NYC Hotel Teens & $$ ! Help!
 

End of July we are taking our family of three boys (19,15,12) and 2 boys from the Netherlands on their 1st trip to the U.S. (19, 18)to NYC. Where is a place 7 of us could stay that would be a nice experience w/out breaking the bank with 2 rooms (or a suite??). Modern or funky would be fun esp with mostly boys. Frilly foo-foo would not be lol. We're going to all the NYC attractions but we don't nec. have to stay in Times Square area if we could get to a subway. Thank you for ANY suggestions!!!

Probably the most important thing to know is your budget (and then we'll probably say it's too low :) , but it's a good idea to see what your expectations are).
Many rooms in NYC can only hold 2, so considering than you need rooms for 6 adults plus a 12 year old, you may need at least 3 rooms

OK *gulp*...how about this...what would be a reasonable nightly room budget expectation for me to have in NYC? I'm in PA so I'm sure that I will need to be seated when I read the reply :-) My husband was thinking $150 or so per room... (stop laughing!!) lol

OK. I'll try to break this to you gently. :)
That's probably not a realistic amount, though if you consider some hotels with shared baths, you might get close.
I find that travelzoo is a reliable website that offers really good deals at reputable hotels. If you look at their current deals, you will see that the only thing that comes close is a budget hotel in Brooklyn. Remember that hotel taxes add about 13.5%
http://hotels.travelzoo.com/new-york-hotels/

If you can't get anything in your price range, would you rather go up in price, stay out of town and travel in (not generally recommended as it may add hours of commuting time to your day) cancel the trip?
There may be other ways you can save money on this trip (cheap or free events, cheap food) so let us know what you think works for you

If you want to stay in Manhattan you're really looking at closer to $300 per night minimum. Even in low season (Jan, Feb) it's really near to impossible to find a hotel in NYC for $150/night. You could try Priceline but it only guarantees rooms with an occupancy of 2, so you'd need 3-4 rooms.

1) You could try Craigslist and look at possible vacation rentals (some offer nightly rates instead of weekly).

2) You may want to look at the Pod Hotel www.podhotel.com They have Summer Special rates on their website starting at $119 (for a double). Call and find out what the rates are for the Townhouse Studio (Sleeps 4), Double Double (Sleeps 4) or Veranda Room (Sleeps 3). These will be more than $150/night - but like other poster says, could be difficult to find 2 rooms or a suite for 7 people at $300 or under in Manhattan. May be worth it to spend extra money on the hotel to avoid subway or train fare for 7 people commuting into Manhattan from one of the boroughs or NJ.

Rooms at Pod Hotel are VERY small - but then again, I've stayed at Sheratons and Marriotts in Manhattan that cost more than double and they aren't a whole lot bigger!

3) If you decide on a borough, maybe The Sofia Inn in Brooklyn (near Grand Army Plaza/Prospect Park) would meet your needs even though it is slightly more than you want to spend. Nice neighborhood, and the 2 or 3 subway takes you into Manhattan (approx 30-45 minutes to midtown). It's not funky and modern, but also not "frilly foo-foo". Has air conditioning and they are kid friendly. For about $450/night, you can get both a suite that sleeps up to 5 and a standard room that sleeps 2.

Taking 5 kids to NYC will be very expensive. Once you get past the accomodation issue, there's cost of food, entry to sightseeing places etc. Have you thought this all through? It's certainly possible to find affordable housing. If you're not too fussy you could even share a dorm room at a hostel, but what about everything else which can easily cost $300-500/day with your crowd?

Are you driving from PA?

If you can budget about $275 per room in Manhattan, I think you can find something if you start looking (cheap hotels book up the fastest). But consider this: Book a room at the Comfort Inn Long Island City for about $225 a night, and you are exactly 1 subway stop from Manhattan (about 10 minutes from Midtown at most) and can even take a taxi back to the hotel if it's late at night for less than $25 if you want to skip the subway.

I'd urge you NOT to stay in NJ for one very important reason. NJ Transit trains and buses have gotten pretty expensive and the cost of 7 people coming into Manhattan can erase the savings on a cheaper hotel. That is, if you can find a Meadowlands hotel for $150 per night (possible), you still might have to pay $6 per person each way to come into Manhattan, thus erasing almost all your savings and limiting you to non-tourist-friendly transport that aimed more at commuters.

You'll find plenty of food options that will be attractive to teens that won't be that much more than anywhere else, so I wouldn't worry about that, but attractions in NYC are also pretty expensive, so just prepare for some sticker shock. Even parking is going to cost you about $30 per night (even in queens). There is one hotel in Manhattan that offers free parking, though I can't think of hte name.

Also check the prices on Holiday Inn Express, HoJo (in Soho ... very good location for teens), and Apple Core Hotels. But I still think most hotels will cost closer to $300 in Manhattan. You can sometimes get good weekend rates if you are willing to stay far downtown (but bad transit access on weekends).

Wow you all are great & quick with replies! Thank you! This trip is a definate. Can't come to U.S. without going to NYC! That's just not American! Sightseeing etc. we are good to go. Have taken French groups there on tour and we've learned how to pack it in lol We've just never stayed overnight. This will be our first time as well. I guess I can forego the dream of staying in Times Square lol (At least with kids ;-) Well I am going to look up all your suggestions so far and try to do the best we can. Obviously we are getting a reality check on prices! We'll have to stay outside the city area but comfort is no compromise. I need my sleep! I don't do nappy hotels lol *mumbles something about piggy banks* Thank you all for giving me some reality checks and places to try/suggestions. I'm going to keep checking and appreciate the info.

Take a look at some of the midtown suite hotels, like Radio City Apartments or Murray Hill East Suites. The latter has one-bedroom apartments that can accommodate 4 people and have fully equipped kitchens, which might help you save on some meal costs, since teenage boys need twice as much food per day as anybody else. They also give kid rates for up to age 18.

p.s. Oh and yes we are driving through to PA. Train tickets were through the roof!

Try the Salisbury Hotel, the Affinia hotel group, the Metro and the Travel Inn hotel. Also, try websites like www.quikbook.com - a reputable site which sometimes has good discounts. Good luck and have fun!

Here's a thread from TripAdvisor regarding staying outside of Manhattan. Might be a good option for you.

http://tinyurl.com/68fv8o

Since you are driving, one option to consider is the Holiday Inn in Ft. Lee, New Jersey. Rooms are decent, relatively inexpensive and from there you can DRIVE your own car over the GW bridge into the city (assume you'll have a vehicle that seats 7) and park it in Manhattan. Look for a garage at
iconparking.com

If you want to try staying in Manhattan, the Travel Inn is the only hotel in NYC with free parking and they have rooms with 2 double or queen beds that will sleep 4. They also happen to have an outdoor pool (not common in NYC). The Skyline is another in Manhattan option with $10/day parking.

You could also check out the larchmonthotel.com
They have at least one family suite and the other rooms have shared bathrooms which makes it much more affordable. Maybe a family suite and another 1 or 2 rooms would work. If you find a place in NYC, use iconparking.com for the car. Good luck!

Thank you everyone! We've been going through the sites & ideas and think we have settled on the Holiday Inn in Harmon Meadow Secaucus NJ that was on one of the sites mentioned. Hotel seems nice, reasonable price, free parking, and public transportation into Times Square. Thank you for all your suggestions! If anyone wants to offer suggestions on the best places to eat that locals go to (non-touristy) please let me know! Usually we just pop in some place and try it out. Hit & miss approach. Thanks!

p.s. That iconparking site is pretty cool!! Definate keeper!!

If you want to eat non-touristy, stay away from chains and times square for food.

Teens love the village area and there are lots of restaurants. The east village is loaded with many good, reasonably priced places.

Any particular kind of food?

No particular food preference. Open to any food types. Thanks!

CHeap eats for lunch:
grey's papaya or papaya king (various locations)
pizza - best slices are at Joe's on Carmine ST (near Bleecker and 6th)
for a pie got to John's or Lombardi's (there's lots more recs if you search here about NYC pizza)
Various gyro/falafel places in the village area, many on and around MacDougal St.

For dinner (mostle in village area)
restaurants in 'little india' - E. 6th st between 1st and 2nd Avs
Cafe Mogador - middle eastern
Moustache - middle eastern
Lederhosen - german
Saigon Grill - vietnamese
La Annan -vietnamese
cucina de pesce - italian with very cheap prix fixe
Spice - Thai
Cafe Espanol - spanish

There are many more, but this is wht comes to mind. Check nmenupages.com to view menus and read user comments.

Well - you may be able to drink and dance - but the kids are all illegal - no bars and few clubs willing to let them in (since clubs make money off drinks, which the kids can't do.) I know a shock to the Dutch - being turned back into children at their ages - but such is life here.

For info on food all over the city check out menupages.com. It's searchable by neighborhood and cuisine and has actual diner reviews and actual menus.