On the topic of Flushing and near-to-LGA hotels, there's the Best Western Queens Court Hotel (13351 39th Avenue in downtown Flushing) as a low-cost alternative. It's an under-10-minute taxi ride ($15) from LGA, and of equal-attractiveness (clean but spare) as the Fairfield Inn-College Point-near-LGA.

As mentioned, the Fairfield is isolated in an industrial zone, so nothing to do within walking distance.

I "liked" this Best Western because it's in the middle of the wonderfully "foreign" shopping/restaurant area...... and within easy walking distance of either the (7) subway or LIRR Flushing Main St station to Penn Station (My main reason for staying there was to go the opposite direction on the LIRR for a meeting at some restaurant which was a block from the LIRR station for Bayside or Douglaston).

The BW is cater-corner from the Sheraton, which tends to be overpriced, imo.

The joy of not having to get a rental car at LGA, and not driving at rush hour meant there was time for a walk around Flushing, which is actually a historic area. There's early Dutch settler history in the 1660s, it was the Quaker outpost outside of Manhattan with a large Meetinghouse, and was the place for large tree nurseries which later supplied Manhattan's Central Park. Look for signs at main intersections which direct you on an historic walking tour of Flushing -- some good exercise and a look at both European, American and Asian influences!