New York: JFK Marriott Fairfield Inn (February 2009)

JFK Marriott Fairfield Inn on the night prior to our flight because of its Park ‘n Fly rate: the room rate included 12 nights of “free” parking. The hotel sits on a tiny piece of land quite close to the airport. As a result, there isn’t much opportunity to walk around outdoors because the property is essentially the hotel building and some limited parking. The hotel has a small restaurant/bar, which serves food until 11:00 pm. Rates also include a decent breakfast, which consists of mostly cold items but also included make-it-yourself waffles and pre-made but hot breakfast sandwiches. The fitness center was really small, with just three pieces of equipment. Even the rooms are smaller than normal at this property, but they are more than forthcoming with that information when you book online (the room description even says “small” king or “small” two doubles; it would not be possible to fit a rollaway bed in, so the max people per room is four). The transfer to the airport went smoothly because the 24-hour shuttle drops you at your exact terminal, but the return pick-up was not as good. There was no problem in taking the Air Train to Station C (Federal Circle), which all the nearby hotels make guests do, but the hotel van wouldn’t leave the hotel to pick us up until we actually arrived there at the station. Although it was a quick trip on the train, we were then forced to stand outside and wait in bitterly cold and windy weather (it’s not possible to stand/wait indoors and still see the place where the vans stop, since you must walk down a canopy-covered (but not enclosed) walkway between the two locations). With all that said, I would probably use this hotel again before an early-morning departure; the other hotel options in the area generally include only 7 nights of parking, which isn’t usually enough for me.