I was keen to review the Fairfield Inn Manhattan Financial District, a high rise hotel located on Front Street on the southern tip of Manhattan, as an affordable base for exploring New York.
I had been looking for a Marriott property for my five night stay as it would help me complete the Marriott Platinum Elite Challenge. Using Trivago to search for hotels paid off again with a successful Best Rate Guarantee claim which brought the nightly rate down to A$120.
In this post:
Getting From JFK Airport To Fairfield Inn Manhattan Downtown East
The fastest way to get from JFK Airport to the Financial District is via the JFK AirTrain to Howard Beach Station and then the A train subway, which takes about one hour.
I topped up my MetroCard at the kiosks at Howard Beach Station to pay the US$7.75 AirTrain fee and it was then an easy ride into Fulton Street Subway Station.
It’s worth noting that both Howard Beach Station and Fulton Centre are fully accessible, with the latter having lifts to street level. The Fulton Centre project reputedly cost US$1.4 billion and the result is one of the more stylish subway stations in New York.
I was able to easily travel with my Rimowa roller on this route.
Fairfield Inn Manhattan Financial District Review
I arrived at the hotel around 9PM and was immediately checked in by the front desk clerk. He was also able to see that I had two packages waiting (Black Friday online shopping delivered to the hotel) and brought them out to the front desk for me, which was great service.
The hotel has two lifts to serve the 176 rooms over 29 floors so there tended to be a wait if you were on the lower floors during peak hours. Fortunately I was assigned a room on the 27th floor though the drawback was a view of a concrete wall.
The room was significantly smaller than the Fairfield Inn Manhattan Downtown East in Chinatown where I stayed in October but had a comfortable bed, sufficient wardrobe space and a small desk.
The bathroom was spacious and the shower had good water pressure, though bench space was limited so you had to use the glass shelf below the towel rail.
Fairfield Inn Manhattan Financial District Breakfast
Complimentary breakfast is a brand standard at Fairfield Inn and the spread at breakfast included the usual cereals, toast, coffee, juice and fruit.
As I had a few places I wanted to try for breakfast, I ended up only taking a banana and a takeaway cup of Starbucks coffee on the first morning. When I passed through on subsequent mornings, the staff were friendly and proactively refilling all the food stations as they ran low.
Fairfield Inn Manhattan Financial District Location
The location of the Fairfield Inn Financial District is ideal for visitors to New York, being directly opposite the South Street Seaport and easy walking distance to the 9/11 Memorial and the Statue of Liberty ferry at Battery Park.
Transport connections are simple with the Fulton Centre being a 6 minute walk away and a transit hub for the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, J, N, R, W, and Z services.
Express trains run up to Grand Central Station for Midtown and up to 86th Street Station for The Metropolitan Museum and The Guggenheim. There are also direct trains to Brooklyn for additional shopping and dining options.
Summary
The Fairfield Inn Manhattan Financial District is a solid hotel with free breakfast and in a great location. Easy connections via the Fulton Centre subway hub to JFK Airport and uptown tourist attractions, along with being in close proximity to the key sites in downtown make this a great base from which to explore New York.
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Review: Cathay Pacific Economy Class 77W
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Review: Cathay Dragon Business Class A320
Review: The Wing First Class Lounge
Review: Cathay Pacific First Class 77W
Review: Fairfield Inn Manhattan Financial District
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Review: The Wing Business Class Lounge
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Summary – Highlights & Points Earned
