Priceline Hotel: 4* Newark (Jersey City) Westin Jersey City Newport

[sheal]

:)

This should have been posted to the PRICELINE forum, could you please move it for me?

Started bidding a few days ago at $80 (based on prices from last year). Went up to $100. Started bidding today at $98 and then rebid at $105. I could have (should have) tried bidding by $1 but I just don't have the patience of some (most) bidders. :)

I'm good with the price, it is like getting free parking for the night. HOTWIRE had a room for $142 + tax, quite possibly the same place.

Sheal

I used the PRICELINE link I think. If I didn't, let me know.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you're happy with the results and the deal you received... a nice rate for this property!

If you need any help regarding the area feel free to ask.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[sheal]

Well, I could use some advice. :)

We will be arriving at 11:00 AM, spending the afternoon visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I planned to have an early dinner figuring we would be tired from the early morning start.

What are your opinions on Madame Claudes and the Iron Monkey? They both have pretty good write ups on TA. I am leaning toward the Iron Monkey as it seems more casual not to mention a great beer selection.

Is on-street parking available or should I plan to proceed directly to the nearest parking garage?

I also saw the Brownstone Diner mentioned. We would be eating around 9:30-10:00 AM. Is it worth going over there? Are the wait times excessively long on the weekends?

Is the area safe to walk at night? I thought that if it was a nice night we could return to the hotel and then walk to dinner. When I got directions from google it mentioned possible lack of sidewalks.

I appreciate your help,

Sheal

[thereuare]

We will be arriving at 11:00 AM, spending the afternoon visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

I'll address your other questions in the next reply (as the following may change your plans somewhat), but for starters... do you plan on doing anything else in the city this day? If you want to actually go to Ellis Island this is going to be an almost all day affair, leaving you little time for other things on this day.

If you're "sold" on visiting Ellis Island, you may want to consider taking the car and catching the boat from Jersey City... will still take up the majority of the day, but could then return to the hotel and first head to Manhattan for the nite.

[sheal]

Couple more details. We are driving from RI and plan to get to hotel by 11:00 AM. This is a pre-cruise stay and a last minute idea. Whole trip was!

Our plans are to drop bags off and head over to Ellis Island from the NJ side. I know we will only have a limited amount of time so I'm ok with a rushed version. We have seen the statue from the ship a few times now but have never actually seen it up close. I was not planning to go into Manhatten this time. My in-laws want to go back so we might do a couple nights another time.

That is why I planned to eat someplace close to the hotel.

Thanks!

[thereuare]

What are your opinions on Madame Claudes and the Iron Monkey?

I haven't been to either and have never heard of Madam Claudes. From what i know of the Iron Monkey it's "good" pub food. The area around the hotel is pretty safe although the walk the Iron Monkey might get somewhat desolate and might not feel as safe. As well, unless the weather is nice, it might be a bit of a hike to walk (and not much in the way of scenery).

I would sooner head to Hoboken (i'm biased :) ) via the PATH or Lightrail where you'll have a larger selection of restaurants to choose from and more bars/pubs to enjoy before or after dinner before heading back to the hotel... if you let me know what type of food(s) you like and how much you want to spend on dinner i can offer some recommendations. (also, will your in-laws be with you this trip or did you just mention that in regards that you'll be returning to the area in the future)

I was recently at Brownstone and it was good "diner food", i was there in the evening (although i did taste their 'very good' pancakes as that's what my kids had for dinner :) ) and it was busy, but not overly crowded. However, from what i've heard, weekend mornings are VERY busy and i would anticipate a wait at the time you intend to arrive. It's also a far walk, and if you didn't want to drive, you could take the Light Rail to Jersey Ave and the diner is right there. You don't have too many breakfast options in the immediate area (bagels from the local supermarket, Starbucks at Newport, and the Seattles Best(??) right near the hotel) but don't know if Brownstone is worth the trip and potential wait.

[sheal]

Well, in Madame Claudes defense, the place sounded like it was a favorite of the locals. :)

Well, after googling Hoboken, I see that the outskirts are only 10 minutes away by car, little longer ride by rail. Most likely we would drive unless the places you suggest are a quick walk from the rail (PATH). We are looking for a casual, "pub" style restaurant. Like I said, I was just looking for some nearby, reasonable places.

In-laws will not be with us this time.

Did the pancakes get thumbs up from both you and the kids? We would drive there as well. I figured we could take a ride by and see. If people are sitting outside waiting in lawn chairs we will keep driving. :)

[thereuare]

Maybe i'll put Madame Claudes on my list of places to check out in the coming weeks (although harder to try pub type places with kids in tow these days)

Iron Monkey should be fine as i've heard decent things about it. If you're adventurous you can also try the White Star Bar (230 Brunswick Street, Jersey City) as it's a real local's place... might even go so far to call it a "dive" bar and you'll look around and ask yourself "what am i doing here?"; but for "pub grub" the food is pretty good and VERY reasonably priced.

In Hoboken Black Bear seems like it would fit the bill, and something closer to the PATH is Oddfellows (although i haven't been here in quite some time but the food was always better than average for a bar). Mile Square is a good bar for a pint of beer as they have 30 beers on tap!... but i wouldn't eat there at the moment. All of these are close to the PATH train to walk. If you take the car Margherita's is the best "bang for your buck" Italian in town and is BYOB, so you can stop and pick up a bottle of wine on your way or a few bottles of your favorite beer (Sparrow's Wine and Liquor has one of the largest selection in town of both beer and wine)

Brownstone pancakes were very good and if cruising out of Bayonne you can make this "on your way" by hooking up with the NJ Turnpike at Exit 14B (look at a map to see the route)

Have a great trip.

[sheal]

Nothing could compare to the dive bar I was looking for in San Juan. Place was so scary from the outside that I didn't even go in. Looked as though building might have been condemned.

I'll check out the other places.

Thanks so much!

Sheal

[thereuare]

BTW, i read up a little on Madame Claudes a little and it seems a bit more upscale than the other places you're considering.

[sheal]

Yeah, I know. It sounded interesting though. I am now leaning towards the White Star Bar, it seems to have great reviews on yelp.com. I wish I could have seen the actual dinner menu as only the delivery menu would open for me. Too bad we are showing up on Friday and not Martini Tuesdays.

Thanks for your advice.

Sheal