Hotels in Manhattan

Though there is no dearth of hotels in Manhattan, oddly there is a dearth of affordable hotel rooms. With occupancy rates in the high 80s and something always happening in town, there will be times it appears that you cannot find an available hotel room in any of the many hotels in town, let alone one you can afford. For those for whom money is no object, upgrading to suites will provide accommodations. For those who are appalled at the prices they’d resent paying, but would do so willingly if only those rooms were available – it seems downright outrageous.

The answer is not that you have to book a year in advance, nor travel in from the outer boroughs or from tasteless hotels along New Jersey highways. We can’t recommend either scenario. The option we do recommend for those planning a trip to NY where budget is an issue is to try one of several extremely affordable hotels that book guests for long term, short term, and spur of the moment accommodations.

Now, when the price of an upscale hotel room in town is $600/night, and the middle range of “value” hotels is $400 – the business traveler will feel triumphant to find a corporate rate in the $300 range. There is however a category of truly affordable hotels, where you may perhaps share a bath, or forego room service, in return for significant savings. These hotels offer rooms, with private or shared baths, at just about $100 per night. In choosing among these, we recommend the one in or near the neighborhoods that interest you most – so you don’t spend your savings on cab fare.

Cheers.

Highly affordable NYC hotels:

Gramercy
Hotel 17
http://www.hotel17ny.com/
225 East 17th Street, NY NY 10003, 212.475.2845

Greenwich Village
Larchmont Hotel
http://www.larchmonthotel.com/
27 West 11th Street, NY NY 10011, 212.989.9333

Murray Hill
Hotel 31
http://www.hotel31.com/
120 East 31st Street, NY NY 10016, 212.685.3060

Midtown - West
Travel Inn
http://www.thetravelinnhotel.com/
515 West 42nd Street, at 10th Avenue, 212.695.7171

Midtown - East
Vanderbilt YMCA
http://www.ymcanyc.org/index.php?id=1140
224 East 47th Street, NY NY 10017, 212.912.2500

NoLita
SoHotel
http://www.sohotel-ny.com/
341 Broome Street, NY NY 10013, 212.226.1482

Upper East Side
Franklin Hotel http://www.franklinhotel.com/hotel.php
164 East 87th Street, NY NY 10028, 212.369.1000
*The Franklin is twice the $100/night category, but with private bath, complimentary breakfast, wine & cheese, and pet friendly. Upscale amenities in keeping with the neighborhood.


Upper West Side
The Amsterdam Inn
http://www.amsterdaminn.com/
340 Amsterdam Avenue, 76th Street, NY NY 10024, 212.579.7500

It’s cold and windy and one of the very best things about New York – walking everywhere – has become painful. I cheer myself up thinking that a little inconvenience for me is better for the environment than the warm weather that made December such a pleasure. Warming yourself up for a walk also means lugging about in heavy boots and a heavy coat – ughh.

So what does this cold climate offer? Ice Skating. No matter how cold, somehow the joy of gliding along will warm all of you – all but the exposed parts of you. For that, try Mario Badescu’s ski cream.

I have a pond in my front yard – one of the benefits in being 60 miles from NY that offsets the 60 mile distance from the city – and my daughter and I have been loving the pond. Early mornings when there is a two hour delay, afternoons as a break, and week-ends, throughout the day – we’re out on the pond, zipping along, totally warm, and enjoying the weather.

In NY there are great places to skate as well. We list ice skating rinks in NY online at www.myurbansherpa.net.

Outdoor rinks in town are:


Lasker Rink, Central Park at 106th Street

Rink at Rockefeller Center, 51st Street & 5th Avenue

Wollman Rink, Central Park at 59th & 6th Avenue

Sadly, The Pond at Bryant Park closed to accommodate Fashion Week.

And indoors at Chelsea Piers, 23rd Street at the Hudson River

Riverbank State Park at Riverside Drive and 145th Street.

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