NYC hotel expertise please
 

Hello!
I'm planning on traveling to NYC in early March for a long weekend with a bunch of friends. We are in our late 20s and are looking for a nice, plush hotel for less than $200 per night. Does anyone know of any great deals out there? I've been researching but haven't come up with anything that great.

Dream Hotel seems nice, but it gets very mixed reviews...

Plush and under $200 will be difficult.

Good buys:

Any of the Affina hotels except the Benjamin and The Surrey as they will be over your limit.

The Park South (two max to a room)

Salisbury Hotel (lots of room, large rooms)

hotel prices in NYC have gone thru the roof. check out priceline for a good deal, see biddingfortravel.com for more info.

The average price for a hotel room in NYC is over $300. Plush and $200 do not go together - pleasant is the most you can expect. (For real plush expect to pay $500 plus.)

If you can do 2 to a room I suggest Priceline and you may get something quite pleasant. For more than 2 to a room check out the Affinia group of all suites - they often have good rates/specials.

Also - if you look uptown or downtown versus Times Square/midtwon are you can often get more for your money.

What's your definition of "plush." Are you looking for trendy? Is this a bachelorette weekend? How many are staying in each room? All this info will help us help you. Would also be good to know if you have any plans.

Thanks for all the great responses! I really appreciate your suggestions, and will look into those hotels.

To give you some more info, it's a trip to celebrate a 30th birthday. The group size will probably be 6-8 - and we could either do 2 to a room, or if it's a suite, we don't mind sharing. We're not opposed to staying uptown/downtown and taking the subway.

Our only plan so far is to see a show on Broadway. Other than that, we're pretty flexible. We'll only be there Thu night through Sunday.

I know plush under $200 is a pipe dream...I'm just trying to find somewhere to try to make this a memorable 30th birthday!

Thanks for your help

I think you have to decide whether people will be willing to share beds and if 4 women want to share one bath etc. The Blakely and the Rihga Royal are 2 nice all suite hotels near the theaters that might work.

Some compromises are needed either on price, "plushness" or space.

There are a bunch of very trendy hotels like the Dream, the Hudson, the Royalton that have tiny tiny rooms, really only good for couples who'll share a bed. But if you want trendy, that would be an option.

Your better bet I think is to go for suite hotels that are decent that several can share.

Check for best prices on kayak.com and/or sidestep.com which scan lots of different websites. quikbook.com is another good place for good prices.

I'd suggest www.hotels.com as a good place to comparison shop.

Also a nice place I can suggest not too pricy, in the middle of everything and the rooms are very nicely done, is the Hotel Grand Union on E 32nd St.

Have a great time while you are here.

Go to the Salisbury Hotel and price out their two bedroom apartment. It has two full bedrooms (King/queen/queen) and a queen sofa bed in the living room. It also has a kitchenette and two full bathrooms. A rarity for hotels in Manhattan.

It should run you about $600 per night which is your budget for six and under for eight.