HP Flushing has been growing on me. With many Hyatts absurdly expensive in NY, staying in Flushing is a civilised option for under 200. It's a decent, no frills HP where everything works. Almost all staff are Chinese, charming and welcoming. Breakfast not great but they have congee and coffee comes in China mugs, not paper cups. Pretty smart for America. Flushing has plenty of good Chinese and Korean restaurants the next door, a bonus. La Guardia is round the corner, the free shuttle works fine.

I'm going to do a quick review of this hotel because I think it's an underrated option for visits to New York City at only 12k points (cat 3). If you're a tourist visiting New York flying to LGA and you're looking for a place to stay, this spot is cheaper and so much more interesting than, say, Times Square. The subway is steps away from the hotel and you can be in midtown in 30 minutes.

The hotel is a couple miles away from the airport so you need to Uber unless you can catch the shuttle that runs every hour. It's in the middle of one of the oldest Chinatown communities in the US (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatowns_in_Queens), and is set in a building that houses multiple restaurants. You're perhaps within a 10 minute walk of 100 restaurant options with authentic, reasonably priced, and frankly amazing food.

The rooms are clean and efficient - the usual Hyatt place design. I've forced myself to skip the breakfast (which isn't that great at a Hyatt Place) to hit one of the nearby breakfast spots. For example, there are two! Chinese interpretations of French Patisseries within a few blocks of the hotel and these places have some of the best pastries and coffee anywhere.

You'll get a much more unique and authentic New York experience staying at this place, including the joy of riding into town with folks from Queens on the subway. It's definitely worth a try.

Was inspired to create this post since some folks might be traveling to NYC, and these are generally the cheapest Hyatt properties in NYC. I stayed at these two hotels with my girlfriend during the first week of August.

Hyatt Place LIC:

Pros:

- Easy commute via public transportation to and from LaGuardia airport, which can save you over $30

- Bigger standard rooms (300 sqft) than what's offered at Hyatt place properties in Manhattan

- Has chromecast but you need to navigate to HDMI input to connect to

- Convenient location for visiting popular areas in Manhattan like Times Square, Central Park and Soho. Can just take one train at Court square station to get to these places, although one transfer may be needed. For reference, from the hotel to Times Square, just take the 7 train into Manhattan, which should take about 10 minutes.

- 3 minutes walk to a Target, which is also right next to Court square train station

Cons:

- Building is right next to a freeway, so if you get a room right beside it (like I did), you can hear the oncoming traffic throughout the day and night, although it's not too loud. When bigger cars/trucks come by, you can feel the room shake a bit

- Not too many breakfast options

Hyatt Place Flushing:

Pros:

- Hotel provides a FREE shuttle to LaGuardia airport one every hour at the top of the hour, which gets you to the airport in less than 15 minutes

- Much bigger standard rooms (692 sqft) than the other Hyatt place properties in NYC

- Wider variety of breakfast options compared to Hyatt place LIC like congee (rice porridge), fruit salad, oatmeal, salad bar, and more drinks

Cons:

- The building is quite old, and the floors were consistently sticky for some reason

- If you plan on going into Manhattan, it can take anywhere between 40 minutes to an hour via public transportation

- Did not have chromecast

I'm not too nitpicky when it comes to hotel stays so that's why I don't have too many cons, but if anyone wants to know anything specific, feel free to ask.

Not specific to the hotels, but LIC is a great place to stay especially if you want a cheaper option but conveniently located with respect to Manhattan. If you do plan to stay in LIC, I recommend checking out Gantry state park which offers an amazing view of eastern midtown Manhattan.

Flushing is quite far out from Manhattan, but has a lot of diverse and amazing Asian food options. If you are flying out of LaGuardia, the free shuttle that the hotel offers is very convenient, so I'd definitely recommend staying here for your last night or last two days which gives time to explore the Asian food scene in the area, if you're into that.