Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with accomodation

Where should I stay in Manhattan?

RachelSmith — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:53:31 -0800

I'm visiting New York for an interview at 5th and 46th in 10 days. Where should I stay? I'm a grad student on a budget, and the suit that I'll be wearing to the interview isn't exactly built for cold weather, so I was thinking about trying to find a place to stay near the interview site. The number of neighborhoods on hotwire/priceline/craigslist is a little overwhelming- can anyone suggest an area?

I've never really been to New York and will have two days to explore (1/5-1/8). I'm a firefighter/Environmental scientist and love walking, interesting food, and culture- all of which I've heard New York has in abundence.

Related question: I'll be arriving on a redeye at 6 a.m. at JFK, my interview is at 5th and 46th at 10. Does JFK have showers? Initial research would indicate not. Any other suggestions on how to get cleaned up in the time I have between my arrival and my interview?

Thanks!

How to prioritise many urgent / important issues?

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:38:05 -0800

Help me prioritise my career / accomodation / other goals - they all appear to be short term! [ideally UK MeFi people]. Anon because contains detailed career / personal issues. I have recently started a new job (senior but low-ranking librarian) in a London (UK) university.

This is a big improvement over last year, when (to cut it short) I suffered from a stress-related problem while studying a Masters degree. In short a lot of things hit me at once, study, work, family problems, relationship breakdown...!

I'm now feeling much better and coping with life. Despite this, six months into the job I feel in a rut, as I live in lodgings in an expensive town and can't find a good priced longer-term place to stay. Going back to my family is not an option (it was a large cause of stress last year) and I can't stay with friends.

If I could get a higher salaried job, that would be great, but I doubt it would be at my current institution. Plus, given the effects that stress had on me last year, I am keen to avoid more upheavals and jobs that involve a lot of pressure.

I've started doing a further professional qualification but am now looking at postponing it so I don't get stressed out again! PLus I'm very doubtful library work will satisfy me long-term.

I'm highly educated (undergrad degree in Physics, Masters in library/information management, multilingual though not qualified in languages) but have been *very* unadventurous in my career so far, partly because I followed (what I now see as) bad advice and took "safe" scientific qualifications rather than languages which are my passion, and have lacked self-confidence.

Unfortunately I don't have any savings and I'm not earning much at all, just enough to live on, really. With my driving lessons I am making a yearly loss...!

I'd really like some help to see what would be a good area to prioritise more, or even really some suggestions to help me think outside the corner which I feel I've painted myself into!

Calling all Bucureşteni and Istanbullus

mammary16 — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:29:01 -0800

I'm planning on "work-traveling" through Europe and Asia, and am looking for advice on where to live in Bucharest and Istanbul. I love my life in Minneapolis, but I'm decided to put my freelance career on the road and "work travel" for a bit. Last year I worked from Puerto Rico for two months and I would like to do this, in a broader fashion, in Europe and Asia, maintaining my freelance career while living in apartments with reliable internet connections.

My plan for the moment is to stay with a friend in Warsaw for a month, then spend a month in Bucharest, a month in Istanbul, four months in St. Petersburg and a final month with a friend in New Delhi (making it home just in time for Christmas).

I've got a good sense of Warsaw, St. Petersburg, and New Delhi, but I'm afraid I don't know anyone in Bucharest or Istanbul. So I'm turning to the Metafilter community.

Anybody have any recommendations on interesting neighborhoods in those two cities? I'm looking for a location close to great cafes, beautiful scenery (maybe near a river? the Golden Horn?) - possibly, as well, a good student neighborhood close to a university. Ideally I would not be in a touristy part of town.

If you happen to know a good online resource for finding accommodation, it would be appreciated. I don't speak Romanian or Turkish.

I'm hoping to pay under $700 a month, which I realize may not be very realistic, especially since I require a stable high-speed internet connection. Other than that, I don't need anything fancy.

Additionally, are there any legal / visa issues I need to be concerned about, particular w/r/t to me working (for my clients in the U.S.) while in the country?

Thanks!

Making the best of business travel

bifter — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:50:43 -0800

How can I make the best out of my free time during frequent, short business trips to San Francisco? I'm in the UK, and my employer would like me to spend a regular, significant amount of time in working at the San Francisco office (somewhere between 2 and 3 times / quarter, for the best part of a week at a time).

I'll mostly be traveling out to arrive on Saturday (cheap flights), arriving early evening SF time. This leaves the unappetising prospect of a whole Sunday and 5 working evenings per month parked in a soulless city center hotel with a thoroughly messed up body clock. I'm very tall, have a young family and like my sleep, so I'm likely to find the situation a bit of a chore, rather than a huge treat.

I'm interested to know if anyone has any experience of this type of work situation, and any input as to how it could be turned into something less of a drag. Specific things I'm thinking:
- How to make the accommodation less depressing. I'm not a seasoned business traveller, but it strikes me that this shouldn't be too unusual a situation, and there might be some sort of arrangement that works better than succession of big city hotels for frequent, regular travelers
- I'm open to the idea of commuting (within reason) to downtown SF for work. Any thoughts on nice places to stay that are still within easy reach?
- I'm going to have worn out the obvious 'things to do on your own' in SF pretty fast, and prefer not to spend all my evenings aggressively networking, or being a constant gooseberry on collegues' social lives. Any good ideas for off-the-beaten track stuff to do in or around SF (without a car) very welcome here too
- I can always trawl previous SF threads for hints on places to eat; drink coffee; hang out alone etc, but - hey - if you've got any good input, chuck it here too - thanks!

Tasmania in July - am I crazy?

Admira — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:38:11 -0800

Hi All, I'm looking to treat myself to some local (I'm from Australia) travel this year for my birthday. My birthday falls on July 22nd, so smack bang in the middle of winter in Australia. I love the cold. So I thought I would love to visit Tasmania. But if its raining/really windy then I might not be able to enjoy the nature, go for walks etc. I don't mind if its cold while I'm walking around seeing the sights (and I am fine with REALLY cold, I was in Edmonton in Winter, Japan in Winter, Ireland in winter... you get the drift) but would rather it wasn't teeming with rain, or blowing a gale all day. Also, if the hive mind thinks July will be a wonderful (and cold) time to visit, then where should I go/where should I stay? I'm thinking high end accomodation since I want to spoil myself, and might have company from friends who don't like hostels etc. So top end accomodation suggestions are welcome too! Thanks!

Hotel recommendations in Kingston

Cyrie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:23:00 -0800

Looking for recommendations for a reasonably priced hotel, B&B or other accomodation close to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. I am starting a part-time masters degree at Queen's in the fall and I need to spend two days a month at the university taking classes between Sept-June. I need to find hotel or B&B accomodation that is relatively close to the university, has internet access, and hopefully not too expensive (I realize that may be a bit of a long shot, since it's Kingston, but I'll take under $130 a night).
I have done a few searches (expedia. hotwired) and there are a few hotels/motels that seem ok price-wise but either have no details or the reviews vary wildly (from 'it was clean and servicable' to 'this was disgusting and I ended up with snow blowing into my room'). So, I'm looking for some first-hand recommendations.
Can anyone help me out?

Adam up in smoke

Goofyy — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:29:24 -0800

AmsterdamFilter: Decent hotels w/smoking rooms? Looking for centrally located hotel with smoking rooms. All hotels we find claim new legislation doesn't allow smoking. But the official site contradicts that (had the same thing in Paris, actually, where the official word is, hotel rooms are exempt).

Looking for something mid-upper quality, close to Central Station. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Accomodation in Philadelphia

gravelshoes — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:59:53 -0800

Looking for cheap accommodation ($50-$60?) in Philadelphia near the university for end of July/beginning of August - any recommendations? I'm attending a conference at the University of Philadelphia and the university accommodation is all full so in need of affordable alternative. Thanks.

Housing in Winnipeg?

Orange Pamplemousse — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:22:04 -0800

Where should a first year medical student live in Winnipeg? My girlfriend is attending the University of Manitoba for medicine come August. Which neighbourhoods in Winnipeg are "best"?

Safe, clean and very quiet accomodation is sought - either a bachelor suite or one-bedroom, apartment or basement suite. The medical school is downtown, so a place near there, or on a direct (red service) bus line would be ideal.

a us-centric post : )

sgt.serenity — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:38:28 -0800

Things to consider when looking for accomodation in Providence ? I've been looking at craigslist and the RISD accom site, i'm going for a september to december kind of thing (i'm on exchange to RISD) but i'm not too sure if i want to end up in 'student' accomodation - there might be somewhere that is fairly outside providence thats worth staying in too - i dont mind getting the bus or anything - the budget is low to medium - i'd like to hear from people that know a wee bit about the place and can maybe recommend something off the beaten track in the area thats quite interesting - i know absolutely nothing about providence or its various areas, so if you know anything you think i might find useful - that would be really great, anywhere really rough is good too : )

Short-term accomodation in Adelaide or Sydney?

PuGZ — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:31:02 -0800

Where should I look for relatively inexpensive short-term accommodation in either Adelaide or Sydney? I am looking for a house for 5-10 people for 1-2 weeks, with about 2 months notice. Is this even feasible? (I don't know anything about the real estate / accommodation market)

Many thanks for any light that can be shed on the matter!

Hotel search by room type?

subbes — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:57:30 -0800

Is there any hotel search that can search hotels by room type? For example, all jacuzzi suites in $CITY, or all rooms with wet bar, all rooms with separate shower and tub, etc? The future husband and I want to stay in a jacuzzi suite when we head out of town to get married.

Is there a simpler way of comparing, short of looking on every single hotel's website to see if they have such a suite type and then searching those on expedia/orbitz/hotels.com?

Alternate topic: recommend me a jacuzzi suite in Las Vegas for a couple pre- and post- Vegas wedding! We are almost-antisocial nerds (not the exclusive club type) and would prefer the Strip for convenience, but could be convinced to go to Fremont if you have a glowing recommendation.

Nice places to go in and around Sydney for our second wedding anniversary.

ranglin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:11:38 -0800

Having thoroughly enjoyed our first anniversary at the hydro majestic in the blue mountains, my wife and I are now looking for suggestions for nice places to go in and around Sydney for anniversary number 2! While we enjoyed the blue mountains a lot (thanks askMe), we also found that while it was good for relaxing, it was a little bit boring for what we like to do.

With this in mind, this time we're looking for something a little closer in to Sydney, with something more to do. We quite like visiting local arts & craft markets and other places to go shopping. We'd also like to see a little bit of local culture (ie. my wife enjoyed the rocks markets when I finally got her to go there one sunday). Finally, this time we'd really like a hotel with some nice stuff to do and a good decor (and maybe a day spa?).

With all this in mind, I hoping some Sydney-based AskMe-ers might have some suggestions. We appreciate any advice you can give, because as I mentioned in the last thread, we really like to have personal recommendations.

Thanks!

SaiGONE!!!

matkline — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:18:51 -0800

Can you recommend inexpensive accommodation in Ho Chi Minh city? (Preferably outside of Pham Ngu Lao.) I'm looking for something in the $15-25 range. Wifi/internet would also be nice.

Looking for a wonderful short break near Bath, UK..

sann1657 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:31:34 -0800

Can anyone help me find a wonderful short break near Bath, UK? Myself and my wonderful girlfriend thought we were going on a fabulous van adventure to the westcountry between the 9th - 17th February this year. That's fallen through, so we're looking for an exciting trip. Anybody have personal experience of any of the many narrowboat hire companies operating on the kennet and avon canal? Or, a particular favourite self catering property that offers peace and quiet, but within reach of bath? Thanks so much

Hong kong for cheap

markesh — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:01:03 -0800

What's the cheapest way to stay in Hong Kong? Assuming one is willing to brave all discomforts (within reason of course, no sleeping under the bridge), what is a cheap cheap way to stay for 10 days in Hong Kong, including accomodation and food? By cheap, I mean by chinese reference -> $20 a night is expensive. Is it possible to stay for $10 a night in Hong Kong? This is easily done on the mainland.

Be creative - would it be feasable to sleep in Shenzen at night and travel Hong Kong at day?

Focusing strategies for a maturing pathologist

Calibandage — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 14:40:01 -0800

Presbyopiafilter... My lovely wife has started to lose her powers of ocular accomodation. No biggie, but... ...she's a pathologist, and must constantly look back and forth from the microscope to the computer screen and the patient record (piece of paper). It's starting to be more of a strain.

Is there some combination of reading glasses, contacts, lighting and/or focusing strategy on the 'scope that might help? (N.B., she's also nearsighted to the tune of 10 or so diopters in each eye and normally wears contacts.)

Where to Stay in Kiev, Ukraine?

zaelic — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 16:44:19 -0800

Kiev, Ukraine, accomodations in mid May. Any suggestions? I will be in Kiev for two days on my own after a bit of work in mid May, and have searched the web and guide books for a reasonable (under EU 100 - i.e. US $150 per night) place to stay with my wife. Most sites and travel books are out of date. Phone numbers don't reach, emails not returned. Have called a few places but reception doesn't speak English. I would really rather not stay at a babushka's flat... any advice will be eventually toasted in absentia with the best vodka... Standard, proably...

Stockholm accommodation for couple with toddler!

ClanvidHorse — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 05:25:18 -0800

Help my friend get a cheap, good hotel in Stockholm! Travelling with baby daughter! My friend is going with his wife and baby daughter to Stockholm between 5th and 7th of February (staying overnight 5th and 6th). So far everywhere he has looked has been really expensive. They need somewhere to stay that has a cot for baby, is close to the city centre, and is family friendly if possible.

Also, any ideas for things for them to do in Stockholm would be great.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Help me to find a place to stay in Miami for a week in March.

slimeline — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:45:39 -0800

Help me find a place to stay in Miami for a week in March 07. I am traveling to Miami in March 07 for a conference that takes place in the Radisson Hotel. I need a cheap place to stay for a week. Is a hotel my only option? and if so, where are the cheap hotels? Are there flats for rent for a week? I am traveling with another person and we could share a small flat which will be ideal if it is more economical than a hotel. I never been to Miami, and coming from England have very little idea of what to expect. Will it make sense to rent a car, or is it possible to go everywhere by public transport? Thanks a lot for your help.

Where do poor people sleep when they visit Chapel Hill?

easternblot — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:58:32 -0800

I'll be spending a weekend in Chapel Hill (NC) in January, and I can't find ANY accomodation for less than $90 a night. I normally stay in hostels when I go somewhere, but there isn't one. I need to be on the UNC Chapel Hill campus early on Saturday morning, so I'd really prefer to stay close to there. The Best Western is the best option so far, but it's still way past my budget. Am I the first person ever to vist Chapel Hill who doesn't have money to spend on a hotel? Does the university have any guest accommodation? (I looked at their website, and they recommend the hotels, but they might have a privately run thing that's not on there?) Any insider tips?

Help make sure I don't become a Snarfodoxcicle.

snarfodox — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:09:45 -0800

I'm heading to Moscow soon. What is the best way to see the city properly during a few days stop-over? I don't mind a very light serving of the typical tourist trail, but I'll get bored with that very quickly. I usually prefer to wander around by myself, meet some locals and hopefully get a chance to see what Moscow is really like.

My Russian is currently wretched, but probably enough so that I won't starve or freeze to death if I just turn up with no forward planning. That said, it'll be reasonably chilly in December so I should probably organise something before I get there.

I'm planning to stay a few days at least, grab a train to Odessa and travel onwards from there. I'm a pretty confident traveller, but helpful advice from previous visitors or residents is always appreciated.

Спасибо.

Useful University moving in tips?

philsi — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:53:09 -0800

Any useful tips for settling in to first week in college / university? Any funny anecdotes of your first week in college / university? Next Tuesday I'm off to university (Winchester in the UK if it makes any difference), and it's going to be my first time living away from home, with new people, and wondered if people have any useful tips for settling in, living in shared accomodation for the first time (there will be 6 or 8 bedrooms going onto an adjoining kitchen area)? Social tips for those of us who aren't big drinkers?

Any key hints / tips that you found helpful / were told were important but not?

Places to stay in Cornwall, England?

ascullion — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 12:46:13 -0800

Does anyone know any nice places to stay in Cornwall, England? Preferable B&Bs, but hotels OK. Up to £100 per double room per night is probably the limit, but we're getting desperate, so..

Know a good company for (very) short-term apt. rentals in SF?

so_necessary — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 03:40:06 -0800

Does anyone know a good company that does short term rentals for apartments/houses in San Francisco? I'm going on holiday there in August for a week with a few friends (there'll be 3-5 of us), and we'd prefer staying in an apartment rather than just getting a hotel room each. Ideally somewhere central would be good, and we're willing to pay up to $1000. I've checked Craiglist but most don't seem to be that central, or have enough rooms.