My daughters and I are planning our first trip to NCY in October. Due to the high cost of hotels, we were thinking of staying out in the suburbs (on a train line) and commuting every day. We had done this in Boston (staying in Salem) and it was great. Any suggestions? We were hoping to spend the majority of our time sightseeing in Manhattan.

Thanks,
Peggy

What's your hotel budget?

I would say about $150-175/night. I realize cost of living is VERY high; thus the reason for staying AWAY from the city. I'm thinking a B&B possibly.
Thanks

For what it is worth, commuting in/out of Manhattan is a real bear especially if you are doing it during the rush hours. You'll waste a good 2 to 3 hours of your day travelling. Not sure if the money you'll save would be worth the hassel and depending on where you are staying you'll still have to make your way from either Penn Station or Grand Central Station to reach the typical sightseeing locations.

If you are intent on doing this look for accomodations in towns north of the city like Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry & Tarrytown, on Long Island's North Shore such as Great Neck, Manhasset, Glen Cove, all of which have daily train service to the city. Sorry, can't help with New Jersery towns on the train lines.

It's totally not worth it. The furthest out I would stay is Brooklyn or Jersey City.

Well this answers one of my other questions... how long a commute. Guess I'm better off to bite the bullet and stay in Manhattan.

You should be able to find a room in Manhattan at near that price, but if you're looking now for next Oct., the prices you see will be crazy. The Travel Inn is a good, well located budget hotel that's usally available at around that price or a bit more. Radio City Apartments is another and it is apts. so more space, a kitchenette etc. Same for the Salisbury.

If you want to stay outside the city to get a nicer place, the only way it really makes sense is to stay in Jersey City where you can take the PATH train back and forth. The Hyatt in Jersey City gets very good reviews.

3 people commuting on a reg. commuter train starts to get pricey, not to mention inconvenient. There's so much to do at night in NYC, it's really a pain to not be able to rest midday or have to make 2 trips a day.

You might also check on hotwire. Betterbidding.com has a list of hotwire hotels so you may be able to tell which are being offered.

Finally, there are some new hotels just opening, a Residence Inn and a Holiday Inn Express that might work. The Cosmopolitan is another good budget hotel downtown, but watch out for bunkbeads. How old are your daughters?

The Cosmopolitan Hotel on Chambers Street in Tribeca has rooms that begin at $149 a night. A friend of my mother's who is quite a lady told me that this is where her relatives stay when visiting the city. I would check this out, along with others, before you decide to stay in the suburbs. You will spend, in addition to time, a fair amount of money on train travel if you stay on Long Island.

Peggy,

I would also suggest the Cosmopolitan Hotel. http://www.cosmohotel.com/

Some other Manhatten hotels that fit your budget:

http://www.murrayhillinn.com/

http://www.gershwinhotel.com/

http://www.mayfairnewyork.com/

http://www.unionsquareinn.com/

http://www.nychotels.com/ (The Marcel)

http://www.newyorkhotel.com (Americana Inn)

http://www.newyorkhotel.com (Hotel Newton)

http://www.hotelgrandunion.com/


http://www.thirtythirty-nyc.com/

It good that you are booking a room now - prices will only go up between now and October.

Staying on LI or in Westchester deosn;tmake a lot of sense. Thetravel costs back and forth are substantial and there are few hotels that you could use without rentintg a car - completely negating any savings.

mclaurie is right about the hyatt in jersey - but if at all possible stay in the city - thre really is a huge difference and staying on the other side of the river will really make any shows or other night time activities more difficult.

Another advantage to staying in the city is that you can more easily go back to your room to relax/freshen up betweeen day and evening activties.
Some good options have been suggested, and I would add checking out www.craigslist.org for vacation rentals as well as www.metro-home.com for their apartments. If you add in what you would spend on RT trains for all of you each day you might find it is not much (if any) more expensive than camping out in the burbs. And having an apartment where you can have some meals also saves some bucks.

Brooklyn Marriott - right over the Brooklyn Bridge. A good value and pretty convenient to the city.

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/NYCBK

Try hotels in Queens or Brooklyn. It's still in NYC and on the subway routes. There is a Days Inn in Long Island City (one stop from Manhattan) and a La Quinta in Sunnyside (10 minutes from Manhattan). Both are pretty decent areas, near the city, inexpensive and near the train lines. It's like the suburbs, I guess.

Try hotels downtown in the Financial District.

Book now! Don't wait and if you can, go ahead a book a priceline room.

The longer you wait, the higher prices will rise.

It is NOT a good idea to stay outside Manhattan if you are sightseeing in Manhattan especially if this is your first trip to Manhattan.

I'll parrot many others and suggest you stay in Manhattan if at all possible.

I've known people who've postponed trips until their budget allowed them to stay in the city -- and I think they were uniformly pleased with the decision.

Good luck!

I think some of the hostels offer private rooms that sleep four, with en suite bathrooms. I know the one in my neighborhood does (Jazz on the Park)Maybe that is an affordable solution.

Check this website to see if you can get any deals -
http://www.applecorehotels.com/

Aslo, try the new Holiday Inn Express in Manhattan.

Have you thought about renting an apartment rather then a hotel room which can be quite small. I'm going to New York for St. Paddies weekend which can be quite expensive but i've rented a studio apartment for $179 per night. It has it's own kitchen so maybe you could save some money by cooking rather then eating out every day. www.woogo.com

I was originally from NYC, and am now in NJ. I agree with everyone else. You should find a hotel in Manhattan. I think you can find some good deals. Check out www.travelzoo.com. I've seen some good deals for NYC hotels. It's a pain to commute back and forth, especially if you are not from this area. Waste of valuable time, as well as money.

Oh NO Claire. I'm sorry to tell you but WooGo is not a reputable company. If you can cancel, do it! The idea of an apt. is great, but not with WooGo. Read this

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._New_York.html