Chris_B Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 [ QUOTE ] A ready reckoner is to look at the bill and double the tax as NY has 7.5% tax so you can immediately see how much to tip efectively. [/ QUOTE ] 7.5%? A lot of Americans seem to work on 15% to 20% tips these days. It's getting crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Ahh... New York You're all right, of course I owe you some feedback... Thanks for the hounding Colin but Dave I bet it was you that kept us stacked and going round in circles on the way home Hmm where to start - how about this? American Airlines Yep, 34 inches of legroom in economy - couldn't really argue with that and at 6' 2" I have to say I was as comfortable as I was ever going to be in economy. Nothing wrong with the plane either - 777, a screen for every seat etc. My lasting memory of American though was just how damn functional both the plane and the staff were. Everything and everyone worked, but only as much as they had to. There was none of the romance of flying that you get with BA or Virgin, and I actually missed it. And we got a croissant instead of a fry-up on the way back into LHR. Unforgivable! Still, I slept most of the way there and back The Westin Times Square We were impressed with the hotel and very happy throughout our stay. The rooms were of excellent quality, just as you see in the pictures and the 'Heavenly Bed' they advertise was all that and more. Pillows, duvets and downs galore and just so bloody big and comfortable The 'Heavenly Bath' was a bit shallow but the 2 head shower was great. You get a big TV, all mod cons in the room and the hotel itself had everything you could need (except a pool). Its a huge hotel though, and very impersonal as a result. Not an issue for us, we liked being cocooned in the room when we were there. Whenever you needed them, the staff were very very good. No problems either. Its right in Times Square too so we couldn't really have asked for more. I'd recommend it to anyone. Room was just like this, except with one huge bed So all in all, flights and accomodation for two at £780 I thought was a bargain and it all lived up to the expectation The Weather Having seen how it was -15 about 10 days before we were due to fly I set about panic-shopping for a massive, thick arctic coat. As the days went by and the temperature picked up to 4 or 5C I finally decided I didn't need eskimo attire. So it was a bit of a shock touching down into a sea of snow at JFK. That was the first 'just like the movies' NY experience. That was proper amounts of snow. The way it turned out, it couldn't have been better. I fancied a bit of snow so the night we arrived there was snow piled up absolutely everywhere and it was still snowing slightly. Over the next 3+ days it slowly melted and the temperature slowly climbed each day. NY in Feb - I suppose we were lucky but the weather was fine. NYC - let's have it! Having never been before, I was excited. Stepping out of Terminal 8 at JFK ( hole, btw) (and having my first smoke in hours!) I got my first taste of NY. It happened to be a line of yellow cabs and the NYPD telling off someone for parking in front of the airport. Of course, in London, the airport police would walk up and ask you to move on - but in NY... ..the police are parked in your typical "Home Alone/A-Team van" and elect to drive 2 metres up alongside the offending vehicle before turning on about 10 sets of red and white lights, then they let off some godawful klaxon at him and if that wasn't enough they got on the loudspeaker and started screaming "YOU CANNOT PARK THERE! MOVE YOUR VEHICLE NOW!!! MOVE!!! NOW!!" It was great. I loved NY already. Once I'd stopped laughing, we jumped into a cab (Flat rate to Manhattan of $45 +tolls of $3 or 4 and plus bloody tips...) "Yo homey, Times Square if you would" New York is unique in being the best-known city in the world. I'd never been there, yet (obviously thanks to Hollywood) so many parts were so familiar. As a result, we just got stuck in from the off. But everything really is different to London. Yep, there it was, steam blowing out of the roads, every building stealing a piece of the sky, not a tree to be seen (except on Trump Towers) NYPD patrol cars and 'home alone' vans all over and you can't escape the sound of V8 wherever you go We walked a lot; I hate walking but I loved walking in NY. There's so much to see and take in I wouldn't have wanted to have driven. There's just so many contrasts crammed into Manhattan. Truly fascinating. I wondered whether it would have that gritty look in places like the films, and true to form, Manhattan is dotted with classic movie scenes Its funny as well because we laugh at the Americans for not having any history but walk through Manhattan and every building wants to tell you a story. Stare at one long enough and you start to see the men whose legacies are left behind in stone and steel. Some of the buildings, Grand Central Station especially, I found quite mesmerising. Ground Zero Overwhelming. Look at it one way and its just one big construction site. Look at it any other way and its too much to comprehend. I could have stood there with my thoughts all day. They say this cross was found like this... The Freedom Tower has already risen above the surrounding Ground Zero buildings. Even more powerful was this piece of flight #11 on display at the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum. I couldn't believe I was looking at a piece of one of the planes that started it all, not to mention that someone was probably sat at that window. Say what you will about Americans but I was again moved by what I saw. I'd always wanted to go to Intrepid - well, cos I like that sort of thing. Hard to believe I touched something which 40 years ago was about the most secret thing on earth: Sightswise, I suppose we did all the 'usual' stuff. Hard not to do anything other than scratch at the surface of what is such a mesmerising city, but we got our bearings and next time we'll dive straight in. mmmm...Food Here's the most ironic thing. I LOVE food. I can eat a fair deal but weirdly, we didn't have one proper evening meal. As much as I'd looked forward to going crazy and even eating that 48oz steak I talked about, it just didn't happen. I don't know if it was jet lag or all the walking but we were so tired in the evenings we were knackered and not even hungry. I suspect the breakfasts had something to do with it What a great place for breakfasts. The first day we just wanted a typical American breakfast so we walked south from Times Square til we found what we envisaged. Turned out to be the Lyric Diner in Gramercy, nothing fancy at all but we had a great honest breakfast there. Eggs Benedict for Liz, Pancakes, sausage and egg for me...$14. Fourteen! Peanuts for a great brekky Day 2 and the Rough Guide pointed me to The Market Diner (43rd and 11th in Hells Kitchen) which was even better and looked every bit the American Diner you'd imagine. Same again, a couple of (capu)'cinos' and $20. Bargain! On our last day we found the Brooklyn Diner off Broadway, up near Central Park. Go there! Its labelled "the finer diner" and the food is a fair few rungs above the normal diner food and so are the prices. A top breakfast for 2 at $45 - ok so it was twice the going rate but it was good. Very good. This is the "Mixed Marriage of Irving and Gina" that I had. mmm...mmm...mmmm! The amazing thing about all these breakfasts was just how light they were. Walk out of a cafe here carrying a fry up and you can barely move. The breakfasts we had were of a much higher quality and cooked with thought. I LOVE NY breakfasts! Tipping! I have to say, I tried to do my homework before we went but feck me the whole tipping thing really got on my nerves the whole way through. I found the whole culture of this overbearing need to tip people overwhelming to the point that it was hindering and worrying me most of the time. Do we tip? How much should we tip? When do we tip? Are we tipping enough? It wasn't the money (we actually found NY to be quite cheap) I think I just have issues with the whole thing. Firstly there's a certain colonial master/servant thing going on (especially at the hotel) which I dont' like. Secondly, I resent the fact that its expected everywhere so that paying for your goods once isn't enough. And then wait a minute - I don't get 15% for what I do, not even when I deliver £100ks of added value. If I did, I'd be getting cheques for tens of k's every other day. You don't expect Colin to pass round his hat after every successful landing do you? If you bankers could, you'd be retired in a month. Yet you get scowled at for not leaving someone a few dollars when you've paid for your drink/cab ride/room service/whatever handsomeley already. Anyway, ideological issues aside, I did my best... I think I might have offended a few people though! I gave the bellhop $3 for 3 bags he brought up for example(mistakenly thinking Colin had said tip them $1 per bag instead of $2. I think he was offended. Oh well. Cabbies got 15-20% and waitresses got 20 odd % for food. Thing is, none of them seemed that grateful and the bit that bothered me was I don't think I actually received much in the way of 'service' in return for my greenbacks. Perhaps the funniest tipping episode was when I ordered room service. Having already read "a $4.00 delivery charge and 18% gratuity will be added to your bill" I ordered and half-hoped that would be considered enough. Then I thought about it some more and realised I'd have to fork out EVEN MORE just to eat my bloody food. Cue me realising I didn't have anything smaller than a $20 bill and having to get dressed, go outside and buy some bloody chewing gum just to get some change. Fecking room service! Made me laugh when I saw the sign that said "for propmpt removal of this trolley, just dial 0". Yeah right, matey. I'm not paying AGAIN!! The trolley got left in the hall much to the chagrin of the cleaner who couldn't maneouvre her own cart round it in the morning but I'd beaten the system!! The bellhops had the last laugh when we checked out though. We left our bags in the hotel for a few hours on the last day and I gave the bellboy $2 for taking them and bringing a ticket to me. (These feckers are raking it in!). Called back to pick them up, out they came, he asked if I wanted a cab (cabs were always driving by the hotel, non-stop) for a flat rate so I said yes and gave him $5 thinking he'd be taking the bags too. Silly me, they pulled a fast one on me. He called his chum over to take the bags all of 4m out of the door and to the car so I ended up feeling like I had to tip him too. Feckers! Still, they got us a Lincoln Town Car instead of a Yellow. They're actually pretty crap and ride terribly I thought but I liked the whole 'limo' feeling nonetheless. Very NY! $55 flat rate, $10 tip, smile you ungrateful fecker! Sorry if this turned into a bit of a blog entry - you've probably all been before but for those that haven't - book it now! (well, you did ask for a review!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Thanks, a comprehensive review well worth the wait! Just look at tipping as a transparent cost, ie your buying the food at one price then paying for it to be brought to your table for the tip. I guess I have got so used to it, I just do it. Yes, I still tip $1 a bag in the US, but I guess when we check out of the hotel, there are almost 20 of us so the guy gets $20 for just wheeling the trolley to the bus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Just sitting here, editing my terrible 3am spelling when AHA - what's this? [ QUOTE ] Just look at tipping as a transparent cost, ie <font color="red"> your </font> buying the food at one price then paying for it to be brought to your table for the tip. [/ QUOTE ] We've all been waiting for that one Colin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 I can see it that way Colin. Its just the way its expected that gets me. In London, I enjoy my perceived right to choose whether I leave a tip or not. To me, it really reflects my satisfaction with the food and/or service and I enjoy leaving what I believe to be very generous tips on the occasions when I have been impressed. Its my little contribution towards keeping service in check for the rest of the world and for my next visit and of course, above all, its a gesture of thanks. In NY, crap service or good service, you're a "schmuck" if you don't leave enough of a tip... Case in point: The bar at JFK: we're wiling away the time and having a couple of beers. I go to the bar, "tip apprehension mode fully activated" and notice the American chap in front of my signing a bill for $18 and adding $1. There's my guide I thought. My bill comes to $14, the bargirl hands me my change and walks off so I leave a dollar on the bar. As it happened, we were sat facing the bar so I could see my dollar. A couple of minutes later and it was still there, 5 mins, still there. She even started serving around it and when the time came for Round 2, Liz went and left a dollar in the same way. So 15 mins later, there's 2 dollars sat at the bar and I'm getting increasingly furious. Someone else leaves a dollar and then a chap settles a larger bill and leaves a little pile of dollars. Bar girl has those away within a minute and it's eventually over 20 mins before she collects the other three dollar bills. Liz had to stop me from having a word. Excuse me but was this bar person too good for our tip? I found that offensive, I couldn't help it. Hell, I'd work behind the bar for a minimum wage plus 50p for every beer I pulled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 I'm allowed to slip the odd mistake in, especially at 3am. You don't normally go to the bar to get drinks in the US if there are waitresses working the tables. You don't say if that's the case though. In any event, I've experienced what you have often, and it seems that they don't collect up their tips until you've finished. OK for the other guy settling his bill, but if you were still drinking, they usually leave it on the counter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 I made hundreds in that review No one was waitressing us that I noticed, everyone was going up to the bar. We were buying and paying round-by-round. It struck me as odd, not to mention annoying! Bon nuit - work for some of us in the morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Good review, some usefull info in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bec21tt Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Whenever we've been in a bar in NY we've left a dollar per drink and after the third round of drinks you get the next round free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Are you sure you're talking about New York? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendo4165 Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Hey thanks for the review, I am travelling to NYC on Friday my first time too so you have certainly given me a good understanding of what to expect, sounds like my kinda city, looking forward to it big time, Wife booked it for my 40th birthday. (but I'm paying) bless her!! Thanks Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] A ready reckoner is to look at the bill and double the tax as NY has 7.5% tax so you can immediately see how much to tip efectively. [/ QUOTE ] 7.5%? A lot of Americans seem to work on 15% to 20% tips these days. It's getting crazy. [/ QUOTE ] Nice one Mollox great review, I've got the money for the flights, hotel, taxis, food. Now I'm starting to save up for the tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 look at the bill and double the tax as NY has 7.5% tax so you can immediately see how much to tip efectively. 7.5%? A lot of Americans seem to work on 15% to 20% tips these days. Chris. Back to school. I said look at bill and double the (7.5%) tax. 2 x 7.5 = 15% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Great review mate, reminds me of my trip in december. Dying to go back there but think i should visit a few other places first. And I too found ground zero a moving experience, and the window frame on intrepid was very strange when I look at them each day at work.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Top review fella - hope to be heading there sometime before Christmas this year if funds allow. Where was the pic of the SR-71 taken ? I'd love to see one again ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Intrepid Museum Bazza, its actually an A-12 - the precursor to the SR-71. Virtually the same plane though. That's tail #925 - the first production plane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Cheers - the Intrepid Museum is on my list for NY ! Good call with the A12 - didn't even realise it existed, appears to be the single seater plane that the two seater SR71 and YF-12 interceptor prototype were both developed from <<thumbsup smilie>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Intrepid is a must, however it is a long walk from most other parts of NYC you would visit and you walk through some areas that I wouldn't go to at night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted February 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Hmm, I'd say intrepid is 15 mins east (walking) from Times Square max. Also, if you walk along 43rd street you'll pass the Market Diner on the way (and should definitely stop in). True, you're walking through Hell's Kitchen (Clinton) but its not as bad anymore I don't think. Note - I didn't say go there at night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Yeah know you did't mate, it was more of a warning for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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