Hello everyone! I am looking for some hotel recommendations. My fiance and
I will be honeymooning in the Caribbean next August, and on our way out, we
will be flying to LaGuardia, staying in NYC for 2 nights, and then flying
out (not sure which airport yet). We have never been to NYC before and are
looking for a place to stay while there. We mainly are just looking for
something that is safe and clean, with a good location for first time
visitors. However, we are also looking for something under $150 per night.
Is that at all possible in the city?!! I have looked on many websites and
have seen several hotels in this price range, but have then read reviews
about people getting bed lice there, the rooms having an awful smell, etc.
Do you have any recommendations for me at all? If there is nothing decent
under $150, what other places would you recommend and what price ranges? We
don't really care about the room size, amenities, newness, etc., as long as
the rooms are clean and safe! We are also considering staying in New
Jersey, but of course we would prefer NYC. Thanks in advance for any
suggestions!

Do not stay in New Jersey. There is absolutely no reason for this and the money you may save will not be worth the time you lose commuting.

Look at Midtown West. Check out The Travel Inn, The Salisbury, and The Wyndham (not affiliated with the chain). Also, bid for something in Midtown West on priceline (do your research on biddingfortravel.com). Midtown West is a good location for first time visitors because it is close proximity to Times Square, theaters, shopping, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park.

With general requirements like yours, Priceline would be a very good strategy. Go to www.biddingfortravel.com to read about bidding techniques and to see the lists of hotels that people have reported winning.

When I researched my NYC stay last summer, I noticed that the only 2.5* hotel in Midtown East was the Courtyard By Marriott, which doesn't fit Priceline's 3* category because it doesn't have a restaurant. (Who cares, there are plenty nearby!) The past 20 people who had won 2.5* in MTE had won this place for $75 per night, and so did I! The place was clean, comfortable, and convenient.

Do your research, and you can get a price, quality, and location that will fit your budget.

I totally agree with the idea of using Priceline or Hotwire. An alternative site to biddingfortravel for info is betterbidding.com which gives info for both P'line & Hotwire. But I think you might be better off determining which airport you'll leave from (and what time). For Newark, the west side or downtown might be better. For LGA or JFK the east side or upper east side are easier.

If you're intimidated by bidding, some of the best deals are in non-traditional areas. Still safe & clean but maybe not near theaters etc. If your 2 days fall on a weekend, many more business oriented places offer weekend specials.

Look at the Park South hotel (parksouthhotel.com). They offer 2 day packages that include things like theater tickets and/or dining discounts at their restaurant.

If you're leaving from Newark and will be in NYC over a weekend, you might consider staying downtown in the financial district. There are brand new hotels that have weekend discounts. While they're not near theaters & mainstream shopping, they are near the WTC site, ferries to Ellis Island, Staten Island ferry (free) for great views and the Circle Line boat tours.

I always forget about this but check out The Maritime Hotel in Chelsea.

Here's a list of some reasonable hotels in The City. Some are a bit higher than $150, but I webt wahead and inlcuded them anyway since the prices I have listed are averages. You are much better off staying in the City rather than New Jersey. You also may want to look into quickbook and priceline.com Before using priceline, go to biddingfortravel.com to see what types of hotels come up with the different star ratings.

Chelsea Star Hotel Lowest avg rate $99.00
300 W 30th St (at 8th Avenue)

Chelsea Inn Lowest avg rate $159.00
46 W 17th St (between 5th and 6th Ave)

Arlington Hotel Rate $105.00
18 W 25th St (between Broadway and 6th Ave)

Hotel 31 Rate $85.00
120 E 21st Street 31 Street (! between Lexington and Park Avenue)

Herald Square Hotel Rate $99.00
19 W 31st St (between 5th Ave and Broadway)

La Quinta Manhattan Rate $136.79
17 W 32nd St (between 5th Ave and Broadway)

Wolcott Hotel Lowest avg rate $126.50
4 west 31 St (between 5th Ave and Broadway)

Hotel Pennsylvania Lowest avg rate $135.00
7th Ave between 33rd and 32nd streets.

Deauville Rate $145.00
103 E 29th St (29th St and Park Ave)

Marcel Hotel Lowest avg rate $159.50
201 E 24th Street (@ 3rd Ave)

Thirty Thirty Hotel New York Lowest avg rate $159.00
30 E 30th St (@Madison Ave)

THANK YOU so much everyone for all of the awesome info! You guys are great!

Your welcome.

Have a great time in The City.

Just came back from a Oct. trip to NYC. When I was looking for hotels I researched hotels.com, lodging.com, and also called some of the hotels direct for rates which proved to be good since you can ask for either "specials, corporate rates, educators', AAA,Government, or whatever applies to you. (There are online directories for 800 listings).

monalua,
Hi! I don't know if you have already made reservations yet, but we found a great hotel (or at least all of the reviews have been pretty good and some friends of ours just got back and liked it) for 129.00 a night. It is the Belvedere Hotel. It has a small kitchenette, which we think may help with costs for breakfast, etc. We went to their website (www.newyorkhotels.com) and with our AAA discount they beat any of the online services (expedia, etc) Give it a look, too if you would like. Have a great time and congratulations!

Robinsen, have you stayed at all the hotels you listed? The reason I ask is that there are fundamental problems with a few on your list.

mona would be better off staying in the street than she would staying at the Pennsy.

Check out quikchek.com. Last year I got a room in a beautiful hotel right by the park for about 150/night for Valentines weekend, so you might even do better on a non-holiday weekend. We did have to have them put the two twins together to make a king (notthe best for a honeymoon), but the 15 minutes was worth it considering that most Kings in hotels are just twins with the special mattress pad on top anyhow. I guess what I am saying is that you can get a good rate if you are willing to deal with a few nuicances. I agree with everyone about NJ. I love in NJ and for a really special night we always try to stay over. Even if you are someplace on the PATH you can spend 30 minutes off-peak waiting for a train.

Mona, it seems everyone is misspelling the website if it's the one I'm thinking of. The website is quikbook.com. They usually have good rates on hotels in NYC.

Also have to agree with Go Travel on the Hotel Pennsylvania. I would not recommend to my worst enemy to stay here. Went and physically checked on some hotels in the midtown east area for friends coming in from out of town. When I walked in to the Hotel Penn, all I found was guests complaining at the front desk about a myriad of problems! (This was on St. Patricks Day last year.) Needless to say I didn't bother to ask to see any of their rooms!

Check tripadvisor.com for reviews on hotels once you narrow it down based on your budget and location.

I just checked and both quickbook.com and quikbook.com direct you to the same website fr hotel reservations.

As GoTravel and missjanna pointed out, there are risks in choosing a hotel just because it has low rates. Here's humorist Dave Barry's account of his stay at the Hotel Pennsylvania.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...ry/3375167.htm

I can't understand why someone would pay $125-150 for a 2-star hotel (or worse) when they can bid and win a 3- or 4-star hotel for less on Priceline. Surely the OP's plans for her wedding and honeymon involve plenty of other nonrefundable expenses that would make $200 for her 2 nights in NY quite trivial by comparison.

Thanks again for all of the replies! I totally agree with what most of you are saying about bidding on a hotel, and I think that is what I will do! What area or priceline zone would you recommend for first-time visitors?? Midtown west? Midtown east? We will be flying into LaGuardia, but are not sure where we will be flying out of yet. Thanks for any advice again!

IMHO, your hotel location in NYC should be related to what you plan to do, not to the airport(s) you'll be using. Museums, theater, shopping? Research your trip, even plan an itinerary -- THEN it will be much easier to focus on a section of town.

You can't go wrong with midtown east. Close to trains, a lot of attractions and easily accessible. Plus there are no shortage of hotels in this area.

Where you choose also might depend on what you want to do. Some choose the theatre district / Times Square for access to Broadway. Others choose Upper East or Upper West to get away from a lot of the bustle and to be close to Central Park and the Met. No matter where you choose, be rest assured transportation will not be much of an issue as there are trains and cabs everywhere.

A good site you can visit to get reviews on NYC hotels is www.tripadvisor.com, very helpful when choosing.