Help! - What to do with the luggage?
 

We will be arriving in New York early and will have 4-5 hours until we will be able to check into our hotel in Queens. I am trying to figure out what to do with the suitcases so we can start exploring the city right away and don't have to drag the heavy luggage with us.
I called the hotel and they won't be able to help us. We would have to wait until 2:00 pm to check in and leave the luggage in the room.

Any suggestions?

You don;t say where you're arriving - not your hotel location versus the city. But any hotel has a left luggage room where you can drop luggage before your room is ready go out and explore and pick up luggage when you come back to check in.

If your hotel won;t - or can;t - do this - get a different hotel. (I'm perfetly serious - you don;t want to stay at a place that can;t provide such a basic service - it won't be an actual hotel.)

I've never heard of a hotel that won't accept luggage prior to check-in and hold it for their guests.

The hotel does not have a bell desk? Even some really small motels have a luggage room, that seems strange. You can always hit up another close by hotel, if you give the bellman $10 and tell him to hold your bags and you will be back in a few hours I am sure he will gladly store your bags, even if you are not staying with them. I know I would for $10 (and I used to be a bellman)! :D

me neither - the hotel should definitely have a place for your luggage. (Even when the lobby of the Manhattan hotel my mother was staying in was completely under construction, they still had a place for left luggage!)

However, if you're looking to leave your luggage someplace in Manhattan while you explore the sites, Penn Station has a checked luggage counter in the Amtrak/NJ Transit area. I don't know how much it costs currently; you could probably google it to find out. Grand Central also used to have a checked luggage area, but I think they closed it...

We had a check in time of 3:00 PM..got to our hotel (Courtyard by Marriot on 40 & 5th Avenue) at 9AM..and our rooms were ready! We have also had to check out way early before our departing flights at a lot of places..and there has always been a secure place to keep our luggage..and a room to shower and change in if we were using the pool or sightseeing...they should be able to accommodate your needs...just be gracious but firm...they have heard all of this before...

We will by arriving at La Guardia airport around 9:30 am and the hotel that will will stay at is La Quinta in Queens. The hotel cannot guarantee that there will be a space available for luggage on that particular day before 2:00 pm.

It is unbelievable that a hotel doesn't have luggage storage, but maybe that's what you get for staying at La Quinta, Ramada, Day's Inn, Howard Johnson, and such.

On the other hand, call back and talk to somebody else. You may have spoken to an idiot.

Why don't you go to the hotel with your luggage and, when they won't let you into your room, ask them to hold your luggage just like every other hotel in the world does. What are they going to do? Tell you there is no room in the hotel for luggage? I don't think so.

As you leave, do what I do: Smile and sparkle.

Very truly yours,

L.M. Sunshine

Thank you all for your replies! I didn't know that all the hotels have a custom of helping their guests with storing the luggage before check-in time. I will request the same at La Quinta in case they will make any problems. Thanks for teaching me something new about travelling.

Sometimes, just sometimes...people assume that you should know EVERYTHING...but we all started out the same way...so we should all be able to share helpful information..that's why we are all here...do not be intimidated by asking for help...have a great time...and if you have any questions about NYC..there are many informed polite people on this column who would be more than happy to share information...

maybe that's what you get for staying at La Quinta, Ramada, Day's Inn, Howard Johnson, and such.
NOW IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL HELPFUL ADVICE? Pretty arrogant in my opinion...this is not what the poster asked for...not a critique of where they are staying...just some help in how to navigate the system...Jeeze!

Is was a fairly crass comment, but a fairly accurate one. Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Westin, etc. has bellmen, bell desks and official luggage storage rooms. LaQuintas, Hampton Inns, Holiday Inns, Comfort Inns, Fairfield, etc. don't NORMALLY offer this feature.

I do agree that if you show up at the hotel, they can find a place to stow your luggage for a while if your room is not ready. But, no, I don't think they "officially" offer luggage storage services.

Sigh...just don't want to discourage posters...I was always hesitant and didn't think I knew enough, had enough money etc...how does one find out, unless one ventures out??? We just need to be more helpful, rather than judgemental...it's a big world out there... and some, like myself, are late bloomers. Stating something softly is more effective than being so abrasive..and so goodnight..I had too much sad news today..so maybe too maudlin...

Here's the website for your hotel.
http://tinyurl.com/gryeh

I think it's possible they don't have a <b>secure</b> place for luggage and don't want to be responsible for the luggage being stolen. The building looks small. I think it is possible they will have a place for it, but I also think you should be prepared for plan B if they don't (and I don't know what that is.)

Your hotel is on the way from the airport into Manhattan. So get a taxi (!) at the airport and head to the hotel. There really are no other options for luggage storage.

Things I would do NOW.

&gt;Here's a map with driving directions to get from the airport to your hotel. Print it out and take it with you in case the taxi driver doesn't know the way
http://tinyurl.com/g9no3

&gt;Go to the hotel website and join their &quot;Returns&quot; program (a frequent guest program). Even if you never stay at another La Quinta again, it could get you a nicer room or better service. Make sure to get a member number even if the card doesn't arrive in time for the trip.

Please make sure you get an &quot;official&quot; NYC yellow taxi. Do NOT accept a ride or taxi from anyone else. As you exit the terminal, follow signs for taxis and get into a line where there will be a taxi dispatcher. When the taxi dispatcher asks where you're going, you should say the La Quinta hotel in Long Island City (the word CITY is very important because if you just say Long Island (without city) it's a TOTALLY different place and drivers won't want to go there).

Your cab fare should be $10-15 maximum! Give the driver a tip of $2-3 on top of the fare.

And don't let obnoxious people ever turn you off from travelling. There's nothing wrong with staying in your hotel. I almost stopped posting for advice but I realized that for every snobby fool here there are at least 10 helpful people. Enjoy your trip!

And mclaurie is one of the most helpful NYC posters here, so print out his/her instructions and have a great trip!

No offense intended.

IMHO it is unreasonable for a hostelry to not offer to store luggage for GUESTS who, traveling without their own automobiles, arrive before their rooms are ready.

A no-luggage-storage policy might make sense at motels where guests invariably arrive by auto. In that instance, luggage is likely safely stored in a trunk. However, when travelers arrive by some other means, I find it very inhospitable to tell them to carry their luggage around the street until their room is ready.

This isn't a matter of spending top-dollar for a hotel room. Luggage is stored for travelers at any pension in Europe, and we shouldn't expect less in what I and some others consider to be the greatest country in the world--the U.S.A.

If La Quinta has a no-service policy, I advise travelers to spend their travel dollar elsewhere. elsewhere.

I don't think you can store luggage at Penn Station unless you have an Amtrak ticket.

Just show up at the hotel and they'll figure out what to do with your luggage. While they might not have a luggage check, they aren't going to make you drag it around with you.

For a tip, they will find something.