Oh, man, NYC would be awesome.

I'll also pimp for Philly. But I can't be the point person for anything, due to a deadline and possible moving.

I'd love NYC, but I've never stayed in a hotel there for less than $200/night that wasn't a nasty place. I think if folks could afford to do it then hotels like The Muse and The Library are actually amazing deals, but they are all north of $200/night.

Yeah, I tried looking into hotel costs in NYC a little while ago, and even pretty basic hotels way out in Brooklyn were more than we usually spend.

but I've never stayed in a hotel there for less than $200/night that wasn't a nasty place

Were you getting group rates, though?

I do remember the last time I looked into pimping NYC, I didn't get very good responses from hotels. But we weren't in a recession then, so it may be worth looking again.

One thing that came up in a conversation this weekend (can't remember who I was talking to) is that many locales with cheaper hotels are also that much more expensive/difficult to fly into. Between three major airports, you can get to NYC from *anywhere*.

It's not so much the temp of DC and environs in July, it's the humidity. I could deal though, if that's where y'all ended up. It's not like we usually plan for miles-long day hikes or anything.

I think NYC is definitely doable, if we tried. Might not be the fanciest rooms ever, but that's not the point anyway. I just found a bunch that might be workable, and I have no idea what a group rate might get us.

And also, we'd get to see Jessica AND Scrappadoodle.

A quick Kayak.com search of hotel July 8-11 shows lots of availability of 4 star hotels (boutiques, mostly) in the $130 range.

Not an impossible "if" though. And the money saved in transportation might make a 175-185 room worth it.

For example, the Hotel Pennsylvania is a biggie for the Improv Festivals. It's a great location, the rooms my friends had were large and it was easy to hang out with one another. Basic rooms (without any group rate discussion) starting at $174. [link] They have a "best deal in new manhattan" for $79. [link]

It has a hit-or-miss reputation, but if we were working with someone there on a group rate we'd obviously be in closer communication than just booking one room for a night or two.

The New Yorker Hotel (where Tesla died!) is basically the same location. They have a much more consistently good reputation. They run upwards of 200 a night but I'm seeing this [link] special for $109 a night. Expedia is currently giving as low as $149 a night - which has me thinking there is room to work with them.

Not necessarily impossible to do one in NYC. There are deals to be found.

Hotel Pennsylvania

Plus, their phone number is still PEnnsylvania 6-5000, probably the phone number in NYC that's been assigned to the same place for the longest.