New Haven Hotels

[HuskyHawk]

College trip time for me. We are visiting Wesleyan on Saturday and Fairfield on Sunday. Coming from the Boston area. We play to stay over Saturday night and I thought a place in New Haven, maybe near Yale, would be a fun idea and would let my daughter experience another college campus and surrounding area, even if we didn't visit.

Looking online and I don't see any great looking hotel options. The Courtyard Marriott seems close, but reviews say it is very noisy and not in a great area on Whalley Ave.

I haven't spent any time in New Haven in more than 20 years. I'd like to be able to walk around Yale, get some pizza, maybe stop by a bar with my wife. We will have a car, so could drive to Modern (never had it). I'm more concerned with the area immediately around the hotel. I don't even remember of the bar we used to go to that had Yards.

 

[8893]

College trip time for me. We are visiting Wesleyan on Saturday and Fairfield on Sunday. Coming from the Boston area. We play to stay over Saturday night and I thought a place in New Haven, maybe near Yale, would be a fun idea and would let my daughter experience another college campus and surrounding area, even if we didn't visit.

Looking online and I don't see any great looking hotel options. The Courtyard Marriott seems close, but reviews say it is very noisy and not in a great area on Whalley Ave.

I haven't spent any time in New Haven in more than 20 years. I'd like to be able to walk around Yale, get some pizza, maybe stop by a bar with my wife. We will have a car, so could drive to Modern (never had it). I'm more concerned with the area immediately around the hotel. I don't even remember of the bar we used to go to that had Yards.

The bar was Richter's, which is now the Ordinary, an upscale cocktail and small plates place. No more yards. Some people like the place but I'm not big on it.

As for hotels, a colleague of mine from Buffalo stays at the Courtyard because of the price and convenience and he doesn't complain about the noise. It's a transitional area but close to downtown. The Omni and the New Haven Hotel are better locations, but probably more expensive, too. La Quinta or New Haven Village Suites at Long Wharf are probably better values and clean and safe enough, but there is nothing to commend to walk out to in the area, so you'd be taking a car in and out of downtown. The Blake Hotel would be the nicest and it is in a good location, but it will be way more expensive than the others.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Thanks. There are a few craft beer bars downtown. How are those? How far is downtown from Yale?

 

[8893]

Thanks. There are a few craft beer bars downtown. How are those? How far is downtown from Yale?

Yale is spread out throughout downtown.

Beer Collective is my favorite of the local beer bars. Good selection, good space, good bartenders and good food. It's a little silly that they serve all their beer in wine glasses, but otherwise they are great imo.

Prime 16 is good, too, but the bar area is smaller and can get jammed. Cask Republic also has a huge bar, good selection and good food. Barcade has good taps and arcade games. Rudy's has some decent taps and great Belgian frites; and Three Sheets (the old Rudy's) also has very good taps and very good food at reasonable prices. There are a few other places in town with decent taps, but those are probably the most notable.

All of these are walking distance around downtown and Yale.

 

[8893]

PS: If you are in Middletown on Saturday, a few recommendations there:

O'Rourke's Diner is my favorite diner on the planet. Tremendous breakfast, and a popular spot with Wesleyan students as well.

Eli Cannon's is one of the OG CT craft beer bars and it still serves up a very solid tap list and excellent chicken wings.

NoRa's Cupcakes across the street has excellent and very original cupcakes that always make my daughters happy.

A very short drive from downtown Middletown is the old Remington Rand building, a very funky spot that now houses Stubborn Beauty and Forest City Brewing, as well as Spoke + Spy Cidery. It would be a very fun stop on a Saturday afternoon, and there is usually an interesting food truck there, too.

 

[huskymedic]

La Quinta or New Haven Village Suites at Long Wharf are probably better values and clean and safe enough...

@HuskyHawk - my $.02 >> Spend the money and stay in one of the other @8893 recommendations... they are much closer to what you are looking for.

 

[8893]

@HuskyHawk - my $.02 >> Spend the money and stay in one of the other recommendations...

Agree.

 

[huskymedic]

Another hotel option in the heart of Yale is The Study.

 

[HuskyHawk]

@HuskyHawk - my $.02 >> Spend the money and stay in one of the other recommendations...

Yeah, I'm not trying to be super cheap here. I do get corporate rates at some large chains. I just really don't know the area at all anymore.

 

[huskymedic]

I just really don't know the area at all anymore.

We gotcha...

 

[HuskyHawk]

Another hotel option in the heart of Yale is The Study.

Looks nice, but no two Queen bed rooms, which is what I need. Ugh. No rooms at NH Hotel. Omni is crazy priced.

Anyplace outside of New Haven worth staying at? Didn't see much in Fairfield.

 

[huskymedic]

Looks nice, but no two Queen bed rooms, which is what I need. Ugh. No rooms at NH Hotel. Omni is crazy priced.

Anyplace outside of New Haven worth staying at? Didn't see much in Fairfield.

The Courtyard is not bad... it’s right on the fringe (if you ignore the Popeye’s Restaurant /Gas Station across the street). Look on a map - it’s kitty-corner from Yale retail district.

 

[8893]

The Courtyard is not bad... it’s right on the fringe (if you ignore the Popeye’s Restaurant /Gas Station across the street). Look on a map - it’s kitty-corner from Yale retail district.

Agreed, it's definitely not bad on the inside, and the parking is behind and underneath so you aren't walking in off the street side. As I said, it's transitional but it's really close to a lot of good stuff--walking distance to Broadway shops, Three Sheets, Maison Mathis, Tarry Lodge (not New Haven apizza, but their guanciale pizza with black truffles and egg is amazing, like the best bacon egg and cheese imaginable).

It's really just that it sits on an ugly block.

 

[huskymedic]

Agreed, it's definitely not bad on the inside, and the parking is behind and underneath so you aren't walking in off the street side. As I said, it's transitional but it's really close to a lot of good stuff--walking distance to Broadway shops, Three Sheets, Maison Mathis, Tarry Lodge (not New Haven apizza, but their guanciale pizza with black truffles and egg is amazing, like the best bacon egg and cheese imaginable).

It's really just that it sits on an ugly block.

Its safe and fine for a one-nighter. No different really then some mid-town NYC locations I've stayed @.

@HuskyHawk - you may run into room availability problems w/ Cornell @ Yale this weekend.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So no we are thinking somewhere closer to Fairfield. Milford? Shelton? Fairfield itself? Is there any one more interesting than the other?

 

[huskymedic]

Well, there’s always Hotel Hi-Ho right off the Merritt Parkway in Fairfield.

Depending on where you get discounts, the others are all cookie cutter brand hotels.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Well, there’s always Hotel Hi-Ho right off the Merritt Parkway in Fairfield.

Depending on where you get discounts, the others are all cookie cutter brand hotels.

Right. Less worried about the hotel. Don't really know much about Milford, Stratford, Trumbull, Fairfield. Have never spent time in any of them. Will probably get a Marriott Suites type place.

 

[huskymedic]

Right. Less worried about the hotel. Don't really know much about Milford, Stratford, Trumbull, Fairfield. Have never spent time in any of them. Will probably get a Marriott Suites type place.

Don’t know first hand about the HiHo rooms but the Spanish Tapas/Wine Bar Barcelona @ the hotel is top notch.

 

[8893]

Right. Less worried about the hotel. Don't really know much about Milford, Stratford, Trumbull, Fairfield. Have never spent time in any of them. Will probably get a Marriott Suites type place.

None of them is nearly as interesting or fun as New Haven, but Milford and Fairfield each have a little downtown area with decent restaurants and shopping; Fairfield a little nicer. Trumbull Marriott is yuge.

 

[huskymedic]

@HuskyHawk - where’d ya end up?

 

[HuskyHawk]

@HuskyHawk - where’d ya end up?

The glorious Spring Hill Suites in Milford. Looks like Two Roads is across the bridge. Is it worth a visit?

Turns out my daughter has essays she needs to work on, so we wanted more space, and she wouldn't be able to join us walking around Yale and NH.

 

[huskymedic]

Looks like Two Roads is across the bridge. Is it worth a visit?

It is... it can get crowded on weekends but not a bad way to spend a few hours while she’s toiling away. You should be able to Uber/Lyft there for practical drinking purposes

Two Roads Brewing Co - Stratford, CT

Two Roads isn’t just the logo on our brewery building, it’s our philosophy. Life always seems to offer up two ways to go. It just so happens, we prefer the one less taken and having some fun along the way – in our lives, our careers and especially for our beers!

tworoadsbrewing.com

Bin 100 nearby has decent eats

 

[8893]

It is... it can get crowded on weekends but not a bad way to spend a few hours while she’s toiling away. You should be able to Uber/Lyft there for practical drinking purposes

Two Roads Brewing Co - Stratford, CT

Two Roads isn’t just the logo on our brewery building, it’s our philosophy. Life always seems to offer up two ways to go. It just so happens, we prefer the one less taken and having some fun along the way – in our lives, our careers and especially for our beers!

tworoadsbrewing.com

Bin 100 nearby has decent eats

Agree with both recs. Two Roads is fun and interesting and Bin 100 is a decent spot--got my parents a gift certificate for dinner there for Christmas last year.

FYI, Two Roads also has food trucks that come to their parking lot and you can bring the food in; and they have a schedule of which one is there on any given day:

Two Roads Brewing Co - Stratford, CT

 

[HuskyHawk]

OK @8893 and @huskymedic we are in Milford, ate at SBC which was fine. Considering going to Two Roads, but Tribus Brewing in Milford looks better. Strong reviews on Beer Advocate

 

[huskymedic]

OK @8893 and @huskymedic we are in Milford, ate at SBC which was fine. Considering going to Two Roads, but Tribus Brewing in Milford looks better. Strong reviews on Beer Advocate

Can’t help w/ that one - never been. Sorry