eating and drinking ourselves silly in and around Times...

Where do you recommend staying, preferably with a great view, in Times Square during Thanksgivings weekend with a budget of $150-250 a night? No wives, no kids we%26#39;re just a bunch of guys in our mid 30%26#39;s who got weekend hall passes, and we plan on eating and drinking ourselves silly. What drinking and dining establishments should we visit? We also plan on seeing a 2pm Spamalot one day. Where do you suggest getting tickets? Thank you.

eating and drinking ourselves silly in and around Times...

Hate to burst your bubble but you may be out of luck. This is one of the busiest weekends in NYC all year, most, if not all hotels are booked,and those available will be expensive.

As far as Spamalot, forget it, sold out, unless you can score some tickets on Ebay.

Maybe you would have some luck on PRiceline or some other online service. Do a search on this forum for hotels, maybe you can get some tips.

Good luck!

eating and drinking ourselves silly in and around Times...

In all seriousness I would advise against staying in the Times Square area if possible unless you get a great deal, but absolutely avoid like the plague any drinking %26amp; dining there, unless eating at Applebees or red Lobster with folks from Indiana is your idea of a great way to spend your weekend. It%26#39;s all awful %26amp; overpriced for the tourists.

Yes--I have to agree...Times Square is not a place to party...

Try the East Village or some downtown neighborhoods.....

regards...........

Thank you for the responses. We%26#39;re actually coming to NYC to see the Meters (one of the best bands ever out of New Orleans and a 5 star show) at the Nokia Theatre Friday evening, so I%26#39;m open to any ideas you all may have. We%26#39;re all either residents or former residents of New Orleans, so we all enjoy good music, good food and multiple cocktails. We may eat at Keens Steakhouse one night and maybe go to a comedy club, but we%26#39;re mostly goint to wing it (at least during the day). Any further thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated.

Ah...The Meters. My recollection of that weekend is that it is usually the first really cold weather of the season ( cause you can go to Central park West on Wed night %26amp; watch them inflate the parade balloons %26amp; all my memories of that are being real cold) so bring some warm duds.

Most of the clubs you probably want will be below 14 St either in The Village or E. Village. The younger, hipper more cutting edge bands %26amp; scene will be in the Lower East Side or Williamsburg. Check out the free weeklies like the Village Voice or NY Press for listings. I like the 55 Bar on Christopher St for Jazz, no cover there too. Interesting area to walk around too.

You can search on Chowhound or eGullet to get good ideas for food. Katz Deli on Delancy (LES) could be the rough NYC equivalent of Mothers. Lots of clubs %26amp; bars all around there too.

Jmac The first thing you need to do is put a roof over your head. I noticed www.hotel.com has the Roger Smith for $299 per night and the Radisson Lexington for just over $312 for your dates.

You%26#39;ve chosen a v.expensive weekend in a city with not much availability anymore.

I%26#39;d go hunting and get that accommodation booked then work out where you are going and what you are doing.

The one reasonably hip place to drink in Times Square is The Whiskey Bar at the W Hotel on 47th Street and Broadway.

For the view, you might have a quick one at the bar at the top of the Marriottt Marquis, but it%26#39;s a hideous hotel, and as non-hip as they come.

For trendy eating and bar crawling (and a lively scene), go to the meatpacking district (Island Spice is probably the best restaurant there, but make reservaations ASAP).

The Maritime Hotel Hotel on 9th Avenue and 16th Street (which is Chelsea, just north of Meatpacking) has a raucous bar and club scene -- Hiro is an underground dance club with a Japanese theme, and Cabana at the Maritime is filled with hip (and wannabe hip) 20 and 30-somethings

(The hotel also has a terrific sushi restaurant, Matsuri.)

As someone suggested, try to get ahold of the Village Voice (or at least look at its website) and Time Out New York for further suggestions.

The Maritime Hotel/Hiro is great! Chelsea is a good place for clubs. Also, the East Village is good for bars of all sorts.

Check out The L Magazine, too. It is a free mag found in orange street-corner boxes.

www.thelmagazine.com

I wouldn%26#39;t stay in times square. I%26#39;m in my 30%26#39;s and have done the nyc thing away from the wives with my friends a few times. but you really don%26#39;t need to stay in times square. You will definately want to visit the area for an hour. the rest of your time should be spent elsewhere. with a bunch of guys, you can grab a cab to anywhere. the previous post mentioned some great places to go.

East Village

Upper East side

Chelsea

St.Marks/Astor Place area.

and don%26#39;t forget 3rd ave between 32nd and 38th street.

I feel like room availability is going to dictate where you stay. You鈥檙e coming at THE most popular time of year. If you can find rooms in any of the areas that have been suggested that would be ideal (Time Square really isn鈥檛 very cool). But I think your best bet is to book the best rated hotel you can find in your price range 鈥?it鈥檚 going to be easier for you if you don鈥檛 let location be a huge factor. Our subways are very safe and you鈥檒l have and easy time getting around at night.

When you get to town make sure to buy a copy of 鈥楾ime Out NYC.鈥?It鈥檚 a glossy magazine you can get at any newsstand 鈥?it has a really comprehensive list of bands playing at various bars. That鈥檚 going to give you a very good idea of what鈥檚 cool and what鈥檚 going on.