The wife and I are looking for a one day getaway. Probably just an overnight from Saturday until Sunday Morning. What are some of the better hotel sites to look at. We are willing to travel some distance...
you use hotels.com I recommend signing up for Ebates. Depending on the day/deal you can get as much as 15% cash back. Can't speak for your budget but I wouldn't put myself in an area far away from whatever you want to do. The subways are a mess right now and sitting in traffic in the city is no fun. Link - ( New Window )
there should be rooms near Met Life and on Rte. 4 in Teaneck, Englewood and Fort Lee. One cautionary note, getting into Manhattan on Saturday evening by car can sometimes be as bad as a rush hour commute.
room at the Washington Square Hotel or something like that in the Village once and I could take a leak while sitting in the bed (I didn't, but I could have). I had to crawl over the bed to get to the closet which was about 6 inches wide and had two hangers.
highly rated hotel. Good breakfast though, which was "free" with the room.
I have used booking.com to plan multiple trips. It is very user friendly and usually has competitive or better prices. Trivago is usually pretty good and if you want to wait until the last minute, d/l the hotel tonight app.
My wife and I have done this once or twice. It can be as close as Newark which is one stop from Penn Station. Or it can be as far away as you feel like riding. Most of the stations have parking lots where you can safely leave the car for however long you're in the city. Trains run from very early in the morning to pretty late at night.
Obviously nowhere near as convenient as a hotel in the city but it can work well if the circumtances are right.
There is a Marriott property in Long Island City, I have always gotten good rates.
It is a ten minute train ride into Manhattan.
Second this recommendation...I usually try to stay in Manhattan, but rates can be very high during peak times. The Long Island City Marriott is usually more reasonable and an easy subway or taxi/uber into Manhattan.
As another poster said above, you want to be cautious about picking a cheap, non-brand name hotel in Manhattan...bed bugs, hookers and drug dealers are real in some of those places, not the environment you want for a nice getaway with the wife.
If he's alone or just one person, the rooms are tiny (at least mine was) even by NYC standards, so are the halls (I almost got stuck in a hallway walking to my room from the elevator).
Essentially they post rates for "last minute rooms" of inventory the hotel is trying to get rid of
I'm not saying don't do this, but if you do it be prepared to stay in Westchester (White Plains maybe) or Teaneck/Newark/Jersey City because NYC hotels get booked in advance, especially the more desirable ones. I say this as a business traveler who is in NYC monthly at least.
So this may work, I've never done it, not sure, but seems at least a little risky so you should be prepared in case none are available for your dates.
If he's alone or just one person, the rooms are tiny (at least mine was) even by NYC standards, so are the halls (I almost got stuck in a hallway walking to my room from the elevator).
I will absolutely never - I mean never - use hotels.com again. Last Summer when I came out to visit, I stopped in Boston to see an old friend, then booked a hotel room late via phone (their website had already flipped to the next day). I was at the hotel 30 minutes after I booked only to discover that the hotel reception had been closed for the last hour once I arrived. When I called hotels.com back, not only did the bastard in customer service I spoke with tell me "too bad", they flat-out refused to refund my money -- even after repeated calls to them over the next week. I ended up catnapping 3 hours in a rest stop that night, and ultimately filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I never did get a reply or apology from hotels.com after that.
I'm not sure what your budget is, but if you're only staying one nght and you can afford it, do it right. Pick a hotel in a location where everything you want to do is within walking distance. My personal preferences for $300-350 a night are: 1. The Park Lane on Central Park South, everlooking Central Park with a "free food & drinks" reception at 4PM, and 2. The Empire Hotel at Broadway & W. 63rd St. Both hotels are close to Central Park, great museums, Lincoln Center, good restaurants and are within a fairly easy walkng distance to Times Square and the theaters. I would call the hotel directly first, and compare the rates with hotels.com.
Entire forums are devoted to schemes using hotwire and priceline to bid on hotel rooms. Personally I haven't used it in years but it used to be pretty amazing what you could do with information from people who have placed bids on hotels before and received great deals.
And when I say amazing I mean getting $400 a night hotel rooms for $150-$200. For the mid range and low end I don't think you will ever see results like that (50%+ reduction in price).
NY hotels, even the good ones, aren't like Vegas (for example), but you get what you pay for and I don't skimp on NYC hotels.
Just my experience/preference.
Link - ( New Window )
$449
4 star average
$232
3 star average
$198
View all deal
highly rated hotel. Good breakfast though, which was "free" with the room.
Obviously nowhere near as convenient as a hotel in the city but it can work well if the circumtances are right.
It is a ten minute train ride into Manhattan.
It is a ten minute train ride into Manhattan.
Second this recommendation...I usually try to stay in Manhattan, but rates can be very high during peak times. The Long Island City Marriott is usually more reasonable and an easy subway or taxi/uber into Manhattan.
As another poster said above, you want to be cautious about picking a cheap, non-brand name hotel in Manhattan...bed bugs, hookers and drug dealers are real in some of those places, not the environment you want for a nice getaway with the wife.
If he's alone or just one person, the rooms are tiny (at least mine was) even by NYC standards, so are the halls (I almost got stuck in a hallway walking to my room from the elevator).
nice location though.
Super legit, and you will get a good rate.
Essentially they post rates for "last minute rooms" of inventory the hotel is trying to get rid of
Your welcome
Super legit, and you will get a good rate.
Essentially they post rates for "last minute rooms" of inventory the hotel is trying to get rid of
I'm not saying don't do this, but if you do it be prepared to stay in Westchester (White Plains maybe) or Teaneck/Newark/Jersey City because NYC hotels get booked in advance, especially the more desirable ones. I say this as a business traveler who is in NYC monthly at least.
So this may work, I've never done it, not sure, but seems at least a little risky so you should be prepared in case none are available for your dates.
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If he's alone or just one person, the rooms are tiny (at least mine was) even by NYC standards, so are the halls (I almost got stuck in a hallway walking to my room from the elevator).
nice location though.
I'm cracking up with this visual. lol
And when I say amazing I mean getting $400 a night hotel rooms for $150-$200. For the mid range and low end I don't think you will ever see results like that (50%+ reduction in price).