<p>Planning to take Happykid and Happydad to NYC to see two performances in the Theatre District on the weekend of 5/26. Last time we went by bus and stayed downtown, but I can’t find a hotel in our price range for that weekend. New Jersey and public transportation into NYC looks like it could work. We will need a bus and/or train from somewhere close in NJ to Penn Station or Port Authority. I’ve found affordable hotels walking distance from the Newark Broad Street Station and on the 320 bus line. Is the Broad Street Station neighborhood OK to walk through after dark, or should we stay in a hotel on the 320 bus line, or should I look for entirely different neighborhoods instead? Trying to keep the pre-tax hotel charges below $150/night.</p>
<p>The Newark Broad Street neighborhood is very rough. The Hilton at Newark Penn Station would be an OK choice, but I wouldn’t go walking around there at night unless there is an event at the “Rock” (aka Prudential Center) when there is heavy police pressence. (There are 2 train stations in Newark that both serve NY Penn - Broad Street is an NJ Transit only station and Penn is the station on the Amtrak line). </p>
<p>There are also hotels near the Meadowlands that are near bus lines. Granted there’s nothing nearby. You could find an inexpensive hotel off the train or bus lines and drive to a park ride lot served by either bur or train.</p>
<p>I just did a search for you and you could stay at many different airport hotels near JFK, LaGuardia or Newark Airport in your price range. There is public transportation from these airports into the city.</p>
<p>Did you check Brooklyn hotels? There is a Marriott in downtown Brooklyn rigth near the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s a shirt ride subway ride from Manhattan, and the area is safe. You can also check hotels in Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn - again close to subway station and Safe.</p>
<p>It’s $25 RT from the Newark Airport rail station to NY Penn - factor that into your calculations. Your travel dates are Memorial Day weekend, which overlaps w Fleet Week, so hotels in the area will go for a premium. You might want to try your luck w Priceline.</p>
<p>Try some thing in Fort Lee, we lived close by but never stayed in a hotel over there. From Fort Lee, its only a short bus ride to the uptown port authority building and there you can catch Subways to Mid or Downtown.</p>
<p>Stay out of Newark. At all costs. As an out of towner, you don’t have the sophistication to pick out the safe areas.</p>
<p>I used to visit relatives frequently in the Connecticut suburbs of NYC. We stayed in the Howard Johnson’s in Darien, which is a bit rundown and adjacent to a highway (lots of traffic noise) but not in a bad area. You could take the train to NYC, either from the small station in Darien (which has limited parking) or from the big Stamford station a few miles away.</p>
<p>I like the idea of staying in the airport hotels. They really are cheap, probably because of their inconvenient location and the airport noise.</p>
<p>With the costs of transportation factored in, you might want to check Priceline and find something in Manhattan. I would never recommend anyone stay in Newark, even someone who is familiar with the area. Some shows won’t end til close to 11 and if you want to stagedoor or get a bite to eat afterwards, it’s going to be very late, and you don’t want to be wandering around in a strange area at that time of night. Doing so in Manhattan won’t be an issue.</p>
<p>I think its easier to take the PATH to Penn Station than somewhere in Mahattan. And if you want to goto Statue of Liberty, there are ferries from Jersey City as well.</p>
<p>I have a relative in NJ, and asked him. He recommended the Madison Hotel in Morristown, which is next door to the Convent Station Train station, which has direct service into Penn Stations NYC. He also says it’s about a mile away from Washington’s headquarters in morristown NJ, in case you want to do any history-related sightseeing. I have never been there, so can’t speak to it from personal experience.</p>
<p>We have stayed in Secaucus and traveled in to Port Authority by bus several times. It has worked very well for us. We like both the Embassy Suites Harmon Meadow and the Hampton Inn Harmon Meadow. The bus runs frequently enough to work out well.</p>
<p>More recently, we stayed in East Rutherford at the Marriott Residence Inn. The bus schedules are less convenient to East Rutherford, but we were a large group and it became cost effective to drive and park. We bought parking ahead of time for a very reasonable price at lot that is a bit of a hike (between 6th and 5th at 47th St, IIRC) but not prohibitively so.</p>
<p>However, check the schedules for the sports arenas to make sure there is not an event when you plan to go. We encountered no event traffic whatsoever because there was nothing happening at the Meadowlands.</p>
<p>If you happen to be a government employee, some of these properties (including the Residence Inn in East Rutherford) offer a leisure travel discount for government employees.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great ideas. I’ve been checking hotel addresses against the NJ transit bus and rail schedules to see if anything is likely to work. Right now the Meadowlands area is looking good. I have a bunch of points with La Quinta so this might be the time to use some of them. It looks like there is a bus stop out front or on the next corner that runs about every 30 minutes - not perfect, but good.</p>
<p>I’ll take a look at your other suggestions too. I knew you would have helpful ideas for me!</p>
<p>This trip is to see two specific shows, and maybe the MOMA if we can fit that in. We hit the other big tourist high-lights on previous trips. We only need to get to and from the Theatre District.</p>
<p>Try the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken, right on the Hudson River. You can take the ferry right from there to the midtown dropoff. Free buses can then take you directly to the theater district, and other points of interest. Maps are available on the ferry for bus routes.</p>
<p>I second the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor…easy transportation to nyc, the ferry is cheap and fun, nice hotel! That is where I used to put guests when I lived in Hoboken.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t give up on Manhattan just yet. I had very good luck getting a midtown East hotel on Priceline several times for about $130 to $140 a night. Each time I requested and bid on a four-star hotel. I have gotten Hyatt nexts to Grand Central and the Hilton near Rock Center. You can look at Betterbidding.com to see what prices people have won on priceline.</p>
<p>I grabbed a space at the LaQ in Secaucus, while waiting to get the final go-ahead from the other travellers. This is Happykid’s graduation present for finishing up her AA in Theater Tech. I’m scared to jinx the whole thing by giving out too much info. about the shows, but one is in previews that opened last weekend, and the other one features a bus covered with LED lights.</p>
<p>I do prefer staying in the theater district itself, but we’ve moved far enough from DC that driving into town to leave the car at Union Station and take the Bolt or Megabus to NY looks to be a bigger headache than driving to NJ and taking the bus into NYC a couple of times. I’m estimating that this plan will pay for the tickets for one of the shows. I may be wrong. I did take a look at the Betterbidding website yesterday and was put off by the comment that Priceline isn’t a good idea if you need space for more than two people. Maybe on another trip?</p>