Hotwire Hotel: 3* NYC Airport (Airport JFK) Best Western

[ikelshellmad]

Best Western Kennedy Airport

14425 153rd Lane

Jamaica, NY 11434

(718) 977-2100

Hotwire hot Rate: $90.00

Tax recovery charges and fees: $21.97

Total price: $111.97

Amenities:

• Airport Shuttle
  
• Complimentary Breakfast
  
• Fitness Center
  
• High-speed Internet Access
  

Review:

I never write reviews on hotels, but I decided this needed to be written for the good of the public. Hotwire surely tricked us on this one! They inflated the hotel's star rating--this Best Western is definitely NOT a 3* hotel! This is the WORST hotel/motel that my husband and I have ever experienced (and I'm not a hotel snob)! We have been to Motel 6's that were better than this Best Western. The complimentary airport shuttle was available every hour on the 1/2 hour (i.e. 4:30pm, 5:30pm, etc.), but the drivers didn't seem like they cared much for their jobs. When we checked in, the lady at the front desk was very nice and gave us a key for room 106. When we got to the room, we noticed there was no TV in there. This seemed odd since every hotel we've been to had a TV in the room. We went back up to the front desk and asked the lady if all the rooms were supposed to have a TV. She looked at us strangely, and we informed her that room 106 did not have one. She replied, "Oh my gosh--someone stole the TV!" She then apologized and gave us a key to room 116. Although this room had a TV, it had a horrible stench of stale cigarette smoke and other questionable smells. There were stains on the bedspread, the carpet was soaking wet, and the toilet was barely flushable. We figured it was already late, and we had an early flight to catch so we didn't request another room. We checked out before breakfast was served, so I can't comment on the breakfast (although after what I have experienced, I would be too afraid to try it even if I had the chance!) I could not wait to get out of that rat hole!!! Buyer beware! Stay away from this Best Western!!!

[k_jones]

I have also stayed at this hotel, and while it wasn't great, you can't really expect much more than this at a hotel in New York for around $100 per night. The airport area is not known for having very nice hotels at all, since nobody stays there for more than one night to catch a flight. Honestly there's not a lot better options around. The hotel provides transportation (and if you don't care to wait for that, a taxi doesn't cost much either). When I stayed there, the Internet didn't work, but apart from that the room was ok. Not great, but fine for just sleeping and waking up and leaving. We noticed some young people staying there who were obviously tourists taking the commute into the city because they didn't want to pay Manhattan prices. If you want to spend 2 hours going back and forth, dealing with hotel shuttles, subway, etc, then that's fine too. A taxi to the city is about $50-60 from there, or $45 flat from the airport. So don't stay here unless you're just looking for a room in connection with a flight! And for a room for a night in connection with a flight, you don't have a lot of other/better options in the JFK area. Perhaps one or two hotels are nicer, but they also cost more. There are no four star hotels in the JFK area however. I do agree that the Best Western should be a 2 star hotel, or 2,5 stars, but stars don't just represent how "nice" a hotel is, it actually has more to do with the amenities, etc. In the end you're much better off reading reviews from people here, or on tripadvisor, rather than just trusting a star rating blindly. I will be staying at this hotel again later this year. So after having stayed there last year, I will go back. It's fine for a night...

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with the hotel. I'd contact HOTWIRE, as well, if you felt this should not be rated a 3*.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using the site's HOTWIRE link to start your purchase.

K-jones - thank you for posting your review and information. If you have already booked this hotel for later in the year, it would be appreciated if you could post the information on the board in a separate thread so that it can help others. Thanks. :)

Enjoy your stay.

[thereuare]

As k_jones points out, for the most part, this area just does not have very good hotels and it is probably only worth if the 3* level relative to other hotels in the area. HOTWIRE is now basing their ratings on the average of the "Big 3" online booking agencies, Expedia rates this hotel 2.5* while Orbitz and Travelocity rate this 3*... thus the 3* rating from HOTWIRE.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Hope your future stays are more more enjoyable.

[ikelshellmad]

Thanks for your comments. We stayed here only because our flight was delayed until 6am the next morning, so we needed a hotel that offered a complimentary shuttle service. This was my first time staying overnight in New York, and it has been quite a learning experience. The sad part is that the reviews on Tripadvisor were actually positive!