New York Members

OK, loved Atlantic City last year when we came in October, so this year we booked 3 comped nights on Oct. 5, 6 & 7.....problem is we decided to do a driving tour and will be stopping in NYC on the 2 & 3.
We definetly plan to take a boat to see Statue of Liberty, would like to pay our respects at the World Trade Site -husband a deputy fire chief in Canada & probably take a bus tour of some kind.
Our problem, NO IDEA which part of New York to stay in? Do we stay right in the city? Do we stay in New Jersey? If we stay at Time Square would I try to get something off of Priceline? What would their parking costs be at the hotels?
So confused, where do I start?

The whole problem with staying in Manhattan is the hotel cost will be three times what you'd pay in Queens, Brooklyn, or Staten Island. You can walk from Statue of Liberty Ferry(Battery Park) to the World Trade Center, and Times Square is a short subway trip from each(ten minutes). I can't help you with hotel parking costs since I don't know. As far as driving in Manhattan, Oct 2 is a Sun, so that wouldn't be awful, but on Monday it'll be a mess. It all boils down to whether you want the convenience of being in the city for triple the price, or if you want to save a few bucks and take a couple of subway rides.

I just did a quick search of this place in Queens (https://www.ravelhotel.com/default.aspx?pg=home) and see you can advance purchase those nights for $127 a night. Hotel is beautiful, it's a 5 minute car ride to Manhattan, and a ten minute subway ride.

I love New York City for a short trip. We used to go every April over our Patriots day holiday here in MA.

Parking in NYC is horribly costly. Your best bet is to stay at a hotel/motel in NJ close to subways so you can just hop on and off. Another good option is to call the hotel in advance and see if they offer tour packages. there is usually tour busses that will take you to all the most notible sights: Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Wall Street, etc. you can search for tour groups on line and some will pick you up at your hotel.

some hotels in the Times square area will seem good on paper, but are very seedy when you get to them. Been there, done that.

Have great fun on your trip, and it's a short hop to Atlantic City from there.

Lady Liberty is closed right now..
sorry

That's not really an accurate comment

see this....

and this...

and this...

and this...


etc. etc. (probably around 4-5 more properties that have quite a 'decent' standard, Times Square or otherwise...)

Priceline 4* could yield any of the above properties for Times Square, plus a few others (including the Renaissance, Marriott and Embassy Suites). Make sure you research bidding strategies before you bid on Priceline; if you aren't familiar with Priceline 'optimization.' Budget $30 to $45 per day for parking. If it's a short NYC trip, easier to stay in the city and park, IMO. Makes it much more convenient to spend a long day in NYC; and not have to travel back to the 'burbs for your hotel.

According to today's Newsday, Lady Liberty will close on Oct. 29 for a year of renovations. The 125th anniversary of its dedication will be on Oct. 28 (according to the paper)

Thanks for all the tips.
I guess now I just have to decide if we want to take the subway or stay right in the heart of NYC.
I have been looking all over and priceline seems like a good bet if I want to stay in the city and if not, it looks like I will stay at Comfort Inn by Battery Park. Guess I will call the hotel and see if they have tours or how far the subway is.

Thanks again for the help,

Wendy

If you go to the Statue or Ellis Island (same boat) you should reserve your ticket in advance as you could wind up with a several hour wait to get on a boat as the advance ticketholders have priority.

You can reserve the day and time on line several weeks in advance. If you book an 11am boat (for example) you need to be there about 10am to get on line and go thru security (process is similiar to the airport).

Also if you have an 11am boat they won't let you on an earlier boat.

Ellis Island is often overlooked, but is a terrific tour (get the audio tour for a few $ more)!

"Guess I will call the hotel and see if they have tours or how far the subway is."

I don't think there is a hotel in Manhattan that is more than a 10 minute walk to a subway