NYC hotels & getting around
 

My family of 4 is traveling to NYC/Manhattan mid Nov. I have the following hotels lined up to pick from. Would like opinions on which is best suited for 2A's 10yr old & 13 yr old. We will be doing the tourist things to be covered in a 3 day stay. Previously considered JC, NJ but after posting were strongly advised aganst it. Can anyone tell us why???
The hotel is adjacent to the path train which is a straight shot into Manhattan and then we just do the Subway thing throughout Manhattan... I thought??? Is this a misconception on my part??? Not set on NJ just wondering??? Although, we'll have a car, we plan to use public trans. i.e. subs., buses, unless advised differently.
Really, really excited about the stay... just really tired of trying to organize it. Too much to think about. This is an added on side trip (we're from CA on our way to VA taking the round-about-way) so we weren't exactly budgeted for this & I'm really trying to work it all in.. you know seize the opportunity while it's here....not-sure-when-we'll-get-back kind of thing....
We're looking for hotels with convenience to public transport. We don't want to use taxi's if we can help it & if anyone can advise in that area... (pub. trans not taxi's nothing against taxi's except the $$) it'd be very helpful that's one of our biggest mysteries the not knowing what to expect as far as trying to get from one place to another using transit. You know like does the sub. stop at every corner are there long stretches between stops... do you have to bus it or cab it from the sub. or is everything w/in walking dist.???
Hotels we are looking at are:
LGA Marriott
Holiday Inn Express-Brooklyn
Marriott Upper East Side (92nd)
Marriott Financial Dist.
We stay at Marriotts when we travel and rooms are always great. Could that be a different story in NY? I'm not familiar with Holiday Inn Express so if anyone can add a little about this one it might help.
Couldn't find anything on Marriott UES, I guess because it's new?????
Anyway, would rather spend our time & money on the ent., food & shopping etc. in this great city instead of sleeping & trying to get to and fro...we're not asking for much are we????? BTW I've never had to put this much effort into a trip before so.....
Once again thanks for all your opinions, help and responses they are truly welcomed and appreciated! :)

Forget the LGA option. That's not a good commute at all. My guess is people advised again the JC, NJ location because the area isn't so great. I'm not familiar with the Brooklyn hotel. I dont know the Marriot UES, but I do know people who live in the area and is perfectly fine, with easy access to the Lexington Av. subway line, and also near Central park. The downtown Marriott is a bit removed from most touristy things, it's not a bad location, just not as much going on down there in the evening (not as residential, more office buildings).

The UES Marriott (which is a courtyard), just opened and gets great reviews on Tripadvisor. It even has an indoor pool (which is rare for a NYC hotel). I would go with that if you can. It would be much better than the other options you mention.

As an FYI, taking a taxi isn't necessarily as expensive as you think, especially w/ 4 of you. In many cases, the extra cost will be minimal vs. a subway, and the convenience factor is substantial.

Second the notion of a taxi as not that much more than subway fare for a group of 4. Considering that subway is $2 pp, taxis are really pretty reasonable in comparison. You can get ANYwhere on the subway, but if you are not a regular user of public transportation it can be confusing, with lots of different levels, routes, local vs express, etc. The crowds and sheer size of New York will have an impact--can be incredibly tiring to cope with if you are not used to the scale.

The subway is usually the fasted way. During the day, taxis can take forever depending on where you are going, and the meter is based on time and distance, so during busy times, taxi's will be pricier.

I don't know how myuch your family likes to walk, but just about everything should be walking distance from a subway or bus. The UES Marriott is a few long blocks to the subway stop. It looks like there are some crosstown bus options to get you to the subway if you don't want to walk. In fact there's 1 bus on E. 86th street that loks like it loops around to 92nd and 1st av (where hotel is), so that may be a very convenient way to get to the subway station at 86th st (which has both local and express trains).

I suggest you get a street map now and subway & bus maps (you can get a subway and bus map for free from token booths, visitor kiosks, maybe even the hotel) when you arrive.

Regular city buses generally stop every 3 blocks unless it's a limited. If ever you are unsure, just ask the bus driver. Transfers between subways and buses are free.

I've already answered your question on your other thread here
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34896379
suggesting the 2 Manhattan options are best and chosing b/w them depends on what your activities in NYC will be and the difference in price b/w the 2.

I agree that you're making a mistake discounting taxis. They are not so expensive and for 4 people, may sometimes be cheaper than public transport. A typical subway or bus ride is $2/person. Unless one or both of the kids are under 44" tall (which means they ride free), a taxi may actually be cheaper for short trips.

As to the Jersey City option, it is certainly an option. Can't remember which hotel you picked there. Some are better/closer to the PATH train than others. But given your short visit, staying outside Manhattan is a dramatically different experience to staying in Manhattan. The Doubletree Club and the Hyatt are the 2 best hotels in Jersey City but they're becoming as expensive as staying in Manhattan.

Since you have a car, that's an added expense in Manhattan to consider (although I'm sure you have). There is ONE hotel in Manhattan with free parking, the Travel Inn. It's bare bones basic but clean and reasonably well located.

Actually, I've just looked back at your original post. It was not Jersey City, but Newark you were talking about (at least that was my understanding). Newark is not terribly convenient to get to/from NYC.

Newark Airport is a horrible area to stay in and unless you are either dealing crack or have a 6AM flight out, skip that area.

Do not stay outside Manhattan if that is where you are sight seeing.

In this order:
Marriott Financial District
Marriott UES
Holiday Inn Express

Remove the LaGuardia hotel from your list.

Agreed - about the car. Parking in Manhattan is VERY expensive...before I moved to NYC, when I came up to visit, it wasn't rare that I was spending $40/day on parking.

Jersey City is an ugly part of town and commuting into Manhattan would take you an hour. Who wants to do that on vacation?

I would also like to agree with everyone who said that taxi's are not that expensive. There are 4 of you - taking the subway between pt A and pt B is going to cost you a total of $8 - you can generally take a taxi from one pt of manhattan to the other for about that. Plus, they're doing tons of construction on the subway these days - over the weekend there are trains that aren't running, trains that are running on the tracks for other trains, making the whole thing very confusing. Unless you are VERY familiar with the subway, I would advise against this.

It's hard to answer your questions about public transportation w/out knowing for sure where you are staying and what types of activities you would like to do.

To give an example of taking a subway vs. a cab: I live in the E. Village, my BF lives in the SW corner of SOHO. I can take two trains (the L and the C/E) to get to his apartment, which can take anywhere from 25-45 minutes. This costs me ~$2 (monthly pass). The ten minute cab ride between our apartments costs $8.00 including tip. Four people can fit in a cab, so it works out to be roughly the same price.

I use the subway/busses as much as possible, but taxis aren't an unreasonable way to supplant your transportation. With a group of four, it can work out to be the same or cheaper. Obviously rush hour traffic and navigating through midtown are exceptions, but you get the point..

Our family of four recently stayed at the Embassy Suites, NYC, which is very near Ground Zero, the marina, Wall Street, Battery City Park, Lady Liberty, etc.. It was a great location for our three-night stay. A one bedroom suite will give you a king bed or two doubles, plus a sofa sleeper. Also two TVs, which helps with kids, a little mini-bar w/ sink and microwave.

Best feature is the full hot/cold breakfast buffet included, which even offers made-to-order omelettes. It's a huge spread, includes everything you'd want, and is open till a late morning time (10:30??) so it works for everyone. There's also a generous complimentary evening hour, which includes drinks and lots of hot/cold hors d'oeuvres. It's a great snack for kids, between 5- 7pm, I think.

I posted a trip report, which tells you where we went in the city from that location, and also names some restaurants. You can click on my screen name above to find it. Ellenem, another Fodorite, gave me a very detailed walking tour from that hotel. You can find it by looking for my other post asking questions about NYC. If you can't find these, just ask and I'll cut-and-paste here for you.

The first day, we walked all over from the hotel; the next day we took the subway up to the Upper East Side, to see the Park, etc. But, we also decided a taxi would be more convenient and almost as inexpensive as $2pp subway fare. So we took the cab back to the hotel each night.

Enjoy your trip.
:)>-

Of the hotels you mentioned the UES Marriott seems the best choice. Good neighborhood, lots of restaurants and reasonable access to public transit (a 10 minute walk to Lex Ave subway and lots of buses). Also - if you walk straight over to Central Park you'll find your self in the middle of Museum Mile (the Met, Guggen heim, City of New York and a bunch of others).

While it's true that taxis are not that much for 4 people that only works for relatively short distances - which you could walk fairly easily anyway. (Walk as much as you can in NYC - it;s the only way to really get the feel of the city.) For longer distances cabs can easily be twice the subway or more - esp when you include the tip. And - the subway is MUCH faster - esp around rush hours and holidays (walking can be faster than a cab crosstown).

If you have a car either bring it nto the city aned put it in a garage for the duration (check iconparking.com to see what that will cost near the Marriott - I would guess about $35 per day) or - if you have little luggage - leave it in Jersey (perhaps Newark airport long-term parking) and take the train in from there. (This isn;t so awful to do once - to do it twice a day would take a big chunck out of your sightseeing time.)

If you do bring a car and stay on the UES, street parking is plentiful, free and safe below 96th. Just pay attention to what the street signs about street cleaning. Typically you'll have to move your car twice for 90 minutes to accommodate invisible street cleaning.

Okay guys,
thanks for all the replies, tips etc. and great sites for info., however,
still at this late date time (we arrive the 16th) trying to decide where to stay. Other than staying in the city which I do have resies for,(however they are broken up a bit) we have gone back to considering the so-called crackhouse area??? Springhill Suites Marriott EWR.
I am able to get 3 nights + tax for less than $250. & Free parking (good because we have a rental that will just sit, yes, we have to keep it) & comp. breakfast ( good for fam. of 4)we were told it's easy to get to PATH.
drive 7 mins. to Parking for Penn(hilton gateway)$10 for 24hrs. then to PATH for an 18 min. ride in to the city @ 1.50pp.(does this sound realistic?) We do have a 4th night "last hurrah" stay in Times Square @ the Marriott Marquis for a disgustingly low rate of $89. WOOHOO. (pays to be employed w/ Marriott) which we'll keep no matter where we end up staying the prior 3 nights. We just want to be free wheeling $$-wise in city i.e sites, plays, food, museums etc. even though the Ewr Marriott gets great reviews for the value, however we don't want to be like squatters:)and/or be worried about getting shot over a "crack deal"??:( is it really that bad and inconvenient??? is the getting from the hotel to the city going to take a long time and be that much of a hassel??? or are the replies based on bias for the "great city" which I a get and can appreciate ...understand is to get the true feel of the city, but what is a realistic visit for a fam of 4 on a moderate budget? The other options...
We are also contemplating a one-night stay EWR Mar.$45.& then 2 nts midtown-east Courtyard 219.per night & then the Marquis or 3 nts. UES @189. per night & then Marquis. don't really like schlepping but ???is it worth it wemcan rough it with the best.
Also, off the subject. My uncle said to do the roller coaster inside the ESB, I haven't read or see anything about a roller coaster????
Not trying to talk ourselve into anything because of the price, but it is sounds so economical; is it or is it just a too good to be true plan(as far as NJ)

NO NO NO NO!!

Do not consider staying in Newark. The commute can take up to an hour and isn't easy to get in and out of.

Let me add that not only is Newark airport an unsightly industrial area, Newark New Jersey has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country.

#-O

Skip Newark.

If you are staying over a weekend, check with the Marriott in the Financial District. They often run specials - call direct.

Personally, I don't think it would be fun to either stay outside the city and trek in and out everyday with a family of four, or to stay in a number of hotels for a 3-day stay. Just doesn't sound worth it to me, or much fun at all. If money is the issue, could you skimp on meals out, and put more money toward finding good lodging in a safe and convenient area?
:)>-

Had you mentioned you were a Marriott employee in your original post and wanting to use a Marriott hotel, perhaps we could have advised you appropriately. You've read the reviews on tripadvisor on the Springhill and decided to pay attention to the positives and ignore the negatives. You decide.

On Marriot.com you will find 20 Marriott hotels in and around the NYC area. Any of them except the other ones at Newark and the one at JFK would be preferable to this one.

Imo, it's a total waste of time to be changing hotels for 1 day of a 4 night stay. You will lose a good part of the day switching hotels. And ironically, the most inconvenient night to stay in the city would be the last night if you're headed to Va. You'd actually be better off in NJ for your drive to Va.
See if you can get the Courtyard in Secaucus for the same price as the Springhill.

Ample parking south of 96th Street. Sure, if you know the rules, the days, the streets, the times and can change parking space on the spot. I watch city dwellers doing the "alternate side of the street parking dance" daily. Not ideal for tourists. If you bring the car, put it into a garage.

Agree - alternate side of the street parking is great if you live in the city and don't work or work at home. Otherwise it's a major pain to have to move the car - meaning NO PLACE to park - you have to drive around or sit in the car - for 1.5 hours in the middle of the day twice a week.

(And if you're caught not following the rules and get towed it will cost over $1000 to get your car back - between parking ticket, tow truck fee and police yard storage fee.)

Since you work for Marriott, I would suggest staying at the Marriott downtown, there are less expensive places to put the car over the weekend.

Another suggestion would be the Travel Inn on W. 42nd St which is close to Times Square but far enough away that you won't be bothered with all the noise. Also you have FREE PARKING at the Travel Inn. There are some good inexpensive restaurants in the area, close to walk to and alot of the restaurants in the area will also deliver to the hotel.

Please trust all of us when we suggest NOT staying especially at Newark it is a HUGE hassle getting there and back and with kids not alot of fun and if you miss a train, you will be stuck for a while waiting, and later at night the trains don't run as often, and you will quite honestly spend more in transportation than you will be saving by staying there. Also get rid of the car, and rent when you leave, you will save money that way as well.

I think the "roller coaster" ride at the ESB is the virtual reality tour of Manhattan. My kids loved it! It was a couple of years ago that we did it, but my recollection is that it was a bit expensive. However, I personally didn't think it was worth the wait to go up the ESB, so was glad we had the thrill of the ride. However, my kids just went back to the ESB at night with someone else (we did it during the day) and loved it (no ride this time).

I hope you can find some way to cut your budget back at home rather than on your hotel stay in NYC! It is really exhausting to go back and forth into Manhattan.

definitely walk walk walk in the city! And take cabs. My kids feel uncomfortable on the subway. I do not, but they feel a bit scared, and I think for anyone not familiar with the system, it is not easy to navigate. It is nowhere near as logical as the underground system found in most cities.

Thanks to the recommendation of other Fodorites, we visited the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) for its 360 views of Manhattan. Especially gorgeous at sunset. No lines at all to get in. (When we walked by the Empire State Building, the line went down the street.) You can Google it, and find a 10 percent discount coupon, or maybe find one as they are often given out on the street. It's about $17.50 per adult to go up there. You can stay as long as you want, there's an inside observation area as well as outdoors. I highly recommend it. Only downside is that there's not a cafe up there, so maybe bring a snack for the kids if they allow it.
:)>-