Help me find a list of nice hotels outside of NYC?

October 3, 2009 1:55 PM

Please help me find an affordable, nice/romantic hotel outside of NYC.

My girlfriend and I are looking for a nice, affordable hotel outside of NYC (so we can take public transportation into the city) for our anniversary. We're just planning on staying for a weekend, but neither of us have very much money, so we're looking for something between the 100-200 dollar a night range that still might be a step above a chain hotel.

I'm asking because I'm having a hard time finding an easy way to search hotels that aren't necessarily in NYC, but are still close enough for the city to be considered accessible.

We would really appreciate any advice or personal recommendations from anyone who has done anything similar!

Thanks in advance for the help.

posted by coolguy#1 to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

I think you might be able to find a place right in the city if you're willing to be closer to $200 than $100. Here's a list with some promising suggestions; this place from that list looks especially nice.

In regards to staying outside of the city, will you have a car to get you to public transit, or do you need a hotel in walking distance to the train/bus?
posted by katie at 2:35 PM on October 3

I'll have a car, I just don't want to drive into the city, if at all possible.
posted by coolguy#1 at 2:37 PM on October 3

Well, I'm not sure how close you want to be, but this hotel is well within your budget and is about a 5 minute drive to a train into the city, but the train ride is about an hour. It's in a cute town, too, so you could explore a little outside of the city if you'd like. That particular hotel is not a chain, so it has a little more local flavor, but you could also probably afford a room at the Hilton nearby; I've stayed there for a wedding and it's definitely upscale. The closer in you get to the city (say, Hoboken or Jersey City), the more it will feel like city driving and the more expensive it will be, so maybe this part of NJ could be a good option for you. Good luck!
posted by katie at 2:59 PM on October 3

Beacon, NY is a great town on the Hudson River upstate NY. There's great hiking nearby and the Dia Art Gallery. You can take Metro North to Grand Central in Manhattan. It's about an hour and a half on the train - not sure if that's too far for you.

Upstate NY is beautiful especially at this time of year, so not only would you be saving money, you'd have breathtaking views of the changing leaves, nearby apple picking, and quiet at night.

I found some b&bs in Beacon, NY on Trip Advisor.

You could also try looking in Cold Spring, NY. New Paltz is pretty nice but it's a pain to get to and from NYC without using a car from there. It's also a bit further upstate. You might try Sleepy Hollow / Tarrytown area as well - it's closer than Beacon, on metro north, and very pretty. I'm just not sure about lodging there.
posted by jacquilinala at 3:53 PM on October 3

Seconding Beacon + Train.
posted by R. Mutt at 4:24 PM on October 3

New Paltz is indeed wonderful and yeah its hard to take a TRAIN there (nearest train station is 25 minutes away), but the trailways bus out of Port Authority works fine. A nice hour and a half bus ride drops you right in the middle of Main Street. I take this bus almost every weekend.
posted by silverstatue at 12:58 PM on October 6