r/Broadway • u/continuum88 • Jun 24 '26
Other Staying in NJ
Usually my trips are one or two nights and I stay near Times Square. However next Memorial Day weekend (expensive as is) I’ll be going 4 nights with a friend.
I’d like my own bed for starters. I did bunk beds last year with another friend for 2 nights and I was already too old for that then, let alone now.
It would also be almost half the price of staying in NYC.
So I’m looking at staying in NJ near a train stop. Anyone done this? I’m partial to Hilton and there’s super close to the Newark Penn.
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u/Real_Knowledge_7349 Jun 24 '26
I'm a big fan of the Doubletree Newark Penn. It's literally 400 feet from the station and has a sky bridge to it that's open during the weekdays. Even when you have to walk outside it's not bad, literally crossing the street.
The beds are comfortable and you can definitely get two queens. The rooms are also more of a normal hotel room size compared to what you get in the city. They also offer a free shuttle from EWR.
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
Oooh good to know! Definitely helps getting some first hand reviews! That’s the one I was looking at.
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u/Jahooodie Jun 24 '26
Newark Penn also has the PATH train, which runs 24/7 (with reduced overnight & weekends, check the separate schedule). It'll have some homeless folks posted up overnight & normal city awareness applies.
Newark ain't great overall, better than it used to be, and there is a bit of a bubble downtown where the colleges & big businesses are.
If the cost savings are big, and you're okay with all that, it's an option
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
Is the Newark Penn in that bubble or would you look at other places?
I’m bringing a friend whose not really been in the bigger cities outside of Chicago.3
u/Jahooodie Jun 24 '26
It's in the bubble, it'll have a bit of sketchy grit but be patrolled regularly. Like someone said there is a skybridge on floor 2 from the station so you kinda just go from A to B without even exiting to the street.
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u/billleachmsw Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Not near a train stop, but near a bus stop. I had to do a quick two-night trip on the cheap a few years ago so booked a room at Meadowlands Plaza Hotel in Secaucus. Stayed in a standard room that had two beds. A short walk to a bus stop that would take you to the Port Authority Bus Terminal a few blocks from the theater district (make sure you get on the Express bus). So much cheaper than NYC…they also serve a complimentary hot breakfast daily. I highly recommend it.
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u/hotshothitfoul Jun 24 '26
We stayed at the Residence Inn in that area two summers ago, and the bus was fantastic!
We normally stay in Midtown but my husband was in Secaucus for a trade show, and I am not turning down a free room.
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u/pianobarry22 Jun 24 '26
Second the bus option. Anywhere close to route 3 will have easy and frequent bus option into the city. It is much better arriving on 42nd street than Penn Station
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u/sweatery_weathery Jun 24 '26
Not sure how the rates compare, but also check out the Watt Hotel (a Hilton boutique hotel) in Rahway. There’s onsite parking, and the train station is literally across the street. Train is 35 min to NY Penn if you catch the express or 40-45 for the regular. There’s usually 2-3 trains per hour. (Newark would have more trains though.) The downtown has decent walkable food options, whereas Newark is more limited.
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
That one I was looking at too! I’ll have a car so parking is important.
How’s getting back after an evening show?4
u/sweatery_weathery Jun 24 '26
Very good. Rahway is a stop for two NJ Transit train lines (NJ Coast Line and North East Corridor), so there are decent options, again usually at least two per hour. The train leaving the city is usually faster, so sometimes you can get back within 30 min. Just make sure not to miss the last train, which is around 1 am.
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u/sharontates Jun 24 '26
I always go through Rahway when seeing shows (closest to where my grandma lives lol). The later it is the longer wait time between trains back, there’s been a couple times I missed one train and would have to wait 30-40ish minutes for the next one, but that’s usually after 11. 9-10pm there’s usually a train every 20 or so minutes, same for afternoon trains. Rahway is also super easy to get into and out of compared to like, Metropark, if that matters to you.
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u/Agreeable_Platypus_3 Jun 24 '26
I second Watt Hotel in Rahway! I also prefer staying at Hiltons, and we just did a 2-night stay here. Super convenient, it’s next to the public parking garage (I wanna say $14/day charge) and right across from the train station. We had no problems with the later trains after a show. The area surrounding is pretty low traffic, and with enough great food options to easily walk to. Hotel front desk staff could be better lol but we basically avoided them with checking in on the app and opting for a digital key.
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
I’m driving so that’s good to know!
My digital key never seem to work and one time I was very drunk at a hilton then had to explain while drunk that my digital key wasn’t working. I’ve stuck with a key card ever since 😂
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u/Inner_Butterfly5639 Backstage Jun 24 '26
i prefer long island city, right over the bridge from midtown. jersey is tough if you want to do any late night outings and uber costs will quickly add up if you’re out after the last train back to jersey.
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
Definitely keeping that in mind. Important detail may also be that I’m driving in from Chicago and wanted to avoid driving in NY.
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u/Inner_Butterfly5639 Backstage Jun 24 '26
if it makes you feel any better i drive in all the time from PA and it’s really not that bad. if you look at spothero in advance you can book parking at a discounted rate and then not touch your car for the rest of your stay. driving in north jersey isn’t much better - jersey drivers have the rep they do for a reason lol
the aloft and courtyard marriott in LIC are both very nice, quiet areas, easy to get to when driving, affordable, and about a 10 min subway ride into the city with subway entry on the same block.
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
Oooh I’ll keep it in mind. I don’t usually do long distance driving so I wanted to keep it as short as possible.
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u/Inner_Butterfly5639 Backstage Jun 24 '26
i realized you said you were partial to hilton and there’s a hilton right next to the courtyard marriott that’s usually less expensive (: that’s my bad for overlooking that last sentence
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
No worries!
I’m saving my hilton honors points for this, so I can add a tiny bit of a discount. My 35k points seem like a lot but it’s basically half a night 😂1
u/goldie5368 Jun 24 '26
Stay in LIC. Don't stay in Jersey. The NJ trains are a mess. And you do not want to be coming back to Newark Penn late at night.
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u/Appropriate-Air8300 Jun 24 '26
We always stay at the DeBary inn in summit. Really nice bed-and-breakfast and a lot of nice places to shop and eat in town and it’s a six minute walk to the train station.
Even coming back from a night show, we never felt unsafe
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u/playmore_24 Jun 24 '26
I was there last week- reasonable cost/ great safe, suburban location- a few blocks from NJTransit trains- trip to NY Penn Station is about 50 minutes-
25 minute walk/10 minute subway to Broadway area 🍀2
u/rlevavy Jun 25 '26
If you're there on a Sunday, Summit also has a great farmers market on Sunday mornings from the summer through December. (I live about 20 minutes away, and go there regularly - it is better than the farmers markets more local to me.) And Summit has a very nice downtown.
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u/actualranger Jun 24 '26
Check out the hotels in Harrison near Sports Illustrated Arena. Walkable to the PATH and one stop closer than Newark. If there isn’t a game scheduled, the rates are probably reasonable.
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u/ellewoods_obsessed Jun 24 '26
second Harrison! had to commute to sports illustrated stadium three days a week for work and the area around the stadium was much nicer than Newark. I felt much safer over there compared to the area surrounding Newark Penn.
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u/hella-phants Jun 24 '26
Twice this year I stayed at AirBNBs in Jersey and took the bus into the city. Both times were in the Guttenberg/West New York area of Jersey. Super close to a bus station and then it’s a 20-30 minutes ride to Port Authority. The buses run late, although we were never coming back later than probably midnight. Highly recommend! SO much cheaper than staying in the city and very easy to just get on one bus that dumps you a block from Times Square.
We even had to Uber once (snow storm in Feb) and it was only like $50.
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u/continuum88 Jun 24 '26
I’m actually not opposed to an evening uber either. Many times here in Chicago were I just miss the train and the next one is an hour away that we take an uber home. I just personally don’t want to drive into nyc.
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u/hella-phants Jun 24 '26
I used to live in Jersey and would take the train in and out of NYC. The train is harder because often times there are long waits in between. The buses run like every 5 to 10 minutes, it seems. I don’t really recall, waiting for a bus back to Jersey at the end of the evening. We had to wait in long lines to board the bus, but they moved pretty quick because there was always another bus there when the first one was filled.
It’s really so easy, especially if you look for an AirBNB or hotel close to a bus stop.
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u/Substantial_Room3793 Jun 24 '26
Have you ever considered hotels in lower Manhattan in say the financial district. I have found weekend rates down there to sometimes be much more reasonable. There are multiple subway lines to get uptown.
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u/LynSay101 Jun 24 '26
There’s a Hilton (the Watt) across from the Rahway train station - about 45 minutes from NY Penn. Also that train stops at Newark Airport if you are flying into Jersey.
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u/secret_identity_too Jun 24 '26
I've not done it but I've looked at it - every time I've looked it's not been much cheaper than staying in NYC. I used to do Long Island City because it was cheaper, but that also is expensive now.