NCY Hotel Near Statue of Liberty

[misse336]

We are taking our kids to NYC for the first time this summer. DH and I haven't been there in almost 20 years. We've never planned a trip and had to figure out where to go in NYC. Our main goal is to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We have tickets already (although unfortunately, they're for 8am). I'm not having any luck finding a hotel that will accommodate 5 people after looking some up after reading the previous threads about NYC that I've found. We also plan to probably go to either the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge and just walk around some of the city - so a hotel not super far from them would be great. We live within a few hours drive so this probably won't be our only visit. We were just waiting until the kids were old enough and tall enough to walk to the top of the Statue of Liberty before going.

Any hotel recommendations for 5 people in the summer that won't break the bank? I wouldn't be opposed to staying outside of the city for a larger VRBO type place (which is what we usually prefer for more room) if we didn't have to be at the Statue of Liberty at 8am. Also we will have a car since we'll be driving to NY so we need a hotel that we can park at.

Edit to add - Our ferry is from NY, not NJ.

 

[MKTokyo]

Try a suite hotel like one of the Affinias.

You don’t really need to stay close to Battery Park. There is no hotel that is close to everything you listed because the locations indicated span about 90 blocks. So, stay where you like & just take an early subway for your Statue of Liberty visit. No reason you should be stuck in a business area!

 

[PatMcDuck]

Statue is technically in NJ, at least we in NJ think so. You could stay in NJ and take the ferry from here too.

 

[misse336]

Statue is technically in NJ, at least we in NJ think so. You could stay in NJ and take the ferry from here too.

It's too late to get the NJ tickets. We had to get the tickets a while ago. Even so we waited too long and only really early or really late were left (which is why we have 8am). We got the NJ ones already.

 

[misse336]

Try a suite hotel like one of the Affinias.

You don’t really need to stay close to Battery Park. There is no hotel that is close to everything you listed because the locations indicated span about 90 blocks. So, stay where you like & just take an early subway for your Statue of Liberty visit. No reason you should be stuck in a business area!

Are the Affinias hotel suites usually about $800 a night? That's what it's quoting me unless I'm doing something wrong.

 

[striker1064]

As stated, everything you want to do is spread out over all of Manhattan, so finding a central hotel won't happen. Your best bet is to look close to subway lines that will make traveling easier.

There aren't many hotels in NYC that can accommodate 5 at a reasonable price. Off the top of my head, look at the Tryp Times Square South on W 35th, between 8th and 9th Ave. It's an upper-level Wyndham property near Penn Station, and I know they have family suites with bunk beds. I can't speak to the pricing on those, but I know standard rooms are typically somewhat reasonable. Bonus, right outside the door you will find the ACE subway lines, which will easily get you downtown to Battery Park.

 

[mjkacmom]

When we went last summer, we were almost an hour late for our time and it wasn’t an issue (not suggesting you try to be late, but don’t panic). Ds20 forgot his ID and they allowed him to pull up his Facebook page as verification (this was on the NJ side). Touring the SOL and Ellis Island will take up a few hours of your day (with the audio tour). What day of the week are you going? If it’s on the weekend, since you are going in so early, you could stay in NJ and drive in and park. We live 10 miles from the Lincoln Tunnel and find sometimes that’s the easiest way, other times we bus or train.

 

[MKTokyo]

Are the Affinias hotel suites usually about $800 a night? That's what it's quoting me unless I'm doing something wrong.

I honestly don't know what the cost is - just that they are one of the few chains/places that can accommodate five people in one room. You might want to consider getting two rooms.

 

[Miffy]

Have you looked into an Airbnb? This could solve your problem. I just did a quick search there for an invented date in July and found, for example, a 2-bedroom apartment in Jersey City with free parking on the premises (didn't say if that meant a garage). Also something in Weehawken, which isn't that far away. I also saw something in Staten Island, but that is a time-consuming commute, so I'd try for something in either Jersey or Queens or Brooklyn (assuming it's affordable) if you can.

And, just confirming what several other posters have mentioned: there is no place that's close to all your planned destinations. They're all quite far apart from one another. Use the subway or city buses. I would really avoid bringing your car into NYC if you can do that. It is incredibly expensive to park here and there's no way you could leave your car on the street, no matter where you're staying, since there's alternate-side parking here and you'd have to move your car every day.

As for your 8 a.m. reservation, my only advice is to get up early. Think of it as rope drop! Ellis Island is particularly amazing.

 

[mjkacmom]

Have you looked into an Airbnb? This could solve your problem. I just did a quick search there for an invented date in July and found, for example, a 2-bedroom apartment in Jersey City with free parking on the premises (didn't say if that meant a garage). Also something in Weehawken, which isn't that far away. I also saw something in Staten Island, but that is a time-consuming commute, so I'd try for something in either Jersey or Queens or Brooklyn (assuming it's affordable) if you can.

And, just confirming what several other posters have mentioned: there is no place that's close to all your planned destinations. They're all quite far apart from one another. Use the subway or city buses. I would really avoid bringing your car into NYC if you can do that. It is incredibly expensive to park here and there's no way you could leave your car on the street, no matter where you're staying, since there's alternate-side parking here and you'd have to move your car every day.

As for your 8 a.m. reservation, my only advice is to get up early. Think of it as rope drop! Ellis Island is particularly amazing.

Airbnb is illegal in NYC and not recommended. As for parking, if you were just going for a day and had a hotel in the city, driving and parking can be a good option. DH is going into the city tonight for a concert and prebooked parking on parking panda from 6 pm - midnight, $19. It would be more for a full day, I think we paid $30 the last time, downtown.

 

[Anthony1971]

You can try places in NJ close to the PATH train specifically ones that will have a shuttle or walk to Newark (that part if Newark is fine) Harrison -- very close to Newark and they have an entire new area and station, Journal Square Grove street or Exchange place -- in that order the closer ones will be more expensive from Newark the ride to downtown is one train and about 20 minutes -- you will have a reasonable walk as that will leave at the World trade center. For midtown you will switch trains should be around 30 minutes total and will put you between 32 and 33 street or a tunnel to 34th 1 block from the empire state building... The train times are weekdays weekends will be longer as well as the waits time rush hour they run every 5 minutes... NY hotels that time will be $$$$$ but there are some time shares like the Manhattan club and a Hilton I am aware of on 35th street near Broadway but good luck with parking for a few days but there are some out of the way lots that will accommodate for a large fee... However the subway from midtown to down town will be longer than PATH... There is also a parking Garage near the Harrison PATH station that is open all week -- there is one by Newark as well but it is not open 7 days.... not sure about the other stations. can not help with hotels but I see enough around that area in NJ and I think that is your best bet for 5 and a car.

 

[Miffy]

I would like to say that the Airbnbs I saw were in New Jersey. Not NYC. Please accept my sincere apologies for seeming to have mentioned something illegal, which I didn't mean to do.

 

[mjkacmom]

I would like to say that the Airbnbs I saw were in New Jersey. Not NYC. Please accept my sincere apologies for seeming to have mentioned something illegal, which I didn't mean to do.

Oops, sorry, missed the NJ part! Most people out of the area have no idea that it’s illegal in NYC (I personally love Airbnb myself). I wouldn’t take driving in off of the table, if it is on a weekend. Do the math if staying in NJ, bus/train/ferry fare round trip vs. parking and toll. One of the benefits to booking parking ahead of time, besides the discount, is you just program the address into google maps and you are directed right there instead of tying to find a garage.

 

[misse336]

Oops, sorry, missed the NJ part! Most people out of the area have no idea that it’s illegal in NYC (I personally love Airbnb myself). I wouldn’t take driving in off of the table, if it is on a weekend. Do the math if staying in NJ, bus/train/ferry fare round trip vs. parking and toll. One of the benefits to booking parking ahead of time, besides the discount, is you just program the address into google maps and you are directed right there instead of tying to find a garage.

We were originally planning on probably staying in NJ due to wanting more space and the price of hotels, but with our Statue of Liberty tickets being at 8am and not knowing public transportation at all, I'm not sure if that will work anymore. I don't want to mess up and not make it there on time when our whole trip is planned mainly around those tickets.

We will be arriving on a Thursday afternoon and leaving Sunday sometime. We'll be there in August. I've planned a trip out west including Yellowstone/Grand Canyon/Mt Rushmore/Bryce and Zion Canyons, 2 Disney vacations, Niagara Falls, Williamsburg, etc, but NYC is really throwing me. We don't do public transportation in our daily lives at all (due to lack of any availability) so figuring that out, where to stay with five people when 99% of the hotels aren't set up for that and what to do with our car is really throwing me.

Current plan is (trying not to pack too much in as we plan to return and want to be able to be somewhat spontaneous on our kids first trip if they want to spend more time somewhere or see something that interests them):
Thursday - check in, Empire State Building or Top of the Rock, dinner
Friday - Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island (planning on that taking a large chunk of the day), walking around Times Square, kids want to do Apple Store and AG store, dinner
Saturday - Central Park + Brooklyn Bridge, dinner
Sunday - Broadway show (if I can convince dh to humor me and go to one) or museums

 

[misse336]

As stated, everything you want to do is spread out over all of Manhattan, so finding a central hotel won't happen. Your best bet is to look close to subway lines that will make traveling easier.

There aren't many hotels in NYC that can accommodate 5 at a reasonable price. Off the top of my head, look at the Tryp Times Square South on W 35th, between 8th and 9th Ave. It's an upper-level Wyndham property near Penn Station, and I know they have family suites with bunk beds. I can't speak to the pricing on those, but I know standard rooms are typically somewhat reasonable. Bonus, right outside the door you will find the ACE subway lines, which will easily get you downtown to Battery Park.

That one seems to be reasonable. Thanks for the suggestion. Going to show it to dh when he gets home.

 

[striker1064]

Don't let the public transportation get you. It's easy, but it does take some learning. I'm from a small southern town and NYC was the first big city I ever visited, and getting around the subway never gave me any trouble. There are parts that can be confusing, but you can always input where you're going in Google Maps if you get confused and it will give you great directions.

A TripAdvisor user made this amazingly helpful beginner's guide to the subway. Includes pictures and explanations. This does a far better job of explaining things than I ever could. The nice thing is, since your trip will be mostly Manhattan-based, getting around is going to be fairly easy - you just have to know which way you are going. Just as a quick example, let's say you are staying at the Tryp, which is on the ACE lines. On Saturday, you're heading up to Central Park. There's a C station at 81st St. There are two C trains for each direction - one is Euclid Ave bound, and one is 168 St bound. If you are going to 81st St, and your hotel is on 35th St, you know you are heading uptown - in other words, going up in street numbers - so you'd get on the 168 St C to 81st. There are a number of ways to get to Central Park, that's just one example.

As an aside, your Saturday is covering a lot of ground. Central Park is absolutely huge, and the Brooklyn Bridge is on the opposite side of Manhattan. If you decide to do museums instead of a Broadway show, it would be far easier to do a museum on your Central Park day, because almost all of the museums are either to the west or east of Central Park.

 

[mjkacmom]

Don't let the public transportation get you. It's easy, but it does take some learning. I'm from a small southern town and NYC was the first big city I ever visited, and getting around the subway never gave me any trouble. There are parts that can be confusing, but you can always input where you're going in Google Maps if you get confused and it will give you great directions.

A TripAdvisor user made this amazingly helpful beginner's guide to the subway. Includes pictures and explanations. This does a far better job of explaining things than I ever could. The nice thing is, since your trip will be mostly Manhattan-based, getting around is going to be fairly easy - you just have to know which way you are going. Just as a quick example, let's say you are staying at the Tryp, which is on the ACE lines. On Saturday, you're heading up to Central Park. There's a C station at 81st St. There are two C trains for each direction - one is Euclid Ave bound, and one is 168 St bound. If you are going to 81st St, and your hotel is on 35th St, you know you are heading uptown - in other words, going up in street numbers - so you'd get on the 168 St C to 81st. There are a number of ways to get to Central Park, that's just one example.

As an aside, your Saturday is covering a lot of ground. Central Park is absolutely huge, and the Brooklyn Bridge is on the opposite side of Manhattan. If you decide to do museums instead of a Broadway show, it would be far easier to do a museum on your Central Park day, because almost all of the museums are either to the west or east of Central Park.

Yes, you want to tour by areas. I’d suggest the Brooklyn bridge you SOL day, and Central Park your Times Square day. Just look at a map. My kids love the high line, you can walk it from midtown down to Chelsea market. The new Hudson’s yards is at the beginning. My family didn’t get tickets to the vessel, but you can take pictures out front https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/discover/vessel. For your SOL day, maybe get tickets to the observatory downtown, great views!https://oneworldobservatory.com/en-US

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Are the Affinias hotel suites usually about $800 a night? That's what it's quoting me unless I'm doing something wrong.

Did you try the Affinia Shelburne on Lexington? We stayed there a few years ago. It's just about a block from Grand Central Station. We were able to catch the subway and get all over the city very easily. We went to the Statue of Liberty, 911 Museum, Central Park, Times Square, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, etc. As I recall, the price was very reasonable. I guess it might depend on the time of year you're trying to book.

 

[misse336]

As stated, everything you want to do is spread out over all of Manhattan, so finding a central hotel won't happen. Your best bet is to look close to subway lines that will make traveling easier.

There aren't many hotels in NYC that can accommodate 5 at a reasonable price. Off the top of my head, look at the Tryp Times Square South on W 35th, between 8th and 9th Ave. It's an upper-level Wyndham property near Penn Station, and I know they have family suites with bunk beds. I can't speak to the pricing on those, but I know standard rooms are typically somewhat reasonable. Bonus, right outside the door you will find the ACE subway lines, which will easily get you downtown to Battery Park.

Thanks for that suggestion. They have rooms with two queen beds and a sofa bed. Perfect for what we need and affordable by NYC standards. We booked there. Now to figure out what is within walking distance and what we'll need to take the subway too/which subway stations we'll need.

 

[striker1064]

Thanks for that suggestion. They have rooms with two queen beds and a sofa bed. Perfect for what we need and affordable by NYC standards. We booked there. Now to figure out what is within walking distance and what we'll need to take the subway too/which subway stations we'll need.

I think it's a good choice. Based on your initial list in your first post, Empire State Building is within walking distance (~12 minutes). Rockefeller Center as well may be in walking distance, depending on how comfortable you are with that walk (~30 minutes). Central Park will be easy - just use the subway station at the end of the block and take the uptown C to 59th St, 110th St, or anywhere in between those two (as mentioned, Central Park is huge, so you will want to have some idea of where you're going). As a point of reference, 81st St is the Museum of Natural History. Brooklyn Bridge will also be easy - take either the A or C to High St, which will be in the middle of Dumbo, Brooklyn, and walk the bridge back into Manhattan. From there you'll have to assess where you are and transfer from the best available subway. Most likely the best will be City Hall, a Broadway line RW station, which you can ride all the way uptown to Times Square/42nd St, and either walk TS, or transfer back to the ACE back to your hotel.

Take a look at the subway map and you can follow the directions from above. There are so many stations it can get confusing, but part of what makes it great is there are multiple ways to get around.