Tuesday, September 28, 2010
New York City Hotels?
I know I had a similar post up a few years ago, but this time it might actually be happening: me going to New York with one or two of my dearest friends. We need to decide where to stay though - any recommendations? We're definitely on a budget, but we want someplace that's clean and safe, obviously. We'll be there for four nights in November - main focus on the trip is shopping and eating! (Huge surprise to all my readers, I'm sure!)
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Check The Pod Hotel, previously The Pickwick Arms Hotel if u are looking for an inexpensive, decent and very nicely situated on Manhattan. It is only one or two blocks from Waldorf Astoria, on the east side of M-hattan. /Stefan, Uppsala
I'd recommend the Doubletree Metropolitan, the Affinia, 70 Park, Flatotel. If you stay around Wall St. you pay considerably less than you would if you stayed around midtown/Central Park. That being said, you can get good deals for great hotels if you book early enough. 70 Park can be a little expensive, but I love the atmosphere. If you stay a little outside Manhattan, say in Brooklyn (or even Jersey City, which is across the river from NYC) you can pay less for the same quality hotel. I would recommend the Doubletree Hotel in Jersey City. The PATH train to NYC is literally 2 minutes away from NYC and only takes maybe 10 minutes to get into Manhattan.
I would also check out hotels.com for good deals and I'd look for the hotels that I've mentioned here. Apart from the atmosphere, I wanted to sleep in great comfort because I usually go back to NYC to race in marathons and other races...so an ultra-comfortable bed and nice ambiance are definitely things that I look for. As for shopping and eating, NYC is a very "walk friendly" city but maybe I'm just saying that because I was born there(?) but, even if I weren't used to it I'd still admit that you can walk anywhere with ease there. It's a great big grid, so addresses are easy to find.
I'd recommend the New Yorker Hotel. It's right there in Midtown, so you have everything right there. They do certain packages and one of them is "Girl's Getaway Weekend" which discounts the price of the hotel and offers complimentary drinks + other things (depending on what's going on at the moment). I really like this hotel - it has a great 70's vibe type thing going on in the interior which is ratehr cute, and most views are excellent (the worst is looking at the empire state building and that's not bad - is it!?)
If you don't want to be right with all the entertainment and prefer quiet areas... you can get further away (but still be a walks away from everything) at the Kitano. I absolutely love this hotel... it might be my favorite I've ever stayed at in NYC. It's a bit more pricey (I'm not sure what price range you're going for) but it's lovely. It has gorgeous rooms an awesome restaurant (oh and tons of amazing restaurants all around - but it's NYC - of course!)
NYC is a great city to walk in - so where ever you go, you're going to be around tons of food. The only thing about the walking - make sure you're in good shoes. That always gets me.
I don't like posting this, but feel obligated. There is a bedbug epidemic in NY and other American cities right now. You ought to check reviews of the hotels you are considering online, and also the tips online for avoiding the nasty little critters.
At least people are now aware of the problem, and are taking steps to debug.
hi anne, i don't know a thing about new york, but i did see your twitter feed comment about renting an apartment in new york. my husband and i like to travel this way to save money and cook some of our own meals. at least breakfast and sometimes lunch and a dinner or two. i really like the listings on vacation rentals by owner (vrbo.com). i do not trust craigslist for that type of listing any more. we have had quite a bit of crime rise up from craigslist these days. just my two cents!! i hope you find a wonderful place to stay!
hugs,
puglette
:o)
I can recommend the 414 Hotel (http://www.414hotel.com/) which is no hostel, but was comparatively cheap when I stayed there.
Thanks everyone! The Pod hotel definitely looks interesting. And Eileen, how scary!!
I've stayed at this place and it's clean & cheap and not for the faint hearted ;P
http://www.carltonarms.com/
The Desmond Tutu Center on 10th Avenue is worth checking out, it's a business hotel (or at least that's how they advertise), but it was very nice and clean and a good deal, when we stayed there in May this year. It's three blocks from the subway, so that's the downside, but there's plenty of restaurants and small shops around. Expedia.com can get you some nice deals on plain ticket + hotel deals.
Please indulge in a piece of genuine New York Cheesecake... find a small little cafe' that makes it authentic, everyday. Have fun. New York City is amazing.
Hi Anne, New York, my favorite city. Just spent 2 weeks there in August and love it! When you're going in November it can be really cold which is why I will recommend staying close to places you want to go. Unfortunately, Eileen is right. Bedbugs have become an epidemic in NY. Therefore, do not choose a hotel of too low standard and read recent reviews. For a shopping trip I can recommend Midtown area around Central Park from west to Grand Central, avoiding Times Square and the Theater District. I also like the area around Greenwich Village but it might not be the best place for a "short" shopping trip. Brooklin could be really exciting and there are a lot of nice places to go. I want to try that out myself. However, for a shopping trip you would spend too much time on transportation. I can recommend www.lastminutetravel.com. I know you can get very good deals at that site, also for rooms for more than 2 adults. The W close to Grand Central is ok, you also have Bliss Spa there, and a lot of cheaper nail salons close by. Rooms are really small but nice. On lastminutetravel a lot of the offers are without revealing the hotel name since prices are very low. However, most times you can almost guess what hotel it is, try use number of rooms and google hotel in new york with that amount of rooms and compare with the other information on the hotel. I can also recommend not including breakfast at the hotel and grabbing a coffee and a bagel, or going to starbucks and saving the money to go to Pastis eating pancakes one morning or a nice place with a nice brunch. You can get really good deals for lunch at michelin restaurants, book table asap. Remember to visit the Chelsea Market. Despite everything being said about Magnolia Bakery, I can recommend a red velvet cupcake with vanilla frosting. However, some people say Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery in East Village is way better. Uh, I could go on and on. I've only rented an apartment once. It was nice but the downside is, you do not know how clean it is and you'll have to do the daily clean. Good luck with planning your trip. /Annemarie
Vi bodde på The Pod hotell, små rum, men rena och fräscha och nytänkande å så låg det superbra till. Skulle gärna bo där igen.
Hi Anne,
I just booked two rooms for me and my family the last week of October.
I got a great tip from a Canadian friend, and that was: HOTWIRE.COM
They provide rooms from good hotels at a low rate, with the catch that you don't get to know what hotel it is until you've booked it (because the hotels don't want to "show off" such low prices for last minute-rooms). You do get to know the standard, and the area. After booking and paying, you get to know your hotel. We got Sheraton in the middle of Chelsea for $215 a night instead of $450!
I would definitely recommend the Soho Grand, one of the best hotels in NYC that I have stayed at (in lower Manhattan).
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