I’m going to be presenting my paper “Why Do Judges Read Statutes?” at the American Law and Economics Association meeting at Princeton this May 7-8. A preliminary version is here.
Anyone have any information on cheap lodgings near campus?
I’m going to be presenting my paper “Why Do Judges Read Statutes?” at the American Law and Economics Association meeting at Princeton this May 7-8. A preliminary version is here.
Anyone have any information on cheap lodgings near campus?
Jon Rowe says:
How cheap do you want to know about?
March 17, 2010, 9:03 pmAndrew says:
I once crashed at a cheap frat house there for a couple weeks. But that was 1982.
It was fun going to the campus theatre and seeing Citizen Kane. More details on request, if I can remember back that far. :-)
Or you could try hotels.com. That’s probably a better bet.
March 17, 2010, 9:08 pmJon Rowe says:
Check this out.
[This is the hyperlinked URL: http://www.trails.com/princeton_new-jersey-hotels.html
March 17, 2010, 9:08 pmSasha Volokh says:
I often book a room at a nearby Motel 6 and take a cab to the conference. Since I don’t plan to be spending much time in that room, I really don’t care whether it has any amenities other than a comfortable place to sleep and a hot shower — heck, it can even be someone’s couch.
March 17, 2010, 9:12 pmDesiderius says:
It’s not far to Highway 1, which should have plenty of the usual chain motels.
March 17, 2010, 9:28 pmDavid Bernstein says:
You can often get a nice room from Priceline for less than the retail price of Motel 6. For example, I recently got a 3-star in downtown Philly for $62 including tax and fees.
March 17, 2010, 9:46 pmMartin S says:
Within walking distance there is only the Nassau Inn, which is not cheap, but nice and very close. $180 is the usual rate, if you can book through Princeton U you might get a discount.
March 17, 2010, 9:56 pmOther than that you need a car. I would suggest Red Roof Inn on Route 1. Look on their website or google maps. They have discounts for advance booking and AAA and so on. Should be $60 per night. It is actually not in Princeton but West Windsor or Lawrenceville.
You can also go on the princeton.edu website and they have a list of hotels there.
Princeton is easy to reach by train. Amtrak or NJ Transit. There are also zipcars on campus and downtown Princeton.
TigerHawk says:
The Doubletree at Ridge Road and US 1 is a pretty good value, but still around $130/night. There are many even less expensive places on US 1, but you might be better off renting a car than using a taxi, which can be expensive. If you want to be walking distance to campus, the only real option is the Nassau Inn. Perhaps the University has a deal there. If you are in a real jam, send me an email. I live right across the street from the University, and have rooms normally occupied by teenagers that might be available for the night (teenagers being unreliable).
March 17, 2010, 10:03 pmBartman says:
I’ve stayed at the Red Roof Inn on US1, it’s fine for a budget motel, but without a car its not really convenient to campus, and would be a pretty expensive cab ride. The Westin at Forrestal Village can be had for less then $100 on Hotwire, and I think they have a shuttle to campus. If you stay walking distance to an NJ Transit train station you can take the train to Princeton Junction and then take the Dinky onto campus.
Or you could stay at the Nassau Inn, which is pretty nice and super convenient, and not a real stretch, financially, for an adult professional. I find that convenience is worth a lot more to me now than when I was in my 20s.
March 17, 2010, 10:10 pmJatinder says:
You could sign up at http://www.couchsurfing.com and you could find a place for free.
March 17, 2010, 10:26 pmarbitrary aardvark says:
Jatinder’s way ahead of me. I signed up at couchsurfing.com hoping to cut my travel budget a bit, but the main benefit has been social network-wise. It’s unlikely to work for your princeton trip, but as a long term strategy I recommend it. It’s a reputation-capital driven economy. You host a couple people, they say nice things about you, you get more invites. In your case, you are starting with pretty high reputation capital which might transfer over well.
March 17, 2010, 11:53 pmLior says:
There’s basically nothing in town except for the Nassau Inn, but the conference rate isn’t bad. If you are planning to rent a car then the hotels on US Route 1 are an option, but the savings wouldn’t be that great and parking in town isn’t trivial. Otherwise staying on Route 1 is a bad idea.
March 18, 2010, 1:54 amdisintelligentsia says:
Surely you jest . . . I mean, aren’t you a professor? And don’t professors make mondo-giganto-beaucoup bucks? Are you slumming?
I usually lean on a family member who works at a Marriott to get the family rate where I go (usually $29-39). I can usually find one near enough to where I’m going.
March 18, 2010, 2:50 amMike G in Corvallis says:
Does Princeton have the equivalent of the UCLA Guest House?
UPDATE: The Palmer Guest House, apparently on or near campus. Not cheap, but not hugely expensive.
March 18, 2010, 3:30 amVisitor Again says:
Isn’t anyone living in the area going to offer Sasha a night’s lodging for the pleasure of his company? It seems he’s not too picky and even willing to rough it a bit–on a couch.
March 18, 2010, 4:13 amSasha Volokh says:
disintelligentsia: When traveling alone, I’m _very_ cheap.
March 18, 2010, 7:21 amStephanos Bibas says:
Many of the nicer hotels on Route 1 (about 3 miles south of campus) offer free shuttle buses up to Princeton: for example, the Homewood Suites by Hilton. Unfortunately those are not the cheap hotels, and what with the hassle factor you may just want to bite the bullet and pay the in-town rates of the Nassau Inn. Princeton and a 15-mile radius around it just aren’t cheap.
March 18, 2010, 7:47 amMarc says:
Here’s the list of local hotels that the University provides us alumni when we come back for Reunions: http://alumni.princeton.edu/main/volunteers/reunions_volunteers/2010ReunionsInnsHotels.pdf
March 18, 2010, 8:13 amSmooth, like a Rhapsody says:
Maybe House and Wilson would let you crash at their pad.
March 18, 2010, 8:43 amASlyJD says:
When I need cheap lodgings near Princeton, I just crash at my uncle-in-law’s place in Pennington. Not sure if that would work for you. :)
March 18, 2010, 9:17 amJon Rowe says:
I actually know of one nice older professor at Princeton who specializes in letting visiting academics crash at his house at the campus, which, I’m sure is very big and very nice.
The problem is, it would be nervy if you didn’t know him or weren’t part of his “network” to ask whether you could crash there.
March 18, 2010, 10:18 amdisintelligentsia says:
Ditto.
March 18, 2010, 10:19 amAnton says:
Here’s a list of nearby shelters. Should be able to stay cheap there!
March 18, 2010, 10:24 amKevinM says:
Young man, there’s no need to feel down …
March 18, 2010, 11:23 amEric Rasmusen says:
Thanks, Sasha, for making this request on a blog, so others attending the conference can see it too…
March 18, 2010, 11:45 amKazinski says:
Hotwire.com has a 4 star hotel within 5 miles of Campus for 79$. The drawback is the same as priceline, you don’t know the hotel and you have to pay in advance with no cancellation or refunds allowed.
March 18, 2010, 1:14 pmbartman says:
When traveling alone, I’m _very_ cheap.
You don’t get $60 or $100 worth of utility from a clean, quiet, convenient and (most importantly) private place to sleep and bathe when traveling? I’ve never lost my memories of sleepless nights in a hostel-room full of snoring German backpackers, or the paper thin walls of most Interstate motels, or vile YMCA showers, or riding a taxi, train and two buses for an hour to get to a conference when I could have slept and showered in comfort upstairs, well, avoiding those things is worth a fair bit to me.
About the couch-surfing, I can’t imagine staying at some stranger’s house (and vice-versa). Heck, I’d rather stay at a hotel when visiting friends and family in other parts of the world – the benefits usually far outweigh the benefits, for me.
To each his own, I suppose.
March 18, 2010, 1:21 pmbartman says:
Kazinski: in this case, the only 4-star hotel within 5 miles of central Princeton is the Westin at Forrestal Village. Sometimes it’s pretty easy to decode Hotwire. I’ve stayed at that hotel via Hotwire a couple of times.
March 18, 2010, 1:23 pmJonathan D. Abolins says:
As several people have already noted, there are several motels and hotels on Rt 1 in the Lawrence, West Windsor, and Plainsboro areas. They are about 15 minutes or so of a drive from the University campus.
Another option that doesn’t require a car or a taxi would be to stay in a motel or hotel by one of the rail stations along the Northeast Corridor in NJ. Of course, you’d have to allow transit times and allowances for delays.
Take a train to Princeton Junction and, from there, take the “Dinky” railcar to Princeton, right by the campus. I am trying to remember which stations have nearby lodging. Newark Penn Station has a Hilton hotel by the station. (Hilton Newark Penn Station, Gateway Center – Raymond Blvd; Newark, NJ 07102 (973) 622-5000) Metro Park station near Woodbridge has several hotels and motels within walking distance. The Downside is that not all of the NE Corridor NJ Transit trains stop there.
March 18, 2010, 1:24 pmfrankcross says:
You need a greater appreciation for luxury
March 18, 2010, 1:58 pmSasha Volokh says:
Bartman: The question isn’t whether this is worth $60 or $100 to me — that could establish the _maximum_ I’m willing to pay, but not relevant to whether I would settle for something else for less. For instance, a room of a certain quality might be worth over $140 to me, in which case I’d willingly stay at the $140 Nassau Inn, where the conference has reserved a block of rooms. But hypothetically, if there were a $30 Motel 6 next door (which sadly there isn’t), I would get the same value and keep the $110 consumer surplus!
Yes it’s true, I’ve never felt like the quality was insufficient when I’ve stayed at a Motel 6, especially if there’s some breakfast place next door. I would get approximately the same value from the ritziest hotel — not exactly, but approximately. The extra luxury might count for something, but the knowledge that I’m using luxury would be a countervailing negative.
On the other hand, I’d have to add in the cost of using a cab or renting a car. When I went to the Southern Economics Association meeting in San Antonio, held at the Marriott Rivercenter, I stayed at a Motel 6 instead, and had to pay $20 on a cab each way. Still came out ahead, but if only I’d known something about San Antonio bus routes….
March 18, 2010, 2:15 pmSasha Volokh says:
Oh yes, almost forgot: I did recently go to a wedding in New York, and stayed at the Central Park Hostel for $24. Much like snoring German backpackers, but they probably were mostly non-German. FTW!
March 18, 2010, 2:17 pmSasha Volokh says:
Aha, I’ll basically be renting a car anyway, because one has to fly into Newark, 40 miles away! I can probably even split the cost with some colleagues….
March 18, 2010, 2:48 pmHerb Spencer says:
Just a quick low-roll costs story that occurred to me reading this thread. Years ago, practicing in SFrancisco, I took over a nasty but fascinating libel case in SDiego, representing a UCSD student as plaintiff and defendant on an emotional distress counterclaim as Cumis-counsel. Because I was a solo, I was used to doing things frugally, which I extended to WALKING between the airport and courthouse in SD, and lunching at McD’s, whose receipts were exhibits in the ensuing inevitable fight over Cumis fees. There, I shamed the insurer’s counsel but apparently delighted the fee arbitrator, who awarded me not only all my Cumis fees, but fees-on-fees for defending them. The case went well, too: settled for 6 figures and made some new law, which was, unfortunately, depublished by the then-Lucas Court.
March 18, 2010, 5:20 pmJon Rowe says:
If Sasha (or others presenting or attending the conference) do stay at the Nassau Inn (or even if not), I suggest checking out the Tap Room there. It’s a really cool, restaurant/bar.
March 18, 2010, 8:42 pmThe River Temoc, In Winter says:
Peacock Inn is a good B&B.
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March 20, 2010, 8:31 amkj
Hans Clapton says:
Whattaya got taffy in your pockets?
Spend the money.
March 20, 2010, 11:11 amSasha Volokh says:
Hans Clapton: Indeed, I spend all my money on something or other (if you include saving as a form of spending on future consumption). The only question is what I’m going to spend the money on. Spending less on this means spending more on something else!
March 20, 2010, 12:45 pmJason Jacobi says:
Strange this post is totaly irrelevant to the search query I entered in google but it was listed on the first page. – The food here is terrible, and the portions are too small. – Woody Allen Born 1935
July 8, 2010, 7:36 amThomas says:
Sasha, do you own this blog? I came across this as well from Google, not certain of what it’s about though!
August 6, 2010, 4:42 am