<p>Doing the east coast college trip in early August, and visiting both NYC area and Boston for fun.</p>
<p>NYC: I searched former posts. Most list Manhattan hotels. We’re actually looking for close NYC suburban hotels. We’ve stayed in Secaucus NJ years back and it was great. It was only a 5 min. walk from the hotel to a NJ bus stop with express service to Manhattan, free parking, reasonable rates, and no Manhattan driving hassles!!! However, we’ve checked and all the nearby hotels seem to be booked for early August (convention perhaps?). Can you recommend any other areas which are clean, safe, and have easy access to bus or shuttle service?</p>
<p>Boston: Looking for the same. </p>
<p>We would try Priceline, but there are 4 of us including the future college student so we need 2 beds.</p>
<p>Here are some suggestions in the order that I think would work best:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Stay at the Hyatt at Exchange Place in Jersey City and then take the PATH train into Manhattan (10 minutes) – this is a nice hotel.</p></li>
<li><p>Stay at the Doubletree or the Marriott at Newport Center in Jersey and take the PATH in. These hotels are fine and probably cheaper.</p></li>
<li><p>Stay at the Newark Hilton and take NJ Transit into Penn Station.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Do you have some Boston-area colleges in mind? Because once you are in a suburb, you will need to use a car. Although public transport may be available, schedules may not be convenient. If you have to extend your stay as a result, you lose the ecoomic advantage of staying in a suburb as well as the flexibility of arranging visits to suit your needs.</p>
<p>Some CC posters who were flexible in their travel were able to stay at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge or the Doubletree Inn on the other side of the river for about $79. If you are willing to pay more, I think the Hotel Kendall near MIT could work out. You should also consider checking the B&Bs in Boston and Cambridge.</p>
<p>The Jersey city hotels are an excellent idea though–sevearl upscale chains there now and you have easy access to NYC via PATH. Plus there are some really nice parts of Jersey city and wonderful views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. </p>
<p>Don’t stay at the Newark chain hotels–the major chain hotels are at the airport and really not pleasant–think of the noise. they do have rail connections to NYC now but it means dealing with a very busy airport.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice… That gives me some alternative directions.</p>
<p>Marite, the college list includes:
Boston: Tufts Northeastern Boston College (maybe Boston U.) Emerson
NYC/NJ area: Pratt Barnard Seton Hall Drew </p>
<p>We plan to do the full “tour / info session” of some, and just a walk-through of others.</p>
<p>We knew we would need the car for the college search portion, but are hoping to leave it at the hotel for the “fun” part (and NYC).</p>
<p>Mattmom: We do not know NJ suburbs at all. What is the best way to find which hotels are close to convenient PATH stops? </p>
<p>Train is fine. However, we stayed in a more distant suburb with friends even longer ago, and by the time we added train fare for 4, it would have been cheaper and far easier to just stay in the city! (They were about 45 min. away). That’s why we loved Secaucus. Very convenient.</p>
<p>Most of the schools are accessible by the T, so this should not necessitate a car. Great!</p>
<p>Tufts in on the Red line (Davis Square). The others are on the Green Line, though probably different branches.</p>
<p>You might consider the Hotel at MIT (near the Central Square T stop on the Red line); Harding House (also near Central Square); Irving House (near the Harvard Square T stop); also A Bed & Breakfast in Cambridge near Irving House. The owners of the latter are former Peace Corps volunteers, hence the brochures in French, Spanish and Swahili.</p>
<p>Your Boston schools are pretty well distributed so there is no hotel that will be convenient to all of them. You might as well choose one that allows you to enjoy Boston. There is a Marriott and a Holiday Inn in Brookline that are $180-200/night, convenient to BU, BC, NE, Emerson (Nothing is convenient to Medford (Tufts) -can’t get there from here), and on the Green Line so you can get downtown easily.</p>
<p>Yes you can get to most from Cambridge by the T but it is a schlep (have to go into Boston on Red Line and then out on Green line).</p>
<p>Hmmm. I would have thought the outlier is BC. although it’s on the Green Line like most others, it’s a ways out. Davis Square is only 6 stops from Park Street, the hub of the public transport system. I tried to suggest hotels that were in the low $100.</p>
<p>When we did the Boston colleges tour we stayed in a hotel in Woburn. The price was low compared to Boston. We drove into an outlying T-station in the mornings and then rode the T all day around town. For longer trips, like out to Wellesley, we had the car.</p>
<p>I second the Hyatt at Exchange Place Jersey City.</p>
<p>Check for weekend rates if that fits your schedule. You can walk a considerable distance along the waterfront; it’s safe…but best of all is the stunning view…you are looking directly across the river at lower Manhattan.</p>
<p>You’re literally next to the last PATH stop in NJ. One stop and 3 minutes from World Trade Center where you can change to the the subway.</p>
<p>Exchange Place is a major PATH station. (Pavonia is the other one.) Any of the chains that is near Exchange Place will work–Newport Center will work too. If you check the chain Web sites and look up information about specific hotels I think you will be able to determine which ones are in that part of the city adn good walking distance to PATH. I think pretty much any upscale chain in Jersey City will be along the waterfront and therefore near PATH. </p>
<p>Both Seton Hall and Drew are on the NJ Trainsit Midtown Direct train line train line incidentally, but not really walking distance from the stations (South Orange and Madison respectively). Still, both will be very easy to visit by car from Jersey City. Also, if you want to use public transportation, the light rail system and in Jersey City is wonderful and runs directdly to Hoboken and and the NJ Transit old (Erie Lackawanna) station there–very heavily used, very commuter oriented–not scary at all.</p>
<p>The Hyatt in Cambridge is not expensive and right along the river across from BU. In the suburbs there is an Amerisuites in Medford with a Tufts rate–very inexpensive.
I think you should try and stay in the city to get a feel for Boston.</p>
<p>The Hyatt in Cambridge is not expensive and right along the river across from BU, near MIT, NE and Emerson too and you can take the T to BC. In the suburbs there is an Amerisuites in Medford with a Tufts rate–very inexpensive.
I think you should try and stay in the city to get a feel for Boston.</p>
<p>The Cambridge Hyatt is unfortunately a bit of a walk to any rapid transit. Right on the river, right across from BU, but the only short way to get to BU from that Hyatt is to swim or boat across the Charles. If you walked, it is 1/2 mile just to get to and across the BU bridge.</p>
<p>The Brookline Courtyard and Holiday Inn are both great choices. They’re each steps from the Green Line, and near a good selection of shops and restaurants at Coolidge Corner. It’s a great area to relax after a long day.</p>
<p>You could also stay at the Newton Marriott, which is near the terminus of the green line. It’s a busy business hotel on weekdays - your companions at breakfast are likely to be the VC leaders of the Boston area, but less busy on weekends.</p>
<p>There is another cluster of hotels in Waltham, near Brandeis, but these are only accessable by car. Their rates will be a bit cheaper, though.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion for the Newton Marriott. One of the green line branches is less than a block away and you can get to all the Boston area schools thru the subway/bus/rail system (the “T”). You do not want to drive any closer to Boston than Rt 128/95, due to the Big Dig tunnel closings. Traffic is being rerouted in that area and it is creating massive traffic jams, so driving your car into the city is strongly discouraged. This situation could be going on for a while, so plan your Boston visits using the public transportation system. The good news is that the “T” is safe and convenient.</p>
<p>We often stay in the Waltham area when visiting friends. There is a Doubletree there that would fit all four of you in one room (suite) fine, and it’s a very nice hotel. </p>
<p>Knowing my husband, we’d stay there to save money and just drive to all the schools, or park somewhere and take the T - but we used to live in Boston and so we know our way around.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine coming to visit colleges in Boston and staying at the Newton Marriott! Yes, the traffic is awful everywhere, but it’s awful in Newton right now at the moment too. I’d stay in Cambridge, and travel to all the other schools, just to get a full flavor for life in the Boston area. At the Newton Marriott, you may as well be visiting your grandmother, and in fact, many people who stay there are!</p>