How To Choose The Right Hotel
The key to choosing the best hotel in the perfect area is to ask yourself three questions:
- First What are the best things to do in NYC that you just cant miss?
- Second Do you want to be in thick of the action or more relaxed on the periphery?
- Third How much money do you want to spend?
If youre not sure about the answers to any of those questions, we will cover everything you need to know in this guide.
But if you already know exactly what you want to do in NYC, pin them on a map and look at where the highest concentration of pins are located.
That will give you a good idea about which areas you will spend most of your time.
We will show you some of the top rated hotels in each area so you can get booked up in advance. Then you can start working on the fun part building your bucket list NYC itinerary.
Lower Manhattan Where To Stay In New York City For Photography
Lower Manhattan including the Financial District, Lower East Side and Brooklyn Bridge is teeming with a wide range of hotel possibilities.
This area is famed for business and stock exchanges but dont let that put you off, theres a lot more to do at the bottom of Manhattan and it is currently in a growth phase.
Cobblestone streets, stunning architecture, hidden gem hole-in-the-wall eateries, up and coming live music bars and riverside activities will keep you busy.
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Long ago, staying in a cheap hotel in New York City conjured up images of a filthy room in a questionable neighbourhood, with a surly receptionist and only the bare necessities consisting of a bed, dresser, toilet and TV, none of which necessarily worked properly.
Today, the citys most affordable hotels are the most stylish and tech-savvy spots in town, thanks to an influx of design-forward brands that encourage guests to hang out in lobbies with carefully curated lounge scenes or on rooftops amid sweeping city views.
This might mean the rooms are on the smaller side, but what they lack in size they make up for in artful decor, fun amenities and great technology.
Of course, a budget hotel room in the Big Apple still costs about $150 a night, depending on the season, but you can score further discounts by booking directly through a hotels website or by becoming a member of their loyalty programme.
Additionally, several hotels offer discounts with their advanced pre-pay rates. Be aware that these rates are non-refundable, however, so be certain youll make your stay or risk losing out.
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Find The Best Rental Car At The Right Price
As the worlds largest travel site, Tripadvisor makes every step of your car rental experience simple and fast. Whether youre ready to explore the coast and catch some sun in a sleek convertible, or looking for a large-capacity vehicle for a family road trip, well find you the perfect rental car. You can easily filter your search results on criteria like vehicle type, pick-up and drop-off times, and suppliers like Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Alamo and more. Youll also have the ability to customize your pick-up and drop-off locations, so one-way trips have never been easier.
Millions of people around the world trust Tripadvisor to help plan every aspect of their trip including searching for rental cars. By leveraging the worlds largest rental car booking service and searching all major rental brands, we help you find the lowest rental car prices available. We offer comprehensive coverage of over 60,000 locations worldwide. No matter where you find yourself, well help you find a rental car. Finally, when renting a car through Tripadvisor, you can always book with confidence. We never assess additional fees or credit card charges, and most bookings can be cancelled without a penalty. Let us help you land the right car at the right price and without any extra hassle.
Top 25 Hotels In The World
- Wow! The best hotel I have ever been!
- An absolute treat for our family.
- Amazing experience in Club Lounge
- amazing experience
- Boutique, Luxurious and Eco-friendly Resort
- Best stay so far at the Maldives
- Fantastic stay with the nicest team!
- Nice place to stay, eat and play some sports.
- Outstanding residing in a historical palace, an architecure-artwork.
- Absolute gem !
- Fantastic hotel, wonderful service. Highly recommend.
- Best hotel weve ever stayed in
- Unforgettable Autumn Holidays at The Oberoi Beach Resort in Sahl Hasheesh 2022
- Every time a dream experience
This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu.more
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The Best Budget Hotels In New York Are:
- Best for food and drink: Moxy Times Square, Booking.com
- Best for city views: citizenM Times Square, Booking.com
- Best for cocktails: Freehand, Booking.com
- Best for an urban oasis: Arlo Soho, Booking.com
- Best for history: The Jane, Booking.com
- Best for proximity to Central Park: Pod 51, Booking.com
- Best for wellness: HGU New York, Booking.com
- Best for families: The Paul NYC, Booking.com
- Best for futurism: Yotel Times Square, Booking.com
- Best for music fans: The Redbury, Booking.com
- Best for quirky design: The Moxy Chelsea, Booking.com
- Best for space: The Boro, Booking.com
- Best for discovering Brooklyn: Nu Hotel, Booking.com
- Best for a timewarp: The Harlem Flophouse, Booking.com
Our Personal Top Hotel Recommendation For New York
Our favorite hotel in New York is the citizenM Hotel just off of Times Square, which offers excellent value for money in a perfect location. We had already stayed at a citizenM in Rotterdam before and were really impressed with it.
Each hotel only has a single room category, and all the rooms have the same layout with super-modern furnishings. Were total fans of citizenM and would recommend the hotel to anyone.
A new CitizenM recently opened in the Bowery. If youve been to New York before and dont want to stay around Times Square, then the citizenM in Bowery is a great alternative.
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For Luxury Lovers Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is the right area to stay for you if you like things a little quieter, you want to go for a run in Central Park in the morning, and you plan to explore the museums of New York.
Although the Upper East Side has changed a bit over the years, people still think of it as the neighborhood of the rich and beautiful, with expensive clothes and tiny dogs in handbags.
Of course thats a bit of a stereotype, but theres more than a kernel of truth to it. In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, its worth staying in the Upper East Side.
Its full of beautiful buildings and luxury boutiques, with Central Park as a scenic backdrop. 5th Avenue, which runs east of Central Park, is home to the citys most famous museums.
This part of 5th Avenue is also known as Museum Mile. There youll find the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, the Goethe Institute, and the Neue Galerie.
Pros of staying in the Upper East Side:
- Within walking distance of many of the citys major museums
- Central Park is right next door
- Quieter than the other districts
Cons of staying in the Upper East Side:
- Hotels are a bit more expensive than in the other districts
- Smaller selection of restaurants and bars, especially in the lower price ranges
- Slightly longer journey to the sights in the south of Manhattan
What Can You Really Say About New York That Hasn’t Been
What can you really say about New York that hasn’t been said? The city is still and probably will always be amazing, but is not for everyone. Also, in such a small island, diversity across neighbourhoods is extreme and can make your stay a dream or a nightmare. The only recommendation is that one should stay according to taste and budget to really enjoy a visit to NYC. Also, accept that one is at the peak of urban life, with all its perks and drawbacks.
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Things To Do In Times Square
Times Square in itself is a major tourist attraction but it is also incredibly convenient for visiting almost all of Midtowns best things to do including:
If you do decide to book a hotel in Times Square, our top tip is to visit at night to see the chaos unfold, but then go again just before sunrise to see Times Square all but empty.
Do you need help planning your visit to New York City? Our popular 40 + page NYC Guidebook & Itinerary covers every aspect of planning a trip to New York including hotels, restaurants, getting around, things to do, example itineraries and so much more!
Neighbourhood: Long Island City
Directly opposite Manhattan across the East River, Queens Long Island City offers ever-evolving art, food and drink scenes, superior skyline views, and much bigger hotel rooms than youll find over the water at more affordable rates. Case in point: The Boro, a super-slick, industrial-chic bolthole, where guests stylish digs have 10ft ceilings, and refreshingly roomy en suites . Downstairs, the lobby bar does a fine line in crispy, thin-crust pizzas and Negronis on tap. Dont stay inside too long, though: youre only two subway stops from Manhattan, and walking distance from Astoria, recently named a coolest neighbourhood in the world by the international team at Time Out.
Price: Rooms from $208
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Why Is Central Park One Of The Best Places To Stay In Nyc
This area is where to stay for a relaxing, quiet and calm New York City visit but with fairly easy access to the touristy spots in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan.
It is a very safe area, extremely family friendly and more upmarket than the likes of Times Square. Those who prefer to travel in luxury should look at hotels in Upper East Side.
Visitors who would like to walk or run around Central Park on a morning couldnt ask for a better location.
Subway access is good but not the best. However, this is a very walkable part of the city.
It does take longer to reach the top sights in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, plus this is a more expensive area in general to stay and eat for those traveling on a budget to consider.
What Gives Us Credibility
Why should you trust us to know what were talking about?!
Well, New York was so irresistible to us, we actually moved to the city for three months in early 2021 and spent our entire temporary residency relentlessly exploring the city.
We have a deeper knowledge and understanding of the popular places to stay in New York City than most.
For the purposes of this guide, we spent our own time, effort and money staying at many of the hotels we recommend below.
But perhaps more importantly, we have not recommended some of the hotels we stayed at if we didnt think they would be a good fit for visitors who dont know the city well.
New York City is one of the very best places to visit in the USA and we will use our experiences to get you off to the best possible start with the perfect hotel in the best NYC neighborhood.
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Where To Stay In New York City By Area
Working out where to stay in New York City is impossible unless you break the city up into smaller areas.
We personally think there are 6 awesome places to stay in NYC that are perfect for different types of visitor.
Whether its your first or second visit to New York, we would suggest you choose one of these areas:
- Central Park Including Upper West Side and Upper East Side
- Times Square Garment District, Midtown West, Diamond District
- Midtown South Bryant Park, Koreatown, NoMad
- SoHo Including Little Italy and Nolita
- Lower Manhattan Tribeca, Financial District and Lower East Side
- Brooklyn Bridge Area and Williamsburg
Each brings its own unique benefits to the table and almost all of the things on your NYC bucket list will be within or near these 6 areas.
Important: It is crucial to mention at this point, we will not cover every single neighborhood in New York City.
Some we dont talk about here might be a better fit for you but we are keeping this as broad as possible for first / second time visitors to NYC.
Lets get stuck into our top money and time saving tips!
Best Cheap Mid Budget And Luxury Hotels In Lower Manhattan New York City
Lower Manhattan hotels typically fill up during weekdays but often run cheaper weekend prices. Like most other areas in Manhattan, you have plenty of options from budget to luxury.
We stayed in a wonderful junior suite room at NY Marriott Downtown.
The high-floor room directly overlooked One World Trade Center, which lit up at night was an awesome sight. Its just a 4 minute walk to 9/11, One World Trade Center and Oculus.
Top tip: Stay in Lower East Side if youre in the city to eat, drink and party.
Here are the best hotels for each budget around Lower Manhattan :
- 9. Luxury The Four Seasons 9.2
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Use Booking Rewards For Cheaper Prices
We use Booking.com for almost all hotel bookings when we travel and we always benefit from discounted hotel rooms because we are genius members.
If you create an account and sign in to Booking.com, then book 5 hotels within 1 year, you will become a genius member and that activates tons of awesome perks.
There are no contracts or ties of any kind when signing up. This is the quickest and easiest way to save money on hotels in NYC.
Create a free Booking.com account here.
An Amazing City Went 20 Years Ago And So Much Has Changed
An amazing city, went 20 years ago and so much has changed, new areas seem to have sprung out of nowhere but the old classic sights and sounds are still there.Never felt unsafe anywhere even at night.One thing has changed though, it was a bargain to go shopping and sight seeing 20 years ago, this is no longer the case. it is a very expensive city.
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Hostels And Cheap Hotels In New York
These hotels and hostels usually make for a cheap way to stay in New York
Hotel Q New York
76-01 Queens Boulevard, Queens, NY, United States
HomeTown Inn by Red Roof East Syracuse
6611 Old Collamer Road South, East Syracuse, NY, United States
2625 South Road, Poughkeepsie, NY, United States
40-36 77th Street, Queens, NY, United States
85 Flatbush Ave Extension, Brooklyn, NY, United States
New York, NY, United States
Bars Pubs And Nightclubs
Theres a reason why New York is dubbed The City That Never Sleeps, you can choose from regular boozers to private cocktail bars, transported by the 24-hour subway lines. Many New York hotels have their own lounge bars but if youre after a view of the NYC skyline, head to The Brass Monkey, set on the banks of the Hudson River. Then when its time to dance, move on to The Mean Fiddler, two floors of DJs, dancing and drinking.
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Things To Do In New York
What is the average price of a hotel near Times Square?
If youre planning on staying at any of momondos recommended hotels in the area of New York nearest to Times Square, you should expect to pay around $176/night. This price fluctuates based on time of year. In general, a rate under $176/night is a good deal for momondo users staying near Times Square. Hotels near Times Square are typically 28% less expensive than the average hotel in New York, which is $248.
161 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY, United States
44 West 63rd Street, New York, NY, United States
21 East 52nd Street, New York, NY, United States
40 West 45th Street, New York, NY, United States
70 Park Avenue, New York, NY, United States
373 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, United States
Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Times Square South
338 West 36th Street, New York, NY, United States
49 West 44th Street, New York, NY, United States
210 West 55th Street, New York, NY, United States
128 West 29th Street, New York, NY, United States
510 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, United States
Hourly Hotels Near Me In New York City
Looking for an hourly hotel near you ? Dayuse.com offers a selection of stylish and cozy day use hotels that offer the possibility to book a hotel room for the day in NYC at reduced rates. You can book a hotel room for 2, 3, 4, 5 hours and choose your time slot. Depending on the hotel, it’s possible to book from 2 hours up to a full day. Regardless of the time you want to relax, you can choose and book a hotel room in New York City for a few hours to meet your expectations.
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