rachelb

Hello,

I've narrowed my accommodation search down to 2 possibilities:

1) Second Home on Second Avenue (between 13th and 14th)
2) East Village Bed and Coffee on Avenue C (between 7th and 8th)

I've kind of set my heart on a room in the place on Avenue C but having ready up the area it sounds a bit dodgy (Alphabet City). However, I have had some assurances that it is safe and to just be sensible. What do people think?

The place on 2nd Avenue is nearer the subway and away from Alphabet City, but is above a place called Gemini Lounge (a bar open until 4am)and Body Evolution (a gym?). I'm worried it will be really noisy and I've been told it's more touristy on 2nd Avenue (bit safer). What is 2nd Avenue (between 13th and 14th ) like?

So: larger room in less touristy and slightly unsafe Avenue C or smaller room above a bar in busier but safer area and nearer subway?

If anyone has knowledge of these 2 places or areas of East Village any opinions and advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Gekko

My guess is the Ave C location will be quieter, but it is much farther from the subway and pretty isolated on the far east side of Manhattan. On the other hand, the great restaurant Esperanto is on Ave C at 9th Street and the too-much-fun German beer hall Zum Schneider is on C at 7th.

Being above the Gemini could be a fiasco, but you never know. Have you asked the company how loud it is?

Tough choice.

Loki

What is your purpose in being there? What do you want to do? Have some peace to finish up that novel or see the city and go to bars and clubs? Will you be alone or with a group/couple/with a man?

Need more info...

Your initial analysis is correct. I would choose 2nd Ave for sure but that's me, I like to be out doing stuff and I stay up/out late. Subway access is a big thing for me.

Bo

... and why these 2 places? Doesn't sound like you're thrilled with either one.

rachelb

I'm going there with my boyfriend (we're both in our 20s) and we just want to make the most of being in NYC - so some touristy things and also going out in the evenings (nice meal and a few drinks, maybe clubbing one night). I just don't want to be somewhere so noisy that we can't sleep as I'm sure we'll be shattered from all the sightseeing. It's my first visit and my boyf's second so we're not very NYC savvy.

Thank you both for your help so far.

rachelb

P.S. Bo - I don't want to end up in a huge hotel and we're on a budget so these 2 seem to come up again and again as great value and a good location. If you've got any tips on cheap places to stay let me know!

Gekko

One word: Earplugs.
Manhattan is a very noisy place compared to just about anywhere else on Earth. I just about guarantee the 2nd Ave location is going to by *very* noisy, unless your room is in the back away from the street and above a service portion of the bar.

Perhaps you should reconsider these locations and just do the Priceline thing.

tommy

I think these are both great locations for people your age. The neighborhood is edgy - edgier the closer you get to Ave C. Tons of great inexpensive restaurants and bars on 2nd, 1st, A, and B. Very trendy - bring your track shoes. I might suggest that since you are not overly familiar with NYC that you choose the Second Ave location - it is definitely more populated in the evening and probably safer. It is easy walking distance to the Alphabet City area if you feel like heading that way for eating, drinking, clubbing.

lisettemac

Honestly, if you're not very New York savvy, as you say, I wouldn't suggest Alphabet City for you. Is it safe? Yes and no. Some blocks are still pretty dicey. Yes, there are some good bars and restaurants, but I wouldn't recommend it as a place for NY novices to stay. 2nd Ave will definitely be noisy, but it is somewhat safer (if for no other reason, by virtue of the number of people out and about) and you will be amongst lots of "happenings" that could be fun for a young couple -- cheap eats, cheap dive bars, Stomp at the Orpheum, etc.

rachelb

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to email the 2nd Avenue place to ask them if it's noisy about Gemini Lounge and chat to my boyf about it all tonight. Hoping to make a decision tomorrow and book one of them...keep emailing in the meantime if you have any comments.

Bo

I'm not that fussy with hotels, but the low(er) rated hotels in any major city can be pretty dicey (NYC included).

You're going to want to be close to mass transit and alphabet city isn't!

What is the price of these places? From the East Village Bed and Coffee website it appears that you're paying b/w $75-90 (and it's a shared bath).

For about the same money you can get a hotel via Priceline or Hotwire, get 'full service', your own bathroom, and be centrally located.

Check out BetterBidding.com for help with either Priceline or Hotwire. There you will find out what others have received and what prices were paid.

Loki

Rachel,

Regardless of what your told about the Gemini, the noise from that place will be insignificant in light of the general street noise. My sister lives on 10th about 50 yards from 2nd Ave and I stay in her place on occasion. It's noisy all night long, general commotion, fights, street workers, fights, garbage collection, construction work, it really is around the clock. Now her room is on the street side of her building, the back bedroom of her apt is not as noisy. So, if I was you, I'd be more concerned with how close the room is to the street rather than if the Gemini is noisy. When you live in the city you just get used to it but if you're a light sleeper, you might want to consider a room away from the street and maybe a bigger hotel. As for the fights, don't worry, it's just otherwise harmless drunks fighting with other drunks.

GoTravel

I agree with Lisette and with the priceline suggestion. The East Village has a very late night club scene. Also, if your boyfriend or you has any hangups, the area is very alternative lifestyle, artsy, funk, creative, it would not be a great place to stay.

Have you looked at the Gramercy Park Hotel? Cheap and in a much better location.

I really love the East Village but I would not recommend it to a first time visitor.

MFNYC

If you don't mind shared bath, check out the Larchmont Hotel on W. 11th st. It's in an excellent Greenwich VIllage location, safe area and quiet street. It also gets excellent reviews. I beleive it also includes a continental breakfast.

tommy

Rachel,
I am butting in again, hope you don't mind. Consider what you are planning to get out of your trip to NY. The suggestions to look for a standard hotel on Priceline will put you in a very mainstream hotel somewhere in the Times Square or Upper East Side neighborhoods. This will be near the typical tourist attractions like the Broadway theaters, ESPN Zone, Madam Tussauds. Compare those neighborhoods to Leicester Square (touristy)and Knightsbridge (stuffy)in London. These are the areas frequented by families from Wisconsin or middle aged women in twin sets and pearls. If you want to be closer to where New Yorkers your age congregate and live, go with someplace below 14th Street. (I would compare the East Village or Alphabet City to, say, Bethnal Green in London, which happens to be where I stayed on my first trip to London when I was in my early twenties). Second Home is a few blocks from Union Square, where you can catch a subway and be to any of the uptown sights in 20 minutes or less. The busses on Second Avenue and First Avenue are also transportation alternatives - the bus stops on 14th St. and Second Ave. If you are planning on going out in the evening to eat and drink and dance where New Yorkers do, go with Second Home. The east side from below 14th is really where everything is happening these days - the East Village, Alphabet City, Nolita, the lower East Side - these neghborhoods have the hippest shops, bars, restaurants in the entire City.

So choose with whom and what you want to surround yourself with, and pick a hotel from there.

GoTravel

tommy, while I'm a firm believer in not all of Manhattan is touristy Midtown, priceline offers hotels all over the city.

If it were me, I'd rather get a cheap hotel on priceline in Soho, than a shared bath above a bar.

MFNYC

Tommy, I don't know if you've ever done priceline for NYC, but there are 7 neighborhoods to choose from. The only one that is in the touristy/times sq/chain restauarant zone is midtown west. Granted, there is no priceline choice for village/soho hotels but there are many neighborhoods to chose, many with different character, and not all 'maintstream' hotel areas. I live in the Village and have used priceline for visitors (midtown south section), and it's worked fine.

tommy

Nope, never done Priceline for NYC, and agree that Rachel should definitely check it out. But if Rachel is looking for a hip cutting edge neighborhood to hang out in, Murray Hill or the Garment District (lower Manhttan on Priceline) are not such a place. If she could find a hotel in Soho, I would tell her to grab it, but hotel rooms in Soho in the price range of the places she mentions are few and far between, even on Priceline. Perhaps I read too much into Rachel's original choice of neighborhoods, and I certainly encourage her to explore all of the options.

rachelb

Hello again everyone. Wow! Between me leaving work and now checking the site at home I'm amazed at all the responses. SO glad I came across this website. Thank you all for your comments (especially Tommy - really helpful to have your comparisons with places in London as that's where I live).

I would rather stay out of the big tourist hotels if I can as I want to get a real flavour of New York in the 4 short days I am over. However, I also want to be safe, which is why all your opinions have been great reading.

I'm going to try out the other recommendations (Gramercy Park Hotel and Larchmont Hotel) and also have a look at Priceline and the areas they cover. However, both Bed and Coffee and Second Home are great places and so remain at the top of my list at the moment. I don't mind sharing a bathroom as did so when I went to Dublin and it was fine.

Keep talking to me as I need to make a decision before the end of the week!

Bo

Here's one person's description of each NYC Priceline zone (maybe it'll help):

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.p...T&f=254&t=522&