HI new york – ThePassportPrincess

HI New York City – Hostel Review

February 10, 2016February 18, 2016Sarah2 Comments

Stayed: September 2015, 7 Nights
Room: 4 Bedded Female Dorm
Overall Rating: 9/10 *Certificate of Excellence on TripAdvisor*

I’ll start off by saying that i absolutely LOVE New York.
It had always been at the very top of my list for places to see before I die and I’d move there in a heartbeat if the USA wasn’t so strict on who can live in America!
I loved seeing The Empire State Building and feeling like I was in a movie, I loved walking through Central Park and thinking of F.R.I.E.N.D.S when Phoebe went jogging (Even though it wasn’t actually filmed there) and I love how it’s just full of people doing everything from singing and dancing on the subway to doing yoga in the park without a care in the world.
I’ve only been to New York in the Summer time but I would absolutely love to go in the Winter and see Central Park covered in snow. Eeeek! It makes my insides all warm just thinking of it.
I was there for a week and there is still so much I want to see and do. I seriously think in my head about making it a yearly or second-yearly place to travel to…

Anyways, on to the accommodation side of things.
If you’ve ever looked for Hotels in New York City, the cheapest you’d find around August would be $75 – $150 a night for a room at a hotel near the airport. (which is a bit of a drive away from everything) I wanted to be as close to the center of things as possible.
I also wanted to stay somewhere safe and close to a Subway so I wasn’t walking the streets in the dark. (Even though that did end up happening but that’s another story)

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Hi New York City Hostel is on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and is surrounded by Central Park and Riverside Park. It’s also just a few minutes walk down the road to the subway where you can easily get to Times Square and Rockefeller Center, the High Line, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empire State Building and the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
I think I ended up going to Times Square every second day because it was so easy to get to on the Subway.

To get here, you can order a shuttle or take a taxi from JFK but I think they end up costing about $70 (Plus you have to pay for bridge tolls and a tip on top) and that’s no fun if you’re travelling by yourself.
You can take the train which I’ve heard is excellent and very fast.
Amtrak – Penn Station and then take the Subway to the hostel.
When I’d finished my Contiki tour at a hotel, I took the Subway and stopped off at the station nearest to my hostel.

When I arrived, the Hostel outside actually looked exactly like the pictures. It’s so big!
Can you believe they have 667 beds!
There’s lots of different rooms that you can choose to stay in from 12 Bedded Female Dorm rooms to Male 6 Bedded Dorm rooms. The prices range from USD$58 – $68 per night in the Summer Time (Probably cheaper in the Winter) and you may think that’s expensive for a Hostel, but believe me, try looking at the hotels in the Upper West Side. HELLLOO $300 a night for somewhere decent!
I think for my stay I ended up paying about $600-$700 for the week for a female dorm with 4 beds.
It really doesn’t feel cramped at the hostel either. When I arrived, I had to wait in line for awhile to check-in as everyone seemed to be doing it at the same time but there was never any problem with over-crowding or everyone getting in your way as you’d think would be the problem with nearly 700 people staying there.

[[Now a thing to remember is that this hostel is part of an organization called Hostelling International which is the federation of more than 70 National Youth Hostel Associations in more than 80 countries around the world. If you don’t have a membership you have to pay USD $3 per person per night otherwise you can become a member online here.
Being a member gives you at least a 10% saving on the cost of your accommodation and in some countries Membership is compulsory. Apart from giving you discounts on Accommodation, your membership also gives you access to thousands of travel-related savings at home and abroad. ]]

When I took the lift to my room, it was fine. It wasn’t anything overly amazing like most Hostels aren’t.
I had a bed with my own locker and provided my own key. All the doors are swipe-card activated and you also need your card to get into the main building so no randoms can come in.
The only thing which was annoying was putting my swipe card next to my phone every day and it’d get de-activated so I’d continuously be at the Reception getting it re-activated. (Something to do with you phone and the magnetic stuff in the card…)
What I loved about this hostel is the atmosphere. They really want people to get to know one another so they host twice-weekly Welcome Parties in the patio area (with either a $6 BBQ or Live Band) and then you can go and experience the nightlife with one of the hostel leaders and 50 of your new friends. They also do free beer some nights (However as I don’t drink beer I went across the road to the liquor store and bought some other alcohol – Which I think isn’t quite allowed but you maaaay be able to get away with)
If drinking isn’t really your thing, they have things like Salsa Tuesdays, Ice-Skating in Central Park (Seasonal), Magic and Comedy shows in the theater and day-tours which you can sign up for.

If you’re ever hungry too, they have a full cafe downstairs with so many yummy cupcakes and sandwich type goodies in the cabinet! As Breakfast was included in my room price I had a bagel basically every morning with SOOO much cream cheese. Yum!!

Pro’s

Free Wi-Fi everywhere
TV Room
Massive Kitchen downstairs (Not sure how great it is as I never used it)
Open 24 Hours
Has it’s own Cafe with so many yummy things!
Lockers Available
Accepts Groups Of People
Pool Table
Chill-out area where you can charge your phone
Out-door drinking/patio area
Central Park – 3 Blocks away
Self-service laundry facilities
Free linens, towels, and housekeeping service
Hair Driers in Bathroom
Vending Machines
Cycle Storage
Smoking Area (If you smoke obviously than it’s not an advantage)
Friendly Staff
Pub Crawls and Day Walking-Tours

Cons

Waiting for the showers in the morning
1 Slow Elevator so always having to take the stairs (Me just being lazy)
I sleep through everything, but it may get loud on some nights for some people
My card always being deactivated 😦

Overall my stay was fantastic!
I got so drunk on the first night that I can’t even remember my first and only yellow-taxi cab ride back to my hostel.
I went to the Top of the Rock and saw the Empire State Building.

I ate yummy nachos at T.G.I.F’s in Times Square.
I bought my first pair of Levi Jeans.
I went to what I think is the biggest Victoria Secrets Store and bought lots of yoga pants.
I went for a run through Central Park, people-watched and saw Squirrels!

I also made some great memories and met some really fun girls to go to the beach with and out to a roof top bar at night!

And finally I ate sooo much Ben & Jerry’s with this lovely human which made my last few days in America so much fun!

Day 41 – New York City (8)

September 22, 2015November 26, 2015SarahLeave a comment

My final day in my favorite place!
I have been waiting years to get to New York and now that I’ve been I don’t want to leave. 😥

However, from a tourist point of view. You can defintaly get alot done in 1 week.
I saw Central Park more than once, I experienced taking the Subway, I saw the lights in Times Square and spent my money in the stores. I travelled to the Top Of The Rock, ate at the Chelsea Markets, walked the High Line and lay in the sun on Coney Island. Not to mention had dinner out in Brooklyn and went past Jersey on my way to JFK airport. (Which by the way does look exactly like the Jersey shore from MTV)

It’s all been a wonderful 8 days but now it’s time for me to take my Iceland Air flight to London (with a quick stopover in Iceland on the way)

I woke up at a respectable time this morning. The girls in my dorm room always get up early and drippy phone girl makes the most noise! She slams her locker closed, rustles everything really loudly and talks to her mate in NOT a whisper.
It drives me insane.

I got up and washed my hair, did my make up etc… and packed my bag. It kind of ended up looking like this

So not quite closed…
I had breakfast with Alicia this morning at the hostel cafe (bagels again suprise suprise)
Then we walked to the post office together which was thankfully down the road.
After talking to the rude lady at the counter, I bought a box and put what I thought was 6 pounds (3kgs-ish) in from my backpack.
Alicia went to go weigh it and I could tell by her face it was defintaly over 3kgs. It was 6kgs!
I really don’t see how clothes can weigh that much 👿
I did have my old pair of nikes in there though and my small hairdrier and a pair of heels.

I ended up taking the heels and hair drier out and ended up getting a different box from a different lady which made it about $15 cheaper.
I didn’t get to send my magnets back home but currently on their way to NZ are pretty much a bunch of clothes that I really should have just thrown out. I think the postage was worth more than what was in the box now that I think about it.

I have a hard time parting with stuff unless I’m in a I-dont-care kind of mood.
At least I had room in my bag to zip it up! I think when I get to London I’m gonna throw out the travel hair drier I never ended up using. All the places I’ve stayed at have hair driers, plus the voltage is shit and it barely blows out any air. My ugly platform shoes can go as well (Even though they’re incredibly comfortable) they’re just so hideous. And they’re not looking so clean either…

At some point along the way I’ll buy a duffle bag and add it to my luggage but for now I’m not doing too bad…

After the post office experience, Alicia and I headed off to Sephora where I bought another bottle of fake tan. I’ve only just run out woohoo! That big bottle lasted me ages.

By 1pm I thought I better be on my way so me and Alicia said our final goodbyes 😥 and I hopped on the subway to Pennsylvania Station.

Alicia is defintaly one of my favouritest people I’ve met along my travels. We must get along because we’re both from Wellington haha. She’s moving to London though so hopefully we’ll catch up when I’m there!

It was a bit confusing once I got off the subway in Madison square Garden and finding the Pennsylvania Station but I got there eventually after asking like 3 different people.

I had to get off the Amtrak at Jamaica and then take the JFK airport train take terminal 7.
I was super early. I was so early in fact that the Iceland Air counter wasn’t even open 😯
I had like 3 hours to pass, which went by really quickly actually. I ate at subway and wrote a blog. Re-organised my suitcase on the airport floor and took a picture in the bathroom.

Haha!
By 5pm, I checked in and I asked the lady if I could choose my seat. She said no and when I looked at my ticket I saw I’m in seat 32c.
Not just the aisle seat, but the BACK of the plane as well. This is like my nightmare. Back of the plane = lots of turbulance. Aisle means I don’t get to see NYC lit up at night :'(:'( either.
I hate this so much.

And my flight from Iceland to london, I’m in the middle seat. I’m not loving Iceland air so far… Air New Zealand would never do this to me 😐

Also JFK has been a disappointment.
I couldn’t find a MAC store when I came through security into duty free. OR a Victoria secrets store. I asked one of the counter staff and they said all that kind of stuff is over at terminal 4!!!
I wouldn’t even be allowed in there because my flight doesn’t depart from there.
So I saved some American money and purposely didn’t spend any more at Mac so I could buy make up duty free. 😥
Instead I bought a Buttermilk chicken burger meal deal from McDonald’s and a reese’s mcflurball.
What a disappointment.

The mcflurry was good though.

It’s 7.30pm now and I don’t board till 8pm. I’m going to try and upload this blog but to be honest it probably won’t work until I get wi-fi in London. I get like no internet reception at JFK!!

I don’t have a UK SIM card either so will have to get onto a travel SIM or something when I land.

Lots of love,
Your little passport princess x

Day 39 – New York City (6)

September 21, 2015November 28, 2016SarahLeave a comment

This was one of my favourite days in New York so far!
After having another bit of a sleep in (I know I can’t help it! 😴😴) I finally dragged myself out of bed and headed off to Central Park.

On the way, I remembered to make a phone call to this lady in Washington DC who’s also a kiwi. She’s been a nanny in America for like the past 7 years and loves it. She actually helps girls through an au pair agency get jobs over here but she hasn’t done it in awhile. I inquired at this au pair agency online a few days ago and they contacted her about me. So yeahhh.
We had a chat about what I had to do to work here, what it all kind of involves etc… so she’s going to send me some info and then I’ll decide what to do when I eventually get home. It’s still just kind of an idea at the moment.

After I got off the phone, I walked towards central park and then came across a street of shops I’d never seen before! It had Sephora and Whole Foods and was only like a 5 minute walk away from the hostel. Why did I not know this! 😣
I immediately went to whole foods as it was lunch time by then and I was a bit hungry.
After being very indecisive and looking at all the food like 5 times, I decided I was too poor and not hungry enough so left without buying anything.

(Side note: as I write this, the girl above me in the bunk in my hostel – her phone is going off like every 30 seconds with THE most annoying noise. It’s like the sound of a tap dripping and it’s driving me insane. Not to mention every time she moves her bunk screeches like anything. I want to kick her.)

Carrying on…
After my Whole foods fail, I went across the road to this sports store and looked through all their Nike shoes. I was going to buy 2 pairs but ended up deciding on these ones. For $59

Finally I was on my way to Central Park. There were lots of people there as they were doing a big walk for people who have Down syndrome and their families. They had a big fair set up as well which was pretty cool.
I found a nice spot in the grass and had a bit of a lay down. I listened to my music and rested my eyes which was nice.
I think I’ve pulled a nerve (can you even do that? Maybe I mean pinched a nerve) in my leg from all this walking so I didn’t go for a big central park walk today.

I was messaging NZ Alicia while I was at the park and we decided to meet up at 5pm to go up the top of Rockfeller Centre. By this stage it was after 1pm so I went down the road and had some Subway for lunch and then TOOK the subway to Times Square haha.

I had found this hair extension place online so went in search of it. I have hair extensions and they were nearly at the stage of needing maintenance done (which means they lift them up higher to your scalp again) and luckily this place was able to do them!!
I’m so glad I found them as it’s difficult finding a place that does the same method as what’s currently in my hair. It was more expensive than what I pay back home but at least I got them done and won’t have to worry about them for the rest of my trip.

When I left, it was about 4.20pm and I didn’t realise how far away I was from the rockfeller. It was good I had my running gear on so I half walk/half ran to meet Alicia and Miriam at the Bottom of the rock as they had my ticket.
We had booked it for 5pm so I got there with 3 minutes to spare.
Me being all sweaty, took the lift to the 67th floor with them and it was defintaly worth the $30.

The Rockefeller Center is actually a combination of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City.
It was created by the Rockefeller family, in Midtown Manhattan between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue.
The part that we went up is called 30 Rockefeller centre. Also known as 30 Rock. It’s 70 stories high and is home to the Observation deck (Top of the rock)
It doesn’t take long to get to the top in the elevator. But when you do, the views are just incredible. I’d love to see it in the winter time.
I even said to one of the girls, my future husband needs to hire out this entire observation deck and propose to me on a beautiful evening. Hahaha (just incase my future husband is reading this, there’s a hint)
But please, be careful not to drop my Tiffany ring.

There were a few people up there but it wasn’t overly crowded. I think they only let a certain number up at once.
The only thing though was it was a bit windy so my hair was blowing all over the place which didn’t take for a great picture 😯 not to mention I was sweaty from my run and my hair needed a brush haha.

But I did get some great shots of Central Park itself. It’s crazy how big it is! And it’s right in the center of a city. Crazy.

There’s more pictures on my Facebook if you want to check it out.

I think we stayed up there for like 45 minutes, maybe more. Even though you’re only meant to spend 15.
I even put my earphones in and played Empire State Of Mind by jay – Z and Alicia Keys to really get into the zone. Haha.

When we got back to the streets, we decided to go out for dinner to this Indian restaurant that Miriam found on Google maps.
On the way there we took some pictures at the LOVE sign NYC has.

When we found the restaurant, we saw that they had a special for $17.99 where you got an entree each, a main curry, rice and a dessert which we thought was a great deal!
It was really yummy and the Mango Lassi’s were only $2.50 score! I love them

With our massively full bellies, we finished our meals and headed off to take the subway home.
Even though it was a Saturday night, I was so knackered I didn’t even open an alcoholic drink.
Instead it was time to charge my phone and write a blog.

It’s currently Sunday night as I write this and I really must go to sleep. I have to check it of here by 11am tomorrow as I’m off to London! Woohoo.