When the kids were younger, we often took them to the city for long weekends. We usually went in November, after our fall activities ended, and our weekends were a little more flexible.
It was so much fun being a tourist in our own backyard. Every time we went, we usually saw a show, ate at some trendy kids-friendly restaurant (like Max Brenner) and tried to do a big tourist attraction. Over the years we have “done” the Intrepid, Museum of Natural History, Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty. We always had a great time on those long weekends.
As for places to stay in the city on points, there are a lot of choices. We were very partial to Starwood over the years and have stayed at various Starwood Resorts. We have stayed at the Westin in Times Square (SPG Category 6), the Sheraton Times Square (SPG Category 5), and Le Parker Méridien New York (SPG Category 6). There are many other Starwood resorts in other areas of the city to choose from as well, but with the kids, we like being in the center of the touristy action!
The rooms always ran us between 10,000 and 16,000 points per night. We usually stayed for 2 nights. Conservatively, we can say that each room would have been about $300 per night, so we saved about $600 each weekend.
I am not sure if it is in the cards for us to go this year. (We are in Bar and Bat Mitzvah season.) But we will try. 🙂
