Subway commute/Hotel in New York?
 

I'm going to be in New York for 3-4 days in late July. I'm looking for a pretty economical hotel... but I don't want to share a bathroom.

I've found a lot of pretty economical hotels out by JFK Airport, but I'm not sure how long a commute on the subway it would be to get to Manhattan.

Can anyone fill me in on this?

Thanks, everyone!

Tyler

It's probably an hour commute into Manhattan in the early am but figure it will be longer on the way back, at night the trains do not run as often.

Also you might check www.hotels.com.

Have a good time while you are here.

Does the hour include waiting at the platform? It looks like I would be taking the "A" or the "C" line.

Thanks!

do not stay at the airport if your business or vacation is taking you to manhattan. try the hotel pennsylvania. in new york, spacious, clean enough, and economical.

I can't give you first hand information, but I've read enough comments about the Hotel Pennsylvania, to make me consider getting a refrigerator carton and joining the homeless on the street before staying there!

Not sure what budget you have to spend, but you should really stay in Manhattan if you are only visiting for a few days. Check out The Gershwin Hotel (They have a website). They operate as both a european style hotel Small rooms with private bathrooms and as a hostel. Chain hotels have also popped up on the West side including Comfort Inn and Best Westerns. The Edison in Times Square is a really old hotel but more affordable then some of the newer constructions. Also the New Yorker Hotel right by Penn Station. looks a little run down but perfectly good.

Have fun.

Try Priceline. Almost anything is better than commuting out tho the airport, except the Penn. Somebody needs to come up with the link to Dave barry's hilarious report about his stay there.

Thanks, everyone! I think, from reading this, that I should stay on the island of Manhattan instead.

What's the best way to get baggage from JFK to the island?

What about from the island to Penn Station? I'm leaving New York by train to a conference in PA.

Thanks again, this place never ceases to amaze me!

Tyler

If you mean the best way to get baggage from JFK to Manhattan island (and you too) your options are train, bus, taxi or car service. Read here for details

http://www.panynj.gov/aviation/jgtsfram.htm

The easiest and most expensive is taxi or car service. Taxi has a flat fare of $45 plus tip and sometimes toll so could be $50-60. Several of the car services charge the same or a bit less (Carmel and Tel Aviv)

A bus is ~$15/person. If you do that, take the NY Airport shuttle to one of the 3 locations they service depending on where your hotel is.

The train is cheapest. I don't suggest airtrain/subway with luggage. The airtrain/long island rr is $12/person and puts you at Penn Station.

From "the island" meaning Manhattan to Penn Station?? Penn Station NYC is ON Manhattan island. There's another Penn Station in New Jersey that's also accessed through Penn Station.

I think trying Priceline is a good idea. You could read about it on betterbidding.com or biddingfortravel.com

If you just want cheap and cheerful near Penn Station, the Stanford and the Herald Square are both "ok." The Hotel QT in the Times Square area is just north of Penn station and a more vibrant area.

I agree with previous posters. For cheap (yet centrally located) Manhattan hotels, try: Hotel Pennsylvania, Ramada New Yorker, Portland Square Hotel, Herald Square Hotel, and Milford Plaza. All have their own websites where you can book rooms. None of those hotels have particularly pretty rooms (they are old and run-down), but they are reasonably priced, and most have private bathrooms (Herald Square has some rooms with shared baths, I believe). The public spaces (lobby, restaurants) look a bit better than the rooms.

I would definitely check out the Hotel QT. The rooms are supposedly really tiny (even for NYC), but it is relatively new and looks more hip from the outside than any of the behemoth properties mentioned above (NYer, PA, Milford). I have read that furnishings, while minimal, are nice and new.

Don't stay at the airport! Staying in Manhattan is such an awesome experience!

o.k, to clarify, the hotel pennsylvania isn't preferred, but it's not all that bad for a 1-2 night stay. ;-)

The Hotel Pensylvania is widely reported to be infested with vermin of various types. I wouldn;t touch it with a barge pole.

If you want to be truly economical try a youth hostel in Manhattan. Several have private or semi-private rooms - and they are at least clean.

The one at Amsterdam and 103rd seems popular with european visitors who give it good reports. And it has very good subway access to most things you will want to see/do - besides being located in a very interesting area (very diverse, lots of great inepensive restaurants, near columbia university).

Also - do not reco hotels at JFK - because you first need to get to the subway - whcih can be a trek - then it takes an hour at least into Manhattan.

But unless you tell us what your budget is it's hard for us to make recos.

Continuing thanks for the help!

On "mclaurie"'s suggestion, I'm looking hard at the "Hotel QT". It looks central and I can book a room for $165 a night before tax.

Reviews on tripadvisor seem pretty positive.

Any views on this? Would I get anything better for the same money?

Tyler

Keep in mind, hotel tax is about 18 percent. . .

While I have no suggestions, I still suspect that you could do better.

Yes, you stand to do better if you try priceline. Unless there are more than two of you in a room (or two people needing two beds) it's probably your best bet.

Yes you should try Priceline and the other good website is www.hotels.com. The Hotel Grand Union is $125 a night and it's just off Madison Ave. It's actually quite nice.

I agree you probably can do better pricewise than $165/night but not necessarily in that neighborhood. Another budget place in that area is the Comfort Inn Midtown which I think includes a breakfast. The Travel Inn is also popular but it's much further west so not quite as convenient.

Some of the upper westside hotels might be the same price or less. The Belleclaire, the Beacon, the Excelsior or the Milburne. They're not as new as the QT but I think rooms might be bigger. The Salisbury is closer to Central Park than the QT and is a decent hotel. Again, not as new as the QT but probably larger rooms.