If you're heading to New York for the first time, you'll certainly be looking for tips on places to stay in New York. However, our NYC accommodation guide also has tips for those of you who have visited New York in the past. Check out the best hotels in New York City by neighborhood, which we can also personally recommend.
Tips for choosing a hotel in New York City
Room Rates. In New York, the tax is 14.75%. See Booking.com recent times, however, prices are final. If you pay in advance, you may be charged a smaller amount and pay the tax on the spot.
Many hotels offer quadruple rooms in addition to double rooms. Their price is either the same or similar. If you're travelling with family or a group of friends, you'll paradoxically have cheaper accommodation in New York
The subway is your friend in New York. Always choose a hotel that is as close to a subway station as possible, ideally multiple lines at once. A comfortable distance is 1-3 blocks. I prefer not to take more.
Hotel prices in New York are very sensitive to the time of year. The cheapest accommodation can be purchased in winter. Then prices double as summer approaches.
Where to stay in New York
When deciding where to stay in NY, it's important to know how much time we want to spend on the NYC subway commuting to sights and attractions. New York is not a city where you can get by on foot, and commutes can take as little as 15 or as long as 50 minutes.
We divide New York by neighborhood into 5 core areas:
- Manhattan
- Brooklyn
- Queens
- Bronx
- Staten Island
Most of the places to see in New York are in Manhattan. The adjacent boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn are also great places to stay, with perfect accessibility via the subway.
Manhattan
As you can guess, the situation gets a little more complicated. In Manhattan alone, you can stay in dozens of smaller or larger boroughs. We're going to make your job easier by outlining the top 3 locations in Manhattan:
- Central Park - North Side and includes the Upper West and East Side, Yorkville, East Harlem, Harlem and Morningside Heights.
- Times Square - the middle section including Midtown, the Theater District, the Garment District, Murray Hill, Flatiron, Chelsea, Union Square and Stuyvesant Town
- Lower Manhattan - South Side including Lower Manhattan, SoHo, Little Italy, China Town, Lower East Side, Battery Park, Financial District, Bowery,...
Read on to find out which neighborhood is right for you.
Central Park
The Central Park neighborhood isn't exactly suitable for accommodating tourists, as it's a long way from the Central and South neighborhoods, where the destinations of your visit in the form of landmarks and downtown happenings are located. This is matched by the offer here, which is made up of apartments rather than hotels.
- poorer accessibility - long drive from the airport - close to the Park Centre - lowest prices from 92 eur 147 eur for a room for two
- La Quinta by Wyndham New York City Centra Park *** - one of the better and cheaper hotels on the west side of Central Park near Strawberry Fields (John Lennon memorial). Located by the C,B 72 St.
- All hotels near Central Park
Times Square
The Times Square neighborhood is practically the most desirable location, as it's a stone's throw away. Hotels in Times Square are among the most expensive in New York City. Especially those that offer views of the world-famous square. But there are plenty that are two or three blocks away, and the prices are much better.
- great central location - no breakfast - modern rooms and quality hotels - lowest rates from 92 eur 220 eur for a room for two
- Doubletree By Hilton New York Times Square West **** - The hotel is located right next to the subway station and New York's main Port Authority Bus Terminal, with direct bus service from Newark Airport, for example.
- Hilton Garden Inn New York Times Square *** - Nice modern rooms, free morning coffee in the lobby, and a 24-hour Garden Market convenience store with snacks and sundries are all part of this three-star hotel near Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and Times Square.
- All hotels near Times Square
Lower Manhattan
If you want to aim for affordable hotels within easy reach of downtown Manhattan, choose Downtown. Chinatown, in particular, is where you'll find the cheapest hotels in all of Manhattan. However, be aware that suspiciously cheap deals will be heading for rooms without windows, which we definitely don't recommend for stays of more than 2 nights.
Of course, you'll find luxury hotels here too, especially in the Financial District. We've selected the perfect ones for you from hundreds of offers.
- The cheapest hotels in Manhattan - rooms without windows or bathrooms - no breakfast - long drive from the airport - lowest rates from 68 eur to 183 eur for a room for two
- U.S. Pacific Hotel * - Probably the cheapest hotel you'll find in Manhattan. Prices start at 68 eur, but the rooms don't have windows. A room with a window is 75 eur, but again, it doesn't have a private bathroom. You can find a room with both a window and a bathroom starting at 99 eur.
- Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District, an IHG Hotel **** - This hotel offers 4-bed rooms for the price of a double. If you are traveling as a family with bigger kids, definitely head here. The hotel is close to the 9/11 Memorials near the Rector St. and Wall Street subway stations in southern Manhattan.
- All hotels in lower Manhattan
Queens
If you head outside of Manhattan, you can look forward to considerably cheaper hotels of the same quality. Our and hundreds of traveler-tested locations are in Queens, specifically Long Island City. If you're flying into JFK Airport, then Queens is a clear must-stay location in New York.
The subway lines from the airport going into Manhattan head right through Queens, and with the right hotel choice, you can take the subway into downtown Manhattan in less than 15 minutes.
- good accessibility - modern and clean rooms with private bathrooms - high ratings - breakfast included - lowest rates from 51 eur to 103 eur for a room for two
- OUR TIP: Best Western Plus Plaza *** - This three star hotel is absolutely ideal. It offers modern rooms with bath or shower, elevators and American breakfast (donuts, eggs, sausages, yogurt, muesli, fruit). It's a 1 block walk (3 minutes) from the hotel lobby to the subway, and the F line goes to the airport and all through Manhattan - get where you need to go without changing trains. Some rooms have views of Manhattan.
- Wingate by Wyndham Long Island City *** - If the previous hotel is not available, check this one out. The qualities are always similar and this one is only another 2 minutes walk away from the subway.
- LIC Hotel *** - This hotel is a little further south and is located on the E,M subway. Guests seek it out for the rooftop terrace, from which they can take great photos of Manhattan. Reviews praise the clean rooms, breakfast, and accessibility.
- All hotels in Queens
NY hotel rates
Keep two things in mind when choosing your accommodation in New York:
- Prices on portals like booking.com are often listed without taxes (+14.75%) and city fees (about $3-$5 per night),
- Prices in summer will be 2-3 times higher than in winter.
We also recommend booking as early as possible, as demand will always be high and the earlier you book, the better chance you have of getting a reasonable price.
As mentioned above, you can get cheaper rooms 55 eur, but you'd better count on 73 eur - 110 eur per night for your calculations. Check prices for your stay.
It's also a good idea to at least partially outline your itinerary in advance and choose an area or specific hotel accordingly. There is no point in commuting 30 minutes more per day for the sake of saving ten dollars per room.