NYC - astonished by price of accommodation

[mummery]

Hi,

I'm currently pricing up 7 - 10 days in New York for myself and DS (7). There are some really cheap flights available and it was looking quite promising until I started investigating accommodation. Even 3 star hotels with mixed reviews are typically priced around $2000 for this period of time, and this seems pretty consistent, since I've checked a lot of dates (Feb, Apr & May). I'm surprised at this as I rather expected the NY hotel market to be a bit more competitive. Obviously I want to keep costs to a minimum but then again don't want to have to sleep with cockroaches or way out of Manhattan. Am I missing a trick here or has anyone got recommendations? Thanks in advance :)

Hi mummery,

You need to be careful if you decide to vaction rent a NYC apartment (do your researches very carefully!); there are an awful lot of scammers out there and many people have been caught out as a result. Infact I would avoid entering such arrangement altogether.

NYC hotel accommodation has been expensive for years particularly since the city decided to adopt no tolerance crime policies. Also the city is very popular with tourists who visit from all over the world in vast numbers.

Would suggest you look at the Doubletree Suites on Times Square as their rates can be reasonable. Another is the Salisbury House hotel on W57th Street.

Local laws make most apartment rentals in New York City illegal!.

try this company

www.lowcostholidays.com/propertyresults.aspx

We stayed in Hotel chandler just round the corner from the empire state building - it was lovely and central to get to anywhere easily in manhattan. I priced up a week in feb for you and it came to £837, much lower and I would recommend it as a comfortable hotel which is a good base in NYC to see the sights.

Attlia - I didn't know that. I have used Owners direct for European rentals. But I expect there are scammers worldwide. I expect there are some hotels with have studio/apartment style accommodation, but it will be more than the cost of a basic hotel room.

www.thomsonworldwide.com have a Manhattan NYC apartment in their tailor made selection. Big hotel choice too. Hotel only possible plus you are paying in sterling, which I would prefer. Pound against the dollar up and down like a yo yo, so at least you know the exact amount and won't end up paying more if the £ drops a massive amount. But that's just me!

Try Murrey East hotel we stayed there a couple of summers ago and got a 1 bed apartment it was very reasonable. Or try the Affina hotel they do mini suites very reasonable too.

The thing is anywhere in NY is going to be pricey because it is NY.

If you are happy to catch a 10 min train into the city look at Hoboken New Jersey the path train takes 10 mins and runs 24/7.

Or look at Brooklyn.

I do know someone who rents her basement apartment as a short term holiday let in Brooklyn.

When it comes to bed bugs well we visit NY most yrs and we used to live there. Of course there are going to be some dodgy places same said for every major city. But i have stayed in loads of hotels in NY and never found them to be dirty or have bed bugs.

Have a great time.

Chelsea Pines Inn is fab and wasn't too expensive when I stayed there, can't link as on phone but if you google it has a price quote bit.

I have stayed at the Travel Inn on 42nd street a couple of times (but over 5 years ago). Not super fancy and a little dated but it was clean and quite close to everything. It seems to be about $125 a night in Feb a bit more in April/May.here

Thanks for all the replies

I always prefer apartments (we self-cater on every holiday) but heard about the NY laws - short term/holiday apartment rentals are pretty much illegal (article about it on the NY forum on TripAdvisor if anyone's interested). Thus the ones that do exist are essentially breaking the law and many that are advertised don't exist at all and are just scams.

I might have generalised a bit there or maybe I don't fully understand the legalities but I'm steering clear anyway, despite the many tempting offers online.

Anyhoo, I think I've found a guesthouse in Chelsea with a private bathroom and kitchenette. It's well reviewed online and the owner is very communicative. We'll be slightly removed from the manic touristness of Times Sq etc but not too far out. $200 per night including tax in April, which is a decent price I think (having spent weeks now researching this).

Fingers crossed it's ok and the bed bugs are staying elsewhere!

Am a bit late to add this but we stayed here and it was fantastic. Rooms aren't huge but everything was exceptionally clean. We chose shared facilities (went with my best friend) and it was fine - showers were amazing, jets shooting out everywhere, plug in Ipod player, flatscreen tv's above both beds etc. We paid about $100 a night for the room but looks like it has gone up a bit. Comes highly recommended.

Also very easy to get around with subway a block away.

I went in Decemeber and paid approx £300 each for 5 nights in a triple room. here

I stayed here too a couple of years ago and paid a similar price.

Both hotels were quite basic (I preferred the second one) but very central and perfect for what we needed.

Just spent a week in nyc for christmas (well, it was supposed to be five days, but our flights home were cancelled for two days thanks to the blizzard!)

We were in the affinia shelburne which was quite a bargain for £200 per night for a suite with kitchenette, lots of room (huge, by nyc standards, infact - been three times)

As for bedbugs, I believe there is a certain amount of hysteria over nothing much The truth is, bedbugs are pretty much everywhere that sees high volumes of travel in the states, because, unsurprisingly, travellers bring/take them with them. The 'nicer' hotels are definitely on top of the issue - it doesn't make monetry sense for them not to be. Fwiw, the shelburne was lovely and clean (albeit one of the lifts was out of service during our stay) and we certainly haven't bought home any little critters!

Have a great time - it's a special, busy, crazy place!