For those of you who would desire a decent hotel property in New Jersey with rail access to both Newark Airport and Manhattan there are Candlewood Suites hotels in both Secaucus and Jersey City. A single queen studio suite with a kitchenette, wireless internet, and a 32-inch flat screen runs $135/night for the dates of the Conference. Currently the hotel chain is running a buy two nights/get one free deal which would make 3 nights $270 plus tax if they will take that deal this far out. The hotel also offers a free morning and evening shuttle to the nearest rail station too. The one in Jersey City is right on the waterfront with a view of lower Manhattan. From the Jersey City property you would ride the PATH line to the 34th street station then take the Broadway subway line from there.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cw/1/en/hotel/NYCNJ/transportation?start=1

The Secaucus station is on the Newark Airport AirTrain line into Penn Station on Manhattan.

http://www.panynj.gov/AIRTRAINNEWARK/

Mark

I'm glad you finally mentioned NJ, Mark. Newark airport is a short train or bus ride to Manhattan. Likewise, there are tons of less expensive hotels in NJ. If you book a place on the Jersey side of the Hudson, it is very easy to get to Manhattan and a short walk from Port Authority (busses) or Penn Station for trains.

Check out NJ but don't form an opinion just based on the NYC area of NJ.

Ken
(From scenic, almost rural NJ)

I've driven all over New Jersey, many, many times. There are some good parts of New Jersey too. My one cousin lives out near I-78 and I-287 in a nice neighborhood there. New Jersey is where I had to take that load of mushy tomatoes to (to Campbell's). It wasn't my fault. Princeton is a nice town, I've delivered groceries to the Wild Oats store there, Whole Foods in Millburn and Montclair too. Then again, I have been to a bunch of places in New Jersey that a lot of people wouldn't want to go to, like the Hudson Motel on Truck US 1 & 9, over by Rube's, right off of Exit 15E off of the Turnpike.

One time that I went to New Jersey over at Newark Airport a Fedex jet had crashed and was laying upside down in the middle of the runway. Before I got there some trucker with a heavy NYC accent said on the CB radio that it looked like "a dead pigeon with its feet sticking up in the air". Still to this day this is one of my favorite memories of my many trips to New Jersey.

Mark

Ken's part of NJ is beautiful - really nice. And from all over NJ there are good rail and bus connections to NYC that are pretty cheap. When I was at Princeton we used to walk up to Nassau Street and hop on the first bus; we would be at the Port Authority Building in just over an hour.

Much love,
Larry

You can also stay out on Long Island, or up in Patterson, NJ, Patterson, NY, Port Jervis, NY or Poughkeepsie, NY and ride the train to Manhattan too. Heck, you could even stay on Staten Island and ride the train to the Staten Island Ferry, but who would want to stay out on Staten Island???

http://www.mta.info/lirr/html/lirrmap.htm

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/simap.htm

I also found a really inexpensive hotel in Paterson, NJ that is only a two block walk from the train. Just remember that you get what you pay for in New Jersey too!!! The Scottish Inn there is only $58.49 per night for those dates, and it is only 18 miles from LaGuardia Airport too.

http://www.bookroomsnow.com/

Mark

I finally had to look up Lambertville on the map. For many years I used to be an advocate of missing the toll on the NJ Turnpike by driving west on US 202 from I-287 then dropping south on NJ Rt 31 down to I-95 north of downtown Trenton. Most likely I was one of those out-of-State truckers that the locals from New Jersey just love to hate. I have even driven US 202 into PA too, and I have also picked-up freight several times at Flemington, NJ. I can't say that I have ever been to Lambertville though. Do you know if there are any low-clearance bridges there (under 13'6")?

Mark

As long as you stay on 202, the bridges are Interstate heights. Lambertville is the last exit before PA on the Delaware River. If you parked your truck there, it would be a 15 min walk to my house.

Appreciate your travel agent suggestions. I think as we get closer to the conf, people who want to avoid the high NYC hotel prices will be talking about reasonable places outside of the city that are close to public transit to get into the city.

The conf site is a relatively short walk from Port Authority, where the busses go, and Penn Station for the trains/subways.

How much is the conference itself?

The final budget numbers are not complete yet. When the prices are ready it will be posted on the conference tab and a blast email will be sent out.

Whilst in Dallas, I got my confirmation email from MS, telling me that I will be appearing again in NYC for the conference in March 2010

Hope to see as many of you guys there, and I will be bring a few more brits with me too

Steve