Yes, I see it is more expensive when you add the taxes. We are AAA members so sure that made it cheaper also. We wound up with a price of $226.97 a night which is really good for the time period and area of the city.
It was really hard to find anything even with that price as most were at least $300-$400 a night.
It has been 4-5 years since I was in the city after the bombing and then they were encouraging people to return so there were many good deals then.
You will enjoy NY where ever you stay.

Hi gard ~ ellenem has given you very good directions (and advice) for getting to/from airports to your hotel. The AirTrain is pretty fast, and frequent; the E train should take you about 30-45 minutes. The Queens Plaza station is a little farther away than the 39 Ave one (different lines), but still a short walk of about 5 blocks. You may want to ask the hotel which route is best to walk from the Queens Plaza station to the hotel. (Google maps shows Northern Blvd as being very direct, but depending on its configuration there, it might be better to walk on the side streets.)

The hotel is pretty close to a lot of different subway lines, making your access to Manhattan as easy as if you were staying in Chelsea or the East Village. I'm sure you remember this from your last trip: if you plan on taking public transportation during your vacation, buy the unlimited cards to ride both buses and subways (weekly is $24, good for 7 days from first use; daily is $7, good until 3am of the day following use). Pick up a free subway map from the token booth at any station.

As far as riding the subway goes, I have friends (30-something age range) who live in LIC and take the N/W until quite late at night to get home. You are also near the E, R, V, and 7 - so everything from Central Park and Times Square to the World Trade Center site and the East Village are "one-seat" (no transfer) rides. The N is express in Manhattan, and will bring you all the way down to Canal Street in about 30 minutes.

When you are at Penn Station on your way to Newark, you will exit the subway into the lower level of the train station; train information here is for the LIRR. Follow the signs to go upstairs to the NJ Transit and Amtrak level for tickets and the departures board. (Note that both are combined on the departures board, but have separate ticket windows and automated machines.)

I think you found a terrific price for a hotel at such a busy time of year. Congratulations on that! :)

gard, just a heads up that the subway and Airtrain are a giant pain in the ass with luggage. I've done it three times and I swore each time it would be the last.

A cab or car service is much faster and much less stressful. The Airtrain has never taken me less than 90 minutes to get from Newark to my hotel and those who tell you it only takes 20 minutes are crazy.

Gard check also Fitzpatrick Grand Central. It has very good reviews and I've booked a king room there for our forthcoming trip this Christmas and i got a rate of 199$ which is great!!

Also i keep checking your site for reviews from your latest trips. When are you going to post them? :-)

A car service to Newark will run you about $60, plus tip and toll (you pay for the car's toll to return to the city). That is what I pay from Brooklyn, and Queens would be comparable. Depending on time of day, the drive to Newark will take you an hour or more from just about any point in the city.

I can't speak of the AirTrain in NJ, but the one from JFK is fast and efficient, and the transfer to the subway at Jamaica is very easy. I doubt that it will be any faster in a car, though when you calculate the cost for two people, it may be about equivalent. (Check out Carmel or Dial-7 car service web sites for prices and other info.) :)

Hi cristine

Are you referring to the trip report from Florence and Tuscany? If yes, my wife has promised me that she will finish removing my spelling mistakes this weekend and then we are one step closer to posting them :d Feel free to send me a mail on [email protected] and I'll send you a mail when they are published.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Hi Gard,
yer i'm refering to Florence/Tuscany trip and also to Thailand May 2007.
Or you didn't end up going there? (now you only have a preview)

Hi

Yes, the Italy trip report is written and it is just waiting for approval :d

The Thailand trip report...well, I did end up going there but I haven't had the inspiration to write it yet. But I went to Bangkok again a couple of weeks back on a business trip and I have become inspired again so the plan is still to write a trip report from the May trip :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Hi Gard, enjoyed reading your previous post on NYC and emailed you a couple of times since. I am also planning my NYC trip which has come around very fast, 2 weeks to go! got butterflies in my tummy already. We have booked Mayfair NY which had good reviews. Pity we are not there around the same time...would have loved to meet up with both of you. good luck with you planning.

Hi

I hope that I responded to your e-mails :d Sometimes I get so many mails so some of them do end up "drowning" in my mailbox. Have a great trip to NYC :d

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures