ginger50

3 of us gals will be flying in to JFK at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night in April. We need to be back to JFK on Saturday for a 4 p.m. Air India flight and are looking for a little advise.

We assume we should stay at a hotel near JFK and I think we will Priceline a room. All of the hotels listed on bidding for travel in the 2.5 and 3 star range have shuttles, so we will just go to the hotel upon arrival.

Is it feasible to to into NYC for breakfast using some form of public (inexpensive) transportation, a quick look around, then back to the hotel to pick up luggage and return via shuttle to the airport? Or we could go to the airport super early on the shuttle, check our bags with Air India, and then make our way into the city for a quick bite to eat/sightsee, before returning to the airport for our 4 p.m. flight?

All advise welcome.

Ginger.

vjpblovesitaly

It is my understanding you are given a king if you bid on Priceline. There is also the nonbidding option on Priceline, though.

I would stay in Manhattan myself.

JFK is in NYC

happytrailstoyou

It would be a heck of a lot more fun to go spend the night in Manhattan. You could get a feel for the city at night and also have breakfast and, perhaps, a walk in Central Park before heading back to JFK for your Air India flight.

HTTY

ginger50

Sounds like a plan. How do we get to Manhattan from JFK? Is there a reasonable hotel there? (in the $100 range?)

As far as the Priceline bed situation goes, I've done Priceline a bunch of times and never had a problem getting 2 doubles, although I realize it's a risk.

gb944

No hotels in Manhattan for $100. If you're lucky, $250, maybe.

ginger50

I just looked at Expedia and figured that out!! What's Plan B?

sf7307

And you can't count on getting a room with two beds in Manhattan since many of the hotels have few, if any, rooms with two beds.

vjpblovesitaly

You tell us.

ginger50

Well, since I need to rule out Manhattan due to cost, I'm back to the airport hotel and the Saturday morning dilemma.

Fra_Diavolo

The hotels near JFK really best saved for emergency use only -- storms, war, pestilence etc. -- you know, situations where you are unlikely survive anyway, so how's the hotel going to hurt?

Taxi fares to Manhattan from JFK are fixed at $45. It will come to about $60 after tolls and tip.

I strongly suggest that you scrounge around for the extra couple of hundred bucks and stay in Manhattan.

nytraveler

Many hotel sin NYC - unlike other places - have only one bed - either a double or a king - so it's really not safe to do Priceline for 3 people. Also - some of the airport hotels are not very pleasant. I would look to see what discounts are available on travelzoo - of kayak - so you know which one you are getting - and that it can sleep 3.

If you can;t afford Manhattan have a look at the better hotels in Long Island City - which is only 20 minutes on the subway to Manhattan - and the better ones are much more pleasant than at JFK - besides being 45 minutes closer to the city. Just be sure that you get one that is very close to the subway.

(I would stay in Manhattan but $100 simple isn;t possible - except perhaps in Jan on Priceline.)

avalon

Try the Sleep Inn Brooklyn DOWNTOWN, price is about 135.00/night and it's a short walk to the subway into Manhatten

doug_stallings

There are a lot of hotels in Queens that are close to Manhattan and very reasonably priced. Try pricing the Country Inn and Suites in Long Island City, which will be fairly close to $100.

It's about 3 blocks from the subway and 2 stops from Manhattan on E train. You can take the Airtrain ($5) and then the E train at Jamaica ($2.25), getting off at Queens Plaza. The trip should take an hour. You can also take a taxi for about $20 per person and cut your travel time in half unless there's a lot of traffic. So if you are willing to pay double, you can certainly get there faster.

On the way BACK to the airport, arrange for a car service for the same price as a taxi or take the subway again.

I second and third all the recommendations NOT to stay at a JFK hotel. You can't avoid the rather expensive trip into Manhattan, so there's no reason to stay out there, where you have no access to restaurants or anything else the city has to offer.

travelbuff

Check the Hotel Grand Union on E 32nd St. The rates for Manhattan are really good and they have double beds. The hotel is close to some shopping, restaurants and the subway so you can take the subway back to JFK and save a bit on travel costs as well. (www.hotelgrandunion.com)

nytraveler

the rate for a triple in April at the Grand Union is $225 per night.

mclaurie

$100/night is just not a realistic price for NYC for a room with 2 beds for 3 people. Even a decent JFK airport hotel will be more than that and imo Priceline is NOT the way to go for JFK since some of those hotels are really bad. There's absolutely nothing to do around JFK. Panamhotel.com is about halfway between JFK and Manhattan and happens to have a shuttle bus to/from the airport. (It's free in one direction). There are restaurants within a walk of the hotel. It's a very basic budget option and you can probably get 2 double beds for ~ $100. I don't know that it's worth the time to go in and out of Manhattan from there though. The Long Island City hotels (only the ones near a subway station) are better for that or actually staying in Manhattan. In Long Island City, the Holiday Inn Manhattan View and the Verve are other good options.

For Manhattan, you can try using Hotwire for 3 people or check sales on travelzoo.com and travel-ticker.com