Advice needed - where to stay in NYC
 

My wife and I are going to New York for 5 nights for an anniversary in December. We want to do some museums, Central Park and other generally touristy stuff. We're not massive fans of hotels and would prefer an apartment rental or similar. We think we're looking at Manhattan as our district of choice, but are there any parts of Manhattan that should be avoided? Our budget for accomodation is around GBP150 to 200 per night.

Any advice on how to make this a memorable trip would be much appreciated.

There is a dedicated forum for NYC where you are likely to get more responses. The Moderators should be able to move this thread for you. Hope you have a great trip.

--Jon

As suggested, this thread is moved to FlyerTalk's dedicated NYC forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Senior Moderator.

Whole apartment rentals (under 30 days) are technically illegal in New York City (and now Jersey City as well), so the only legit options are a room in a shared apartment where the tenant is present. Probably not what you want.

There really aren't any areas to avoid from a safety area in Manhattan (where hotels would be), so it's really just a matter of convenience. So anything from Midtown East/West down through Garment District/Chelsea/Flatiron/Grammercy would be good. Greenwich Village/Soho/Tribeca is fine too, probably a bit more "hip" (for better or worse) but all a little further downtown. I probably wouldn't bother with the Financial District, it's kind of dull.

I would caution that December is prime holiday tourism season and the city is very busy and prices are likely to be higher than normal. I'd probably avoid any lodging directly in the vicinity of Rockefeller Plaza as the streets will be packed with people going to see the Xmas tree.

All great advice. Thank you. We’re going in December to see it all Christmassed up but we’re expecting it to be busy.

TBH I'd just start by looking at hotels on the online travel agents sites to get a feel of prices and availabilty and how that fits with your budget range. And remember that some sites don't include room tax and other fees until later in the booking process (thought e.g. expedia does right from the start)

December can be expensive as lots of people want to do what you want to do and see it christmassed up and even a lower end hotel can have eye watering rates

I wouldn't discount the financial district. It can be quiet - especially on a weekend - but its close to Statue of Liberty, 9/11 memorial and other attractions and it so can be cheaper over the weekend. I'd also consider Brooklyn hotels near subway stops as well.

Long Island City is always worth a mention for hotels if you're mostly going to be in and around Manhattan as it's only 1 or 2 subway stops away.

I recently completed a four-night stay at the IHG Candlewood Suites/Harborside in Jersey City, NJ. The property is an eight-twelve minute walk to two PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rail stations: Exchange Place and Pavonia/Newport. And the hotel provides a free shuttle to and from both stations, as well as the Newport Center shopping mall. Exchange Place is a four-minute ride to the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan; Pavonia/Newport is about a 15-minute ride to the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan.

Cash rates at this property in December might be above the OP's budget, especially after taxes are figured in. But there is a work-around:

Award nights at this property cost 30,000 IHG points/night. When IHG runs one of its periodic 100%-bonus sales on points, you can buy points for 0.5 cents/point, so 30,000 points would cost just $150 USD. And there are no taxes when you redeem IHG points, so you would pay just $150 night.

There are certainly advantages to staying in Manhattan if one can find a decent property within one's price range, and I would recommend that the OP do so if he can. But if he cannot, the Candlewood Suites/Harborside would be a decent alternative.

We almost always book Affinia properties in New York - they often have great sales via email and we like the kitchen facilities. A couple trips ago happened to be a summer trip and we stayed at the Library which was lovely (we don't stay enough in chains to make loyalty a deciding factor)

I'm back about every other year before Christmas and have found that hotel rates drop about a week out. If you're there before the 17th or 18th you're going to pay premium rates, even on weekends, but if you're there in that week before Christmas, you should see some discounting.

OP, don't be dissuaded from investigating short-term apartment rentals -- there are many legit options, despite the fact that they are technically illegal.

Agree with this comment, so long as caveat emptor like with everything else.

I'm not sure I would ever have agreed with this statement and I certainly don't in 2020 New York. While overall Manhattan is quite safe, particularly during the day, there are plenty of places tourists are best served not venturing and certainly not staying. As general advice, I would keep you below 96th Street, and avoid areas near projects (certain parts of Chinatown/the far corners of the lower East Side/far west Chelsea/certain areas west of Hell's Kitchen) below 96th St.

I don't understand this sentence.

And how many mainstream hotels are there in these areas?
I mean I *could* discourage someone from staying at the aloft in West Harlem, but I don't think I will.

Yes, it's definitely not legit if it's illegal. It may also be against the FT TOS to encourage it. :eek: