Hi, I'm looking into the NYC Pod Hotel as a potential place for 3 adults and 1 yr old to stay in for 4-5 nights. Affinia was my other choice, but they have a no modifications/refund policy. Ideally I'd like to spend no more than the low $300's/night.

I've checked out reviews on tripadvisor.com, but I don't see enough feedback on the Veranda and Townhouse rooms. Does anyone have any experience with these rooms and what's the bathroom like in these rooms? I'm getting the sense that there is very minimal privacy for the shower. Thanks!

Sorry, can't help with the Pod. Rates for NYC hotel rooms vary a lot depending on your exact dates of travel. Have you looked into the Apple Core hotel group? The Red Roof Inn gets excellent reviews.

The Affinias have refundable and non-refundable rates. Are you sure you scrolled through the entire page? Which hotel are you looking at specifically, and for what dates?

If The Pod Hotel is charging $300 chances are you are looking at a high season rate.

What are your dates?

Keep this in mind when booking; a standard hotel room in most cities is either a king or two doubles. In Manhattan, a standard hotel room is one double. Anything larger is a premium.

It really depends on when you're coming to NYC. For Feb $300 should get you something better than POD (but do be aware that many NYC hotel rooms hold only 2 people - and I don;t know if the Pod has any room with 2 large beds and room for a cot.

At other times $300 is rock bottom for any decent room.

Have you looked at travelzoo.com and kayak.com to see who is offering discounts?

we'll be there sometime during the last 2 weeks of august. unfortunately we can only go during the summer.

when i looked at the affinia rates, a little window pop up that said page contains non-refundable rates, reservations cannot be modified or refunded. i'll have to clarify with the hotel about that.

i'll check out the above suggestions. thanks!

I got that pop-up window too, but I think it's just trying to tell you that SOME of the rates on the page are non-refundable, so be careful. If you look at the actual rates, the cancellation policy is clearly stated.

Those two weeks should be super-slow, and thus reasonable hotel rates, since the second week leads into Labor Day weekend, when the city is virtually abandoned: no vacationers, business travelers, nor even residents.

I agree only SOME of the Affinia rates (the cheapest ones) are non-cancelable. Many are fully cancelable if you look carefully. You might also check other websites like quikbook.com and hotels.com which sometimes have good rates for the Affinias that are cancelable. You absolutely do NOT want to pay $300/night end of August to stay at the Pod (IMO).

There are dozens of other options. In addition to any of the Affinia hotels, you might like staying on the upper west side, a family friendly area. The Beacon hotel is not as nice as some of the Affinia's but also has 1 & possibly 2 bedroom suites.