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Old Jun 27, 2006 | 11:01 pm
  #4  
kyushuman
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Originally Posted by kyushuman
Now, are there any first-hand accounts about what the Fairfield Inn is like these days?
Well, here is mine:

PROS:
Almost everything inside and outside the hotel is NEW: room furnishings, windows (soundproofed, they say), bathrooms, etc.
Free breakfast with make-your-own waffles, and the usual continental breakfast options--cereals, yogurts, breads, juices, coffees, etc.
Free Wi-Fi, which wasn't working when I arrived but was an hour later.
Free Airport Shuttle
JFK AirTrain is free if you get off at Stop C (Federal Circle, where you need to get Hotel and Car Rental Shuttle buses). It's less than 5 minutes from JFK terminals, so it's painless.
Fitness Room (but only cardio machines, so don't expect to lift any weights).
A full-service, in-hotel evening restaurant with Mediterranean menu, very rare for a FI to have its own restaurant, I believe. It was reasonably crowded the evening I was there.
Other food nearby: McD's (4 blks), also Burger King, a Halal Fried Chicken place, take-out Chinese (all 1 blk or less).

CONS:
Smallish room
Shuttle is shared with Comfort Inn and HoJo, both nearby, but we were packed in and it's only offered at :10 past every hour to go to the airport--kinda odd for an airport hotel, but it worked for me just fine--left on time, and was there when I arrived at the airport, too. I watched the evening driver talk two foreign pax out of an extra $5 tip when he got their bags out. I wasn't impressed with that.
Weird neighborhood--it's very industrial, with some houses sprinkled in. But VERY few pedestrians. That said, when I was walking it didn't feel like a "bad" neighborhood, just sparsely populated. Still, a few eccentric folks on the sidewalks, just like in any urban area.
The location, while odd, is a few blocks better than a trio of hotels (Days Inn, Comfort Inn, and HI Express) that are-literally--next-door-neighbors to the NYC Garbage Truck Garage. Yuck!

So, if you can get a good rate and are only there for a night, I highly recommend the Fairfield Inn JFK.
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