montyesther

Family of 4 will drive to NYC on March 13 for 3 days. Want to shop at Woodbury Outlet and my girls want to spend one day walk around in Time Square.
Any suggestion for reasonable hotel ? Hoping to have free parking at the hotel or closest station and take public transportation to Time Square. Thanks.

happy_train

Hi Monty,
The closest station to Woodbury is the Harriman station. There are hotels listed here:

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet...tions.asp?id=7

It's a nice area, so just about any of them will do. You WILL have to drive to the harriman station and take NJ Transit to Secaucus, and then transfer for a train into Penn Station. The whole trip takes more than an hour, so be prepared.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/html/ge...ry_commons.htm

nytraveler

You're not clear about the third day.

do you want just one day in Manhattan - or more?

There s only one hotel in Manhattan with free parking - the Travel Inn - which is basic but gets decent reviews and is not far from Times Square (although how you could spend more than 30 minutes there I don;t know). Parking at any other hotel will be about $40 per night.

Woodbury is more than an hour north of the city.

What else are you planning on doing on the Times Square day? And what for third day? If you want to see other things in Manhattan I would do Woodbury first - and perhaps spend one night at a motel there - depending on where you're coming from. Then I would drive into the city and dump the car and see what you want there. There's no point in driving into the city then out to Woodbury then back to the city and then home again.

If you can clarify your plans it would be easier to make a reco.

montyesther

Thanks for the responses. We are driving from Toronto. No specific plan yet except shopping at Woodbury and spend a day at Time Square.

Find a 3 star hotel, Secaucus for $92 using Hotwire. What do you think ?

mclaurie

Go to betterbidding.com and they have a list of Hotwire hotels so if you take down the amenities listed (icons for restaurant, fitness center etc.) you may be able to identify which hotel in Secaucus it is. Some are closer to bus stops into Manhattan than others. I think the Residence Inn and the Embassy Suites are pretty near the bus. You might also go to mapquest.com or another mapping site and see how far Woodbury is from Secaucus.

If you don't mind driving into Manhattan and parking your car for the day, the Holiday Inn in Ft. Lee New Jersey is evidently cheap, clean, right near the George Washington bridge into Manhattan and shouldn't be that far from Woodbury. To park the car in Manhattan, look on iconparking.com for a garage and prices. RESERVE online.

happy_train

I would definitely recommend Fort Lee over Secaucus. In Ft. Lee at least you get the view of the city, and there are some nice restaurants. In Secaucus all you have is swamp and the turnpike. It may be cheap, but it's probably not worth it.

Also, if you leave your car at the hotel in Fort Lee, then you can take any of the many buses that go across the G. Washington bridge.

Have you considered staying in Pavonia Newport? It's a much nicer area, and has PATH accessibility into the city.

doug_stallings

If the posters are just going to spend a single day in Manhattan, then it's pointless for them to pay the extra price to stay in Newport.

I hesitate to recommend Secaucus, but it is convenient to the outlet malls there, though it's still quite a drive up to Woodbury Common.

If the main purpose of your trip is to shop, then stay near the outlet mall; otherwise, consider staying close to Manhattan. Hotels near train stations are more convenient than those near buses, but the advantage of buses is that they come into Port Authority, and you seem to want to be in Times Square for your single day.

montyesther

Many thanks for the valuable suggestions and inputs. I am not familiar with the area, but seems it's not a good idea for us to pick hotel in Secaucus.

I know there are some hotels linked to Woodbury Common but if I would book rooms from hotwire for the cheaper price, I will not be able to know the hotel .. right ?

Any suggestions ?

doug_stallings

You can use Hotels.com and you'll know the hotel ... these hotels aren't that expensive. Sometimes it's worth it not to book the absolutely cheapest possible option.

TwoFatFeet

Might be tough to spend an entire day walking around Times Square, so maybe make some additional plans for that day.

sarge1

You could always stay in either Newburgh (right off of interstate 84 and interstate 87) or Fishkill(off of interstate84) lots of hotel chains to choose from in both those areas. newburgh is approximately 25-30 minutes north of Woodbury Commons fishkill add about 15-20 mins to that since it is on the east side of the hudson river. You can catch the metro north train from Beacon on the east side of the hudson (midway between Newburgh and Fishkill) the train will take you to grand central stations 15 min walk from times square see website for train schedule http://www.mta.info/ Just a some thoughts, to me cheaper to stay out of the city and usually get more for your bucks!

KL467

Montyesther - There is a Best Western near Times Square. Most hotels in NYC do not have free parking. I drive to the station in Tarrytown, New York, and take the train to Grand Central Station. From the train station, sometimes I walk to my hotel in Times Square, and sometimes I take a cab. My favorite hotel in NYC is Novotel at 52nd and Broadway. My daughter and I love the Woodbury Common Outlet.