<p>I’m hoping someone on this site is either from Albany NY or has traveled there and can give me some info.</p>
<p>I need to be in Albany at the end of the month for an exam. I’m flying in and my hotel is about 3-5 miles from the airport and about 2-3 miles from the proposed testing site [testing should be in/around Empire State Plaza/EGG though it has been held in hotel banquet rooms in recent years]. My major question at this point: given the layout/functionality of the city should I rent a car? My instinct is YES. The exam days themselves will be stressful and I don’t want to have to worry about anything else. However, everyone tells me, ‘don’t bother with a car, just walk or take cabs to/from the exam.’ I have no intention of walking if my testing site is 3 miles away. As for cabs, is Albany like Philly, NY, or DC, where you can just walk to the sidewalk and hail a cab? My feeling is that Albany isn’t like that, particularly since the people at the hotel told me that ‘they can call me a cab if needed.’ Is this a city with a few cab companies–such that calling cabs will be a problem with 5000 extra people in town all needing to be at an exam at different locations at 9 AM?</p>
<p>If a rent a car, how’s parking? Are there parking lots and garages or is it entirely street parking; because if i’m goin to be parking 5 miles from my testing site, at that point driving won’t be much of an advantage.</p>
<p>Sorry for the length of this…but I’d greatly appreciate it if you post/PM anything about Albany–logistics are the last thing I want to stress about.</p>
<p>There is one decent downtown hotel within easy walking distance of the Empire State Plaza - the Crowne Plaza. If, in fact, your exams are downtown, stay at the Crowne Plaza and forget the car.</p>
<p>That would have been my first choice but the Crowne Plaza sold out months ago and I wasn’t able to get a room there. Thus, I have no choice but to be a little further away and deal with having a car/cabs etc.</p>
<p>Well it’s definitely not like NY or Philly. There are several cab companies in Albany and normally you should get one through the hotel- but as you said their will be 5000 people looking for a cab at the same time. Also remember Albany is the State capitol and there are a lot of state employees who work in the area- so parking may also be a big problem. There are buses in Albany- You may want to check out if there is a bus route from your hotel to the test site. I really can’t suggest what the best way to proceed is. Some hotels may have a shuttle service. (Check out the Holiday-Inn on Wolfe Road. There are also several other hotels on Wolfe Road). Hotel Shuttle service may “save the day”. I would think the hotels and test organizers can give you suggestions. Good luck.</p>
<p>I am rusty on my Upstate NY geography, but I have found the website <a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com%5B/url%5D”>www.tripadvisor.com</a> to be very helpful. Type in the city you want, and bingo, You can read reviews of hotels and, if you register, can post questions on the forum. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I have been to Albany on business a few times and I would say to get a car. You don’t want to have to deal with cabs there. Get on expedia and find the cheapest car and rent it. Parking isn’t a huge problem in Albany.</p>
<p>I grew up near Syracuse, and I am guessing the ALbany weather would be much the same…we had muggy, hot, rain, thunderstorms and then sun in one day. So be prepared for a surprise storm and mugginess</p>
<p>Area near airport is nice and have lots of hotels and restaurants. There easy access to the interstates. All the hotels have plenty of parking as are the shopping areas and restaurants. One hotel that is on the up and coming without being too pricey is the Hampton Inn. They have WiFi access in the hotel and even offer to lend me a laptop if my didn’t have a broad-band card. I agree with others, find the best deal online about a rental car and forget taxis. You want to do away with cars only if you are staying in major metro area like NYC.</p>
<p>Visitors Parking is available in a garage under the Plaza/Egg. Cabs from the airport are easy. Otherwise, I hate relying on Albany cabs when I have to be somewhere at a particular time. I, too, would recommend renting a car. What day of the week will you be in Albany? There is major road construction on I90 on weekends and evenings through July.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to deal with cabs, traffic, or parking hassles you could stay in one several reasonably nice hotels/motels near the SUNY-Albany uptown campus, e.g. Courtyard by Marriott at 1455 Washington Avenue or Best Western Sovereign at 1228 Western Avnue, and just take CDTA (mass transit) buses to downtown Albany.</p>
<p>The #10 bus runs down Western Avenue to downtown every 10 minutes during rush hour. The #12 bus runs down Washington Avenue every 10 minutes during rush hour.</p>
<p>It should take about 20 minutes or so to get from a hotel near the SUNY uptown campus to downtown.</p>
<p>I agree that cabs are a dicey proposition at best in Albany, except at the airport. CDTA buses run frequently enough that you may find them a better way to go. Downtown Albany is a maze of one-way streets and no-left-turn signs and it is easy to find yourself mysteriously forced onto an onramp that winds you up across the Hudson River from where you want to be! I would STRONGLY discourage anyone who is not already familiar with driving in downtown Albany from trying to navigate the downtown labyrinth at rush hour with the pressure of getting to an exam on time hanging over you. Leave the driving to the CDTA bus drivers!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. So it seems like my instinct was right and cabs aren’t reliable; I’m not worried about cabs/hotel shuttles to and from the airport because I’m arriving a day before the exam and leaving the day after, so there won’t be looming exam pressures on those days. I am actually staying in one of the hotels at the SUNY-Albany campus so I’ll have to check out buses as an alternative. I probably will be renting a car and I will definitely drive to the venue the afternoon before to make sure I know exactly where it is, where to park, see how much construction is/how slow traffic can be etc–so that I don’t end up on some on ramp taking me across the city. Thanks to all who responded…if you have any other info that could be helpful, keep it coming.</p>
<p>The most straightforward(?) route to the plaza is 90 East to 787 South. Take the Empire State Plaza exit. Stay in the right lane of the exit ramp (so that you don’t inadvertently end up across the river). Prepare to take a right turn into P3 Visitor’s Parking as you drive under the Plaza.<br>
Just be forewarned that 90 West will be closed between Exits 2 & 5 evenings and weekends in July.<br>
Good luck on your exam!</p>