As far as the car, it’s the logistics of getting to the bus terminal in Boston (hour away). I’m hoping that a hotel outside the city will have typical parking, so just drive there and leave the car parked for the weekend.
I’ll have to check out suites in the area next.
NJ is probably going to be your cheapest stay, either PATH (which is sort of a subway system of it’s own and pretty cheap), or NJT a more expensive commuter rail system works very well, you can easily get in to the city in the 20 minute time frame and save quite a bit, though some of the neighborhoods leave much to be desired.
Last time I was in NYC, I stayed in Queens in an apartment I found through Air BnB. It was on a nice quiet street across the street from a huge old Catholic church, around the corner from a grocery and pretty close to the subway. There was on-street parking, but I don’t know if it’s freely available or if you have to pay or what. I highly recommend it. The cost savings over staying at a hotel was incredible, and since we had a kitchen we could prepare our own breakfasts and/or lunch and eat out once or twice a day as usual.
I just now read back and see you have teens. The apartment we stayed in would comfortably sleep four, even six.
I recently spent 4 nights at the Four Points Sheraton in LIC. At about $150 per night, it was quite nice, and probably about half the price of a similar room in Manhattan. It was a quick easy walk to both Queensboro Plaza and the 39th Avenue station. $2.25 per ride, and I was amazed at how easy it was to get around the city.
Sounds like you could rent a car for those prices. Personally I like the idea of staying in Westchester or Joysey and driving in, but I never liked Manhattan.
ETA: But then you’d have parking to deal with, there’s another expense. Still, for me, it would be worth it to come and go as I please.
I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of driving around the city. The last time I went, I stayed not too far from Times Square in a Holiday Inn. It was nice to just walk around or jump on the subway.
I have a sinking feeling that this trip won’t plan out.
It looks like a double room is $229 a night. Maybe I’ll do that.
Similar rates for the Jersey City Newport Courtyard and the Llincoln Harbor Sheraton, so it seems you are at around the price point for about as close to Manhattan as viable.
Definitely the Long Island City area - I need to second the plug for my neighborhood There are LOTS of chain hotels there that generally range from $100 to 150 a night ( on some nights they even get down to the $79-$89 range.-- $150 is actually on the high side for the area unless you are looking for a deluxe room, in perusing rates just now I noticed Country Inn has a suite with a kitchen and whirlpool for $150ish per night. The Holiday Inn is a little fancier and may cost a little more
There are lots to choose from - Days Inn, Holiday Inn, Ramada, Country Inn and Suites. La Quinta, Fairfield Inn, Comfort Inn, Best Western + some independents like the Verve Hotel and The Ravel…in short, all of 'em.
If you have a favorite chain it will have a branch there. The other good thing is that these hotels all popped up recently due to zoning changes, so almost all of them are new construction which means you can’t go too far wrong…some of the cheap hotels in Manhattan are converted old buildings that are total dumps.
And Long Island City is VERY close to midtown…it is one subway stop away from the 59th street area or, if you are adventurous you can walk over the Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan in 10-15 minutes. Probably the only drawback is that these places sprung up in a previously commercial-industrial area so it is a little short on cafes, restaurants and other places to eat…but that’s a small price to pay for the bargain.