Need hotel recommendation for New York City
 

Hi

My wife and I will be going to New York City in the beginning of July this year and we have to find a hotel soon. We have bought a guidebook for New York but it doesn?t really say that much about where one should stay. Well, here are some of our criteria:

We would like to stay somewhere on Manhattan. The main thing is that we get close to a subway station so that it is easy to get around. Most of the time when we are traveling we spend our time sightseeing and not at the hotel room. So we don?t really need a luxury hotel with lots of facilities. We just need a decent and clean hotel where we can have a room with a bath and a TV. I was hoping to get away with a room in the price range 100-150 dollars. Is this realistic?

I hope that I can get some hotel recommendations based on this :.) Thanks in advance

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway
www.gardkarlsen.com

To meet those criteria you will probably need to use Priceline. there are a lot of threads here explaining the details and telling what hotels people were givenfor various prices.

The basic idea is you pick a neighborhood and a class of hotel (3* or 4*) and make a bid. If Priceline accepts the bid they then tell you what hotel you get. Once you bid you are obliged to pay even if you don;t like the hotel. BUT, you get hotels for great prices. And as you don;t seem to care about specific hotels it may work well for you.

Gard, you might want to check out the Lucerne. Our stay there a few weeks ago was very satisfactory and I can highly recommend it. We paid $169 AAA rate, but needed two beds. You might be able to get it cheaper. Here is the website:
http://www.newyorkhotel.com/flashintro.htm
I liked the fact that it was in a neighborhood, (rather than the craziness of Times Square), very close to Central Park and the subway, with lots of cool little places to eat. The best place to eat is actually attached to the hotel, Nice Matin.

Hi gard,
I'm going to NYC myself this summer and will be renting a studio apartment from Metro-Home (www.metro-home.com). If you stay 7 nights, you don't pay hotel taxes. Their website shows you the various properties, so you might find something you and your wife would like. I am giving this a try since the studio comes with a small kitchen and there are washers/dryers on each floor of the building. Good luck and I hope your trip is wonderful!

Take a look at the Mayflower Hotel on Central Park West, near Columbus Circle and Lincoln Center. The rooms are large for NYC, and there are sinks/refrigerators in the rooms. The room decor is tired and dowdy, but if you pay the extra $15 for a park view, who cares?

We've stayed at the Broadway Inn a couple of times, and highly recommend it. Once you add taxes, it will be above $150, but it's pleasant and includes breakfast:

http://www.broadwayinn.com/rates.aspx

Another hotel to look into is the Hotel Beacon on Broadway & 75th. It's a couple of blocks from the 72nd St. Express Subway entrance. I've stayed at the hotel three times and it's always been spotlessly clean with every room including a full kitchenette. Go to http://www.beaconhotel.com/ for information.

Try the Best Western President Hotel near Times Square.

If you want to try Priceline, and I've used them several times for NYC hotels including a stay in a couple of weeks at the Hilton Towers for $95 per night, be sure to look at www.biddingfortravel.com first. Read the hotel FAQs and scroll down to the NYC link to see what others have gotten. After checking rates, you can post a request for a bidding strategy.

I've read your helpful posts on Thorn Tree Asia, so good luck with your NYC trip.

If you don't want to go the Priceline route, try the Ramada East Side (or Eastside, I've seen it written both ways). It's in your price range, is clean, has a TV and private bath, and is a couple of blocks from the subway.

I stay at the Hojo and Days Inn all the time on 8th. Bargain basement basic hotels but close to everything and right on the C and E line. 1 long block to Times Square and walkable to most all Broadway theaters. 1/9 N/R subways a short walk away.

I like the Larchmont on 5th Avenue and 11th Street in Greenwich Village (greatest area). It's inexpensive and Europeans seem to like it a lot (see Rant and Rave Section). The rooms have sinks but bathroom are down the hall. We had a large (by N.Y. standards) room. They also have a kitchen on each floor which I never saw used - I'll use next trip.

Check out the rates for NYC hotels at www.Quikbook.com.

Our last trip in December 2003 we stayed at the Casablanca HOtel on 43rd? We love small boutique hotels and this one fit the bill. It wasn't Laura Ashley but it was charming and had a wonderful great room for breakfast (fabulous expanded continental), 24 hour tea and coffee and games and big screen TV if you are into that kind of thing. The rooms are comfrotable, TV nice bathrooms, etc. The rooms were reasonable for NYC prices although it might be out of your price range (200)There were two couples so we had two rooms. One of them they had to downsize to a double instead of a queen (actually the double room was a bit larger) and they sent us both up a bottle of wine for the incovenience. We very much enjoyed the place and it was close to everything (including subway)including a couple of fun restaurants 2 doors away. I would go back again.

We recently stayed at The Lucerne in the upper west side. nice hotel, nice area, 1 blk to subway area, nice staff. it's highly rated by all the guidebooks/advice boards and for good reason. call directly as well as checking on-line for your best price.

Hi Gard,
We were in NYC last summer and had a great stay at the Red Roof Inn in Midtown..I believe it was on 34th St and Broadway...CLEAN rooms, free contintental breakfast and close to everything..we only paid $ 99.00 a night through there website..I highly recommend it...hope this helps!

I got the Marriott Marquis in Time Square for $111 on Priceline. It is a good location as it is close to the Theatres, the subway and the visitor center.

What does anybody know about the Roosevelt. Has an Anniversary deal 2 nights at $170, third at $20.

An older traditional hotel in a great location - central but well away from the tackines of Times Square. Has all the basics but some of the rooms can be quite small.

the sheraton towers has ny special on their website 189. a night