R-Day Hotel?

There's also a Holiday Inn in Chester NY, directly off of exit 126 on Rt17 west. That's about 30 min away from West Point. There's a movie theater in the shopping plaza across the road,and several non chain restaurants in the area. You can also walk around the village of Warwick (drive in theatre here), cute shops, tons of restaurants too. Of course that may be more for parents week than R day, but again, it's another option to consider.
 
We stayed at the Hyatt House in Fishkill last summer when we picked my son up from SLE. Very nice, new and clean and the drive is not too far to WP. There is also a SAMS club and other shopping within very close walking distance. I highly recommend it!
 
How feasible is it to fly into NJ for R-Day and then travel on into NYC for a few days without renting a car?
Could you give a few more details?Are you staying in NJ? If so, how are you getting to WP from NJ without a car?
You can get to NYC from WP via train, but unless you get a cab or the ferry, you will need to drive to the train station.
On all our trips to WP, we always had a car. It's difficult to get around without one.
 
Thanks. I haven't decided which city we will fly into. But sounds like a car rental for the first part of our trip is the way to go and once we head into NYC we can return it.
 
Thanks. I haven't decided which city we will fly into. But sounds like a car rental for the first part of our trip is the way to go and once we head into NYC we can return it.

MO06mom -- if you are flying out of Kansas City (MCI), look at flying into SWF (Stewart Int'l) or HPN (White Plains), in addition to Newark (EWR), Laguardia (LGA) or JFK. Stewart is the closest airport to WP, although smaller and you will need to do a connecting flight. White Plains is the next closest, also smaller and you will need a connecting flight, but the drives to WP from either of those two airports are reasonable.

We have flown into both of those airports, but will be flying into LGA for Plebe Parent Weekend in March. We will rent a car, drive to WP for the weekend, drop off my DS at EWR for his flight home Sunday (there is a cadet bus available on special/holiday weekends to each of the airports), and then we'll drop off the car back at LGA and spend a few days in NYC. Cadet didn't want to visit NYC -- he'd rather spend his time back home.
 
We stayed at the Hyatt House in Fishkill last summer when we picked my son up from SLE. Very nice, new and clean and the drive is not too far to WP. There is also a SAMS club and other shopping within very close walking distance. I highly recommend it!

Fishkill works well, especially for things like A-day weekend. (you are thinking ahead to then)

Sams + Walmart + Cracker Barrel + pretty much every chain restaurant you could name. Big win for A-day weekend. Sams hot dogs & pizza were hungry cadet's favorite. Cheap and fast!

Unless you swung a room at the Thayer, we've found the hassles of trying to stay in Highland Falls/Ft Montgomery not to be worth it. Restaurants overloaded and the hotels gouge badly. And Thayer gate has the most delays.

I'd be selective for Newburgh hotels, though any out near the airport will be fine. But it's only about 20 minutes more across the bridge to Fishkill and there are many more hotel and eating options. Plus theaters nearby, etc.

For three day weekends where you are off post once released we have even done Danbury. Central Valley works well, but only has a couple of hotels and they book up fast.

Mahwah is usually our last resort. Hotels are OK, but the drive is more of a hassle and we have found dining service to be very bad in NJ. In fact, we now pretty much bypass NJ whenever possible.

BTW, It's worth picking up a tollpass at a grocery store. Want to say they are about $20 and come loaded with $20 in tolls. You'll use it while the cadets are at USMA over the years and it's good elsewhere. Just makes bridges and interstates much faster. We bring it with us even if renting a car.
 
Hi, I'm a class of 2019 appointee, and am going to West Point for an overnight visit next month. I plan on getting there a day early to look around and visit the visitors center before my official visit. I am trying to book a hotel for the night before, and since I will be going without my parents (I am 20) I am unsure about the rules for booking a hotel room (the Thayer in particular). I consider myself a pretty seasoned traveler, but this is the first time I have actually had to book my own hotel room (I usually book a youth hostel when I'm in Europe, and there aren't many of those in the US, certainly none by West Point) There isn't much regarding this issue on the website, so I plan on calling sometime this week. However, has anyone run into this before? I would hate to pay for a room only to show up and find I can't stay because of my age.
 
How about picking up the phone and calling the Thayer? They can advise you best of their policies. Also, call admissions and ask for their suggestions, as you are not the first applicant in this predicament.
 
We stayed at the Hyatt House in Fishkill last summer when we picked my son up from SLE. Very nice, new and clean and the drive is not too far to WP. There is also a SAMS club and other shopping within very close walking distance. I highly recommend it!

We used Hyatt House too in 2013. The drive from Fishkill to WP was not too bad.

To your point, we took cadet to get some stuff at a nearby WM and saw other cadets doing the same.
 
If using Holiday Inn Express Highland Falls I would strongly recommend confirming your reservation is in the HI system with confirmation numbers, etc. And then keep an eye on it.

They do "off book" reservations for big events, and at least one other parent ended up last fall without a room they thought had been confirmed. But then I saw that could happen.

I became suspicious trying to make grad reservations with them when I saw anomalies with their web reservations. Then when I tried to work with the front desk they added me in. Then called me back to say they had to cancel the reservation, that they were full, etc.

My view is that they gouge West Point Parents. You can do better elsewhere. All the hotels jack up rates, but at least keep the booking process fair and accessible. Fishkill, Central Valley, and even Newburgh away from downtown are better options.

And any drive over the mountain will be offset by not having to fight through Highland Falls and Thayer gate.
 
If you're going w/ out your parents, you likely cannot rent a car....so you need to be at the Thayer or West Point Motel...anything else is too far to walk up the hill to admissions....especially in snow and ice.
 
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