I noticed that friends have been traveling in New York City, so this week’s deal is in honor of their safe travels.
$99 Midtown Manhattan Hotel, from January 2- February 29. The hotel is the Hotel Thirty-Thirty. Midtown isn’t a bad neighborhood to hang your hat on a trip to New York. It’s fairly centrally located, and there’s a lot going on. This hotel is about a mile from Times Square (despite the website saying it’s only “blocks” away). On the other hand, it’s spitting distance to the Empire State Building.
Okay, so it’s centrally located, but is it any good? Well, that depends on what you want out of a New York hotel. It’s an older property, and the rooms are going to be very small (probably under 200 square feet). The hotel has been newly renovated. Trip Advisor reviews are all over the place, but the more recent reviews (post-renovation) are fairly positive. I’d stay here, although Tom would probably prefer a hotel somewhere in the Village (his old stomping grounds).
Is it a good deal? In a word, yes. You can get a better deal in New York, but it’s not easy. Often, less expensive hotels in New York have near hostel-like accommodations. On our last trip to New York City, I couldn’t find a hotel less than $149 a night, and ended up with accommodations in New Jersey. That was fine, but it was a bit of a jaunt into the City.
Now that Chez My Parents is no longer available for my NYC stays I like to stay in Chelsea or the Upper West Side. Last time we were in NY (though this is dated, I think it was 3 years ago) we got a heck of a deal staying at the Marrakech Hotel on 103rd and Broadway (http://www.marrakechhotelnyc.com/). I just checked the site and it looks like the prices have gone up, but not a lot. We averaged about $140 a night over Christmas when NYC hotel prices spike. Unlike in the 1970s when I went to school in that neighborhood, upper broadway has EXPLODED with fun stuff to do. The hotel is right by a #1 subway stop and there was a fabulous French restaurant on the corner. The rooms are small (all Manhattan rooms are small) but they have free wifi and a funky lobby lounge.
If you google “boutique hotels in NYC” you can find some good deals. Some are really expensive but we’ve gotten great deals in little hotels in China Town, Chelsea and the Upper West Side. Often it’s us and Europeans and Asians, no other Americans and they sometimes have a range of accommodations from dormitory style (really cheap) to shared bathroom to private bathroom.
I appreciate the tip. I looked at the Marrakech’s web site, and it looks like a fabulous hotel that I would want to stay at. $140 is, indeed, a great price for a good hotel in NYC during the holidays. And free WIFI, and a funky hotel lounges are great perks. Tom and I have debates about hotel lounges. When we were in London, we stayed at a hotel that had a really nice lounge, and we hung out there a lot. I think it was the Novotel-Tower Bridge . The rooms were really small, so I think that was a primary reason for us to use the lobby lounge. Since then, Tom likes to hang out in lobbies, and I point out that the lobbies and lounges in the hotels we usually stay at are typically empty unless there’s a free breakfast, or a very large group is checking in. However, in a city hotel, the lobby (and the lounge) serves a purpose beyond a simple meeting place. It is an extension of the hotel room–someplace you can get a drink and watch pedestrian traffic or meet other travelers. It’s a vibrant space! And if the wifi is free, it’s a perfect place for catching up on your email without bugging the snoring monster in the bed next to you.