maria_so

Hi All,

We're thinking of doing a 9 night visit to new york for christmas day through new year. Know of any great apts for rent for under $200/night? It's just 2 of us so a one bedroom or even a studio is fine but with a full kitchen, a good location near times square or theater district (if you know of a great apt you've rented but in a great neighborhood, perhaps not in theater district but safe and close to subway, that would be great too), would be perfect. Many thanks! Oh, if there's a grrat view, that would be plus plus!

nelsonian

Try Radio City Apartments. great location, full kitchen,and reasonable price.

doug_stallings

For that price, you won't get a view, and it's unlikely you'll even find anything at that price, but you can certainly try. Beware of the Affinia chain of hotels; though their all-suite hotels are well-priced, the smaller and cheaper rooms don't always have a real kitchen, just a microwave and small refrigerator.

Radio City Apartments is a good choice that might fit your needs and budget. But I'd urge you to make a reservation for a place you can cancel with no penalty if something better comes along. The New York hotel market is currently in flux, with prices going down. By next years-end, who knows?

Generally, apartment rentals in NYC are illegal, so I simply can't recommend them, but there are many hotel rooms with kitchens.

Neopatrick rents an apartment at Worldwide Plaza (50th St/8th ave), but I can't remember how much it costs. And you are looking at one of the busiest and most expensive times of the year.

maria_so

thanks for all the responses. i'm a little worried now about renting. would vrbo be a reputable place to search? I forgot about higher rates for new years - duh! i'm getting some responses from vrbo for $250/night in times square.

thanks!

mclaurie

Most private apartment rentals for less than a month are either illegal or scams. Under $200/night at Xmas time is probably impossible for anything but a fleabag place UNLESS the economy starts to unravel further and forces prices down. It is very early to book for next Xmas. Hotels will take a wait and see attitude on pricing.

radiocityapartments.com already mentioned is the only budget suite hotel (like serviced apts.) near Times Square and that's showing a price of $233/night plus tax for a studio.

Worldwide Plaza and Executive Plaza are 2 condo buildings on 8th ave. & 50th st. where you might find a studio but it will be over $200/night, you'll have to pay separately for cleaning (and won't have daily maid service) and will have to give a security deposit. I see a few listings on vrbo.com like this one. http://www.vrbo.com/155075
For 9 days, I don't think it's worth the trouble. I'd rather get a suite hotel for about the same price with services and no deposits required. The Affinia Dumont has some great views of the Empire State building.

mclaurie

PS, it's not about whether the website vrbo is reputable, it's the people you're dealing with who advertise there. ANYONE can advertise on vrbo. Some are legit and some are absolutely NOT. Do not ever consider wiring money to anyone's bank account and frankly, I would not commit to anything that's not cancelable at this point in time. If you reserve a hotel that you can change, that's fine, but otherwise, don't do it.

maria_so

thanks mclaurie. as mentioned, my fault for not thinking of the holidays as higher late. it was late last night when i first posted and was just excited.

i've rented alot frolm vrbo for other cities and forgive my ignorance about renting from vrbo for NY but I've just never done it - which is why I'm on here asking.

Makes me a little nervous and probably will book affinia for that rate (wow). Do you know how far (blocks) that is walkable to the celebrations in times square for new years?

we just want to have a kitchen - does the studios for affinia have one?

maria_so

oooops. i meant radiocity, not affinia.

Austin

So you are saying that ALL apartment rentals in NYC are illegal? We rented a lovely apartment in Chelsea from a vendor on VRBO and would hate to think I would ever go back to a hotel after that. How do I find out if they are illegal or not? Part of me thinks the owner of the apartment (they have 3 in the building AND live in a 4th) may own the whole building...There are only 6 apartments in the whole building. I guess I can just ask?

nytraveler

Almost all short-term apartment rental in NYC are illegal. there are a couple of companies who rent out to corporations - but if it's a private apartment either the landlord doesn't want it sublet - or it's against the rules of the co-op/condo association.

So - it may be a fake - that is no exist at all.

Or it may be real - but you're illegal. Which you will probably get away with - but you wold have no legal standing if the landlord or association find out you're in an apartment being rented by the night. (The city has cracked down on some of the worst abuses recently - shutting the rental companies down - and more than one person on this board has been either cancelled at the last moment or deceived as to specifics.)

I would try for Radio City Apartments - legitimate and about as cheap as you can get in that area. Or else, see if you can find a deal in one of the other all suite hotels.

mclaurie

First, Maria, go to maps.google.com and plot Radio City apartments then you'll see how close it is to Times Square. Why this is an issue I don't know, since going to Times Square for New Year's is really a crazy idea.... Akasuites.com is another suite hotel group and they have a Times Square location. Their Central Park location is very nice. These would be as nice as the apt. you found.

Yes, the studios at Radio City do have kitchens but these apts. are not nearly as nice or new as the apt. you found on vrbo in NeoPatrick's thread. The kitchen is right in the living room.

As for that apt., I assume you realize there's no way to contact the person who's renting it other than filling out that form- no phone, email etc. You just email into cyberspace. They also don't give an address but maybe you've gotten that from the owner? I'd be curious to see what NeoPatrick thinks as he's done this frequently. One way to see how legit it is is to ask the owner if a friend who lives in NYC can have a look at the apt. It could be in the same building as the Residence Inn (there are apts. on the top floors of the building) which would be just fine if the person renting it actually owns it.

As to the question of legality on short term rentals, it's possible a rental in a smaller building that the owner occupies is legal. It's certainly less problematic than a rental in a large building where neighbors can complain.

maria_so

hi, mclaurie, i have seen a post from nytraveler (I think) advising against it for the couple with 2 boys from london so since then, i have changed my mind about wanting to be at times square specifically and opting instead on nytraveler's advice on another thread to grab a nice decent dinner somewhere and watch the fireworks in central park.

you see, we live in houston and was watching the ball drop on tv during this past new years and thought that perhaps before having kids, we should try new york for new years before we won't be able to for awhile. it seemed like a good idea at the time, i guess we were just romanticiszing the entire thing. That's why posting on fodors is a good idea so nice, local folks like you can correct our mispercepcions, sigh. ;-)

anyway, will look into the links. i'm ever more feeling wary about renting an apartment but really wanted a kitchen for morning breakfast and the like and that particular vrbo had nice views too which obviously is a plus.

maria_so

ok, just booked radio city apts - the queen bed studio. i think for mostly sleeping and being able to make breakfast, this will do just fine and the price is a steal at $230 (for fri adn sat) and $220 for sun through thursday).

Thanks all!

mclaurie

I'm assuming it's cancelable, Maria so keep an eye out for specials on quikbook and travelzoo as your trip gets nearer. Many of the Affinia hotels are much nicer than Radio City and might come down in price.

maria_so

will do mclaurie. yeah, i have 48 hours prior for no fee. pretty good actually. they just needed a credit card guarantee. thanks for all your assistance in the lodgings.

Any recommendations on how to get great broadway show deals? Also, is tehre a "museum pass" that one can buy?

Thanks!

mclaurie

Broadwaybox.com is the way to go for discount theater tix but only good for some shows and only within a month or 3 before. Citypass.com offers discounts on some museums but many museums have "pay what you wish" policies. Some like MOMA have free times like Fri. from 5 pm (but it's also very crowded then).

Austin

The apartment we rented is not a condo. I did some checking - I LOVE GOOGLE- and found this site:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/cer...actsheet.shtml


Pick the borough, put in the address, and voila! you can read a little about the type of building, complaints, etc.

maria_so

thanks Austin! That's a handy link. I'm still a bit out of the loop though. So if it's not a condo, that's a good or bad thing?

...see, these are the things you don't want to worry about during vacation.

Austin

Ha, maria, I'm not sure. I think that if it's a condo, it's NOT legal. However, not being a condo probably doesn't automatically make it ok.

ellenem

If it's not a condo (cndominium), it could be a co-op (cooperative apartment), which has even more restrictions about renting to individuals for short terms than a condo. Or it could be a rental unit that is being illegally sublet.

Very few apartments in Manhattan can be rented legally for short terms. The only two situations that occur to me are apartment groups, like Radio City Apartments, that have been created to be used in this way, or small buildings owned by individuals, so a single owner can set the rules for rentals rather than a co-op or condo board of directors.