Here are some photos. I have more pictures taken at Quality Inn because after I stayed at Country In

Update: Oh, how could I forget to include one of the most important concerns with NYC lodgings bedbugs! I am happy to report that there were no bedbugs in Country Inn LIC nor in Quality Inn Woodside. (At least not in the rooms where I stayed! And I suppose that had there been any bedbug complaints, considering the length of my stay, I would have heard about it one way or another. Well, I hope that I would have heard about it. LOL.)
So this is long over due and quite frankly, I am not inclined to write as extensively about it as I initially felt. The urge to write has passed. The best I could do now would be a bullet point review of my experience staying at Country Inn Suites by Carlson airline mileage credit card in Long Island City (LIC), NY and Quality Inn in Woodside, NY.
Last month, I stayed at Country Inn for three nights and at Quality Inn for seven nights. I would like to say that I did it purely for leisure and to have something to write about, but really, no. It is somewhat strange to be paying for these things airline mileage credit card when I have a perfectly good apartment in NYC. But my roommate had some visitors and I didn t have the patience to socialize with them when I should be cramming for my exam, hence the need to find some cheap lodging. I initially tried to find a place on Craigslist, but that didn t work out too well. It took time to post an ad, go through ads, screen responders, and correspond with them. I had to bargain with people and would have needed to visit their apartments to see if it s safe and conducive for studying. Besides, airline mileage credit card the average rate for places on Craigslist was $60-65, which was considerably the same price I would be paying at an inn (which included housekeeping and breakfast).
Country Inn had a summer code promo when I booked my three night stay, so I got the room for $59+tax. I think the original price was $80/night. Although I wanted to stay there the entire time, the rate went up to $75 or $90, so I had to look for alternatives. (By the way, I just checked, the rate right now, March 5, 2011, for a King City room is $140, with the summer code promo it is $119.) Overall, my stay at Country Inn LIC had been wonderful.
The room was impeccably clean. Housekeeping was efficient, breakfast was adequate. My room was quiet and was conducive for studying (what I was there for!) The city rooms were located to the back of the building so no traffic passes by. The city rooms also had a magnificent airline mileage credit card view of Manhattan. While I was there, I woke up each day seeing the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. Looking down from my window, airline mileage credit card I also found it amusing to see the neighbor s cute dogs. (I love small dogs so this was a plus for me!) Country Inn s location can t be beat, since it is so close to the subway (Queensboro Plaza station) and beside a gas station with a convenience store!
I only had two complaints: 1) Housekeeping has a tendency to come later in the afternoon; 2) Staff weren t very welcoming. They were all stern and business-like. Don t they know how to smile? When I stayed at the lobby (to read the newspaper while my room was being serviced), the staff also spoke in loud voices in Hindi. Although I have no complaints that they were speaking in their native tongue, I would have preferred for them to keep it low. The two employees at the reception area were speaking airline mileage credit card with another employee across the room (breakfast room). Couldn t that person come down so they didn t have to yell to hear one another? I was in the middle of all this (reception lobby seating area breakfast area on the first floor), so I did find the yelling bothersome.
airline mileage credit card I would not really comment on safety of the area since I did not venture out late at night. My friend visited me 2x and left around 8-8:30p.m. without any issues. Besides, I live in NYC. I ve gone home (via subway from Manhattan to Queens) around 12-1a.m. alone, and around 2-3a.m. with a female friend and did not for any fleeting moment airline mileage credit card feel unsafe nor feared for my life.
Breakfast area was spacious and I found it adequate (some reviews comment on the breakfast room being small and inadequate. I didn t have a similar experience since I went down for breakfast around 6.30-7a.m., and the room was deserted. Breakfast: bagels, donuts, do it yourself waffle, sliced bread, bananas, OJ, apple juice, coffee (machine dispensed: regular, decaf, cappuccino), hot choco (also automatic, machine dispensed), about 3 or so types of cereals, butter, cream cheese, grape jelly, strawberry jelly, apricot jelly, and some yellow things which supposedly were eggs. I never dared touch that thing since it looked like styrofoam to me. On Saturday morning they also had sausages airline mileage credit card which were edible and tasted like a regular airline mileage credit card sausage.)
Verdict: Highly recommended! Although I stayed at Country Inn LIC not as a tourist in NYC, I would still recommend it to tourists going to Manhattan. Country Inn is very accessible to the subway and a stone s throw away from Manhattan. But do not expect that there would be something to do once you get back to your hotel. Make sure you re already fed and tired when going back at night. airline mileage credit card There is nothing to do in the immediate vicinity of Country Inn.
After I ve checked out from Country Inn, I went home for one night to dump my soiled clothes and get fresh ones. I also had to pack more reading materials since I would be away for 7 straight nights, up until one night before the exam.
Quality Inn in Woodside has no lobby (no seating area at the reception). airline mileage credit card The breakfast airline mileage credit card area was really very small only 10 chairs! The breakfast was blah. I should say though that breakfast at Country Inn was nothing to write home about either, but I felt that I had more choices at Country Inn. My room was small, bathroom was small, hallways were not as clean, housekeeping comes around airline mileage credit card 2.30p.m. (which wasn t too bad. At Country Inn, housekeeping came to my room at 4.30p.m. However on Sunday, housekeeping at Quality airline mileage credit card Inn came at 6.30p.m.) In my 7-night stay at Quality Inn, I ve turned down service about 2-3x. My very small room didn t really need any housekeeping. I just asked for towels and toiletries (unbranded). Towels at Quality Inn were newer, whiter, thicker and plushier than at Country Inn.
My room was at the back of the hotel facing the parking lot. When I had the window open, I could hear the 7 train. Noise was not an issue when the window was closed. There was just enough natural light. I would have wanted more sunlight, which you could get from rooms facing Queens Blvd., but I think it would have been too much sunlight airline mileage credit card for me, and I d end up closing the curtains, which would ultimately defeat the purpose of changing rooms to get more natural light. I also felt like having Queens Blvd. as my view might stress me out, what with all the fast moving cars driving by. The view from the rooms facing Queens Blvd. (which are to the front of the hotel) would be all 6 lanes of Queens Blvd. and a cemetery.
Location of Quality Inn was okay. It was close enough to the 7 train, but not as close to the subway airline mileage credit card station as Country Inn. The real upside to staying in Woodside though was the variety of restaurants/cafes in the area. During my time at Quality Inn I walked to Boston Market, Tito Rad s, Jollibee, Red Ribbon, La Flor, and to St. Sebastian s Church for Sunday mass. There is also a Rite Aid and Duane Reade close by.
My real complaint with Quality Inn is housekeeping. They did the barest minimum to tidy up the room. No daily nor every other day vacuuming. All the service done to my room was to replace towels and toiletries, airline mileage credit card and to take away trash. Sure, I didn t make a mess, but it would have been nice to come back to a tiny room that was freshly vacuumed. The night stand, etc were also not wiped clean. I could write my name on the dust that accumulated in the TV area, at the end of the 7 nights. In Country Inn, the moment the two person housekeeping team came in, they were ready to assault the surfaces with rags (desk, tv area, night stands were wiped clean.) In Quality Inn, I didn t mind that housekeeping did not change my sheets daily, I did want to conserve airline mileage credit card energy/water resources. Perhaps in 7 nights they changed my sheets about 3-5x.
Verdict: For the price, I would recommend Quality Inn. It was not dingy at all. I just had the bar set higher by Country Inn so I felt underwhelmed by Quality Inn. But for budget travelers, Quality Inn is perfectly adequate.
Here are some photos. I have more pictures taken at Quality airline mileage credit card Inn because after I stayed at Country Inn, I decided to do a full blown review of both. I was thus ready to document my stay at Quality Inn. Please email me your comments/questions at travelstravails@gmail.com. (Or if you have a general NYC question, as a tourist or a newbie, I could also provide some insights.)
Thanks for the update Ariel! That s really too bad. Country Inn Suites was okay in terms of price and proximity to Manhattan. I hope they address the bedbug problem ASAP. Happy and safe travels everyone!