Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > United States
Reload this Page >

Stay in hotel in Manhattan or by LaGuardia?

Search

Stay in hotel in Manhattan or by LaGuardia?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 25th, 2005, 10:54 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Stay in hotel in Manhattan or by LaGuardia?

Hello everyone.
Here’s my quandary:
My husband and I are flying into LaGuardia at 1:00 on a Fri afternoon. We have tickets to Spamalot at 8:00 that night (I am sooo excited!). We are hoping to have dinner before the show. We will have all day Sat to sight-see and will fly out (LaGuardia again) at 8:00 on Sun morning. Neither my husband nor I have been to NYC before.
If we get a hotel near the airport (Crown Plaza LaGuardia) it will be convenient to check in and freshen up for the show and for getting up Sun morning and getting to the airport on time. It’s also much less expensive than hotels in the city. OTOH, we would have to spend money on transportation to/from the city twice on Fri, and twice on Sat. I have absolutely no idea how expensive it is to take a cab from LaGuardia to the theatre district. I also have no idea how easy it will be to get a cab after the show when all the theatres are getting out.
If we get a hotel in the city (I don’t have one picked out yet) it would be closer to the theatre (?) and would put us closer to sight-seeing on Sat. We would only be going to/from the city twice; into on Fri and back on Sun. OTOH, it wouldn’t be convenient to the airport for Sun morning and would be considerably more expensive. I don’t know if the costs of the taxi rides cancels out that of a higher priced hotel.
Could someone help me decide which way to go here? I’ve been waffling back and forth for weeks and I really have to make reservations!
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks!
Chotzi is offline  
Old Mar 25th, 2005, 11:09 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,050
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There's no doubt at all in my mind: Stay in town.
Anonymous is offline  
Old Mar 25th, 2005, 11:09 AM
  #3  
GoTravel
Guest
 
Posts: n/a


There is absolutely no reason to stay at LGA other than a 5AM flight.

You will be miserable staying in that part of Queens.

With tax, tolls, and tip, the cab far would run you close to $40 each way. For four trips, that is $160 not to mention the time you'll waste.

Look on Hotwire and get a hotel in Midtown East, Midtown West, or Times Square.
 
Old Mar 25th, 2005, 11:30 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,305
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It's a no-brainer. Stay in the city. Just three reasons why:
1. It's not a real New York experience unless you stay overnight.
2. The money spent on cabs will probably more than make up the difference in hotel costs.
3. It's not easy finding a cab after the show.
Further, with your plane arriving at 1 p.m., you'll have more than enough time to take a cab to the hotel, check in, freshen up and have a leisurely dinner before the show.
HowardR is offline  
Old Mar 25th, 2005, 11:54 AM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks everyone. You've really helped. In town it is. Now I'm off to research hotels!
Chotzi is offline  
Old Mar 25th, 2005, 02:27 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 459
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yep,just got back from NYC and I second third and fourth the vote to stay in town. When the theater gets out EVERYONE wants a cab. We wound up taking the train back to our lodging. Cab rides, with out traffic, to La Guardia from Midtown were $25.00 each way. This was EARLY in the morning.

Have fun.
beentheretwice is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2005, 09:58 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,107
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Someone at another travel message board that starts with "F" as in Arthur asked this same question about LGA Crowne Plaza.

I think he found that the bus passed the hotel, and took them to the #7 subway. Yes, it's a lot nicer to stay in Manhattan but at the same time, the potential savings for hotels by staying "in the sticks" can go for a lot of meals, plays, or souvenirs. Like all of life, there's tradeoffs in travel too.

If you decide to stay with CrownePlaza LGA, do so and don't apologize to anyone about it.
rb_travelerxATyahoo is offline  
Old Mar 28th, 2005, 04:40 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
While it certainly saves money (although I'm not sure how much) to stay in LGA - I wouldn't want to be in the position of being at the #7 subway station and standing on a street corner waiting for a bus at midnight (yes - it will be midnight - after you walk to the subway, wait for a train and then trek out to Queens).

Don;t know how often those buses run in the small hours - would be surprised if there were more than 2 per hour. So- realistically you're back to a cab - and now how much have you really saved?
nytraveler is offline  
Old Mar 28th, 2005, 04:51 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,260
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We just did this very trip in February and saw "Spamalot" in previews...if you like a fun show, whether or not you are a fan of M-Python, you will LOVE this show which is now sold out into the Fall.

We stayed right on Times Square and the cab to and from LGA was between $30-40 max.

I would stay in the city by all means...taxis to and from the airport are easy to get, too.
Intrepid1 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
tuckerdc
United States
7
Mar 16th, 2010 04:46 PM
agsman
United States
6
Mar 10th, 2010 03:10 AM
sarahjaneb
United States
13
Oct 7th, 2007 07:45 PM
Hilary
United States
28
Oct 20th, 2006 09:32 AM
edubb64
United States
8
Apr 14th, 2006 05:46 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On



Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -