Hello,
My family is traveling to NY (family of 4) - two night stay. Can anyone recommend where to stay. It appears that NY hotel prices are relatively high. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Stay in Westchester County or in NJ. There are some nice hotels right on the Hudson River in NJ. You can take the ferry or the train over!
We stayed in Brooklyn in a sketch hotel right across from a subway station. Not somewhere I would want to live but within minutes we were in Manhattan without the price tag. I wish I could remember the name but it wasn't a chain. Heck I think I found it through Priceline.
Some people just want to be in Manhattan, fine if you want to pay more than your mortgage for a weeks stay. I would rather use my money for sights. The subways are safe in spite of what people will say. My daughter spent her first semester at St Johns and lived to tell about it, her car stayed in St Louis.
I would suggest using priceline and naming your price. We used to live in the suburbs of NYC, but would weekend downtown sometimes and that's what we did. Because NY is so large, on priceline Manhattan is broken into sections. Just pick a section and choose a star level. We always did 4star or 3 star as the lowest b/c with priceline name your price, if the price matches you have just booked the hotel whether you like it or not! It sounds risky, but if you are talking about a 4 star hotel, really anyone will suffice. We have done exactly what I've suggested several times and stayed on Park Ave. in some really nice places!
Good luck!
Yes the hotels are pricey but it is a once in a lifetime advetnure.
We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria and it was worth every penny. We used the double decker buses as our mode of transportation when it was too far to walk. Go see a Broadway show, do the tours, and enjoy. It is a wonderful place to visit.
I've never been there, but I have always wanted to go. Have you checked out groupon? I always see hotel deals for NY on there.
Check out trip advisor. Here are some of there "family-friendly" options in NYC. You might find something under $300.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearch?geo=60763#02,1344289...
My family of 4 just did this in June. One night, for fun we splurged and stayed at a Times Square hotel $450 per night. It was the Hilton or Hyaty - across the street from the Hello Kitty store - my daughter felt like a rock star! It was fun for the kids to be right in the thick of things, they are 13 and 11
After that we stayed at the Hilton Garden on 28th which made our trip to our early morning ferry to Ellis and Statue of Liberty, fairly painless. Easy access to Penn Station for our train to Newark. There is also one on 35th. I believe around $189 per night which is great for Midtown/Chelsea. Newer hotels so the rooms are just large enough to accommodate two queens. Good luck! Have Fun
Relatively high? You can say that again!!!!
You can stay just over the line in Stamford CT and take the train in - kind of an adventure. We stayed there in a nice suite through Priceline or Hotwire, one of those. Also try NJ - there are shuttle boats across the Hudson River, which is fun. We took one that docked right near where the ships and (I think) now the space shuttle are displayed. Cost it all out too - by the time you pay for parking and transportation fees, it may make up the difference in room fees. Also look for deals like continental breakfast. That adds up too for a family of 4, so "breakfast included" might be a good deal. About 5 years ago, we stayed at a dumpy little Howard Johnson's in the Bronx not all that far from Yankee Stadium - nothing fancy but it was right next to a police station so we figured it was really really safe! And they had a serviceable continental breakfast. If you're not planning to be in your room much, go for cheap hotel. If you want pool and all the amenities, it's going to cost more but might be worth it. Also, what do you plan to do during the day? Depending on where you will be in the city, desired hotel locations might vary. If you want the Bronx Zoo, stay in the Bronx or CT. If you want the west side, Central Park or the lower part of Manhattan, stay in NJ. If you want the lower east side, Battery Park, ferries to Statue of Liberty, then try Brooklyn or Queens. The subways are very reliable and cheaper than parking fees, which are astronomical.
Are you a AAA member? That's always a great benefit of membership - they recommend, do the research, book your accommodations, get you discount entry fees to attractions, and find you places that give a AAA discount too. They also review hotels so you know what you are getting.
