Do reasonable priced hotels exist in Manhattan?
 

I'm planning a week in Manhattan in July, but am blown away by the prices. I prefer at least 3 diamond, but do I really have to pay these prices ($200-400/night)? Are there nice more economic choices that are also convenient to the metro lines?

Choco1-I'm with you!! I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to New York for the Fall....I live in California where lots of things are expensive BUT the NY hotels are OUTRAGEOUS!! I am just not into spending that kind of money for a ROOM!
I'll be interested in the answers you get....hopefully folks will be understanding...
Shadow

Sorry to say, hotels in Manhattan are very expensive. If there are only 2 in your party you could try priceline. Winning bids in Manhattan are something over $100/ night before taxes etc. If you have more than 2 in your party don't even try priceline, many rooms in NYC will not accommodate more than 2 people. Finding something in the $100-$200 range is common. My best luck recently has been on the individual hotel websites; many have a low rate guarantee. Look for a link with hotel specials, and don't forget to try AAA or other discounts. I got the Righa Royal this weekend for $189 +Taxes for a 1 Bedroom Suite (I did have to pony up another $35 to allow my DD to share our room) The final cost of my room after taxes is still something over $250/night. Certainly there are cheaper hotel options, though probably not 3 star hotels. Apple Core Hotels generaly gets good reviews (they are more a budget chain) and are probably in the $150/night range. Dining and Hotels are very expensive in NY IMO, but I think staying in NYC is worth it. Best of luck in your hotel search and have a great stay in New York.

Astor on the Park is in a great location, is clean and very cute, and only set me back about $109 a night.

It's in the upper west side, on Central Park West right next to the park and just a block or two from the subway.

I LOVED it.

Did a little rate checking since my last post (OK I'm bored and woke up early). You're right about prices being up from where they were last year. Looking in September, most of the budget hotels listed are close to $200/night and the Righa Royal was over $300! Those hotel prices might come down as you get closer to your travel date, I booked the RR a week ago for this weekend. I did find a rate of $153 for the Best Western Presidential. Good location, I have never stayed there, you might want to check Tripadvisor for reviews. Good Luck.

Hotel prices in Manhattan have been comparatively reasonable for the past few years, but this year they're horrible. New York is enjoying many more visitors this year, at the same time lots of hotel rooms have been removed from the market as the properties are being turned into condos (Plaza; Empire Hotel near Lincoln Center, are 2 that come to mind). No large new hotels have been added. I agree with you that staying at a crummy 2-star property would ruin my trip. Try to keep some flexibility on dates, call hotels you like and find when they have more availability and can offer you a better rate. Also, you may be able to save by staying somewhere other than the central parts of town where all tourists want to be (Upper West or U. East sides; used to be further downtown was more reasonable, but no more!). I read somewhere that the Rihga was sold, or would soon be sold, for conversion . . . who keeps up a hotel which is up for sale; maybe that's why their rates seem very slightly more reasonable. In central midtown, the 2 largest hotels are the Sheraton Center and Hilton; with about 2000 rooms to fill, they often need to be flexible on rates, but frankly I hate both properties. The Swissotel (Drake), which is very nice, has been offering a summer special, but I don't know if it's still available.

I now try to expand my NYC trips to at least a week, so I can rent an apartment -- under $200 a night. That ends up making a stay in New York almost seem like a bargain.

I booked a 3 night trip to NYC through AAA at Christmas.It came complete with round trip airfare tickets(from VA), 3 shows(Wicked, Brklyn, Tony & Tinas Wedding) 2 dinners and hotel. There were 3 of us and the cost was $860 each. (it would have been cheaper if there had been 4 of us)I know unbelievable but I booked something similar years ago for 4 of us and it was $1,000.00 complete!!They have great package deals.Hope this works for you.

we stayed at the Larchmont Hotel in Greenwich villiage. Check out its rating on TripAdvisor.com. It was clean, roomy, reasonable and in a lovely residential neighborhood near transportation. If you don't mind sharing bathroom facilities, which were immaculate, it's great. We have also stayed at the Belleclair and been pleased, sharing or non-sharing.

Manhattan has lost over 3,000 rooms in the past couple of years due to hotels being converted into condos.

The Stanhope, Mayflower, and Plaza hotels are the three most distressing to me along with the Regent Wall Street.

Hotel occupancy is up in Manhattan. Don't expect to find low priceline stays for weekends any longer.

Your best bet for more reasonable accommodations is to get out of Midtown.

First, Manhattan hotel rates were artificailly depressed for several years due to the lasting effects of 9/11 on tourism.

They have now returned to pre 9/11 rates plus for 3 reasons:

Worry about visiting Manhattan has all but disappeared

The dollar is very low vs the euro/pound - bringing in a huge number of additional european travelers

Due to the raging co-op/condo market in NYC a number of hotels have converted in whole or part (as will the Plaza) to condos - because its simply much more profitable

So, basically - yes - hotels in NYC are expensive - but it's the largest city in the country, is a very expensive place to operate (taxes, staff salaries etc) - and is the biggest tourist destination (after Wally World) so it's to be expected that rates would be the highest - on a par with London, Paris, Rome etc (but with many fewer rooms to go around).

You can still get good deals if you come in low season (Jan to March) - but in high season - esp between thanksgiving and Christmas - rates are very high.

To get a good deal search, search, search - use Priceline if you can, there are still deals to be had - or either adjust your budget or your expectations.

I used priceline and had to drop to a 2 star, for $120.00, but you know what. It turned out perfect. It the Murray Hill Suites. Yes, suites as in with a small kitchen attached and the room is way larger by NYC or anyplaces regular size hotel rooms. The decor was early 90's, but its location was fine , 39th and Lex, it had air, elevator and a nice size bathroom. I didn't go to NYC for a hotel experience, just somewhere to lay my head at night and clean up in in the morning. Way good enough! My other suggestion is Craigslist.com for sublets. My daughter has sublet her apartment when she goes on vacation. That way she makes money while shes gone. She has strict guidelines and it has always worked out. Good luck.

If you are traveling with 2 people or less you can most likely get a 4* hotel in the low 100's range. Check biddingfortravel.com for previous winning bids. This is a nice decrease compared to the $225/nt we paid for Priceline NYC hotels in May. (The Swissotel and Grand Hyatt)

The Apple Core Hotels are budget-level, sure, but they seem to enjoy high qualitative ratings from lodgers:

www.applecorehotels.com

I'm saving a huge amount in September by staying at their Red Roof Inn on 32nd St. (the busy Little Korea neighborhood). I'm looking forward to spending my savings on great restaurants, a night at the Café Carlyle (Elaine Stritch!) and maybe a show. The Tripadvisor reviews tell me that the hotel itself is a great deal-- clean, big rooms-- and that's good enough for me. At $149 a night, who's complaining?!

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for the great suggestions and such fast replies! I have never tried Priceline -- was afraid to get stuck somewhere disappointing, but you guys have provided such helpful hints on how to use it wisely, so I might get the courage to try it. Thanks for sharing your impressions of hotels and the good deals you found!

Short answer - no.

We are staying at the Hotel Belvedere next week for $150 ($170 Fri/Sat). I only saved a few dollars on quickbook.com The hotel website was showing $160/$180.

I was also a bit leary about Priceline until I tried it a couple of years ago and now I am a huge fan!
We stayed at Park Central for 4 nights a couple months ago and only paid $147/night. It was a great location and we found it to be perfect for us.
While you don't know the hotel name until you buy it, you do know the exact location within the city and also the quality (star rating) level of the hotel.

I have to agree with Seamus, whom I think is the only one who got it right.
Some hotels are less expensive than others, but the question if any of them are reasonable is sure a question for debate.

I'm familiar with Park Central, and frankly while getting a price of $147 may have been a "bargain" compared to their own price, I still think it is far from reasonable for such a run-down, poorly managed hotel. And while the Belvedere is a satisfactory budget hotel, I can't help but think paying $150 to $180 a night is FAR from reasonable for what you get. In both the above cases, it's simply a matter of not having any better alternatives for the same amount of money.

On the other hand, I do realize that hotels will charge what they can get. I just don't call most of those prices "reasonable" by any standard. In fact, I think some of the prices of $400 for a really fine, deluxe hotel with lots of service and ammenities are far more "reasonable" than a virtual "dump" charging $150 a night.

Patrick - that's a very valid point. Wpuld you rather pay $150 for a marginal property or $300 for a nice one. Asking what you get for the money is certainly a legitimate way of judging resaonable pricing.

But when I see someone asking about "reasonable" properties my assumption is that they are just asking for "low cost" and don;t want to say that. (For some reason many people don;t like to say inexpensive or low cost - but frequently use "moderate" or "reasonable" instead.)