Budget hotel in NYC???

[rnorwo1]

I would love to find a hotel for less than $200 a night (4/4-4/8).We are a family of 5, but it looks like a suite with a sleeper sofa is impossible, so we will bring an air mattress. A family member recommended Fairfield Inn at LaGuardia (where we will be flying into) as they have a shuttle to the train station to go into Manhattan, and I can get it for our dates for $170ish a night, but not sure it's worth it to be that far out. Just thought I would ask if anyone found a great deal or knew of a particular hotel I should stalk. I've been checking orbitz daily and am overwhelmed! Thanks for any advice!

 

[mjkacmom]

That's a pretty low budget for NYC. I've heard The Travel Inn , while not fancy, is in a good location and not scary. Rooms average $225 per night on your dates without taxes and fees.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Last year we stayed for 10 nights for $1800. Family of four in May. It was the Holiday inn in Long Island City, Queens. Very nice and super easy 10 subway ride to Manhattan.

 

[KristiMc]

We stayed at the Travel Inn a couple years ago. It was not fancy, but clean and only a couple blocks from Times Square.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Figure out what u want to do on your visit .. Is it all over Manhattan, uptown mostly , downtown, etc. that.may help you on location. Will you want to be on subways to travel, taxis, is another factor, before booking Anything, ck out tripadvisor to see what people post about the place and its plusses/minus. It can be overwhelming but, like disney there really Is a place for everyone to see NYC, good luck and enjoy

 

[rnorwo1]

When I put our dates in for Travel Inn, it comes up with a double room, and the pic looks like it is one double bed, which will definitely not work for the 5 of us. Not sure if that's all they offer or if the others are booked. Most of the hotels in Long Island City also offer free breakfast, and the Fairfield Inn there has a free shuttle to the airport, so both of those are money savers, too. I just don't want to add a huge amount of time each day to a commute to save a few hundred. I may go on and book that, but I would like to keep checking others in Manhattan.

As far as activities, we tentatively have planned: the ferry to the statue, 9/11 memorial, natural history museum and possibly the Met, Central Park, Intrepid, Times Square, briefly visit Chinatown, and a show, probably Lion King. We may add Top of the Rock, depending on budget and time. So, we are kind of all over the place. I'm not afraid of using the subway, though. Would rather stay away from the busses.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[mjkacmom]

When I checked the rate at the Travel Inn, I put in 4 people. No hotel will book a room for 4 with only one bed.

 

[JessM]

I normally stay at the Fairfield Inn in Long Island City. It's normally around 200 a night, includes breakfast and a shuttle to the purple line. It's only a 15 min ride to Times Square from there.

One thing to think about is that hotel rooms in NYC are super small, hopefully you'll have room for the air mattress.

 

[Judyat]

Groupon and Living Social have some good deals depending on the dates. Worth a try especially if you know your dates. The Holiday Inn on 57th st I think has good rates too.

 

[Judyat]

Would also just add that if you go to groupon and getaways and put in your destination and dates it will return quick a few hotels and prices. The top one Hotel Belleclaire near Central Park has a great deal for those dates. Some nights are $109. Looks like a very nice hotel too.

 

[OhMari]

My son lives in Long Island City and their is a Marriotts across the street from his work yard. He said visitors stay their when they come to town. Subway rides into the city is super easy. We rode the subway 95%, took a taxi once. we were in Central Park and walked over to 5th AVE and decided to get a taxi. $15 back to Long Island City. Subway was $2.50, my son is home and he said the rates just jumped to 2.85. So plan accordingly. We averaged 9 miles a day walking-I am not kidding.

 

[clori]

Keep an eye on travelzoo.com for your timeframe. Once I got a 1 bedroom suite with two beds, sofabed, and two full baths at Affinia Manhattan in April for $135. Right now I have the Hampton Inn Seaport District reserved for $145 a night for 4 people in February which includes free breakfast and free wifi which I reserved with AAA directly on the website.

Another time we stayed at Chelsea Savoy hotel in a room with two beds and an alcove that they book a free cot in for $135 a night (got price by calling - ask about L shaped room). Sometimes hotels.com has good prices especially if you book non refundable but I have never done that.

 

[jls886]

Edited - just saw your dates.

You might consider staying at the Newark Airport, the airport has a train you can catch easily. The Hampton Inn at EWR would be $95/night for 2 Queens using corporate code 0560041604 (this is the MVP code, all it requires is that you be a Hilton Honors member).

 

[disfanforlife]

I am going on a trip with my son and a group of kids from his drama club at school in January. We are staying at hilton garden inn Times Square. I can let you know how it is after our trip. Haven't been to NYC in years and never stayed in Manhattan before ever! Excited!

 

[sk!mom]

One thing to think about is that hotel rooms in NYC are super small, hopefully you'll have room for the air mattress.

I would caution this as well. I've never stayed in a NYC hotel where an air mattress would comfortably fit and when we stayed at Holiday Inn Express it would have been completely impossible.

Our favorite stay was bidding for two rooms on Priceline. We got the Sheraton Times Square for $90 per room. With taxes and fees it would be over your budget but it worked out well. My DH and son took one room and DD and I the other. It gave us two bathrooms and room to spread out.

I wouldn't want to add the extra travel time to a short visit. We prefer to stay near at least some of the things we visit. I like the subway for moving about but Times Square works well for us since we see several shows. It's nice to have a short walk back to the hotel after a show when we're tired.

I just checked www.biddingfortravel.com and it appears that that price is still possible depending on your dates, of course.

"4* MW Sheraton New York Times Square 11/6-11/7 $92
11/06/14 10:02 AM
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Hotwire was showing a 4* hotel in Midtown Central for $103 and in the financial district for $110. Using the biddingfortravel link, I started bidding on Priceline for a four star hotel at $75, going up in $3-$5 increments and adding CPS, Times Square, MTE, Tribeca, and Meatpacking District. Got the Sheraton New York Times Square for $92."

 

[msmama]

I'm one of those people who still likes to dress for Broadway shows, so for me, being near Times Square is essential. Depending on your plans, going back to Laguardia or Newark in the middle of the day will be impossible so are you really prepared to spend ALL day in the city?

I've stayed at the Hilton garden inn Times Square and it was quite nice. Relatively big rooms for nyc, I thought.

I suggest checking out groupon or living social or something like that. I've often found deals on nyc hotels there.

 

[sk!mom]

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelm.../54/111/757/NYCFF_1519349529_9130630284_P.jpg

This is a picture of the room at Holiday Inn Express. A mattress would never work. Check room size carefully if you book one room to be sure that it would fit.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I'm planning a trip for the exact same week - 4/4/15 - 4/11/15. The problem in getting a really cheap rate is that it's during spring break. Easter is Sunday, April 5 and hotel prices seem to be way up from other times of the year. We are also going with a party of five (DH, myself, our two teen boys, and my sister). Most hotels I've checked have a maximum occupancy based on the number of beds. You would not be allowed to have an extra person in a room with 2 doubles or queens. When you look at the larger rooms that include sofa beds for a 5th person, the price really goes up! Also, New York City hotels seem to have different bed configurations than we're used to. The rooms are on the smaller side, and the least expensive ones have one double, one queen or two twins. When hotels advertise their lowest price, it's for those rooms.

Everyone in our party really wants a bed as opposed to a sofa, since we'll be there for seven nights. And since we really want two bathrooms, we've decided it's best to book two rooms. DH and I will have one teen boy, the other will be in my sister's room. I had originally booked two rooms, each with two queens, at the La Quinta Manhattan for $232/night. After reading some of the reviews, I decided against it. We also looked closely at the Homewood Suites, which is a newer hotel. Trip Advisor reviews frequently mentioned paper-thin walls, small rooms (even worse if you pull out the sofa), and a very small breakfast area that can't accommodate a full hotel. That didn't sound like much fun.

Right now, we are booked in two junior suites at the Affinia Shelburne, each with two queen beds and a small kitchen area. The rate is $311 per room (yikes!), but this is a cross-country trip for us and not likely to be repeated anytime soon. We don't want to be stuck in a cheap, dirty hotel. My sister stayed at the Dumont, their sister hotel, a few years ago and was happy with it. We also want to be near Grand Central, so we looked mostly at midtown hotels.

I'm going to continue checking rates as we get closer to our trip. I don't really have high hopes for finding anything really inexpensive that's worth booking.

 

[rnorwo1]

When I checked the rate at the Travel Inn, I put in 4 people. No hotel will book a room for 4 with only one bed.

I didn't update our people, so it must have been only showing me rooms for 1... When I put 4 in, it came up with a "double double" with the two beds, thanks. I'll keep looking at them to see if their rates drop, but I'm afraid that, like a pp said, with it being spring break this may be the best I get.

Not being able to go back to the room easily is a concern. I guess I just need to reconsider the budget while hoping for a good deal. I'm really nervous with Priceline, I don't want to end up some place scary or nasty with my kiddos. I'll start studying the bidding sites, though, and maybe I can do that.

I don't know what to do about not having space for an air mattress. I really don't want to increase the budget much... We have the SW companion pass and want to do many trips while we have that... Which means keeping each one low cost. Decisions, decisions...
Thanks for all of the suggestions!!

 

[katie111]

I would maybe skip the Lion King and put that $$ toward your hotel budget. You could get tickets to another show at the 1/2 price booth in TS. We just stayed at the Doubletree Suites Times Square and it was great. Two double or queen beds and a sleeper sofa in the separate living room. Fridge and I think a microwave. You could do breakfast in the room and save some $$ there. Kids loved being in Times square. We walked almost everywhere. Subway fares and cabs can really add up, about $15 one way for a family of 5 so add that into your budget as well. We walked to Central Park, Top of the Rock, Good Morning America, Bryant Park, Union Station, etc.