Best Marriott Recommendation – using points (Anthem June 2018)

Hi everyone! Please,need some planning advice. I’ve beenreading through all the posts here, but am still confused about NYC.

Never been to NYC and need hotel advice so that I can thenmake our airline reservations. We arethinking of doing NYC a couple days prior to our cruise (Anthem, 9 June2018). Of course, we want the typicaltourist sites, but was hoping that I could somehow be able to see some TV shows(i.e. Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, etc). Will be using public transportation or Uber. I’m a city girl, husband is a country boy andstressed in a big city. Want to use ourMarriott points (wisely) and not have to spend a fortune in transportationcosts. I tentatively have the CourtyardNewark Liberty International Airport booked (6-9 June) but am very open toother Marriott locations. We basicallywant ease to getting around NYC and most importantly to the port early on 9June. Whatever hotel we book willdictate the airport we fly into (will fly out of EWR after cruise)

I am humbly waiting on your advice and sincerely thank youfor taking the time to help me.

//Maria

Hi everyone! Please,need some planning advice. I’ve beenreading through all the posts here, but am still confused about NYC.

 

Never been to NYC and need hotel advice so that I can thenmake our airline reservations. We arethinking of doing NYC a couple days prior to our cruise (Anthem, 9 June2018). Of course, we want the typicaltourist sites, but was hoping that I could somehow be able to see some TV shows(i.e. Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, etc). Will be using public transportation or Uber. I’m a city girl, husband is a country boy andstressed in a big city. Want to use ourMarriott points (wisely) and not have to spend a fortune in transportationcosts. I tentatively have the CourtyardNewark Liberty International Airport booked (6-9 June) but am very open toother Marriott locations. We basicallywant ease to getting around NYC and most importantly to the port early on 9June. Whatever hotel we book willdictate the airport we fly into (will fly out of EWR after cruise)

 

I am humbly waiting on your advice and sincerely thank youfor taking the time to help me.

//Maria

How many points do you have to spend?

Courtyard Jersey City is 105,000 points. Courtyard downtown Newark is 75,000 points.

Staying at Courtyard Newark or Courtyard Elizabeth will cost you extra time, convenience and $11.25-13/pp each way to go in and out of NYC. Staying in downtown Newark or Jersey City gives you access to PATH for $2.75/pp. From downtown Newark train is also available for $5.25/pp to midtown. Downtown Newark also has an airport shuttle. You would have to Uber to Jersey City. From either hotel you can take PATH, the light rail, and cab/Uber to get to the port early (about $20-25)

How many points do you have and how many are you willing to use?

I'm going to defer to Carol who has the public transit thing from Jersey to Manhattan down pretty pat, but it looks like there are trains from EWR to NYP, but I'm pretty sure there are some gyrations getting from the hotel back to the EWR train station.

Just looking out, this is one of those rare times where burning a lot of Marriott points in Manhattan is a pretty good deal; you can frequently get AAA and Marriott Rewards rates in Manhattan in the $200-250 a night range, and sometimes less, although usually better weekend that midweek. Not so much that week.

If you're willing and able to redeem 120,000 points, you have lots of options in Manhattan itself. If not, I want to hear what Carol has to say about getting two and from the train station from the Courtyard.

My points are approximately 119K. The reason why I looked at Courtyard Newark was their packages - daily train tickets into NYC as well as the proximity to the port. But, I am ready to change hotels based on your advice!

Do you already have a Marriott Rewards credit card?

You have to look around, but they offer a deal of 80,000 points for spending $3000 in the first 3 months of having the card. There's an annual fee, but...

For Marriott I can use a combination of points & cash, so I'm not concerned w/ having all the necessary points. I also get some fabulous deals w/ Marriott.

Good luck. I've usually not found that to be a good deal, but hope it works out for you.

If you start looking in Manhattan, the Category 8 hotels are generally Courtyard/Fairfield/Residence Inn. Some of those are in very good locations.

Can you do accessible public transit plus cab to get to the port?

It's all about balancing time, money, and stress. The more connections you have, the longer the trip is likely to take.

From a Newark Airport hotel, you have to take the hotel shuttle to the P4 Airtrain station, the Airtrain to the Newark Airport station, and the NJ Transit train to New York Penn Station ($13) for midtown NY or NJ Transit to Newark Penn Station and PATH to the World Trade Center ($11.25) for downtown New York. This can take 1+ hours.

Courtyard Downtown Newark is a half mile from Newark Penn Station. It's an 11 minute walk or a quick inexpensive cab ride (suggested at night). NJ Transit to midtown is $5.25 - 18-22 minutes. PATH to downtown is $2.75 - 22 minute ride.

Courtyard Jersey City is at the Newport PATH station. Newport to 33rd St is 14 minutes. Newport to World Trade is 7 minutes.

My order of preference for the various Courtyards would be Jersey City, Downtown Newark, Elizabeth, and Newark.

Jersey City is actually closest to the port. You take the light rail to Bayonne 34th St and call Uber - should be about $15. From the airport area this will be $30-40.

Don't get hung up on the "free" train ticket offer. It only takes you to midtown. Getting downtown will be another $2.75.

138east - THANK YOU!!!

pasodancer ~

For what it's worth, I emphatically agree with 138east's recommendation of the Courtyard Jersey City. Of the all the hotels mentioned, it gives you the best combination of a good, attractive, low-stress location with swift, cheap, and easy access to Manhattan and to Cape Liberty. For me, those factors greatly outweigh the fact that the other hotels are geographically closer to EWR.

Post Captain - I agree with you and am going to book Jersey City Courtyard!

Let me ask this question - if staying at this hotel would EWR be the choice to fly into?

Here are the maps and transportation web sites you will need.

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/LightRail/sf_lr_hblr_map.pdf

http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html

Fly into Newark. You should be able to Uber to Jersey City for under $40. Once you're there, you can just drop your luggage and head right into Manhattan. The Newport area is on the Hudson River with great views of the city from the waterfront Boardwalk. It's a newly developed area with offices, restaurants, hotels, apartments, and the Newport Mall.

138east - TY again!!! If you ever need recommendations for Virginia Beach or Norfolk - I'm the person!//Maria

Post Captain - I agree with you and am going to book Jersey City Courtyard!

 

Let me ask this question - if staying at this hotel would EWR be the choice to fly into?

I see that Carol (138east) has beat me to the answer, and has also given you excellent advice & information (as always!):D But yes, absolutely fly into EWR.

Enjoy your visit & your cruise!

Your first time in NYC I would NOT stay in Jersey. Stay in Manhattan and enjoy the city.

Your first time in NYC I would NOT stay in Jersey. Stay in Manhattan and enjoy the city.

Sorry TruckerDave--I must respectfully but emphatically disagree with you on this one.

Manhattan can be enjoyed just as fully while staying at the Courtyard in Newport (Jersey City) as it can while staying at a hotel in Manhattan.

The Courtyard is literally next door to the Newport PATH station, where trains depart to 33rd Street (midtown Manhattan) and to the World Trade Center (downtown Manhattan) every few minutes. Newport to WTC takes just seven minutes. Newport to 33rd Street takes 14 minutes.

To put this into context: You can get to downtown Manhattan from the Courtyard hotel faster than you could if you were staying at a hotel in midtown Manhattan; you can get to midtown faster than if you were staying at a hotel in downtown Manhattan. Strange but true.

Plus, coming to the area via EWR, and sailing out of Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ), the OP will save the trouble and added expense of having to travel back & forth between NJ and NYC with luggage.

Pasodancer ~ Trust 138east and me on this. You will be able to enjoy all that Manhattan has to offer just as fully and as easily while staying overnight in Jersey City as you could while staying at a hotel anywhere in Manhattan. :D (I speak from half a lifetime's experience living on the NJ side of the Hudson River and traveling into NYC for both work and play on a regular basis.;))

Sorry TruckerDave--I must respectfully but emphatically disagree with you on this one.

Manhattan can be enjoyed just as fully while staying at the Courtyard in Newport (Jersey City) as it can while staying at a hotel in Manhattan.

 

The Courtyard is literally next door to the Newport PATH station, where trains depart to 33rd Street (midtown Manhattan) and to the World Trade Center (downtown Manhattan) every few minutes. Newport to WTC takes just seven minutes. Newport to 33rd Street takes 14 minutes.

To put this into context: You can get to downtown Manhattan from the Courtyard hotel faster than you could if you were staying at a hotel in midtown Manhattan; you can get to midtown faster than if you were staying at a hotel in downtown Manhattan. Strange but true.

Plus, coming to the area via EWR, and sailing out of Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ), the OP will save the trouble and added expense of having to travel back & forth between NJ and NYC with luggage.

Pasodancer ~ Trust me on this. You will be able to enjoy all that Manhattan has to offer just as fully and as easily while staying overnight in Jersey City as you could while staying at a hotel anywhere in Manhattan. :D (I speak from half a lifetime's experience living on the NJ side of the Hudson River and traveling into NYC for both work and play on a regular basis.;))

I totally agree. The Newport area also gives you the opportunity to experience the Manhattan skyline view from the other side of the Hudson and enjoy the waterfront Boardwalk. When we stayed at the Courtyard, we had no panoramic skyline view, but could see the top of the Freedom Tower from our room and enjoyed seeing it lit up at night.

Sorry TruckerDave--I must respectfully but emphatically disagree with you on this one.

Manhattan can be enjoyed just as fully while staying at the Courtyard in Newport (Jersey City) as it can while staying at a hotel in Manhattan.

 

The Courtyard is literally next door to the Newport PATH station, where trains depart to 33rd Street (midtown Manhattan) and to the World Trade Center (downtown Manhattan) every few minutes. Newport to WTC takes just seven minutes. Newport to 33rd Street takes 14 minutes.

To put this into context: You can get to downtown Manhattan from the Courtyard hotel faster than you could if you were staying at a hotel in midtown Manhattan; you can get to midtown faster than if you were staying at a hotel in downtown Manhattan. Strange but true.

Plus, coming to the area via EWR, and sailing out of Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ), the OP will save the trouble and added expense of having to travel back & forth between NJ and NYC with luggage.

Pasodancer ~ Trust 138east and me on this. You will be able to enjoy all that Manhattan has to offer just as fully and as easily while staying overnight in Jersey City as you could while staying at a hotel anywhere in Manhattan. :D (I speak from half a lifetime's experience living on the NJ side of the Hudson River and traveling into NYC for both work and play on a regular basis.;))

To each his/her own. I'd much rather just walk a few blocks from my hotel to the T.S. area instead of having to take another train across the river. One train ride from EWR to NY Penn Station then a few blocks to my temp home base for a few days is more appealing to me than going back and forth across the river each day/night. Plus I have to option to head back to my hotel during the day to rest for a bit without another train ride or two.

I'm using Marriott points to stay at Woodbridge Fairfield.

10,000 points, free shuttle to the airport about 8 miles away.