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Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield vs. Hampton Inn, Ridgefield


amberjohn
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Hello,

Cruising on the October 31st, 2017 GEM cruise (11 night) out of NY. I am driving from south-west NH and was planning on driving down very early the day of the cruise. After reading suggestions on the boards most people have suggested going down the day before and staying close to port. I am heavily leaning toward doing a stay/park/shuttle at either "Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield" or "Hampton Inn, Ridgefield". Which one is the safest for my car? Which one has the better car service? Which one do you recommend?

Also, if anyone has driven from south-west NH to these hotels, do you recommend any specific driving directions?

 

Thank you very much!

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I'm assuming SW New Hampshire is someplace near Brattleboro and I91.

 

From I91 south in Hartford you take exit 17 marked W Cross Parkway. This becomes the Merritt Parkway at Milford.

 

The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($6 toll - if no EZPass they will bill you in the mail and you need to pay it!). The toll is worth every penny.

 

You take the George Washington Bridge exit and slide over to the middle left lane. Follow the NJ Turnpike signs.

Hilton Gardens

From North: Take I-95 South to Exit 68 US46/The Ridgefields. Take the US-46 West exit. Take immediate right towards Challenger Road. Take to end. Make left turn on Challenger Road. Our Ridgefield Park, NJ hotel is on the left.

Hampton Inn

From North: Take I-95 South- Exit 68 to Route 46 East/Ridgefield. Hotel is immediately on right.

 

These hotels are relatively new offerings. Folks have had satisfactory experiences at both.

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According to a map, the two hotels seem to be pretty close to each other.

If you are cruising out of NY, why not just drive part of the way, stay in CT, then drive the rest in the morning and just park at the pier? Seems to me that going to NJ would be out of the way.

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Hilton Garden Inn is a nicer hotel in a nicer area. Hampton Inn is located on Route 46 East, right next to the New Jersey Turnpike exit. Not that it really matters, I am a retired Municipal Police Lieutenant from Ridgefield, New Jersey, the first municipality east of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The Hampton Inn has had a few relatively large drug arrests at their location in the past six months. Drug dealers apparently like that location to spend the night there. Hands down, I would personally stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. Newer, nicer, and in a better area just east of the New Jersey Turnpike.

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Hilton Garden Inn is a nicer hotel in a nicer area. Hampton Inn is located on Route 46 East, right next to the New Jersey Turnpike exit. Not that it really matters, I am a retired Municipal Police Lieutenant from Ridgefield, New Jersey, the first municipality east of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The Hampton Inn has had a few relatively large drug arrests at their location in the past six months. Drug dealers apparently like that location to spend the night there. Hands down, I would personally stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. Newer, nicer, and in a better area just east of the New Jersey Turnpike.

 

Thanks so much!! I was second guessing our reservation and I am glad I saw this. Does anyone know how reliable the transportation to port is from Hilton?

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I have read numerous posts regarding the facilities and service provided at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. It appears that everyone that has stayed there was satisfied with the hotel, the parking, and the shuttle service to the Port Of New York. If you have specific questions about their service I would contact the hotel directly. Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We just returned from a cruise and stayed and parked at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park. Had no issues with hotel, location, or shuttle service. Think Hilton Garden Inn might have more structured shuttle service, but Hampton was cheaper and we were very satisfied.

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We just returned from a cruise and stayed and parked at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park. Had no issues with hotel, location, or shuttle service. Think Hilton Garden Inn might have more structured shuttle service, but Hampton was cheaper and we were very satisfied.

 

 

Can you tell me what type of shuttle service they provided? I'm booked in Dec.

 

 

Thanks in advance

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  • 9 months later...

We are booked at the Hilton Garden Inn for the end of Oct. I was able to book the Park and Cruise package on their website . It did a few minutes of poking around the site but I did find the package . If I remember there was a link for special packages on the left side of the home page .

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I stayed at the Hampton in March and did the package. Everything was good other than the shuttle service. They made us wait for everyone to get off the ship even though they gave us a time to meet. Some people either planned wrong or ignored the time, and those of us that followed the rules had to wait in the shuttle. The van was in poor condition, and parts were literally falling off the van when we finally drove back (muffler). If I stayed there again, I would Uber back and forth to the port.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello,

Cruising on the Sunday November 25th, 2018 on an Escape cruise (14 night) out of NY. I am driving from south-west NH and was planning on driving down very early the day of the cruise. After reading suggestions on the boards most people have suggested going down the day before and staying close to port. I am heavily leaning toward doing a stay/park/shuttle at either "Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield", "Hampton Inn, Ridgefield" or Fairfield Inn, North Bergen". Which one is the safest for my car? Which one has the better car service? Which one do you recommend?

Also, if anyone has driven from south-west NH to these hotels, do you recommend any specific driving directions?

 

Thank you very much!

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Hello,

Cruising on the Sunday November 25th, 2018 on an Escape cruise (14 night) out of NY. I am driving from south-west NH and was planning on driving down very early the day of the cruise. After reading suggestions on the boards most people have suggested going down the day before and staying close to port. I am heavily leaning toward doing a stay/park/shuttle at either "Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield", "Hampton Inn, Ridgefield" or Fairfield Inn, North Bergen". Which one is the safest for my car? Which one has the better car service? Which one do you recommend?

Also, if anyone has driven from south-west NH to these hotels, do you recommend any specific driving directions?

 

Thank you very much!

Given a choice, I would not pick the Fairfield Inn because of its location in a more urban area on the route 1/9 truck route.

 

Directions are in post #2. I'm assuming you can get yourself to I91 from your SW NH location. Always check Waze for current driving conditions. What you really want to avoid is I95 through NYC and the intersection of I95 and I87 near the GW Bridge. If you do end up on I95 in CT, there is a cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway at NY exit 21 just after exit 2 in CT. The $6 toll is worth every penny to avoid the I95 & I87 intersection.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/21/2018 at 8:01 PM, Shidah said:

For those that stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, did they let you pick anytime you wanted to get to the port?

 

When I checked in, the desk clerk asked what time I wanted to be at the cruise terminal, and ordered a car service for an hour before that. It doesn't take an hour to get to the port on a weekend, and the driver was early, so I was at the terminal a full hour before I intended, which meant that I waited a while for security to open but was then among the first hoi-polloi passengers to board.

 

For returning from the cruise terminal, the car service said to call them directly when I was in line to leave the ship. They'll pick you up across 12th Avenue (drop-offs are on the near side) and in the next block up. The area directly across from the terminal is a cab stand so most other pick-ups are in the next block.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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