Have Hotel call Taxi or Book Car-Service Ahead?

I%26#39;ve picked up reading a couple of posts that Affinia Dumont will book you a flat-rate taxi to JFK (or other destinations), but at an inflated rate.

Would it be best to arrange a Car Service (such as Carmel) to pick us up instead?

Our flight leaves at 11:10 AM on a Thursday. What time should we leave the Hotel to be at JFK in plenty of time? Will traffic be mainly incoming - or just still prime-time travel?

Thanks for your help.

Have Hotel call Taxi or Book Car-Service Ahead?

I would leave your hotel no later then 8 am.

This will give you a good hour to get to JFK and leave you two hours before your flight.

I%26#39;m not sure how much the car though the hotel would charge. If I were you I%26#39;d call Carmel or one of the other car services suggested on the forum.

Have Hotel call Taxi or Book Car-Service Ahead?

Whenever I%26#39;m going to the airport, I just step outside my building and hail a cab - the flat fare to JFK is something like $45 plus tolls and does not include a tip for the driver.

Unless the hotel has some sort of policy against it, I would reccommend just stepping outside the hotel and hailing a cab when you are ready to go to the airport. Other than possibly tipping the doorman if he hails the cab for you, there should not be an extra charge unless the hotel pre-books the cab for you. In my experience, pre-booking is not usually necessary...there are plenty of cabs in the city, and I%26#39;ve been passed up in front of my building (which is near a large hotel) by cabs heading to the hotel cab line in hopes of getting an airport fare!