Advice for staying in Brooklyn or Manhatten post cruise & flying out of LGA

[jayally1968]

My 71 yr old Mother and I are arriving on the QE2 October 25 2016 at the Brooklyn Red hook terminal. We are flying out of LGA on Oct 27th at 6pm to California. I am trying to decide what area I should book a hotel and what you would recommend as a decent hotel. She is English and has her ideas about what we are doing in Europe and I am in charge of NYC and getting us back home!

 

This is her 4th trip on the QE2 and she seems to know it all and said she wants to stay in Brooklyn near the cruise terminal but I think it would be easier for later and maximize our time there if we stay near LGA with a free airport shuttle and with easy access to a bus or subway to Manhatten or stay in Manhatten with a taxi or car service to LGA. This would be the end of a 3 week European trip so we will be a bit tired and will have some heavy luggage. I am on a budget so somewhere economical but decent is important which I know can be hard in NY!

 

I have never been to NY and would like to do a Ellis island tour, tour the Statue of Liberty, walk around Times square and go to the top of the rock and/or Empire state building, visit the 9-11 memorial and go to central park.

 

We will have Oct 25th starting from early afternoon after disembarking, all day on the 26th and the morning/early afternoon on the 27th before leaving LGA at 6pm. We will be there the end of October so what is the weather usually like?

 

I will be very appreciate for any tips and/or advice.

[138east]

What's your hotel budget? What bed configuration do you require?

[markeb]

The things you want to do are all in Manhattan, so to minimize travel, I'd look to stay in Manhattan. Yes, you could take the subway from Brooklyn or Queens (near LGA) into Manhattan, and I might recommend considering that (not my area of expertise; we always stay in Manhattan), but it's the end of a 3 week trip with your 71 year old mother!

 

What's your budget? There are now a handful of "second tier" chain hotels near Herald Square and Penn Station (Residence Inn, LaQuinta, Fairfield, etc.) that may have senior/AARP rates and would be close to public transportation to Battery Park and Times Square/Central Park. You'd get a car service from Brooklyn to the hotel and the hotel to LGA.

 

That's probably my first thought. A lot really depends on your budget...

[jayally1968]

My Mom's idea of a hotel is something super cheap and less than $100/night because she just wants somewhere to sleep. She doesn't mind staying on someone's couch and I am sure I will have my share of the floor but I prefer comfort and would be fine with a 2 1/2 - 3 star. I would like to keep it under $150 a night and we need 2 queen beds. The last time I traveled to Europe with my Mom and shared a bed with her it was 1984 and I was 16 so I am a little afraid of this big trip but it is a wonderful opportunity. We are going to stay with family and friends in Ireland and England and then back home on the QE2 for 7 nights in an INSIDE cabin.

[138east]

My Mom's idea of a hotel is something super cheap and less than $100/night because she just wants somewhere to sleep. She doesn't mind staying on someone's couch and I am sure I will have my share of the floor but I prefer comfort and would be fine with a 2 1/2 - 3 star. I would like to keep it under $150 a night and we need 2 queen beds. The last time I traveled to Europe with my Mom and shared a bed with her it was 1984 and I was 16 so I am a little afraid of this big trip but it is a wonderful opportunity. We are going to stay with family and friends in Ireland and England and then back home on the QE2 for 7 nights in an INSIDE cabin.

 

IMO $150 may not be realistic for a 2.5-3* hotel wth 2 queen beds with midweek dates in Oct. it's definitely not realistic for Manhattan. I'd be making a cancellable reservation right now and seeing if a deal comes along. How about starting with Country Inns or LaQuinta in Long Island City?

[mjkacmom]

You are definitely not going to get under $100 a night, even if it's by the hour! In the city, cheap doesn't mean cozy, it can mean scary! Your budget is pretty low, I'm sure folks here know some bidding sites.

[markeb]

IMO $150 may not be realistic for a 2.5-3* hotel wth 2 queen beds with midweek dates in Oct. it's definitely not realistic for Manhattan. I'd be making a cancellable reservation right now and seeing if a deal comes along. How about starting with Country Inns or LaQuinta in Long Island City?

 

You are definitely not going to get under $100 a night, even if it's by the hour! In the city, cheap doesn't mean cozy, it can mean scary! Your budget is pretty low, I'm sure folks here know some bidding sites.

 

Big +1 to both of these.

 

Try Long Island City and plan to ride the subway into Manhattan. My primary concern with that plan is you're largely committing to going into Manhattan and staying for the day. There certainly are places to stop and take a break, but it's much easier if you're in Manhattan; you just go back to your hotel. That's not a good option from the outer boroughs. But it will generally be less expensive.

[jayally1968]

Thanks for the replies! Long Island City sounds like a doable option and it is between booklyn and La Guardia so might not be too hard to get to from the cruise terminal. I will see how much we can come up with if we want to stay in Manhatten but it looks like I need to budget at least $200 a night to include the taxes and fees just to stay in Long Island city. This is a long and expensive trip so we are trying to keep it reasonable.

 

I checked out La Quinta in LIC and they have a King bed for Per Night Rate: 144.00 USD

Subtotal: 288.00 USD

Estimated Tax*: 49.48USD

Estimated Total with Tax*: 337.48 USD. It ranks #24 out of 25 hotels on tripadvisor and I would rather have 2 twins at the

Nesva hotel which is #4 on tripadvisor and would be $ 326.00

Total Tax(es): $ 55.09

Total Amount (with Tax): $ 381.09 for 2 twins with a balcony view (same price without balcony). There are other options as well if we want to pay a little more and maybe I can priceline something in the area.

[mking8288]

Long Island City sounds like a doable option and it is between booklyn and La Guardia so might not be too hard to get to from the cruise terminal ...

Just to add my 2 cents here, concur with others about LIC. There are other new hotels currently under constructions & given the speed in building and opening them, good for price competition & for the consumer. Book a 100% fully refundable rate now that you are comfortable with, and, keep checking the major online sites - Tripadvisors can do price lookup & book, ditto on Priceline & on Hotwire (for which you can confirm the beddings needed, not true on PL).

 

Prices among LIC area hotels are known to drop, depending on vacancy & booking factors, as the dates approach - Best Western, Ramada and the Country Inn are now all about $115 nightly midweek coming up and with taxes/fees & city surcharges, would be just slightly over the $150 target price budgeted - except you cannot lock in those prices now for October, hence - keep checking back - sometimes the chain hotel's site have exclusive specials, and it doesn't hurt to call up the hotel directly on their "local" number & ask if there's a better rate or unannounced special (don't call the 1-800 or 1-877 toll-free centralized reservation #)

 

There are tourist class & budget class hotels (charging $200+ nightly) on the Lower East Side/Manhattan a/k/a downtown area - always check out the location & get a Street View on Google/Earth or MSN, etc. first before considering and booking them - it might be a lengthy walk from the nearest subway station, and not necessary in an area I would recommend to friends.

Midweek, it's going to be tough to find something as above in the midtown area popular for visitors where many attractions are within easy walking distance.

[Brighton Line]

Just to give you a compare as I'm pricing hotels for my 74 year old Mom in October coming for my first cousins wedding (Wedding hotel is $250 a night in Williamsburg Brooklyn). Out in Coney Island right near four subway lines but that is an hour trip into Manhattan, a Sleep Inn for $135 average Thu to Tue plus all the taxes. That's the AAA rate which was the same for AARP. I'm still looking but that is the best so far.

[jayally1968]

Thanks to advice here I think we are leaning towards a Long Island City hotel. Do you know if any of them offer a free LGA shuttle service or how much is a car service like Dial 7 that I keep reading about would run? I live near Los Angeles so I always opt for a rental car when I travel but NYC is out of my comfort zone!!

[mking8288]

... leaning towards a Long Island City hotel. Do you know if any of them offer a free LGA shuttle service or how much is a car service

AFAIK, none offers a free LGA shuttle, local/street traffic near the foot of the Ed Kock a/k/a Queensboro or 59th Street Bridget often making it a pain to get around, even for locals- hence, car service over metered taxi in getting around (as you have heavy luggage w. elderly in tow) Few with free airport shuttle are 5 to 10 minutes from LGA but too far from the subway & buses, etc.

We used mainly Carmel, rates for Dial7 usually a notch higher - from LIC area hotels, like Hilton Gardens Inn to LGA (keep in mind there are really 4 terminals spread somewhat apart) - fare is quoted at $30 on a weekday now for a full sized 4 door sedan, it should do. From BCT / Pier 12 to LIC hotel is about $43, plus tipping (20% usually for us) - no tolls involved on either segment. Online coupon, available almost year-round (email to us) would reduce it by $3, check here as it get closer & someone will share if you can't find one. Both car service have free mobile APP to book/confirm your reservations since you should have access to cellular data on smartphone device, etc. (just like those ride-sharing ones)