NJUPINTHEAIR

kv99:

The rooms with the telescopes are the suites, but that view is limited, I think to the living rooms. The rooms next to the suites, which I got on both of my stays, have that great view from your bed!

Yes, the food for breakfast is great for a freebie, and the reason you can use the Cont'l breakfast coupon for the hot food, is because there is only a $1 difference in price between the two. My waiters just waived the difference, and I just gave them a better tip for their generosity. Still, it is not a luxurious breakfast buffet at certain properties --notably the hotels in Europe -- but it is free.

Threy, I would not use a FFN at the hotel, better to use it at the Stanhope. However, the hotel does come up fairly cheaply with its own rates, and has come up in the past --though this may no longer be true -- at $35 on P/L. This was when the hotel was the only one in that star category, and this i no longer true, as the Doubletree is now there, as well.

Enjoy your next stay!

JIMCHI

Isn't a 8 ft high celing a standard ceiling in homes and apartments??

kv99

You're correct that it is the general standard, but a 9' ceiling tends to be the norm in newer homes (at least on the first floor) and older buildings (pre-WWII) often have very high ceilings-- you'll see this a lot in older homes and apartments on the east coast. I think hotel rooms often do have 8' ceilings though. It could be the particular configuration/layout of the room in combination with the 8' ceiling that made it seem confining to Threy. Or perhaps he/she is just VERY tall

Threy

It was the whole setup of the room which was too dark in combination with the low ceiling..
When you walk around the hotel on the pier, it seems that the 1st and 2nd floor rooms have lower ceilings, the rooms over the lobby ( 3rd floor ) seem to be more spacious...

MoonPet

I absolutely love this property. I;ve stayed there several times since it opened and I even had all of our out of town guests and family stay there for my recent wedding.

All in all, I'd say we had just over 100 nights booked from our out of town and out of USA wedding guests alone. And, we had a spectactular brunch the day after the wedding in the Manhattan Ballroom.

However, I will be the first to admit that the service can be spotty. It seems that most of their best staff gets transferred to the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan.

Our wedding stay (for my husband and I, our families, and our guests) were full of problems, unfortunately. What made it sad was that during the course of the wedding planning, I had been in touch with the staff for many months so that the actual wedding would go smoothly.

I generally find that their staff is willing to please but often are not able to follow up on things. In addition, communication between departments needs some improvement. The day after the wedding my husband went back to the Hyatt to meet with the General Manager to discuss our experience and he found the manager to be most pleasant and truly receptive to his feedback.

It is truly a gorgeous property. Our wedding suite (the Ellis (riverside) Suite 702/03(?) was more perfect than I could have hoped. Of course it just so happened that it was 75 degrees on November 1 and 2 so that all of our wedding pictures were taken on the pier and the brunch took place mostly outside on the balcony of the Manhattan Ballroom . . .

(sorry -- wedding memory ramble)

Anyhow, I think the property deserves a second chance. The location is first rate and one can be from the lobby to midtown in mere minutes.

By all means, try to get a room above the third floor. Keep in mind that all of the smoking rooms are (to the best of my knowledge) on the first floor.

Enjoy!
Nicole

[This message has been edited by MoonPet (edited Dec 09, 2003).]

lalala

I have a two night stay booked for next week. I will admit to never having flown into Newark. The concierge told me that they could arrange a shuttle for 22 bucks, is this okay or can I get a cab for less? My plane gets in around 10:40 pm and I'm not too keen on public transport that late at night.

I also have a LGA flight early on Saturday am, the hotel said they can arrange a shuttle for about 55 bucks, I have no idea what my other options are. The price difference between flying from EWR to BOS and LGA to BOS pays for the shuttle three times over. Any thoughts my New York/New Jersey Hyattophiles?

lala

sdwr98

Well, I've stayed at the Jersey City Hyatt every week so far this year - I love it. I think it's one of the finest staffs or properties that I've encountered. I also fly into Newark every week; that's not so fun. A yellow Newark Airport cab will cost you $35 + $1/bag + tolls ($1.10, I think). I usually do this just because at 10 PM I don't want to deal with waiting for shuttles or such. You can get Jersey City cabs to come get you, they'll probably run ~$25, but again, you have to wait. I just prefer the convenience of taking an airport taxi.

The few times I've flown out of LGA from the Hyatt, I've taken the PATH train to Manhattan (costs $1.50, there's a station directly in front of the hotel) and then taken a NYC taxi to LGA, which usually runs about $25, depending on where in Manhattan you pick one up. Of course, depending on how early your flight is, the shuttle might be better. $55 is pretty good - I think cabs from the Hyatt would run about $65.

trd

from EWR you can take the Newark City bus to Newark Penn Station ($1.50?) then take PATH train ($1.50) to Exchange Place it takes about 35 minutes total if you catch each bus/train without a wait. The Hotel is right on top of the PATH station. This is fairly easy if you don't have lots of luggage and don't mind the Newark City bus which seems perfectly safe during the day, but might make you a little uneasy after dark. to/from LGA: PATH train to World Trade, transfer to "E" subway to Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave station, change to Q33 bus -- if you have a subway pass it's a total of $3.75 and probably faster than a cab at busy times.

GUWonder

If you are flying LGA-BOS and you are using Delta, you will be flying from LaGuardia Marine Air Terminal and that terminal has a different bus from the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue subway station than the rest of LaGuardia.

requalifly

Take the #62 bus to Newark Penn Station and then the PATH train, all for under $3. Trains seem to run all night but it could take over an hour to get to your hotel. As for LGA, take the train there from Exchange Place to Manhattan, transfer to any of the Queens subway lines and grab a cab from there.

Or since you arrive on the weekend, why not pick up a promotional rate car rental and drop off at LGA. I did the reverse once and had no extra drop fees, although each car company varies on this policy. Parking on weekends at some train stations is as little as $2 in NJ.

trd

I made a mistake on previous posting which I have corrected, but as it was quoted in other postings I thought I should note the error here. The train from World Trade to Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Road is the "E" train (not A). This train is a local in Manhattan, but then express in Queens. It's a very quick ride. It also should be noted that the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Road station is under construction -- normally you could just pick up the bus right at the main station entrance but with the constuction the bus stop is a bit difficult to find. Best exit from the front of the Queens bound train using those exits from the station -- then ask someone -- it's easy from LGA (follow the rest of the bus patrons) but difficult to discribe from the other way.

lalala

Thank you all for your advice. I think I'll get cab. I like the idea of taking the PATH train into NYC and getting a cab to LGA too, but maybe 6 am on saturday is a bit early for that....

lala

ashaboe

This past weekend I stayed at the HR Jersey City on a PL rate for the second time. To make sure I get a stay credit, I had some appetizers and drinks from the hotel bar right outside the VU restaurant, and charged the bill and tip to my room.

I failed to check my bill when I checked out, and later found the dreaded "*" next to the charge for "VU dinner." I was sure that I wouldn't get a stay credit but 2 days later the credit came, though from the total points it seems like only the tip counted as an eligible charge. This is not the case on my earlier stay just in May when all VU charges (F&B and tips) earned GP points.

Although relieved to have received my stay credit, I'm surprised that the hotel treated similar charges differently on two different stays. Anyone had similar experience?

Tummy

We had breakfast in the restaurant two weeks ago and all the charges, food and tip earned points on the PL stay.

tinnub

I stayed at the hotel on a points award and the Vu charges earned ponts. Call GP and ask to add the points. They have always been very helpful with me.