NYC Hotel Sat Dec 2nd--Okay Quality
 

Hi Everybody,
My teenage daughter & I will be in NYC for 2 days, and need a hotel for Sat, Dec 2nd. We'd like to pay as little as possible without staying in a dangerous "dive". We'll pay whatever we need to for a clean room but hope to keep the rate under $200. for the night. If we can't, that's okay....

We are very okay with a "clean, but no extras" hotel---we are just going to sleep & don't need anything "nice", but we want it to be okay & not dirty, etc.

We're okay with staying anywhere near a subway line & okay w/ going outside of Manhatten if need be in order to save $100s :).

Any help you can give would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

Mandie

use priceline to 'name your price'. You should be able to get something nice for <$200. Check biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com for more info on priceline.

This time of the year, Priceline is not a sure bet. There is a Quality Inn in Long Island City that is very close to all the major subway lines in Queens and a single subway stop from Manhattan on many of them. It's usually the cheapest alternative---and may be one of your few alternatives to pay less than $200. Apple Core Hotels are generally the cheapest, decent-quality hotels in Manhattan, but even these will be more than $200 in early December.

My only advice would be to avoid New Jersey hotels. I don't think the trade-off in cost savings is worth the trouble of commuting into the city. And hotels near either La Guardia or JFK are not convenient at all to Manhattan.

Priceline is never a sure bet. I'd definitely give it a shot though. You've got nothing to lose.

If you don't mind shared baths, chek out the Larchmont Hotel (www.larchmonthotel.com). It's somewhere around $135 for a twin and inclues breakfast. The location is great (greenwich village), very safe, near almost all subway lines and lots of great, reasonable reasonable restaurants.

I just put your dates in Kayak.com, and nothing came up under $200 for Manhattan, in fact, next to nothing came up for < $300. It's high season and very busy in December.

That weekend priceline rooms are going for $400.

New Jersey is going to be as expensive.

Check out www.PAII.org and see if you can find a B&B in one of the buroughs.

Very much doubt that you're going to find anything in that budget range. I just checked some very basic place and they're either full or almost $500 per night. You might want to try the place in LIC. Don;t stay at any of the airports - the hotels are poor and the trek back and forth will be exhausting and time-consuming.

You may find something in New Jersey (but make sure it has immediate access to a frequent bus or train direct to the city - and the neighborhood is safe - some are quite bad.)

You might try contacting some of the downtown hotels directly by phone - since business travelers aren't around on weekends and you might luck out with a cancelled room.

I was scanniong NYC hotels and ran across a Marriott Courtyard New York Manhatten/Upper East Side on Trip Advisor and it seemed to have some very interesting reader comments, almost all of them very positive. However the rates were very variable for example I was able to get a nightly rate of 161.oo as a senior for Nov. 19/22 then it jumped to 300+ plus for THGVNG.... might be worth worth checking it out !

There is a small place in a Brooklyn brownstone (www.parkslopeinn.com) that offers rooms for $143, and a garden suite for $183. I don't know if they have availability, but it is brand new and very comfortable, in a great part of Brooklyn, and near the R subway.

Hate to say it but that night could be one of the most expensive of the year (if not THE most expensive). Some hotels won't even take a 1 night Sat. reservation for that weekend.

From where are you coming (trying to get an idea of what would be convenient for you) and anywhere in particular you're going while in NYC? Quikbook.com has the Comfort Inn in Long Island City for $157/night. The hotel gets ok reviews on tripadvisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._New_York.html

but the area around it is not so attractive. It's a short ride on the subway to Manhattan. I'd just double check both with quikbook (maybe by phone) and also with the hotel directly that quikbook does have a room, b/c the hotel's own website and several others are showing no availability. It is possible quikbook has it pre booked.

We have read good reviews for Red Carpet Inn, Brooklyn, 15 minutes to Manhattan by L subway train station next to the hotel. It is definitely a budget hotel and we booked there 3 nights next month ! Hope it will be fine !

I just did a search for you on www.hotels.com and www.besthotels.com and was SHOCKED at some of the prices, the Red Roof Inn on W. 32nd is listing for that weekend at $399 A NIGHT, read dump in here.

I can recommend the Hotel Grand Union (if they still have rooms available) on E. 32nd St and the website says the rooms are less than $200 so I would give the hotel a call ASAP. The website is www.hotelgrandunion.com and the phone number is listed on the site. The hotel is quite nice in a good location and quiet at night, just off Madison Ave so close to subway, bus and good restaurants within walking distance.

Good luck.

Call the Larchmont and see if you can get in....even if it means sharing a bed.

THANKS, THANKS, THANKS for all of your help. Thanks to all of your help, we have secured a hotel for that week-end that is reasonable, & have some good leads for hotels for MLK week-end in January. I can't thank you all enough--THANKS!

I'll do a separate post, but in case somebody sees this, is a taxi the fastest way into Manhatten from JFK? We're hoping to do a musical Friday night, and wanted to get into Manhatten in the most expedient way, even if it costs more money.

THANKS!

~~Mandie

Mandie

Mandie, why don't you share the price and the name of the hotel? Your post might help someone else the way we helped YOU.

Taxi from JFK to ManhattAn on a Friday evening...? Ouch. Depends on traffic on the LIE going into town. Depending on where you found lodging, the subway might be an alternative, but as a non-native, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend routing.

Where DID you find a room, by the way?

I also want to stand up for the Red Roof Inn ManhattAn. It is <b>NOT</b> a dump!! It doesn't have luxury amenities and it's in the middle of Little Korea, sure, but it's clean and the beds are comfortable-- and you can actually get two people in a standard-sized room AND their luggage without someone sleeping in the tub. It's a fine budget choice when you want to stay in ManhattAn, don't want to spend a bundle and aren't concerned about staying in the Middle of It All. I loved it.

The Larchmont is now 135 a night!! Wow. I live here now, but when I was on vacation (the vacation that made me decide I had to move here) I stayed at the Larchmont. Small rooms, bathroom down the hall, but one of the best locations in all Manhattan. I stayed about 11 years ago, and it was about half that.

THe Red Roof was showing rates of OVER $300, which is pretty outragious for that hotel. That's why I gave it the thumbs down.

She is staying at the Hilton on 6th Ave for those who were asking.

wantsomesun: I grant you that $300 a night for the Red Roof seems a bit much even by Manhattan standards, but even so, it's not a dump-- just no-frills.

Having said that, I would look at other properties if its rack rate were $300 when I was looking...!