ride (3-4 stops) or a quick cab ride (15 minutes; less than $20).
Staying Uptown: If you choose to stay uptown (in Midtown or Times Square or the Upper West or Upper East Sides), it's not really that much farther. Just tack on a few more subway stops or about 10 more minutes and $15 more dollars to the cab fare.
And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to email us!
