Priceline Hotel: How dumb is it to stay in Elizabeth & seeing NYC?

[Willow Branch]

We are a family of 4 travelling Oct. 17 - Oct. 21---all reasonable hotels are booked!! Prices are crazy!! I even tried to get an apartment--the half way inexpensive are booked--only the $300.00 on up are left. (I have booked as a backup the Hotel Riverside Studios for $145.00 plus tax--OUCH!! (shared bathroom). It has gotten terrible reviews.)

We are flying into EWR on Oct. 17 & if I bid Elizabeth 2 l/2, I probably will get Courtyard or Country Inn & Suites--both have shuttle from the airport. Would it be stupid to stay here all 4 nights?

I have read the cheap way to get to NYC....NJ transit bus from Newark airport to Newark Penn Station ($2.00 ish) & PATH to Manhattan ($1.50) or to Penn Station, NY. I suppose I could catch the hotel's shuttle to the airport & then do the bus & the PATH....how long will this take?

Do you have any better suggestions?

Thanks.

[AaronJB]

I can find a Club Room floor w/2 doubles for $194.25 per night non-refundable or 2 doubles in a reg. room for $179 (may as well take the Club Floor and get free breakfast I'd think) at the Sheraton Meadowlands. These prices would be via a "Stay 3 nights, get the 4th Free" (so the actual per night price is higher, but the two prices I quoted would be the average counting the free night.) non-refundable deal. This looks like it would be closer than staying near Newark, but I'm not familiar with the area, but board moderator thereuare is from the area and he definitely knows more about it than I do.

I'm also seeing the Sheraton Newark for $149 via this deal.

[dahammer]

I would imagine that the Country Inn or Courtyard in Elizabeth will be a difficult bidding situation, not to mention the one hour plus commute into Manhattan. The Sheraton Meadowlands works best if you have a car, without a car, you'll need to take the hotel shuttle into Secaucus to get a bus into Manhattan, not a great proposition for your return after a long day.

Jersey City is about the best area in NJ to make the NYC commute, so what is your maximum bid per night?

[Willow Branch]

We do not have a car, so this Sheraton Medowlands seems to far?

As far as my maximum--WOW, I figured that $175.00 would get me a NICE room.

I bid on Midtown East 3* (& used Upper West side & Upper East Side for my 2 free re-bids) & went up to $155.00 & no luck.

I would be willing to stay at EWR for my first night (Wed) & my last night (Sat.) & in Manhattan for Thurs & Fri. but then I also

wonder about the logistics on what to do with our luggage when we check out. Yea, I'm sure I could talk the Fri. night hotel into holding it on Sat. but then when we are touring around, we have to go back to our hotel & get it & then off to airport location hotel.

I just don't know.

I also worry about getting a hotel in Midtown that might only sleep 2 people instead of the 4 that is needed.

[Willow Branch]

oops, forgot to mention that I did try Jersey City...they seem to be booked up. I tried bidding & went up to $150.00 & was declined.

I did also book at the Candlewood in Jersey City....$237.50 a night which is UNEXCEPTABLE!! But, I do need a back up BUT, THIS IS JUST A TERRIBLE BACK UP PLAN!! I just can't imagine spending $1000.00 for a lousy 2* hotel. HELP!!

[emschmidt13]

Just to let you know...I just won Crowne Plaza (3*) in Secaucus (just across Hudson River w/transportation nearby) for $121 a night- October 11-15, 2007.

Not a bad purchase at all...I started with bid for $99 on Secaucus 3* & was told I could re-bid immediately if I increased bid by $22, which I did & won.

Also- I added cancellation insurance ($20 total)- allows options when time gets closer.

Good luck!

[Willow Branch]

So, are you suggesting that Secaucus would be an alternative place with public transportation?

I really don't care where we stay, I just don't understand all the different methods of transportation. Since we are with 4 people, $8.00 per one way per person soon turns into $64.00 per day, so I know that I could be stupid by going into an area with kinda pricey transportation.

I can stay in Brooklyn or where-ever, just remember that we are flying in & out of EWR.

Thanks!!

[dahammer]

emschmidt13 the following describes Priceline's $5 per day Travel Insurance:

Trip Cancellation /Trip Interruption: If you or your traveling companion has to cancel or interrupt your trip due to a covered reason (e.g., unforeseen sickness, injury, illness or death) the cost of your hotel room purchased through this site will be reimbursed. Travel Insurance is for emergency situations such as those described above only, and cannot be used to cover the cost of a trip that is cancelled for any other reason. Please see the Description of Coverage for full details.

I'm not sure how this allows you options when time gets closer.....

Willow Branch

You never stated your maximum bid, is this $175 per night?

You are a party of 4 but Priceline guarantees accomodations for 2, this could be a double bed or two twins. What if you win and the hotel can only offer you a king? You might be better off using HOTWIRE as you can perform a search for a party of 4. Also, are you 4 adults or 2 adults/2 children?

The standard rooms at the Candlewood in Jersey City have a queen, unless you upgrade to a suite.

The Sheraton Meadowlands is a great hotel, but there is no public transportation within walking distance of the hotel, its on a busy stretch of highway bounded by Giants Stadium, a NJ Turnpike on ramp, and wetlands. To get to the city, you will need to get on a hotel shuttle bus that will take you to a NJ Transit Bus Stop and wait for the bus into NYC. On the trip home, you will need to coordinate a pickup with the Sheraton Shuttle Bus, in my opinion, its not a good location unless you have a car.

The Crowne Plaza in Secaucus is in an ideal location for easy bus access to NYC, its about a block from the hotel and about $6 roundtrip per person.

[thereuare]

I suppose I could catch the hotel's shuttle to the airport & then do the bus & the PATH....how long will this take?

Since you can't coordinate the shuttle, bus, and train connections, i'd guestimage at least 75 minutes, probably closer to 90 minutes... each way. Plus you're not in an area which you would really want to go out at nite, as there is nothing in the immediate area to walk to or do. Not a great option in my opinion.

In addition to the questions dahammer posed above, are you looking for one room for all four of you?

[Willow Branch]

WOW, sorry that I didn't reply sooner.....for some reason, I was NOT able to find this thread! It did not appear on my screen. Now tonight, I looked for it again, & now I see it.....go figure!

Anyway, we are 2 adults with 2 teenagers. We are looking for one room. Often times, my one son sleeps on the floor when we are at hotels, but I would like 2 beds!

You know, I stated $175.00, but obviously, I booked the Candlewood Suites for $250.00 per night, but you know, it is kinda nice to have a place to sleep :) :)

What do you think about staying in Long Island? Then, we could just take the subway into Manhattan, right? It would be a MAJOR pain to get from EWR.

Do you see this as an option??

[thereuare]

I booked the Candlewood Suites for $250.00 per night

As a cancelable back-up for this stay? The one in Jersey City or some other one? Did you book this for quad occupancy as their standard rooms there only have one bed. Also, a reminder that as per our support page we are an affiliate of the Candlewood Suites... please be sure to check there before making any hotel-direct reservations or purchases.

The NYC subway doesn't go as far out as Long Island. LIRR runs out there and goes into Grand Central Station, but the train service is not nearly as frequent as the subway, especially on weekends (and if you don't have a car you have another issue of getting to the train station).

There is a bus service that shuttles between JFK and EWR, but i still don't think that staying at EWR is a great option... vacation (for me) is about relaxing and creating memories, i think if you stay at EWR most of your memories will be of commuting back and forth between your hotel and the city.

[Willow Branch]

The Candlewood Suites in Jersey City IS ONLY A BACK-UP! SORRY that I did not make myself clear. So, I have 2 back-ups, this one ($250.00) & the Hotel Riverside Studios for $145.00. The Candlewood Suites I would assume is for a quad as I told them we had 4 people. BOTH of these are cancellable!!!!!!!!!!

On Hotwire, for the Manhattan area, it is $325.00 for one night!

I will continue to bid, but just thought that I would find out about some other areas so that bidding would be easier & more affordable!

I will con't bidding for Jersey City, but I don't believe that I have a prayer! When I called the hotels that I would get with Priceline, they were booked solid.

I am still con't to look for apartments on Craigs List & everyone that I respond to, they too are booked.

(We have taken cruises before--a 7 day cruise is cheaper than this 4 day week-end in New York. After this, we WILL take cruises!!)

Anyway, any other suggestions from anyone WILL BE APPRECIATED!!!

[dahammer]

HOTWIRE has a Best Value 3* in the Secaucus-Meadowlands zone for $139 (2 adults 2 children) with the following amenities: Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access. This matches the amenities of the Crowne Plaza that can be found by searching HOTWIRE "packages". The Crowne Plaza is in a great location, the bus stop is across Meadowlands Parkway, a block away, and the round trip fare is $5-$6. There is a convenience store across the street as well. I've stayed here several times and if you are a member of the Priority Club, they may allow access to the club floor which offers a free continental breakfast.

My only concern is that these amenities are close to those of the Sheraton Meadowlands, but not an exact match. Good Luck

If you proceed with this, please use this HOTWIRE link.

[Willow Branch]

The Candlewood Suites is in Jersey City cuz I had read that this was a good place to stay. I had tried bidding & then I realized that all the Priceline hotels were booked up for my dates. That is when I turned to you to ask about other areas.

Yes, I can cancel the Candlewood & YES, it is a backup (but not a very good backup plan in my book!). It seems unbelievable to me that we might be spending over $1000.00 at a 2* for 4 nights--UGH!!!

I am still looking at apartments, but they seem to be booked as well.

(The moral of the story is that our next vacation, we will take a cruise. A 7 night cruise is cheaper than this 4 day week-end in New York!!)

I will keep bidding on Jersey City (but I'm sure it won't happen), & I will keep bidding for Manhatten (although I worry that I might get a room for 2 peopl).

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

[Tommy135]

If you are still considering Elizabeth and the Country Inn & Suites.

They are located right next to Elizabeth Garden Mall which has 2 direct bus lines to manhattan, the 111 and 115. According to their schedule the bus takes shortly over 30 minutes and costs about 5$.

I am also thinking aboput that option for my next stay in manhattan as the prices are much lower compared to manhattan and a 30 minute bus ride would be ok for me. From what i heard it takes 20 minutes to get from Jersey City to midtown manhattan, so this shouldn't be a big difference.

[audreydoll]

Would you be able to cancel your plane reservations at this point? Unfortunately, you've chosen one of the most expensive times of the year to visit NYC and it sounds like it's out of your price range. January, February and the summer months are much more affordable.

[thereuare]

If you are still considering Elizabeth and the Country Inn & Suites.

They are located right next to Elizabeth Garden Mall which has 2 direct bus lines to manhattan, the 111 and 115. According to their schedule the bus takes shortly over 30 minutes and costs about 5$.

Just be aware of the issues of using this option...

If purchasing thru the opaque providers you may get a hotel other than the Country Inn and Suites... making the bus to the mall not a viable option.

Service to/from the mall is somewhat limited, here are the schedules to each bus line:

Bus #111

Bus #115

Since this route is not designed for 'reverse commute' (ie- it was designed to take shoppers to the mall in the morning and return them to NYC in the evening) it can be 'difficult' to return to Elizabeth at the end of your day. In the evening/nitetime the #111 can run with as much as 90+ minutes between busses (so you have to watch the clock and time it correctly) and on weekdays there is a gap of nearly 5 hours between busses (from 4:15pm-9pm). The #115 doesn't run on Sundays while on Sundays the #111 stops running from NYC to Jersey Gardens at 3:15pm, essentially not making this an option for Sunday travel into the city.

[Tommy135]

thereuare, you seem to have a lot of knowledge of that area.

Is the schedule time of 30 minutes bus ride realistic? As it seems to take about 20 minutes to get from jersey city to midtown, there doesn't seem to be a big difference to me regarding the travel time.

Is it just the more frequent connection that makes jersey city more attractive, or is it something else?

[Willow Branch]

I sure appreciate everyone's input!!! Yes, I NOW know that this is an expensive time of year to visit NYC! I didn't have a clue before! The kids have off from school & we wanted to do a fun week-end with them, so plane tickets are bought & would not be worth trying to change. I DID learn my lesson & will research an area before I am committed!

That being said, I am still looking.

What do you think of getting an apartment in Queens/Woodside? I did find an apartment for my dates at $150.00/night that will acomodate 4 people.

I realize that there will obviously be a commute, but is this subway the NYC subway? Could I buy that Metro Card & use it for getting out of Queens? ALSO, is this a safe area for a family?

I think it would be fun for the kids to commute like the New Yorkers to see what life is like. HOWEVER, I do NOT want to spend 1 1/2 hours each way to get into the city, that would NOT be worth it.

THANKS again!!

[thereuare]

Is the schedule time of 30 minutes bus ride realistic? As it seems to take about 20 minutes to get from jersey city to midtown, there doesn't seem to be a big difference to me regarding the travel time.

Is it just the more frequent connection that makes jersey city more attractive, or is it something else?

It's realistic if you don't hit any traffic, and to not expect to hit any traffic is not realistic :) Traffic into the Lincoln Tunnel is a crapshoot, of course you expect it to be busy at rush hour in the morning, but after that there is little rhyme or reason as to when it will be backed-up. A delay of 15+ minutes is common, 30+ minutes is frequent, and 45+ minutes are not uncommon... and just like airlines, a bus delay at one point in the day has ripple effects throughout the rest of the day. Add to this that the bus ride is uninteresting (unless you want to see the area that has given NJ it's nationwise reputation), the infrequent schedule (with the PATH train you rarely even look at a schedule, you just "show up" and wait for the next one as during peak times it runs every 3-7 minutes, and 'off' times it runs every 10-20 minutes.. it's only after 2am that you really start to try and time it well), as well as the 'city feel' of riding a train... Jersey City is a much better option. One more thing... the area around Jersey City has other things to do in the immediate area, or easily go into Hoboken for the day/nite... Elizabeth has nothing nearby other than the mall (another NJ stigma :) )

What do you think of getting an apartment in Queens/Woodside? I did find an apartment for my dates at $150.00/night that will acomodate 4 people.

I realize that there will obviously be a commute, but is this subway the NYC subway? Could I buy that Metro Card & use it for getting out of Queens? ALSO, is this a safe area for a family?

I think it would be fun for the kids to commute like the New Yorkers to see what life is like. HOWEVER, I do NOT want to spend 1 1/2 hours each way to get into the city, that would NOT be worth it.

More than likely it's the LIRR, which doesn't take metrocards, and is more of a 'commuter railroad' than a city subway (which also means it's nicer and a little cleaner than the NYC subway). However, it's not that inexpenisve (i'm guessing about $5/pp each way) but you can check the LIRR website for schedules, fares, and length of trip.

[Willow Branch]

We are back from NYC. We took the bus from EWR to Penn Station, New Jersey. We then hopped on the PATH train to Manhatten. Then, we took the subway #7 to our final destination. We rented an apartment off from Craigs List for $125.00 per night. She did not require a deposit; we simply paid her cash when we saw her. It was a 5 minutes walk from the subway station, so kinda fun--we felt like New Yorkers. We stayed in a little neighborhood near Woodside--worked well. Much cheaper than any of the hotels that we were able to find!! The apartment was small--cannot imagine actually living in such a place, but it was GREAT for what we wanted!! We also had 3 beds. Just wished that we could have found a Priceline hotel, but they were running too much!

Thanks for all your help!