Help w/ NYC trip!!
 

Need help!!--I am planning a trip for 2 families (4 adults, 5 teenagers) to NYC for the 1st time. We would be arriving Sat am March 10 by car and departing Tues am. We are looking for a hotel with free parking and accomodations for 5 if possible. We want to see all the touristy attractions in 3 days--Any suggestions?

I cannot think of any place with free parking in Manhattan, which is where you want to be. Just think of it as a daily fee you pay to not have to drive into the city every day from Long Island, and it is well, well worth it.

You may want to check in to the Beekman Tower on the west side of Midtown. A bit dated, but clean and I think they offer some suites that are a little bigger. Plus, they are always very competitive on rates. You could walk to alot from there.

I believe the Travel Inn has free parking. I do not know if they have accomodations for 5. I stayed there many years ago but you might want to check recent reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Have a great trip!

I thought there were hotels on the Hudson (Jersey City?) that we could take a bus, train over to the city.

yep - you sure could stay in jersey city and take the PATH train over to NYC.

seems the candlewood suites in JC have free shipping

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ew_Jersey.html

I think if you are only in NYC for 3 days that you will want to be as centrally located as possible.

My two cents...

The Travel Inn on W. 42nd St is your best bet. They have rooms to accomodate 5 and the parking is indeed FREE for guests.

The hotel is easily reached off the West Side Highway and is close to bus and not very far from several subway lines AND close to Times Square, but a couple of blocks away so it would be quiet at night.

Have a GREAT TIME while you are here.

Great--I think we will start with the Travel Inn.--We are interested in seeing the tourist attractions-Does anyone recommend the loop tour buses? We definitely want to do the Statue of Liberty. I am just not sure where to start for 3 days..

A tour bus can be a good way to start. This will get you oriented with the area and then give you a good idea of where you want to spend your time.

Another good thing to do is start with what you want to see the most, to make sure it doesn't slip down your list. New York is one of those places where, as you stand in line and look at flyers, read brochures, or talk to other tourists, you'll quickly get a good idea of what you want to see.

The Fodors "5 great itineraries" for NYC on the destination guide lf this website is generally a good guide, but I would condense where they say "spend 1 day" to more like 1/2 a day. 1/2 a day in Chinatown / LIttle Italy, for example would be plenty for me.

Thank you for all the info. I will check into the Fodor's intinerary.

The only hotel I am aware of with free parking in NYC is the Travel Inn - a basic hotel with generally good reviews on the far west side. (You mention by car - do you really mean cars - or some sort of very large van. If the latter, check with the hotel to see what size vehicles they can take - many underground garages have very low roofs and can;t fit oversize vehicles.)

Don;t know if they have any rooms/suites that will hold 5 (this is quite rare in NYC - where most rooms have 1 queen or 2 twin beds). The only downside is that it is quite a long walk east to get to the subway (which you'll be using to travel almost everywhere).

There are a number of hotels with suites that will hold 5 adults (generally in NYC anyone over 12 is considered an adult - for pricing based on how much room they take). You could look at the affinia.com group - moderately priced and get generally good reviews - and have a whole host of different types of room and suites to fit almost any need.

Do not reco staying in Jersey. First - many hotels there don;t have free parking anyway. Second, trekking back and forth - esp in rush hours is not that fast/easy. It can take a significant chunk out of your day, prevent you from going back to the hotel to either drop shopping or just relax/change before going to dinner or a show - never mind the cost of 9 people trekking back and forth every day. Third, some of the hotels are in ares that are not very pleasant. And most important - completely negates the real feeling of being in NYC - the atmosphere is completely different.

If you're willing to give up free parking, the Best Western Hospitality and the Murray Hill EAst Suites are 2 other hotels suite hotels to try with large apt. style rooms. Iconparking.com is a website where you can find parking all over the city.

There are 2 ways to "see" the Statue of Liberty. One is to actually go there on the ferry. You can also visit the Ellis Island Immigration museum for the same price. This is a worthwhile but time consuming trip that generally takes 4-6 hrs. The other option is to ride the free Staten Island Ferry which passes the statue for photo ops. For a short trip, you might want to consider this option.

While I agree staying in NJ is not ideal, esp. for a short trip, the Sheraton on the Hudson in Weehawken is directly across from midtown Manhattan and there's a ferry down the street. Unfortunately the ferry costs $6/person per trip which would be over $100/day for 9 of you.

There are a number of different tour bus options. Just keep in mind for 9 of you it will get pricey.

More and more hotels are offering parking packages, the Westin comes to mind. I understand the desire for free parking, but it is very very rare in big cities and probably shouldn't be a make-or-break factor since it so dramatically limits your options.

I always think decisions to stay at a place because it has "free" anything including parking can be a mistake. If you looked at two hotels that were of the same quality and location and one charged $30 a night for parking and the other offered free parking, which would you choose? Sounds like a "no brainer" right? But what if I said the free parking hotel charged $200 a night for a room and the one that charges for parking, charges $ 260 a night? It really is the bottom line you have to look for. "Free breakfasts" can be the same thing.

Duh. For those of you scratching your heads over my example, let me say that the hotel that charges for parking should have been $160 -- not $260. Make sense now?
Meanwhile I need a drink!