cferrb

DD and I are looking for a hotel in the area around Fordham. I would like to be in the $120 a night range if at all possible. A youth hostel would be fine. There does not seem to be much there. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you.

nyer

The Bronx campus or Manhattan one?
I doubt there's anything near the Bronx campus and it's not in a particularly good neighborhood. Are you driving or looking to reach there by public transportation? If you drive, you can stay somewhere in nearby Westchester county and may be able to do that for under $120

If you're talking about the Manhattan campus or just want to stay in Manhattan to reach the Bronx by train, well $120 per night is tough in NYC but it depends on the time of the year, weekday versus weekend etc.

cferrb

Last week of March, Thursday and Friday night, Bronx campus (which I assume is the main campus.....) We need to use public transportation.

maxima

The area around the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx is not where I would stay, even if you find some hotels. If you are looking at the campus for a prospective student, or attending a program there, you can stay elsewhere, and take the bus or subway.

There is a campus van from the bronx to the lincoln center campus and you can find out if fordham will let you use the van service.

Affinia hotel in manhattan has a sale on right now for $129 a night on the east side,,good for stays through march 31.

nytraveler

I'm not aware of any hotels in that area - and as mentioned - it's really not a very pleasant area (the campus is fine but surroundings not so much.

If you really canit rent a car (hotels in Westchester are much cheaper than Manhattan) - I would definitely find out if yuo eligible to take the campus van and then try to find a hotel nearby (there's Holiday Inn I believe on W 57th St and also a bunch of places on the upper west side - but not sure if you can get a deal there).

That price for an Affinia is excellent and if you use hopstop.com it will give you details on using any public transit around the city.

doug_stallings

There's a Hostelling International youth hostel on 103rd/Amsterdam on the Upper West Side. That would be accessibile to Fordham by the D Train.

But I ask you whether you REALLY want a youth hostel since those are shared rooms and you would be staying with strangers and would have to secure your own belongings.

The campus is also accessible from Grand Central on Metro North, so staying at the Vanderbilt YMCA might also be an option. There are private rooms there you and your daughter could share, though you may have to share a bath.

The Aloft Hotel in Harlem might also be an option, but it's not going to cost $120.

I can't really recommend any hotels in the Bronx, and I would not personally choose to stay in the area around Fordham even if there were a hotel there.

You might email the university itself to see if it has any preferred rates at hotels in the area, though I suspect you would be directed to a hotel in Yonkers or perhaps White Plains.

cferrb

Doug, thanks for the tip on the Vanderbilt YMCA. We are staying in hostels in Philly and Boston, so hostels are fine, although DH is a little worried. NY Traveler, I will look up the Affinia. It would be nice to have a room to ourselves for a couple of nights if the price is right.

cferrb

Affinia looks like it's sold out, and DH nixed the Y. Bummer. Right now I am looking at hotels in Newark in the Rutgers area, since we are also visiting Rutgers. How long will it take me to get from Newark to the Rose Hill campus? I assume there would be a couple of changes of train and subway involved. We also are visiting Manhattanville College. I'm beginning to think I might be better off keeping my car and staying up in that area and commuting down to Fordham and then into mid-town just to hang out for a while.

nyer

Rutgers main campus is not in Newark, it's in New Brunswick about 30 miles away. You need to check which location you are looking for. Newark is not a safe city anyway, though there are some airport hotels that are passable. Not convenient for public transportation though. To get from there to the Bronx would be a major pain involving several changes of bus train etc.

Where are you coming from? Sounds like a car is looking better and better and then you can stay in a less expensive and safer suburban location and then drive to the 3 different campuses.

Only you know your budget, but if you are considering some of those expensive schools, and if you expect to visit your daughter if she chooses one of them, you might want to up your hotel budget for a couple nights and scope out safe convenient places for now and future trips.

nytraveler

For those 3 places youwill definitely want a car. Getting from one to the other by public transit will take hours - and not sure there is really anyplace to stay within easy distance of any of them. (Of course you can find a motel near New Brunswick - you REALLY don;t want to go to Newark - but it could easily take 3 hours to get to Fordham by bus/train/subway).

cferrb

OK. I guess I will keep my car. Then we can go up to White Plains for Manhattanville, visit that, drive down to Fordham and visit that and then have fun in Manhattan for the rest of the day. I was hoping to avoid driving in Manhattan, but my daughter keeps reminding me that I drive in Los Angeles all the time and I am just fine.

cferrb

Which is the best airport to dump the car and catch public transportation back into Manhattan if I am driving from Fordham on a Friday afternoon? LaGuardia looks to me like my best bet, but I want to be sure I am not missing something. Thanks.

nytraveler

LGA is not well served by public transit. It takes a couple of buses and bus to subway and probably 1.5 hours to get to midtown.

There is an airport bus for about $15 per person - but for 2 people a cab into the city won;t be much more.

For details got to hopstop.com and it will give you all the various options in terms of cost and timing.

But is there some reason to take the car back to an airport? Not sure of your exact schedule but you may be able to just drop the car at White PLains and take MetroNorth into midtown.

nyer

I'm getting confused. Maybe you can clarify some details
You're flying into New York? What airport? Are you renting a car at the airport? Staying in the area how long? Is there a specific order you have to visit the schools? Flying back out of the NYC area?

For example, If you flew into Newark, rent a car there, visit Rutgers (Newark? New Brunswick?) Depending on your time of arrival and which Rutgers campus, you might decide to overnight in NJ.

The next day go to Fordham for a visit, and either right after that to Manhattanville or stay overnight near Manhattanville (Purchase NY? Plenty of hotels withing 5-10 miles) and see the school the next day. Afterwards spend time in the city (drive or you can take a train into Manhattan if you're staying another night in the Purchase area.)
Drop off car at whatever airport you're leaving from. Can all be done in reverse or other order too, this is an example.

Or is your situation totally different?

DebitNM

Staying in Rye NY will be more convenient for visiting Manhattanville than White Plains, if you have a car. It is also closer if you have to use public transit and there is the New Haven Line for getting into NYC in Rye.

cferrb

No, we are driving up from Philly and dropping off the car. My original plan was to get rid of the car at the Newark Airport, get into Manhattan and a hotel and then rely on public transportation. We have one day (Friday) to see Manhattanville and Fordham, which at this point is looking a little ambitious without a car.

At this point it looks as though we will stay in White Plains, Rye, or somewhere else up north, do Manhattanville in the a.m. and then go down to Fordham. I will then toss DD onto the subway and tell her to go have fun at Macy's or Times Square or Rockefeller Plaza or something and I will drop off the car.

I was thinking the car had to go back to an airport, but you are right, presumably I can find an office in Manhattan to drop it off as well. I will research that.

I am a firm believer that two heads are better than one. This is why I love Fodors.

Thanks everyone for helping to clear my thought process.

5alive

cferrb, we came into Manhattan and left it by two different rental car companies. Budget and Enterprise. Not a problem to find either one in the city. The hours at these outposts are not quite as extensive as the airport branches.

We plotted out our routes and had very little problem. Our main challenge was the incredible number of pedestrians in West Midtown area. We felt it best to have a knowledgeable passenger help watch for street signs. I'd take her with you to do the drop-off. Good luck.

cferrb

5alive, thanks for the tip about Budget and Enterprise. That's really helpful.