Looks like NY hotels are fully booked in the 1st week of November, though I don't understand why, it's not a holiday season. Nothing is available on Manhattan for at least < $200, may be even < $250.
Does anybody knows of an hotel in a safe place that is not centrally located, but is close to the subway or a bus station, so we can commute to Manhattan in < an hour ?

Have you tried www.hotels.com and priceline? That will give you and idea of what the rates are for hotels in the area.

You might try www.hotelgrandunion.com which is on E32nd St and offers great rates and nice rooms, close to subway and bus and lots of restaurants closeby as well.

Good luck.

hotels.com is not much help for me, because it is impossible to figure out how safe the area is, and how long it would take to get from there to the center. That's why I asked for an advice.

Hotel Grand Union may be a good option (though on expensive side), but I suspect it is also booked.

NYC gets 44 million visitors a year and there is always something going on. This week it is the opening of the UN session. Always a traffic nightmare. Your week is the NY Marathon.

It seems the only time it is easy to get a hotel is the week after New Year's through early March.

Nov. 4th is the NY Marathon. You'll find more options starting Nov. 5. $200/night has now become the bare minimum for a room in NYC.

The panamhotel.com in Queens is what you describe. NOT fancy but within a 30-40 trip to Manhattan by bus or subway. I think you should find a room there for $150/night. PHONE and make sure it's a renovated room.

There are other hotels in Queens closer to Manhattan (Quality Inn, Comfort Inn both in Long Island City), but the area they're in is not very attractive. If all you need is a place to sleep, they are options.

If you think the Hotel Grand Union is too expensive, I fear that you have an unrealistic idea of the cost of hotels in Manhattan. Any hotel under $250 is considered cheap here, and since you are coming at the beginning of the fall tourist season---typically the most expensive time to visit NYC---you'll find that almost all decent priced hotels book up far in advance.

The suggestion to try Priceline might be a good one, but I doubt you'll find much in your range for that time of the year. Almost any location in Manhattan will be safe and relatively convenient, but if you stay in the "box" with the following dimensions, any hotel will do. On the north: 60th Street; on the south: 14th Street. On the east: 3rd Avenue; on the west: 9th Avenue. Any hotel in this area will be acceptable.

If you find a hotel in your range, please post the name here, and we will give you an opinion. THe only hotel I would tell you to avoid is the Hotel Pennsylvania. It's one of the worst in town.

igor, peak season in NYC is Labor Day through New Years.

Your dates are NYC Marathon weekend which is the busiest weekend of the year for NYC.

$400 would be a realistic expectation for a moderate hotel that weekend.

The average NYC hotel room (not luxury and not high season) is about $300 per night. So trying to find something in high season (late Sept through New year's) -esp the weekend of the marathon - with 30,000 runners and families in town - is going to be close to impossible.

Many people reserved for this weekend in Jan/Feb - and I doubt Priceline will have anything much to sell - except possibly upscale ($500 to $600 per night discounted).

There are a couple of hotels in Queens that are in areas that are safe - but not very pleasant (auto body shops and some warehouses mixed with small business buildings). You would probably need to eat your dinners in Manhattan and just return to the hotels. For instance, the Holiday In Express in LI City is about $180 per night. But - in Queens be very careful of any hotel in Jamaica (some are used to house homeless families and others rent by the hour). Check for details on tripadvisor.com.

Or - you could look in Jersey City - from where you can take a train into the city. But - don;t know if they'll have anything in your price range.

Be careful of other hotels listed for New Jersey - since many are in areas with long commutes by bus (even though the distance may seem short traffic through the tunnels can take forever.)

I ended up booking Larchmont hotel. After all, something had to be sacrificed (private toilet in this case)

The Larchmont is actually pretty good, so I don't think you should be disappointed with it. I have stayed there a couple of times when my parents were visiting (they stayed in my apt.), and the bathrooms were always clean, though some of the rooms are incredibly tiny. The location is unbeatable ... convenient to everything in Manhattan since you can use the subway at Union Square or easily get over to the west-side lines in the Village, and there are many good restaurants nearby, not to mention Union Square itself and everything there.

I noticed a brand new hotel today called Hotel East Houston which cleverly is on East Houston. No idea good or bad.

The reason for the sold out days in early November is due to the New York City Marathon. You can try the howard Johnson in east flushing (www.hjflushing.com). its walking distance from teh subway to the Manhattan and the ride is about 15-20 minutes. You can also try www.bigapplehotels.com