Where to stay near New York

[Paul.B]

Hi - we are planing a trip to the New York area in early June. Can anyone suggest where to stay within about 1/2 - 1 hour travel from Manhattan. We are looking to be out there for 9 or 10 days and would prefer either a sensibly priced comfy hotel or a Villa type self catering place.

Also. Not knowing the area, where would be the best area to be looking for accommodation? North, East, South etc?

Cheers

[GreigM]

This might be somewhat difficult as you don't really get "sensibly priced" and comfy within that distance of the city. How are you planning to get in/out of the city? By train/car? How many of you are there - this will make a difference as the train isn't cheap. Why are you there? Is it just tourism to see NYC and do you want to go further afield?

For finding a place to rent I've used this site before: http://www.vrbo.com/ worked out very well indeed.

Your options are somewhat:

North: Westchester and Upstate NY and possibly into Connecticut - some very (extremely) nice areas up that way, good train service (Metro North)- I lived in Westchester for a couple of years so know the area well, if you want to ask about specific areas let me know. This would be my choice if not in the city.

West: New Jersey and either the bridges and tunnels if driving (I'd avoid at all costs) or the train which again is a decent service (NJTransit) but could work out pricey if more than a couple of you. Anything close to NYC or Newark is not a nice place to stay, however you will find relatively cheap and comfy hotels by Newark Airport, and also relatively cheap transport to/from the city with the "Airtrain" and buses etc readily available - just be careful of any charges to get to/from the hotel. Further out Jersey can be a nice place, but you might be quite far out - you could even go down the Jersey shore which aside from reality tv has a lot of nice spots.

East: Brookyln, Queens (and to some extent this applies to The Bronx) - might be a good option, you might find an apartment you can rent which is nearby the subway - areas can be mixed and not pretty/scenic, but cheap and easy it may be. Further out you have Long Island, so you come into the city on the LIRR - never really done this so can't comment, there is a big mix of neighbourhoods out there, generally getting better the further away you get from the city.

[LostCroc]

A couple of suggestions:

1) Try around the NJ side of the Hudson River - Jersey City, Hoboken or Weehawken. They are usually near a train, tram or ferry service to Manhattan. Near me I have Candlewood Suites which is sort of a long stay hotel. Last time I checked they were asking $180pn for a 1 bedroom suite. Rooms have kitchenettes, living area and bedrooms depending how big you want. You are 7 mins walk to a supermarket, there are a lot of restaurants within a 10 min walk, PATH stations are each no more than 7 mins walk away. Other hotels around Jersey City that you could check out are Doubletree, Marriott Courtyard, Westin, Hyatt. Weehawken has a Four Points by Sheraton and is right next to the Lincoln tunnel so good direct bus service too and from the city and light rail is very close so that can take you to the ferry at Port imperial or down to Hoboken station to get a train into Penn Station or PATH train downtown Manhattan.

2) Try somewhere like Secaucus. The Harmon Meadow area has a few hotels which are in a shopping, restaurant area. Most hotels have free shuttles to Secaucus train station - 1 stop on NJ Transit to Penn Station midtown. There are also buses. Hotels here are Marriott, Holiday Inn.

3) A little further out, there is a Homewood suites, long term stay place in East Rutherford. It has free shuttles to and from Secaucus station. Downside is that there are no services here. There is a Starbucks and a bar restaurant in the Sheraton next door. Giants stadium is across the other side of Rt 3 though. People stay here if they have a car and working in the surrounding office parks.

4) Fort Lee. Just at the other side of the George Washington Bridge. Good frequent direct bus service to Manhattan. There is a bit of a downtown here with some services.

[Paul.B]

Thanks for the replies. As I thought I fancy North/Upstate NY. Although we intend on doing the NYC thing we would also like to get out & about more. We intend to hire a car but use public transport to get into/around the city. There are two of us (married couple, mid 40's) and don't mind self catering. As you would expect, all the initial info we can find concentrates on NYC but finding good info on accommodation and attractions out of the city is a little harder to find. Another reason to base ourselves north of the city is that we would like to get across into Connecticut and even travel up to Niagara.

Keep the info coming!

[davepoth]

Niagra Falls is an 7-8 hour drive from New York - America's a big place!

[chazola]

^^ yup, you can do a lot of long driving in the States with not much interesting to see out the window. If you're set on not basing yourself in NYC have you tried looking for self-catering in the Catskills? That area would probably fit what you're looking for. Driving to NYC and then getting public transport in is a bit of a pain in the arse like London but can be done of course.

[GreigM]

If you are staying in Westchester/upstate you could could do a lot worse than driving down to Bronxville or Tuckahoe - from there the train takes about 30-35 minutes to get into Grand Central and a weekly ticket would cost you around $65. In either town there is plenty of free parking on the residential streets just a couple of minutes from the station - especially after 9am when all the residents have gone to work. I wouldn't drive much further south as you'll struggle for parking and could hit traffic.

[TVR keith]

Try www.airbnb.com

[Paul.B]

Thanks for all the help. We'll start researching all the info and sort out where we are going to stay and where we are going to visit. If we use hotels we could do NYC & then go up to Niagara for a couple of days.

Thanks again