Staying in New York

Stuart_the_Red

I know that the Lifers are a well travelled lot, so I thought I would ask a question.

My wife and I are going to New York for 5 days in May next year and I was wondering if anyone had a hotel tip. We are looking for something relatively central (the usual tourist attractions, etc). 

Price range? Well, I know NY isn´t going to be cheap, but we aren´t in the Ritz-Carlton league either.

Thanks in advance

Stuart    

wobblybob

We stayed at the Chandler Hotel on east 31st last year very reasonable prices just a few blocks from the Empire State Building . Lots of attractions within walking distance from hotel and the others were no more than a 15 dollar cab ride away.The hotel is what they call a boutique hotel which I suppose over here we would put in the Premier Inn catagory.Pleanty of eating places nearby catering for all tastes and prices.The hotel has an adjoining bar open till late and after a days sightseeing was a great place to relax before sleep.

les_says

We stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel near Grand Central Station which was a good position to be in - midtown. Hotel massive and very swanky reception. room was a good size and amenities, not as swanky as reception but did the job. not too expensive either. 

friends of ours got an apartment which i think is a good option? 

Chirpy Red

We stayed in the New Yorker hotel opposite Maddison Square Garden. Booked through Expedia. Really, really reasonable price. Very comfortable. Nice little bar and the attached diner called Tick Tock is wonderful for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's a 50's style retro restaurant and excellent. Hotel is as central as you can be really and I would highly recommend it. Have a great trip.

Fortune 82nd Minute

If you want an apartment rather than a hotel - and the great advantage is space, hotel rooms in New York can be on the small side - try AKA Times Square.

http://stayaka.co.uk/locations/times_square/default.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=aka+times+square&utm_campaign=HAK01_Times_SquareUK

We stayed there last year and I'd really recommend it. It's also literally about 2 minutes from Times Square but as it's on a side road, still nice and quiet. You can easily walk to a lot of the major attractions and there's a subway station nearby.

Taxi_Lad

I'd recommend the Intercontinental 'The Barclay'. Fabulous hotel, room was a plush one bed suite. The reception was awesome, very grandeur!! Great central location too

Noss

I'm going in February, so will check out all the advice above. Just a thought...If someone was coming to London my advice would be don't stay in (say) Covent Garden but get a place in (say) Lewisham and save ££££'s and put up with a short commute. Is there a similar place in NY which is safe, cheap and with easy access?

Cardinal Sin

Noss - not been for a while but have stayed 20 odd times at the Lexington Hotel on Lexington Avenue. It always used to be reasonable (for mid-town, where you want to be). It was still very much a 1930's hotel but up-to-date and had the benefit of being across the road from the Waldorf where you got the best breakfast in New York at street level.

newyorkaddick

There are some 'apartment hotels' which are surprisingly good value especially given the amount of space you get - check out the ones run by Affinia, or The Lombardy.

Any of the middle-of-the-road chain hotels will probably offer a decent balance of cost, location and amenities (and there's lots of them) eg Marriott, Crowne Plaza, W Hotels etc. Rooms can be small though.

Personally I would try to avoid anything in Times Square or near Penn Station/Madison Square Garden - it is manic 24/7 and full of tourist traps, and the hotels are often overpriced/tired because they cater for big groups and travel agencies (and thus have a 'captive' audience so don't need to try very hard.).

I think the hotels on the east side of Midtown (east of Fifth Ave) are better generally as they cater for the business market, and the area generally is less manic (but no less central and convenient).

Kimpton is a good chain with lots of reasonably priced modern hotels in various city locations.

To try to answer Noss' question, NY is so compact compared to London that there isn't really an equivalent, perhaps except Hoboken just across the river from the city (there's a W hotel there). Within Manhattan there's a Marriott Courtyard on the Upper East Side which is probably $250 a night (cheap for the city) and relatively easy to get around from - likewise Hotel Franklin on East 87th.

Noss

To try to answer Noss' question, NY is so compact compared to London that there isn't really an equivalent, perhaps except Hoboken just across the river from the city (there's a W hotel there). Within Manhattan there's a Marriott Courtyard on the Upper East Side which is probably $250 a night (cheap for the city) and relatively easy to get around from - likewise Hotel Franklin on East 87th.

Thanks NYA. If $250 a night is cheap then I'm really going to have to review my budget for this trip...

jamescafc

I'm with chirpy red. Stayed at the new Yorker. Brilliant value.

Booked flights and hotel as a package via Expedia and couldn't believe how much I got for my money. 50s style but recently renovated. Great location too, within easy walking distance of times square.

Chirpy Red

We walked everywhere from The New Yorker. Walked all day but a got a cab back in the evening. Nowhere is that far and with the grid system it's just so easy to find everything.

redlanered

You might consider B&B-style places if you don't care about big hotel facilities.  B&B in the US is a bit more up-market than in the UK (there is no tradition of the seaside landlady type of establishment)

 

Try this site

http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/manhattan-new-york.html

 

Re your Lewisham comment, the earlier remark about Hoboken is a good one (& it's worth considering places there).  Parts of Brooklyn are also safe, interesting and accessible - yes you are in inner-city US so put your Rolex & I-heart-NY T-shirts away.  We lived in NY a while ago and woulkd have moved to Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights but I got a job in another part of the city.  Those neighbourhoods offer a real NY experience, plenty of bars, restaurants and a short subway from the Manhattan sights. 

Expedia will also offer you cheap deals out around Newark Airport, which if you are prepared to just have a cheap base & travel in every day might work for you.

guinnessaddick

We walked everywhere from The New Yorker. Walked all day but a got a cab back in the evening. Nowhere is that far and with the grid system it's just so easy to find everything.

I told the wife  that, when we satrting walking from Penn Stattion to Battery Park. She wasn't happy and we then jumped the subway after  about 20 mins of walking.

DA9

City Squire, bang central on 7th Avenue, Times Square.

Stuart_the_Red

Thanks everyone, we will start checking these out. We have just booked a Best Western in Brooklyn, so we at least have a room, while checking out other places to stay (We can cancel up until 6pm on the day of arrival without any fee).  

hawksmoor

I can't for the life of me remember the name of the hotel we stayed in a few years back. Very cheap. Comfortable. Nothing special. It was round the corner from where David Letterman's show is filmed.

Curb_It

I stayed in The Strand for my company's xmas do last year.  I think it was expensive for a hotel that doesnt even do room service, 309 dollars a night. NY is expensive i think these days, in comparison to years back.  Got a lovely roof top bar tho which slides open in the summer months.  Very near times Square.  Dont use the hotel phones tho whatever you do... i rang a pal and a 30 minute phone call made my eyes water.

Kiely#1

Not used it, but AirB'n'B seems worth a try

LoOkOuT

Stayed in the Washington Jefferson, which was mid-priced and certainly adequate. It's well situated, just off of Times Square, if that's what you want. It's removed just far enough to be off the main drag, but still in the mix. 

If you can muster the cash, The London is a swish hotel further north, nearer to Central Park and the posh bits. Much nicer hotel, but it costs ya.

LoOkOuT

AirBnB is worth a go though.

HWakefield

I lived in NY for 2 years & was so ashamed to take a date back to my dorm that I chose 'The Time Hotel' off Times Sq. DO NOT GO THERE. I turned up and it was full of escorts entertaining fellas in town for business. It's a party hotel & the music downstairs lasts until 2am and can be heard from the third floor. I felt like Holden Caulfield.
That said, if anyone is looking for a good time...you're welcome.

Henry Irving

Is the Chelsea Hotel still closed?

falconwood_1

Yep.

Henry Irving

Don't go there then : - )

falconwood_1

Got to Balthazar on Spring St for lunch