Hotel recommendations for Jersey/New York area?

[flamingeaux]

My mom, and all my siblings and my family will be flying up to Newark at the end of July.  There will be 4 adults and 4 kids (aged 10-2) staying for a week.  1. Am I reaching for the stars to hope to find something within a decent distance from NYC for less than $100/night?

and if the answer to 1, is "you're not completely crazy", can you recommend something?



Also has anyone ever stayed at the Kenilworth Inn in Kenilworth, NJ?  If you did, please tell me about your experience.  I can possibly get rooms there for a reduced rate, but it's a little further out than we were hoping for, but the site makes it look like it might be worth it.


TIA

[mbcdefg]

Out of the decent hotels I know in Jersey City, the cheapest I found for the last week of July was the Candlewood Suites for about $150/night. That's right on the Hudson River waterfront across from Manhattan - you can take the PATH or ferry into the city: www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/jersey-city/ewrjc/hoteldetail 

AVOID any of the hotels on Tonnelle Avenue in Jersey City. In addition to being gross, they're not that convenient for getting into NYC anyway. 

I don't know of any hotels offhand in Secaucus, but there's a big train station there that can get you into NYC quickly. Weehawken has a ferry service into NYC.

I've gone to the EWR Marriott conference rooms for work and liked it, and my family stayed there overnight for an event a couple years ago and said the rooms were fine, but I looked at the rates and they're not $100.

I don't know anything about Kenilworth Inn other than seeing it from the Parkway, but that's kind of a hike from NYC. And traffic in that area can be really tough. Do they have a free shuttle to get you into NYC or to an NJ train station? Because if you have to drive into NYC (and pay tolls/park) or get an Uber, it's probably going to cover the difference of whatever you saved on the room, and it's going to take you a LONG time to get to the city to boot. Personally I wouldn't pick this hotel unless you get an amazing rate. 

There are some Jersey City VRBOs available for the last week in July that say they sleep 8, if you want to consider that route. You can get the PATH train into NYC from a Downtown-area station or from Journal Square. The Downtown area, where all the hip restaurants and shops and parks are, is along the Hudson River waterfront, bordered by Rt. 78/NJ Turnpike and Liberty State Park. 

I don't know of any amazing NYC hotel deals but I'm sure someone here can recommend something. 

[patches31709]

I've stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City right on the river for ~$130 a night (week nights). I was there for work, but was surprised by how cheap it was. It's a very nice hotel.

[mrsukyankee]

I tend to use priceline for these sorts of things - I'll figure out the star number of the hotel I want and then bid the amount I want to pay.

[erbear]

It won't be under $100, but we have always been able to Hotwire NYC hotels for about $150.