Dear Out of Town Guests,
We are thrilled that you are making arrangements to come to our wedding. We know that many of you do not know the New York area well, so we hope that this information sheet will be useful in your planning.
Regarding transportation, we suggest that you do not rent a car. Parking is very expensive in Manhattan and public transportation is both accessible and reasonable. If you are flying, John F. Kennedy, La Guardia, and Newark Airports all have access by public transportation to Manhattan (taxis are also available but will be pricier).
As you may know, hotels in New York can be quite pricy. We have tried to include a wide variety of price points on this list while maintaining a high standard of quality! All of the hotels listed have the D&E Seal of Approval for Quality to Price Ratio, and unless otherwise noted, they are all within walking distance of both the ceremony and reception sites. For those of you who are familiar with the blog, these hotels are also all endorsed by A&E Wedding Planners, Inc. Prices are accurate as of the time of this posting; there's also a link for each hotel, so you can easily check each one out!
The Yale Club: There are a limited number of rooms at the Yale Club where the reception is being held. The rate is $200 a night plus tax. When you call, ask for our wedding block. The one catch is that in order to reserve a room at the Club, you will need to pay Danielle instead of the Yale Club—this is because she is a member of the Club and all financial transactions have to go through her.
The Roosevelt: This historic hotel, named after former president Teddy Roosevelt, is around the corner from both the Yale Club and Grand Central Station. It has a spectacular lobby and is within walking distance of both the ceremony and reception sites. Rates start at around $225 a night.
Doubletree Suites Times Square: A great option for those who want to be within walking distance of it all! This hotel is right in the heart of Times Square and about ten minutes walk from the ceremony and reception sites. Rates start at $169 a night.
St. Giles Court: There are two St. Giles hotels in New York—the Court and the Tuscany. The Court is five to ten minutes walk from the ceremony and reception sites. This modern hotel is equipped with everything—including gumball machines in each room! Rates start at $188 a night.
The Desmond Tutu Center: For those of you searching for an oasis in New York, we strongly recommend considering the Desmond Tutu Center. The Center was constructed several years ago and is a converted part of the historic General Seminary, the first Episcopal seminary in America. The seminary has a courtyard the size of a city block in its center, sheltering it from the hustle and bustle of the street. This hotel is in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York, about thirty minutes walk from the wedding sites. It is easily accessible to the wedding using the subway system. Rates start at $178 per night.
House of the Redeemer: Run by The Episcopal Church, this guesthouse offers reasonable accommodations in a historic building. A variety of rooms are available, though some may share bathrooms or lack air-conditioning. The guesthouse is about thirty minutes subway ride from the wedding and reception sites on the Upper East Side, the poshest area of New York. It’s also about 8 blocks from Madonna’s new townhouse, so keep an eye out for her doing yoga on a nearby street corner!
Landmark Guest Rooms at Union Theological Seminary: Situated in Morningside Heights, across the street from Columbia University, these rooms are attached to Union Theological Seminary, an interdenominational seminary where Danielle’s former advisor is now their first female president! All rooms come with mini-fridges and complimentary continental breakfast. Rates range from $135-165 a night. Expect to spend about 45 minutes on the subway in transit to the ceremony and reception sites.
Hotels in North Bergen, New Jersey: If you’re adventurous enough to venture across the Hudson River, you may want to consider staying at either the Holiday Inn Express North Bergen Lincoln Tunnel or at the Comfort Suites North Bergen. Each received good reviews from travelers on Expedia, and though you will be staying across the state line, public transportation to Manhattan is available at a reasonable rate (about 5 dollars each way). To get to Manhattan, you will take the 125 bus across the Hudson to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and then transfer to the M42 to Grand Central (I’m unclear whether you will need to purchase a New York City ticket for this bus—if so, it will be about 2 dollars for the bus from New Jersey to the bus terminal and then another 2 from the bus terminal). The M42 will leave at Grand Central Station, which is about ten minutes walk from the reception site. Google maps says to leave 45 minutes for this route from the Holiday Inn Express and an hour from Comfort Suites; you may want to leave a bit longer, because traffic in New York can be erratic, especially coming from New Jersey. Staff in the hotel will be better able to estimate how much time to leave, and they will also be able to let you know the location of the nearest bus stop. Also, if you fly into JFK or LaGuardia airports, the trip to the hotel will take quite awhile (probably about 2 hours on public transit). Please bear this in mind when you book your flights, especially if your flight will arrive or depart late at night. New York is a safe city overall, but as with any city, it is not wise to be on public transportation at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning! Also, the cab fare from these airports will be over 100 dollars. If possible, fly into Newark Airport if you are staying in these hotels and take a cab from there. Rates at the Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Suites start at $119 and $102 a night respectively. Both hotels include breakfast.
Vanderbilt YMCA: Located about a fifteen minute walk from the church and five blocks from the reception site, this YMCA works as a hostel with beds available from $48 a night. Rooms are modest and bathrooms and bedrooms are shared, but air-conditioning is available.
The Gershwin Hotel and Hostel: Located a twenty minute walk south of the church and about 25 minutes south of the reception sites, this colorful hostel and hotel have rooms starting at $39 a night. One benefit to this hotel: You will be across the street from the Museum of Sex! Where else but New York would that happen! Be prepared to pay more if you want to stay in the hotel section, but if you’re willing to stay in hostel-styled accommodations, this could be a memorable location.
Some Concluding Notes:
There are many other hotels and hostels in the New York area besides the ones listed here, and you may well want to exercise your travel agent muscle by checking out Priceline or Expedia. If you want a hotel close to the site, you should limit your search to hotels in the Midtown East Side/Grand Central neighborhood. If you don’t mind traveling, there are a number of other hotels in the Hoboken/Jersey City/North Bergen area just across the river. These are easily accessible to the ceremony and reception sites using public transportation, though you will want to leave extra time (probably about an hour) for travel.
Two caveats: first, we are sorry to say that expensive hotels in New York are expensive for a reason. Inexpensive hotels and hostels (less than $120 a night) often have shared bathrooms, and you may find yourself sharing a room with New York’s finest wildlife—the cockroach! So…Please be sure to look up reviews of these residences before booking! They may be a great catch but they may also ruin your trip.
Second, hotels will book up for Labor Day, so we encourage you to book a room earlier rather than later. And if you have the vacation time, stay awhile in the Big Apple. New York is an incredible city, and both Danielle and Eric will be happy to give tips for how to plan a great getaway in the city that never sleeps!
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