Staying in Long Island City

Hi

We are travelling to New York for the first time and are thinking of staying in 50th Avenue Long Island City...Is this a good place to stay and is it close to the city of Manhattan. We will be doing all the tourist things so is this close enough to be able to get around easily..apparantly the accommodation is only 2 blocks from the subway...

Thanks

Bennettbrain (from DownUnder)

Staying in Long Island City

Just %26#39;snagging%26#39; this as I%26#39;m planning to do the same earlyish next year.

All the research I%26#39;ve done suggests it%26#39;s a good area for a budget stay. I%26#39;ve stayed in the Midtown area before (Fitzpatrick Grand Central) and found that I often got the tube and/or taxi a few times per day so I%26#39;m guessing it won%26#39;t be too much of an inconveince for a budget stay.

Staying in Long Island City

Long Island City has a history of being an industrial area. Most of it is still pretty unattractive. Because of it%26#39;s proximity to Manhattan, it is slowly being gentrified, but it%26#39;s still primarily a pretty gritty area that most people know to drive through and not much more. I%26#39;m not familiar enough with st. names to know where 50th ave. is but I see it%26#39;s not a hotel/motel, so most important is how far it is from the subway and what%26#39;s around it. Either share the exact address (giving just an ave. doesn%26#39;t tell us much) or go to hopstop.com and put in the exact address and then get directions (by subway) into any place in Manhattan. That will confirm how far from the train you are and give you an idea of time to get into Manhattan.

The biggest issue with staying outside Manhattan is not being able to go back midday to drop packages, rest etc. If you%26#39;re traveling with kids, it can be a real pain. The other issue with staying in LIC is what the immediate neighborhood is like if you come home late at night. While it may not be dangerous, it could be pretty deserted.

NYWhiz...I%26#39;m planning on staying at the Quality Inn, 40th Avenue, Long Island City which I think is just by the Quneesboro Plaza metro stop.

I agree that there%26#39;s got to be some inconvenience but the cost of Manhattan hotels nowadays means I%26#39;m happy with the trade-off.

Plus...on my last trip I found that I was getting the subway back to my hotel from wherever I was in Manhattan or Brooklyn or wherever for my mid-afternoon break anyway.

Anyway...keen to get people%26#39;s opinions so I know what to expect!

I believe I know this area of the hotel. It is congested area not the best but not the worst, but you should be OK Knowing what you are getting into. It is near a restaurant they are doing renovations on The tequila sunrise. There is a shopping center there I think it will be OK. There should be people around that area, when coming back at night. I did check the reviews some complaints on that. I think even if you had to take a cab back if the price is right it will be worth it.

If you are paying more than $180 I would try something in manhattan.

NFMac, I haven%26#39;t seen that Quality Inn, but have plotted it on a map and know where it is. I think all the reviews on tripadvisor sound pretty accurate. This is not an attractive area and you won%26#39;t find much in the way of restaurants etc. nearby. If you%26#39;re just using it as a place to sleep and it%26#39;s a really good deal, I think it%26#39;s ok. If you%26#39;re coming with kids or a spouse who%26#39;d like a nice place, this ain%26#39;t it.

If you can deal with the negatives in this review

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g48080-d671388-鈥?/a>

then you%26#39;re ok. When I check on hopstop.com it seems that whether you use the subway or a bus, it will take about 30 mins. to get into midtown Manhattan. I would book this as a cancelable option and depending on when your trip is and for how long, consider bidding on Priceline for a hotel. You might even try bidding in Jersey City for a 3*. People do get the Hyatt Regency or the Doubltree for less than $100/night there.

Thanks...I%26#39;m actually coming on my own for the Bike-the-5-Boros bike ride in May (assuming and hoping I get a place). I%26#39;ll be using the hotel as a base and going on rides/sightseeing in the morning/early-afternoon and then heading back out for a bit of nightlife.

I%26#39;m simply looking for somehwere clean and safe to sleep. That%26#39;s it!!!

I would still rather be in Jersey City for the same money or less. There%26#39;s great biking on the west side of lower Manhattan and that%26#39;s where you%26#39;d end up if you were traveling from Jersey City. What is this Quality Inn charging and how many nights are you staying?

It%26#39;s US$129.00 a night plus taxes. I%26#39;m staying the first weekend in May.

Any help gratefully received! I%26#39;m not that sold on this hotel, it just looked a good deal.

We biked by there pretty regularly the summer both during day and at about 9 PM night and, frankly, it%26#39;s a pretty ugly area, as was said. Not unsafe, but industrial. In fact, just two weeks ago we were biking by and my spouse noticed it and said, wow, what the heck is a hotel doing here?

However, if you simply want convenience to bike or take the subway over the Queensborough Bridge, you can%26#39;t beat it. There are some people walking around at night - mostly going to and from the subway, but not many. You%26#39;re also near LaGuradia College, so there%26#39;s always people there during the day. You%26#39;re also not that far from more lively streets with stores and bars.

But if you%26#39;re a lover of urban infrastructure, you can%26#39;t beat it. Like I said, we donned all our lights and reflective stuff, and rode through here from Manhattan one night. It was something right out of a movie. BTW, the area is very flat, so great for biking.

I strongly reco reading these websites:

http://www.licnyc.com/

www.licarts.org

鈥bout.com/od/longislandcity/Long_Island_Cit鈥?/a>

There are indeed a couple of new condos going up nearby, so you will def be ahead of the curve!

Lastly, don%26#39;t forget, we call it THE SUBWAY.

Subway, subway, subway! Sorry!

Thanks for that. In fact, it was yourself who suggested Long Island City a couple of weeks ago.

I quite like the idea of cycling across the Queensborough Bridge every morning or even heading down to Brooklyn or up to Flushing. I%26#39;m a big fan of urban cycling so this location seems ideal to me.

I%26#39;m also pretty happy wandering into bars and restaurants that are away from the %26#39;Lonely Planet%26#39; bible (in fact, I prefer it!) and have read that LIC is very much an up-and-coming area.

I have looked at the hotels in Jersey City but, to me, this option looked better. Would be happy to be persuaded otherwise, mind you!

Thanks again. Sorry for hijacking this topic!