Hotel close to New York en route to Connecticutt
 

Hello Everyone

Would appreciate help. Am flying into Newark International and have car booked to travel to New Canaan Connecticutt but am going to spend 2 nights in New York. Any suggestions on hotels (7 of us 4 kids, 3 adults). Don't want to have to drive too far into New York (am from small town in Ireland!!)so need someplace convenient to trains/subways. Anybody out there who can help? Thanks

As a local, I'm probably not the best person to suggest a hotel.

But, can I suggest that maybe you wait to pick up a rental car until you're ready to head to New Canaan.

Parking in Manhattan can be quite expensive. You could easily pay $20 to $30 a day for parking. Add that to the cost of the rental, and you're probably approaching $200 for a car that you really won't need in Manhattan. Subtracting out the cost of a bus or train from the airport to Manhattan and you're still saving yourself at least $100, if not more.

Once you're ready to head to New Canaan, you have a few options. The first is to simply pick up a rental in Manhattan. The second option is to take the train to New Canaan, or one of the surrounding towns like Greenwich, and rent a car there.

I should add that all the states in the NYC area have very strict rules for kids in car seats. If your kids are 7 years old or under, they must be in child restraint systems. If 4 and under, they must be in car seats.

Agree not to rent the car until you leave NYC. The car is not only useless in NYC, but sorting out the parking is very expensive (I don;t know where you can get parking for $20 - I'm in a residential neighborhood and it's $30 a day here - more in midtown.)

Don;t know what type of car you have rented for 7 people - a mini-van? - but the rules for car seats are VERY strict - and fines for not having one are high.

For getting into the city reco a car service (will be no more than public transit for so many people - and probably less then the shuttle) - just be sure to tell them how many people you are so they send a large enough car. (A better choice than cabs - since by law they can hold no more than 4 passengers.)

What is your hotel budget (in dollars please - descriptions can mean so many different things)? And what type of accomodations are you looking for - two suites? Two large rooms? (Many NYC hotel rooms hold only two people - in one double bed or two twins.)

As for not being too far into the city - unless you want to stay outside the city in Jersey - or even Westchester (don;t reco in terms of time wasted traveling - plus cost of train or bus for so many people) you're better off right in the center of Manhattan - closer to the sights and much easier subway access.

I agree with Ryan. If you are visiting NY, you are either IN NYC or not. Better to be IN the city (specifically Manhattan that is). With kids, you will want to be able to come and go to your hotel room during the day for a rest, quiet time, etc. For 7 of you, I assume you are renting a van. You may actually be ok renting the van at Newark, driving into Manhattan, checking in your hotel, then parking the car for 2 days - even though it'll cost for parking.

Or you can reply to this thread and others can give you ideas on the best way to get a group of 7 from Newark to Manhattan without breaking the bank or your back lugging baggage on trains, buses, etc.

When I go into the city by train, I like th Hyatt Grand Central myself because of the convenience to commuter trains, a great food market for breakfast goodies, snacks, lunches, etc and mid town location. I think they have a deal for Hyatt Gold Passport members (free signup on the Hyatt website) where you can get a 2nd room for $99/night. Don't know if that's a seasonal special or not.

Thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately am tied into the car rental with tour operator for 2 weeks so besides leaving it in airport and returning for it 2 days later, we're stuck with it. It is a mini-van and I take onboard your advice on child restraints. A friend suggested staying in an airport hotel and travelling into NY by train each day but don't think we'll get much of a feel for the city by doing that. Any further thoughts?

You really do need to stay in the city to get any ffeel for it - and for 7 people transit in and out will be very $$$.

Suggest you either bite the bullet and pay hotel parking rates for the van - or drop everyone at the hotel - then drive to a residential area (upper e or w side) where you can park on the side streets for free - and cab back to the hotel. (Just be aware or alternate side of the street parking rules).

Again - give us a $ budget and we can suggest some hotels to look at.

Cathycon,
I wouldn't advise one of the airport hotels. Other than the airport, there isn't much around them. In addition, it could get expensive taking the train from there more than once.

I might suggest an alternative. There are several hotels in New Jersey, specifically Jersey City, just across from Manhattan. The hotel options are A Courtyard by Marriott, a Doubletree, a Hyatt, and a Candlewood Suites. From Jersey City, transportation into the city is readily available via the PATH train system to both Downtown and Midtown.

The benefit of one of these hotels is that you'll save on parking and they might have rates a bit less than Manhattan.

My former town, Hoboken, is just next to Jersey City and it has several reasonable dining options.


In terms of the total cost, I think it's a tradeoff. In Manhattan the hotel cost is likely to be more and you'll need to pay for parking. In Jersey City, the room might be less, the parking is likely to be free, but you'll incur at least a $2 per person fare each way for the PATH train.

Here's a good idea that may help. The Travel Inn on W 42nd St, which is not far from the Lincoln Tunnel, has FREE parking for guests. You might check with them on a minivan, but my cousin stayed there not long ago with her family and they had a minivan and had no problems.

It is within walking distance to Times Square, but a bit outside the busy, crowded area, so it will be a bit on the quiet side. The hotel also has a pool that the kids may like.

For that many people you will also need 2 rooms and the Travel Inn you may be able to get adjoining rooms.

Check www.hotels.com for listings of lots of hotels in the city, with location, pictures and amenities.

You might want to put on your list of things to do, the Central Park Zoo with a ride on the CArousel in the park, it would be a highlight for the kids.

Have a wonderful time while you are here.

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. Our budget would be $200 /$250 per night and accommodation would preferably be adjoining large rooms but we are flexible.Don't want to have to tackle too much heavy traffic if possible so an area with direct access to downtown might be best possibility. Will explore everything suggested so far. Keep it coming! This site is a Godsend. Thanks

Drive into the city and pay the cost of of parking for two days. The cost will be around $75, Leaving the car in Newark and going back to get the car will cost more than $75 since seven people ae involved. Not driving into the city will not save you any money and will save time when you are ready to leave.

There are any number of budget hotels in the mid town area. Two that come to mind since both have parking garages are the Howard Johnson and Day's Inn both of which are on 8th avenue within a short walk of Times Square. Also within walking distance are Central Park, 5th Avenue and the Empire State Building. Parking at either facility will cost close to $30 per day. They may offer a special rate for hotel guests. You would use the Lincoln Tunnel to get into the city from EWR.. Both hotels are around 5 minutes away from the tunnel.

I have no personal knowledge of either hotel.

Is that $200 to $250 per night per room - or for both rooms. If it is the latter I would get moving ASAP on hotels. Travel Inn - as suggested by some - is showing a lot of dates already fully booked - and in any case - in the summer/fall prices for two rooms would be more in the $300 plus tax range.

($200 for two family type rooms in NYC is VERY budget - and prices typically get higher further into the year.)

If you do a search above for NYC budget accom you may find some other choices to check on.

The Travel Inn is your best option with free parking, as wantsomesun says near the Lincoln Tunnel and it's affordable and has an outdoor pool for the kids, a rare thing in NY. It's not far from Times Square and is near Port Authority bus terminal.

Travel Inn is also a good location to get out of the city simply. Just go over to the West side highwy and follow it all the way into Westchester, then take the Cross Westchester to the Hutch and up into CT. (There is also I-95 - but it is mobbed with trucks and a quite unpleasant drive.)

If you go to Yahoo maps/directions you can get info on this route.

Thanks to everyone for help. Travel Inn fully booked so will have to come up with alternative. Your help was great.

Forgot to say budget is $250 per room per night. Not having much luck at moment but trying Best Western President Hotel...

The Salisbury Hotel has some 2 bedroom 2 bath apt style rooms. One of those should be less than $500/night which, if I understand, is what you're prepared to pay. Their website is

http://salisburynyc.com/

but you have to contact them by phone I think about those. They don't have parking, but any hotel parking will be expensive. I would go to iconparking.com once you've decided on a hotel and see what's nearby for a better price. I'll warn you to pay attention though, as some garages won't take minivans or charge more.

I would also consider staying on the upper west side. The Beacon and the Milburne are both all suite hotels that are usually affordable. It's a very family friendly area that's less hectic than midtown but within an easy ride or walk to midtown. Other regular hotels on the upper west side are the Excelsior and the Lucerne, both very nice.

I'm not much help on the Manhattan part of your trip but I'm from Northern Ireland and live in New Canaan CT so if you need any info on the New Canann part please ask.

A year or two ago we had to locate so that we could get to the city and to some people in Greenwich easily enough in the same couple of days, and bid for and got the Greenwich Hyatt on Priceline for a wonderfully low rate. We rode the train into NYC every day (after commute time) and it was extremely convenient and inexpensive.

At the moment www.biddingfortravel.com is down due to a hacker attack on their host, ezboards that apparently has deleted a great deal of their data base, but if you want to give it a go, I'd look at a 4-star bid in Greenwich for a couple or three rooms, maybe use something like $60 for a starting bid, and see what happens.