We’ve stayed in New York Town time and again now, throughout 5 Big apple neighbourhoods plus an condominium in Brooklyn. Our remains have ranged from a points-burn Instances Sq. resort on my first ever seek advice from (again ahead of Jess and I began travelling in combination), as much as a 5th Road five-star reverse Central Park. We’ve carried out budget-end, mid-range chain, four-star historical, five-star treat-yourself, and condominium apartment, and we’ve carried out them in several portions of town in several seasons. So once we sat down to write down this information, we needed to position in combination the object we would like we’d had on our first seek advice from, and on our 5th.
The object about New York is that choosing a neighbourhood issues greater than choosing a resort. Get the neighbourhood proper and lots of the accommodations in the proper tier will paintings superb. Get it mistaken or even the most productive resort seems like a slog. The rationale this text is structured by way of neighbourhood reasonably than by way of resort is that that is how the verdict must pass: which house first, which belongings 2nd.
Jess has a factor for historical accommodations, particularly the high-end ones. That’s how we ended up at each the Warwick (constructed by way of William Randolph Hearst, the publishing wealthy person in the back of Hearst Citadel) and at The Sherry Netherland on 5th Road. We don’t live on the five-star tier on each NYC commute, however from time to time we’ll deal with ourselves for an evening or two, and the Sherry has been our select when we have now. The Warwick will get us into the similar technology for a fragment of the cost.
A notice on disclosure: none of our NYC remains were press journeys. The whole lot under is paid remains or aspects remains, and we’ll flag which is which the place it issues. We’ve additionally related to accommodations via our Reserving.com associate, which doesn’t alternate your value however does assist beef up the website. Our standard rule applies: if we wouldn’t ebook it ourselves, we don’t hyperlink it.
NYC at a Look: The place to Keep Determination Shortcut
When you’d reasonably skip the neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood walkthrough and select one thing temporarily, this desk is the fast model. Each and every row maps a commute sort to a neighbourhood and our select inside it.
The remainder of the object unpacks every row.
Midtown Big apple: The Default First-Timer Pick out
If that is your first NYC commute, or if you wish to stay strolling distances brief and tick off the famous-name points of interest successfully, Midtown is the place to base your self. It’s central, the subway traces all converge right here, and you’ll be able to stroll to the Empire State Development, Instances Sq., Rockefeller Centre, Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, and Grand Central Terminal with no need transit. We’ve lined the primary Midtown points of interest in our 2 day New York itinerary and our 3 day New York itinerary if you happen to’re making plans a commute round them.
Professionals and cons of staying in Midtown
The professionals are glaring: it’s central, walkable to the headline points of interest, and the subway covers the remainder. There’s a number of meals at each value level and the world is busy day and evening, this means that it feels secure strolling again on your resort after a Broadway display.
The cons are price flagging in advance. Midtown is loud, crowded, and tourist-heavy. The streets straight away round Instances Sq. particularly are a slow-moving sea of folks and virtual billboards, and the meals on the ones blocks has a tendency against overpriced chain eating places reasonably than anyplace you’d in reality wish to devour. The repair is unassuming: live a couple of blocks east or west of Instances Sq. itself, the place the crowds skinny out and the costs come again to earth.
The place to stick in Midtown
For our best select, we’d level you on the Warwick New York, a historical four-star resort constructed by way of William Randolph Hearst within the Twenties. It sits on 54th Side road and 6th Road, which is some distance sufficient north of Instances Sq. that it’s quiet, however nonetheless throughout the Midtown strolling radius. We’ve stayed right here greater than as soon as and it’s one in every of my favorite accommodations within the town. Spacious rooms (which is a huge deal in Big apple, the place same old rooms can really feel like cabins), useful workforce, a right kind old-school foyer, and costs which might be particularly reasonable for what you’re getting. It’s now not a five-star and doesn’t you need to be, but it surely’s the type of mid-range historical resort Jess and I each like, and we’d fortuitously return.
For one thing extra recent at a identical value level, the Radisson Resort New York Midtown sits 200 yards from Rockefeller Centre and is a forged four-star at honest costs. It’s a series so you understand what you’re getting, but it surely’s well-located.
For price range travellers who nonetheless need a Big apple deal with, Resort 31 is a well-located two-star resort 650 yards from the Empire State Development. Some rooms have shared bogs at decrease charges, which is an even commerce if you happen to’re spending maximum of your time outdoor the room. Don’t be expecting frills.
Decrease Big apple: Walkable Hub for Downtown Attractions
Decrease Big apple is the world south of Canal Side road, and it has two distinct sub-neighbourhoods we’ve stayed in. They really feel other and serve other sorts of commute, so we’ll quilt them one after the other.
FiDi and Wall Side road: quiet downtown with the financial-district really feel
The Monetary District sits on the southern tip of Big apple and is walkable to lots of the headline downtown points of interest: the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the Statue of Liberty ferry from Battery Park, the Brooklyn Bridge stroll, and Wall Side road itself. The world additionally has the Oculus, which is price a couple of mins despite the fact that you’re now not catching a teach.
The professionals are walkability to downtown points of interest and strangely honest costs given how central it’s. The cons are the world’s persona: FiDi is constructed round finance, this means that it is going quiet on weekends and after 6pm. If you need a buzzy night scene proper outdoor your resort, this isn’t it. If you need so to stroll to the ferry terminal within the morning and feature a quiet boulevard to come back again to at evening, it’s precisely proper.
Our select this is Gild Corridor, A Thompson Resort. It’s a four-star resort on Gold Side road, strolling distance to Wall Side road and the Statue Cruises ferry. We loved our live right here. The rooms are comfy, there’s an on-site eating place, and the site is an actual energy for a downtown-heavy itinerary. It’s the type of resort the place the site is the headline get advantages, and the room delivers precisely what you’d be expecting from a Thompson belongings.
Finances choices are skinny in FiDi. When you’re on a decent price range however wish to be downtown, the easier play is to have a look at Greenwich Village (lined under) or go back and forth in from Brooklyn.
Decrease East Aspect and Chinatown: meals, nightlife, downtown grit
A couple of blocks east, the nature adjustments utterly. The Decrease East Aspect and Chinatown sit down proper subsequent to one another, and in combination they make up one of the vital food-led, vigorous, and characterful corners of Big apple. Chinatown’s slender streets are dense with dim sum, hand-pulled noodles, and bakeries; the LES has the bars, eating places, and song venues that the Monetary District doesn’t. The Big apple Bridge front is a brief stroll away if you wish to stroll over to Brooklyn, and the F, J, M, and Z trains all forestall within the house.
The professionals: an actual meals scene, nightlife, and a way of being in a running neighbourhood reasonably than a vacationer district. The cons: the walks to the headline downtown points of interest are a slightly longer than from FiDi, and the streets can really feel busy past due at evening (extra vigorous than unsafe, but when you need quiet this isn’t it).
Our select is the Fairfield Inn & Suites Big apple/Downtown East at 95 Henry Side road. It’s now not an exhilarating resort and we gained’t fake in a different way, but it surely was once reliably just right. The rooms are blank and well-equipped, the incorporated breakfast is an actual money-saver in NYC the place breakfast pricing in eating places is steep, and the site places you a brief stroll from Chinatown’s meals, the LES nightlife, and the Brooklyn Bridge. That is the commute we did once we sought after a no-stress mid-range chain live in a neighbourhood we’d in reality wish to stroll round in, and it delivered.
It’s additionally price flagging that this a part of Big apple is a structural blind spot for many NYC lodging guides, together with ours till now. We’ve lined Midtown and FiDi broadly in our present itinerary articles, however the LES and Chinatown aspect of downtown merits extra consideration than it generally will get.
Greenwich Village and Chelsea: Cool Neighbourhood, Nice Meals
When you’ve been to NYC ahead of and also you’re on the lookout for someplace with extra persona than Midtown, Greenwich Village and Chelsea are the most obvious solutions. The streets are tree-lined, the structure is most commonly low-rise brownstones reasonably than skyscrapers, the Prime Line runs alongside the western edge, and the meals and bar scene is just right reasonably than tourist-priced. It’s additionally a brief stroll to Washington Sq. Park, the West Village, and Chelsea Marketplace.
The professionals: persona, walkability, meals. The cons: resort variety is thinner right here than in Midtown (the world is most commonly residential), and what accommodations exist have a tendency to be both boutique-quirky or apartment-style. This may be a neighbourhood the place an condominium apartment may make extra sense than a resort, particularly for longer remains.
Our select at the price range finish is The Jane Resort, a unusual two-star resort in Greenwich Village with rooms styled like send’s cabins (it was once at first a sailors’ resort) and perspectives over the Hudson River. The cabin rooms have shared bogs which is the trade-off, however the charges are superb for Big apple and the construction has actual persona. Price realizing about if you happen to’ve been to NYC ahead of and wish someplace other.
For mid-range and high-end choices right here, we’d counsel taking a look at condominium leases by the use of Vrbo or Plum Information reasonably than accommodations. The nature of the neighbourhood lends itself to staying in a brownstone or a transformed loft, and the stock on the apartment-rental tier right here is powerful. Extra on that within the residences phase under.
5th Road and Central Park: Particular Instance / Luxurious
When you’re in NYC for a special day, an anniversary, or a treat-yourself commute and price range isn’t the constraint, the world alongside 5th Road reverse Central Park is the place the grand-dame accommodations are. That is the New York of the postcards and the flicks: Central Park perspectives, the Plaza, Tiffany & Co flagship, the Apple dice, Saks 5th Road, Trump Tower, and the lengthy stroll south down 5th Road from the museum finish to the buying groceries finish.
The professionals: the site is iconic, the rooms (in the proper accommodations) are massive by way of Big apple requirements, and the stroll into Central Park very first thing within the morning is an actual second. The cons: costs are significantly excessive, mid-range choices are skinny (it’s most commonly five-stars and ultra-luxury), and the world itself is going quiet within the night as soon as the consumers depart (which could be a function or a computer virus relying on what you need).
Jess has at all times had a factor for historical accommodations, and in the event that they occur to be high-end luxurious too, even higher. The Sherry Netherland suits each. The Sherry Netherland is a 5th Road grande dame reverse Central Park, the type of resort the place you’ll be able to really feel the construction’s age within the foyer’s marble and the brass elevator fittings. Pretty rooms, useful workforce, and an improbable location: you’ll be able to stroll directly around the street into Central Park, and also you’re a couple of mins’ stroll from Bergdorf Goodman, the Plaza, and the 5th Road museum stretch.
We don’t live at this tier on each NYC commute. 5-star 5th Road isn’t the place maximum of our nights were spent. However from time to time we’ll deal with ourselves for an evening or two, and the Sherry has been our select when we have now.
When you just like the historic-hotel really feel however the five-star value isn’t going to paintings, the Warwick (lined within the Midtown phase above) is a four-star choice. Additionally historical, additionally Hearst-built, at more or less part the cost.
Brooklyn: For Your Go back Talk over with (or Your First, If You’re Courageous)
Brooklyn is the place the sensible return-visitor has a tendency to move, and it’s the place we’ve spent extra nights than anyplace else within the town. We stayed in an condominium proper in DUMBO, close to the spot the place each photograph of the Big apple Bridge framed between two constructions is taken (the nook of Washington and Water Streets, if you wish to to find it your self). It’s a couple of mins’ stroll to the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River stroll, and the F teach into Big apple, and the world has extra just right eating places in line with sq. block than maximum of Midtown.
The professionals: extra space in your cash than Big apple (residences particularly), higher meals, an actual neighbourhood really feel, and the perspectives again around the river are the perspectives you’ve in reality come to NYC to look. The cons: you’re around the river, so think about 20-Half-hour every method at the subway to get to maximum Big apple points of interest. This provides up over a brief commute.
The Brooklyn condominium trend
We stayed in an condominium in DUMBO throughout more than one visits. We’re now not going to indicate you at a selected list as a result of condominium listings rotate rapid on any platform, and a advice that’s forged this week is long past subsequent yr. The best transfer is to suggest the platform reasonably than the valuables.
The 2 we’d counsel are Vrbo and Plum Information. Vrbo (owned by way of Expedia Staff) is the broad-inventory possibility with 1000’s of NYC residences indexed, and is what we’d use if Airbnb have been nonetheless our default (it isn’t, for more than a few causes we gained’t get into right here). Plum Information is the curated possibility: they hand-check their listings and the stock is smaller in consequence, however the high quality is extra constant. We’ve lined the apartment-rental panorama extra extensively in our choices to Airbnb information if you need extra choices.
For longer remains (the rest 4 nights or extra), an condominium generally beats a resort on charge in line with evening and offers you a kitchen (which issues extra in NYC than in maximum towns, given eating place pricing).
Brooklyn resort choices
For travellers who need Brooklyn however want a resort, listed here are 4 we’d imagine, ranked more or less by way of tier:
1 Resort Brooklyn Bridge is the posh anchor in DUMBO. Reclaimed-wood interiors, a Bamford spa within the basement, a rooftop pool with perspectives again around the river to Big apple, and the site is identical one we stayed in by the use of condominium. If you need the DUMBO house however don’t need an condominium, that is essentially the most direct change.
The William Vale in Williamsburg is the opposite luxurious possibility. Swish trendy design, floor-to-ceiling home windows, one in every of NYC’s greatest outside resort swimming pools (open seasonally, Might to early September), and a rooftop bar with skyline perspectives. The L teach at Bedford Road connects you to Big apple in a couple of stops.
The Tillary Resort is the mid-range select, well-positioned on the foot of the Big apple Bridge with simple get right of entry to to DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, and Downtown Brooklyn. A 174-room resort with a rooftop lawn bar, a foyer café, and rooms that fuse mid-century trendy and art-deco influences. (Price realizing: it was branded as Dazzler Brooklyn, therefore the rather old-feeling URL on Reserving.com.)
Moxy Brooklyn Williamsburg is the design-led mid-range possibility in Williamsburg. We’ve stayed at Moxy homes in different towns and located the emblem constant: small however well-thought-out rooms, a bar-led communal foyer, and costs which might be cheap by way of Big apple requirements. Price a caveat even though: the Moxy aesthetic could be very of its second, and we wouldn’t be shocked if the structure feels dated in 5 or ten years. Price realizing if you happen to’re reserving it for an extended live otherwise you want a extra conventional resort really feel.
When Brooklyn isn’t the proper name
Skip Brooklyn in case your commute is brief (one or two nights) and Big apple-heavy, when you have early-morning flights from JFK or LaGuardia (the transit logistics get awkward), or if you happen to’re travelling with anyone who’d to find the additional subway time aggravating. For a five-day commute with a mixture of Big apple and food-led wandering, Brooklyn is the proper name. For a two-day blitz of the Big apple headline points of interest, live in Big apple.
Higher West Aspect and Uptown: Quiet, Park-Aspect, Finances Pocket
The Higher West Aspect runs alongside the western fringe of Central Park, north of Columbus Circle. It’s a residential, leafier a part of Big apple with the American Museum of Herbal Historical past on its japanese edge and Central Park itself a couple of blocks east of that. Our 3 day New York itinerary begins in this aspect of the park.
The professionals: quieter than Midtown, walkable to Central Park, just right eating places, and price range choices exist right here that don’t exist additional south. The cons: you’re a subway journey from lots of the headline downtown points of interest, and the world itself is extra about lengthy walks and weekend brunches than headline tourism.
Our select at the price range finish is HI NYC Hostel, a forged dorm-style possibility ten mins’ stroll from Central Park. It’s a Hostelling Global belongings so the criteria are dependable, and on the costs NYC fees for accommodations, a hostel mattress is infrequently the one technique to make a protracted commute paintings financially.
Queens: Finances Around the River
Queens borders Big apple to the east and is attached by way of more than one subway traces. You gained’t come right here for the famous-name points of interest. But when price range is the constraint and also you don’t thoughts a brief subway journey, Queens is a technique to make a NYC commute occur at a worth level that Big apple gained’t permit.
The professionals: considerably inexpensive than Big apple, steadily inside 10-Quarter-hour of Instances Sq. or Grand Central by way of subway, and the meals scene in Lengthy Island Town and Astoria is powerful. The cons: you’re commuting in on a daily basis, the neighbourhood persona is residential reasonably than tourist-friendly, and you’ve got to plot round subway logistics.
Our select is The Native Hostel NYC, the cheap hostel in Lengthy Island Town with a kitchen, a rooftop terrace, and each non-public rooms and dorms. Instances Sq. is 8 mins by way of subway. It’s just right price for what you’re getting, and the world itself is ok.
Condo Leases in NYC
We’ve already touched on residences within the Brooklyn phase, however the similar common sense works in Big apple too. For journeys of 4 nights or extra, or for teams of 3 or extra travellers, an condominium apartment is steadily the easier financial name than a resort. You get extra space, a kitchen (which saves you a fortune given NYC eating place costs), and the choice of a multi-bedroom structure that doesn’t exist in any cheap resort room.
Our two go-to platforms are:
Vrbo has the broadest stock, owned by way of Expedia Staff, and lists residences throughout all 5 boroughs. You’ll to find the entirety from studio walk-ups to multi-bedroom Brooklyn brownstones. Clear out by way of neighbourhood and value.
Plum Information is the curated possibility. They ship folks to bodily examine listings ahead of approving them, which helps to keep the stock small however the high quality excessive. When you’ve been burned by way of deceptive list footage ahead of, Plum Information is ready as much as repair that downside.
We’ve written a extra basic information to choices to Airbnb protecting the apartment panorama extra extensively. And our trip assets web page collects the lodging equipment we use throughout all our journeys.
A few sensible aspects on residences in NYC in particular:
- Quick remains (1-3 nights) generally don’t pencil out. Many NYC residences have minimum-stay necessities of 3-4 nights, and for a one-night live a resort is sort of at all times inexpensive as soon as cleansing charges and platform charges are factored in.
- Test the true deal with ahead of reserving. NYC has neighbourhoods which might be other in persona from one block to the following, and an inventory described as “Williamsburg” can infrequently be at the fringe of a wholly other house. Drop the deal with into Google Maps and notice how some distance you in reality are from the subway.
- Verify the elevator state of affairs if you happen to’re packing heavy. NYC has numerous walk-up residences, particularly within the older constructions.
The place NOT to Keep in NYC
A information that simplest tells you the place to stick is part a information. Listed below are the spaces we’d actively steer you clear of, and why.
Instances Sq. itself (particularly the accommodations proper on Instances Sq.)
I stayed on the New York Marriott Marquis on my first ever NYC commute, again ahead of Jess and I began travelling in combination. It was once a points-burn reserving (I had Marriott aspects to make use of up), and as a vacationer anchor for a primary seek advice from it was once in reality superb. The rotating eating place on best was once a second, the in-the-thick-of-it Instances Sq. power is a one-time-experience roughly factor, and the lifts that open onto a thirty-seven-storey atrium are spectacular.
I wouldn’t pay complete value for it now even though. At Marriott Marquis nightly charges you’re paying a Instances Sq. top class for the site, now not the room. The room itself is a superbly cheap upper-mid-range trade resort that you will discover anyplace. If you need the Instances Sq. ride, stroll there from the Warwick (5 mins east) and stroll again to a quieter boulevard to sleep. In case you have Marriott aspects to burn otherwise you in particular need the Marquis for the construction reasonably than the price, it’s a superb select. At complete value it isn’t.
The similar common sense applies to lots of the accommodations proper on Instances Sq.. You’re paying for the deal with.
The Penn Station / Madison Sq. Lawn house
Penn Station is a significant transit hub however the streets round it are a mixture of theatre crowds, vacationer visitors, and not-much-character industrial blocks. The accommodations on this strip are most commonly priced for vacationers who wish to be close to the teach station reasonably than close to anyplace just right, and the world can really feel uncomfortable past due at evening. In case your commute comes to Amtrak in or out of Penn, a resort a couple of blocks east in Midtown is a greater play than one proper on the station.
Some distance outer-borough accommodations indexed as “in NYC”
Reserving.com (and different websites) will go back resort effects an hour out from Big apple while you seek “New York Town accommodations”. Those can seem like just right offers on value, however think about the true charge: subway/cab fares each tactics on a daily basis, time misplaced to commuting, and the experience-cost of now not with the ability to stroll again on your resort for a smash in the course of a protracted day. If a resort is in deep Queens, some distance southern Brooklyn, or anyplace on Staten Island, deal with it as a special class from “NYC lodging” and value accordingly.
Airport accommodations for the rest rather then a pre-flight evening
A resort close to JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark is ok when you have a 5am flight and wish to crash close to the terminal. It isn’t a NYC resort for the needs of a NYC commute. The transit time between JFK and Big apple is often over an hour every method, and the fee in line with day in misplaced time and transit fares makes the cost benefit disappear temporarily.
Incessantly Requested Questions
What’s the most productive NYC neighbourhood for a first-time guest?
Midtown, virtually with out exception. It’s central, walkable to the headline points of interest, the subway traces all converge right here, and you’ll be able to ease into town from a base that’s simple to seek out your method round. Keep a couple of blocks east or west of Instances Sq. itself reasonably than proper on it, and the ride is far better. Our select is the Warwick New York.
Is Brooklyn a just right position to stick for a first-time guest?
It may be, but it surely’s now not the most obvious selection. In case your first NYC commute is brief (two or 3 days) and headline-sight targeted, the time you’d spend at the subway on a daily basis provides up temporarily. Save Brooklyn for a go back seek advice from, or for an extended first commute the place you’ll be able to have enough money an afternoon within the borough itself.
How a lot must I price range for a resort in NYC?
Big apple mid-range accommodations run more or less two to 3 instances what identical accommodations charge in maximum different US towns. Finances hostels get started meaningfully inexpensive, and comfort accommodations pass meaningfully upper. NYC pricing may be seasonally and event-driven (a Knicks house sport or a New York Model Week evening will bump charges). The cleanest play is to set your most nightly charge up entrance, go searching it, and settle for that the site will slender as the speed will get tighter. We’ve been planned about now not quoting particular 2026 nightly figures right here as a result of resort pricing in NYC is extra variable week-to-week than virtually anyplace else we’ve stayed.
Is it price staying close to Instances Sq. in particular?
For a primary NYC commute, no. The accommodations proper on Instances Sq. are paying a Instances Sq. top class that doesn’t translate into a greater room or a quieter evening. Keep a couple of blocks east or west and you’ll be able to stroll to Instances Sq. every time you need it with no need to reside within it.
What’s the most productive house to stick for households with youngsters?
For households, we’d counsel the Higher West Aspect (as regards to Central Park and the American Museum of Herbal Historical past, with the quieter residential persona that travels effectively with more youthful youngsters) or Midtown a couple of blocks east of Instances Sq. (central to the headline points of interest however sufficient off the primary drag to be habitable). An condominium apartment by the use of Vrbo may be price a search for households, particularly for remains of 4 nights or extra, since the kitchen and the multi-bedroom structure steadily make extra sense than two adjacent resort rooms.
Will have to I am getting a resort or an condominium for a week-long NYC commute?
For per week, lean condominium. The price in line with evening drops if you’re previous 3 or 4 nights, the kitchen can pay for itself inside the first two breakfasts at NYC eating place costs, and the additional area issues extra for an extended live. The exception is if you happen to’re travelling solo or as a pair and price now not having to do any home tasks in any respect, through which case a mid-range resort is the easier possibility.
A handy guide a rough shut
Choosing the place to stick in New York Town is the one largest determination you’ll make for the commute after choosing the dates. Get it proper and town does the be just right for you. Get it mistaken and the times get tougher than they want to.
When you got here to this text and also you’ve already picked your neighbourhood, pass to the phase that covers it and ebook the select in your tier. When you’re nonetheless deciding, the desk on the best is the fast model. And if it is a first NYC commute, the solution is sort of at all times Midtown a couple of blocks east of Instances Sq., in a resort just like the Warwick the place the room is greater than the cliché Big apple sq. photos and the site permits you to stroll to maximum of what you got here for.
We’ve lined what to do if you’re right here in our 2 day New York itinerary and our 3 day New York itinerary. For buying round, our NYC delivery information covers the subway, ferry, and taxi choices. And if you happen to’re choosing sights, our New York enchantment passes article walks in which go in reality can pay for itself.
Have amusing. New York rewards somewhat of preparation greater than maximum towns, and getting the where-to-stay determination proper is the one most respected factor you’ll be able to do up entrance.
