<p>My D (freshman in college) and 4 friends from high school now at several different colleges within a couple hours of NYC want to meet for the week-end. They’ve picked the week-end but now can’t find an even remotely reasonably priced hotel in Manhattan. Can anyone either recommend a hotel (although it seems like a particularly popular week-end so I’m not optimistic) or a safe, reasonable place to stay outside the city with easy public transportation into the city? I’m writing from the west coast and, while I’ve been to NY many times, I do not know the areas outside Manhattan. Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated…the girls are so excited to get together and share their first month of college stories!</p>
<p>This place is very popular with young travelers: [HI</a> - New York Hostel :: Hostel to Reserve in the United States](<a href=“http://hinewyork.org/]HI”>http://hinewyork.org/)
I can’t personally vouch for it, but I do see a lot of people going there. Seems very popular with Europeans.</p>
<p>^I’ve stayed with a big group at that hostel, and we loved it. However, we had the rooms to ourselves since our group was large enough. Not sure what it’s like with others in the rooms.</p>
<p>In Chelsea on 23rd & 7th Avenue (clearly not outside the city) the Chelsea Savoy - rooms around $250 + tax, but each room is big (around 250 sq ft) and has 2 beds (if the girls will share). Clean, great location, and the most reasonably priced hotel I’ve stayed in. Have sent several friends who all agree.</p>
<p>You can check The Pod in the city. DS stayed there with a summer program and it’s economical.</p>
<p>The Jane is one I’ve heard of , not tried.</p>
<p>What’s their budget? The one issue that they may find is that most hotels in Manhattan will not allow more than four people in one room, so if it’s a group of five they’re going to need two rooms.</p>
<p>Park79 Hotel on the upper west side. I have stayed there quite a few times and have found it convenient, clean, and comfortable. I also second looking onto the hostel listed above. I have family that lives near it, and pass it often when in the city, the kids look happy, and it looks pretty nice. A hostel will likely be one of the least expensive options. They could also sear NYC bed and breakfasts or look on craigslist for people who are willing to “rent” out their apartment for the weekend. Not sure if they would to a group of “kids” though.</p>
<p>There are also some hotels in jersey city, Secaucus, and Hoboken, that might offer more reasonable rates as well as bus or easy train public transportation into NYC.</p>
<p>The Wolcott is pretty reasonable. I’ve stayed there and would recommend it for a budget room:</p>
<p>[Hotel</a> Wolcott, New York City Discount Hotel](<a href=“http://www.wolcott.com/]Hotel”>http://www.wolcott.com/)</p>
<p>This is actually in Brooklyn, but my daughter and her friends stayed here and liked it (and the trip was this past June, when they had just graduated from high school):</p>
<p>[New</a> York Loft Hostel | The Hostel](<a href=“http://www.nylofthostel.com/]New”>http://www.nylofthostel.com/)</p>
<p>Double check regular hotels, many require a minimum check in age of 21 or even 23 at some. The Y’s in NYC are also well reviewed for budget travelers-the Westside YMCA and the Vanderbilt Y, along with the POD Hotel. Also the Country Inn and Suites is in Long Island City (queens) but convenient to the subway and well reviewed.</p>
<p>The Larchmont on W 11th</p>
<p>My son just used [url=<a href=“http://www.airbnb.com/search#modified=true]Airbnb.com[/url”>http://www.airbnb.com/search#modified=true]Airbnb.com[/url</a>] for a one-week rental in NYC while there on business.</p>
<p>^^^vacation rentals of less than 30 days are (in the vast majority of cases) illegal in NYC and also subject to eviction without much recourse. These are result of long established regulations to keep apartments affordable and available to those living and working in NYC. Most coops and condos (to a lesser extent) also have their own stringent restrictions on sublets often requiring prior authorization and placing limits on how frequently a unity can be sublet. Airbnb also has “hosted” accomodations (where the owner or lease signer is present during the stay) that for the most part are not subject to the city regulations, but still may fall within coop or condo regulations. The city has been moving vigorously to respond to complaints of both vacation rentals and illegal conversion of units to short stays and illegal hostels due to an affordable housing shortage. The Big Apple Hostel was recently shut down leaving many visitors scrambling to find affordable alternatives.<br>
There have also been reports of scams where there is no apartment at all upon arrival and little recourse as it was illegal and often the owners are not even in the USA.
Best to stay in an established hotel, YMCA or the hostels already recommended.</p>
<p>Try the following:</p>
<p>On the Ave</p>
<p>It’s at 77th and Broadway. It is a great hotel, and reasonably priced by NYC standards.</p>
<p>$200 a night.</p>
<p>I stayed there recently. It was great.</p>
<p>Wow, bnmama, does this mean one shouldn’t rent on NYC through online agencies such as HomeAway?</p>
<p>Yes, fendrock that is exactly what that means. I am actually a homeaway owner (not in NYC) so I know for a fact that they do not vet local ordinances when accepting a booking. This has been extensively covered in local media and some travel websites such as tripadvisor. It is also illegal in many other locals both domestic and overseas, but NYC has a particularly acute shortage of affordable apartments and there was actually a special Mayors task force to crack down on illegal accomodations that remove resident housing stock from the market. NYC also has rent regulations that favor long term tenants and tempt landlords to skirt the law, and tenants with sweet low regulated rent to attempt to profit by charging visitors rates much higher than those allowed by law.</p>
<p>All I can add is that airbnb worked for him: a great mid-town location at less than hotel $$$. His company is a proponent of the the “disrupt” business model. He’s also had a good experience with [url=<a href=“http://www.couchsurfing.org/]couchsurfing.org[/url”>http://www.couchsurfing.org/]couchsurfing.org[/url</a>], but that doesn’t seem like it would work for 4-5 people looking for a week-end stay.</p>
<p>With all due respect archiemom, “worked for him” comes at the shortage of housing for the men, women and families who need affordable housing in order to keep NY the vibrant, diverse city that it is. Also these illegal short term rentals do not adhere to occupancy or safety standards that short term hotels must adhere to.
There are legal apartment style hotels for those seek more room than a standard hotel such as Radio City Apartments, the Beacon Hotel and others.</p>
<p>We bid on hotel rooms using Priceline and have excellent luck. Never paid more than $250 for a 4-star, so I’ll bet if they drop down to 3-star they could find a room in the $175-$200 range. How much can they spend per night?</p>