<p>The Thayer is the obvious choice, but we called them up and apparently you can reserve no less that three days before R-Day- meaning that you have to book a room for June 30, July 1, and July 2. </p>
<p>Does anybody have any suggestions for a different place to stay the night before R-Day? </p>
<p>Or is there any reason for me to spend that extra day there before R-day?</p>
<p>Also my parents want to know if they're supposed to come</p>
<p>There are many hotels, other than the Thayer, in the area around West Point. I know there is an Econo Lodge in Highland Falls and a Holiday Inn Express in Ft. Montgomery, but these may be booked already for R-day. Going a little further away to Newburgh you will find several more choices. If you go to a travel website like orbitz, expedia, etc. you can search for hotels in the area. </p>
<p>Whether or not your parents come with you is a personal choice. Some like to say their goodbyes before they get on the plane rather than deal with it on R-day. I have heard from our local parents club that candidates that travel alone will be taken care of. They also said to have the candidate keep their travel receipts because they will be reimbursed for their trip.</p>
<p>Re: spending an extra day there before R-day. It may help you with the time difference if you are from the west coast.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Newburgh. It's clean, the staff is used to WP guests and very customer service oriented, and it's near a mall which may come in handy if you forget anything or if you need some last minute entertainment before R-Day. (My favorite part is that there is a very nice day spa just down the street.) There are also some excellent restaurants in the area. You'll need a car if you stay there. </p>
<p>Each family has to decide what's best for them. If finances and time aren't a problem, I'd encourage any parents to attend R-Day. It's a once in a lifetime experience. And the suggestion of going out a day or two early is excellent. Staying for the 4th of July concert is also a good idea; just don't talk to your own cadet candidates.</p>
<p>In the cadet's acceptance package, West Point offers the option to purchase a pre-arranged travel package through Carlson Wagonlit Travel. If you decide to do this, you fly to Newark and stay at a hotel near the airport with other Cadet Candidates the night before R-Day. They provide continental breakfast and bus transportation to the group for R-Day the next morning. If you do this option, though, it is for the cadet candidate only. Parents cannot stay with their cadet.</p>
<p>You could stay anywhere in the area - within an hour or so. Lots of chain hotels in the Fishkill, NY area about 25 miles West of WP. We live 50 miles from WP so we just drove my son up early in the morning. No reason to hang out the day before - you'll be seeing plenty of West Point. And once you and your parents separate, your parents will have all day to visit sites at WP. They won't be able to talk to you again - but will be able to see you march in your new uniform sans hair at the end of the day. If they spot you, they might be able to wave goodbye but you won't be able to wave back. [Annapolis, it figures, lets the new midshippeople (sp?) leave the ranks and barbecue with their families at the end of whatever they call R-Day (I-Day?) - but they also have air-conditioned barracks and spend most of their four years figuring out how to avoid surfacing submarines under Japanese tourist ships]</p>
<p>Yes - your parents should go if they can. There are tons of parents there and it's a memory they will never forget.</p>
<p>I'm staying in Newburgh but I'm flying up on the 30th of June so my mom can see the area and I can have some time to adjust. If you get a room in Highland Falls itself your doing real good.</p>
<p>Hotel Thayer is a rippoff...and probably booked.....if you have relatives in the area...stay with them for free....o/w I agree with everyone else...try to find a cheaper hotel outside of Highland Falls...that whole area probably jacks up the prices. I came up with my parents and we stayed with my unlce who lived in Newburgh, NY.</p>
<p>I live 45min (leisurely drive speed) Southeast from there...not my concern, lucky me!</p>
<p>New York City has some nice options too so at least you can have a good time before you leave. Don't rush the goodbye, you'll feel worse about it later.</p>
<p>We have stayed at both the Holiday Inn Express in Ft Montgomery (R day) and Comfort Inn in Newburgh (PPW). Both were clean and reasonable price. The dirve from Newburgh to WP wasn't too bad during PPW, abt 40 min as I remember. </p>
<p>During R day there is a chance (albeit a small one), to see your new cadet during R day before the swearing in parade. We were lucky enough to stumble upon our D as she was reporting to the cadet in the red sash (great view through a sallyport near an entrance to MacArthur Barracks). We video- taped her reporting and then she had to march to a line only about 20 ft from where we were standing and watching with other parents. She told us later it was weird to see us so close and not be able to look at us or crack a smile. We got to watch a firstie get a little miffed with her when she went as the first one in a line and promptly went to parade rest facing the wrong direction! That bag of gear she was lugging around looked bigger than she was, and she's 5'9!</p>
<p>We left the decision as to whether we would attend R-Day up to our son, who chose for us to join him. We were all glad of this. For parents the day is filled with information and events which we found helpful and is a good parting transition rather than just drop-off and leave, which didn’t seem right. The parade is something that will stay in your memory, but is not essential. Honestly, the postings of parents and plebes who report difficulty after seeing each other at the parade, at the end of a long emotional day, are valid. We had greater trouble watching him remain resolute at parade rest and with the moment his company turned and marched off than with the morning goodbyes.
As to hotels – we typically use and enjoy the Courtyard in Newburgh, but we also have reward points so it is often free. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn and enjoyed that hotel and the complementary breakfast bar. The diner nearby is very good. The new Hilton in Newburgh looks very nice. We haven’t been able to get reservations at the Holiday Inn Express in town, but we will try it someday.<br>
However, as also advised elsewhere, the drive from Newburgh is 30-ish minutes, more if you are unfamiliar with the route. The wait to get through WP security gates can be long. The report times are early. We chose to spend the totally unworthy and ridiculous expense of the Thayer Hotel to make R-Day morning as smooth and stress-free as possible. Which means we walked out of the hotel and about two hundred yards to a post-bus stop and were on our way to Ike Hall. We remained there the night of R-Day and I enjoyed a run on post the next morning, passing many a new cadet group. The experience at the Thayer was bad, two bath towels for four people, noisy old rooms, snobby staff. But I believe a 90 minute commute would have killed my son’s nervous stomach and made the day much tougher for all of us.<br>
I would try to book in-town reservations for A-Day as they cannot leave town but can join you in your rooms if it is within walking privileges.<br>
If you want to book the Thayer for graduation, do so no later than R-Day morning. Yes. Four years in advance. We asked R-Day evening and were put on the waiting list. Which actually works better, as we are fairly high up and have a good chance of getting a room, but did not have to pay in full in advance. Yes. Four years in advance. However, WP graduation is a once in a lifetime event, and I am willing to pay and suffer for the location and time convenience.</p>
<p>One more thing about booking the in-town hotels for R-Day. We called on April 1, the day decision cards were due, and the hotels had just had some cancellations. We got right in to the Thayer.</p>