NYC apartment
 

Would anyone know of some reliable sites to search for a 2 bedroom apartment for May? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

This topic comes up about once a week or so here on Fodors. As of about a year ago most short term apartment rentals are now illegal in NYC. Therefore anything on Craigslist, VRBO, or any other apartment search site should be considered unreliable. There are several legal, all-suite hotel properties such as affinia that often get mentioned here on Fodors.

Agree that short-term rentals in NYC are illegal (no mater how many are listed on Craig's list or VRBO. If renter is found - by another tenant of the co-op, condo or rental apartment they would be subject to immediate removal as trespassers (since they have no legal right to be there).

the only way to do this without risk is to rent an apartment from someone who owns a private house (very rare in Manhattan - and VERY expensive). In that case the rental is usually illegal (that is doesn't meet fire laws etc) but the chances of being discovered are slim.

Also, many of the listings on Craig's list are simply scams - and don't exist - legal or not.

Your best options are to look for a suite hotel - check out Radio City Apartments (which is a hotel), the affinia group or the Beacon. You might also look at B&Bs - but only those that charge tax are legal - others are either scams or illegal rentals.

On the chance that you want an apartment for the entire month of May - that would be legal - and you would need to check the corporate rental companies - which will not be inexpensive.

radiocityapartments.com, the Eastgate Tower and the Affinia Manhattan has 2 bed/2 bath suites part of the Affinia.com group. The Beaconhotel.com has 2 bedrooms but you must email or phone them for those. The Best Western Hospitality has 2 bedroom suites. The Marmara Hotel has 2 bedroom suites.

PS 2 bedroom suites are somewhat rare so pricey. If your group can split up, it's often a cheaper option. If it includes kids that can use a sofabed, 1 bedroom suites are more plentiful and a lot cheaper.

Wonder if I can please have a feedback from anyone who has tried the Radio City apartments? Thanks so much.

Do a search here. Many many posters here stay at Radio City Apts and like it. But it's not fancy.

They;re in a great location - but basic - and the price reflects that. It's why they are so often booked solid months in advance.

You might look at the Salisbury Hotel on 57th St.

What is your budget? At times, there are discounted rates to be found for RCA or Affinia rooms. The Hotel Beacon doesn't discount their rates and the one bedroom suite with 2 dbl. beds there is $255.00 plus taxes. I don't know the rate for the 2 bedroom suites. The bathrooms there are small though. I think the Affinia's give the most value but many visitors really like RCA.

Radio City apartments are difficult to book as they're very popular and book up way ahead.

I've noticed appealing rates lately for the Beekman. We loved that place! Full kitchen, though we only made coffee and picked up take out or had it delivered (plenty of excellent offerings in the "neighborhood").

I mentioned Radio City apts. Their 2 bedroom apts. only have 1 bathroom but they're perfectly serviceable. Look on quikbook.com for prices as well as the hotel's own website.