Which New York Area airport is best for this address?
 

I will be staying, hopefully, in the 200 block of east 17th street in NYC. Which nearby airport would be the closest to this address? Or is JFK or Laguardia fine for this area?

Also, has anyone stayed or know of east 17th street? I know a subway is within walking distance, but I was wondering what the vibe of the neighborhood is.

thanks everybody! :)

That area of Manhattan is called the Grammercy Park Area, and it is all residential. Lots of restaurants and a bit of shopping. You are around 3rd Ave and the closest subway is 14th and Union Square, that's the Lexington Ave Subway. To get a few blocks closer to where you are staying take the L train which goes cross town or take the bus on 14th and walk up 3rd AVe.

LaGuardia is the closest airport and it will be around $20 to your destination.

Hope this helps.

thank you!

the guy at the hotel said that the nearest subway was less than 5 blocks away...is this true? I wasn't able to tell by your response if I needed to take a bus to the subway, or if it was within walking distance.

ilovetotravel29 - Now is a good time to go to your nearest large bookstore and buy a map of NYC that has the subway lines overlaid on it. I love "Streetsmart NYC Manhattan" but there are others.

You can also search for the MTA website and check out the detailed subway map (download the pdf - you can get better zooming that way), and use google maps or other online for streetfinding.

You'll see on these where the airports are, where subways are relative to your hotel, etc. It's good to get familiar with the overall system in advance, instead of asking for very specific things, otherwise you may end up lost with just one wrong turn. :)

thank you, I usually get these insideout guides....I think that is the name....but just for booking purposes I was interested in the reviews from people who had been in that neighborhood and could give me a feel for wether or not that is a good place to stay. I actually have on old MTA map from I think 1999 or 1998....I should get that out and see if I can find east 17th on it...thanks for reminding me!


:)

The L train will be about 3 blocks south of you on 3rd Ave. The Lexington Ave line at Union Square is 3 blocks south and a little more than 3 blocks west, so it's about 6 blocks away. If you walk on 17th St, walk in the same direction that traffic is moving (that's west), walk to Park Ave and turn left and walk down to 14th St and look for the signs for the subway.

Have a great time while you are here.

Also check out the MTA Manhattan bus schedule - go to www.mta.info, click on Maps, NYC Transit, then Manhattan Bus. The bus map is much more detailed than the subway map (which tends to skew the actual proportions of things in an effort to fit it all in). The bus map also indicates major sites and all subway lines. Don't bother to print it out, though - just ask for one at any subway token booth once you're in the city. (It's fairly large.) :)

As others have mentioned, you'll be on the edge of Grammercy, which is a nice, quiet residential area - should be perfect for a good night's sleep. Union Square is a hub for both transportation(4,5,6,N,R,Q,L trains) and restaurants and shops. Even better, it's where the largest farmers market in the city occurs every Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat. Even if you just wander through for a cup of cider and some people watching, it will make you feel like a local! The park also has a dog run, and on nice days everyone in the world seems to be hanging out...

Just south of where you're staying is the East Village, with all sorts of restaurants, small shops, and bars. And it's easy enough from where you'll be to head into midtown, and even up the east side to the Met on the 4 or 5 train. I think you picked a great location! :)

Hi,

I live around the corner from that location, and it's a WONDERFUL neighborhood. It's very residential, but you are a short (5-10) minute walk from bustling Union Square. Grammercy Park is one of the most desirable residential nabes in the city, and you'll see why!

Union Square is one of the top three transit hubs in the city, and you can pretty much get anywhere you'd need to go from there.

I can say from experience that a cab to Laguardia will cost you a bit more than $20. More like $25-30, but it's definitely the closest airport.

The only thing that particular neighborhood lacks is nightlife, but you can easily access it by a 15-20 minute walk in any direction. There are many great restaurants within walking distance (Casa Mono, Union Square Cafe, Posto Pizza)....

BTW, is this the trip you mentioned for December? If so, Union Square sets up a cute holiday crafts sale every year. Very festive... :)

In New York anything less than a mile is considered walking distance unless you have some sort of handicap. In fact, after Sunday brunch we often walk down to either Union square area (8 miles) or the Village and back (about 10 miles) to work off the food.

From 17th to 14th St is 3 blocks (just subtract) and the 200 block is one block over from Lexington - so 4 blocks - which should take about 4/5 minutes to walk.

The area is mid to upscale (some VERY upscale) residential with local services and restaurants. If you walk a few blocks west to Union Square it's busier with some offices and lot of restaurants and more shops.

I second the idea to get a good guidebook and map to memorize.

It is very easy to get disoriented in Manhattan because of the skyscrapers. The more you know about your area the better.

Gramercy Park is a fantastic neighborhood.

Ok, so I made my reservation for 7 days, 6 nights and they have my cc number. My only worry, in the back of my head, is that they will somehow lose my info or something. That would so suck!

What is a hotel obligated to do if you have a confirmation number, and they are overbooked? what recourse does a person have? what is the consumer rights?

I say this only because it is a good deal on a single room and I would hate to have to spend 200 bucks a night for a hotel---something I cannot afford at all.

:I

You have no rights. Hotels typically overbook from 2-5% to compensate for cancelations.

If they are overbooked, they will sometimes walk you to another hotel but they aren't obligated.

To avoid being overbooked, arrive early in the day. The later you check in over a busy weekend, the better your chances of not having a room.

Assume you have a guaranteed reservation held with a major credit card. Agree on not getting in very late.

Once all the rooms are gone they're gone. And the only right you have is to ask them to help (they may be helpful or not - but can;t manufacture a room in another hotel if it doesn;t exist) or to complain.

On the other hand, if you arrive late they may have only suites left - and you get more room for less money.

Are you planning on arriving very late at night? If so - let them know at once so they don;t consider you a no-show if you're not there by 6pm.