In Fodor's there are user reviews about hotels:

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=new_york_city@111&cur_section=lod

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Thanks Sam, however the site features very few Hotels under $150 per room. In fact many are over $400 - to me that's a lot of money!

I appreciate that if is difficult to find reasonably priced accomodation in any big city, but it must be possible?

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Yo, dis is New Yawk, you wanna stay hea you godda pay da price!

Just kidding... We don't actually talk like that here, or at least not all of us ... You may think that living here, I would be a good person to ask, but, hey - I live here! I never have to stay in a hotel, though some of my neighbors do, for a "night on the town." So, I don't know much about hotels in New York... I can say that most people do find it a "hard" city to stay in...

Still, Fodor's have got the best reviews for the most part... I'll check it out and see if I can come up with any suggestions.

Suggestions - based purely on Fodor's site, both the official reviews and the "real people's" reviews. These places said "$150 to $275," "Over $150," or "$150-400." All of the "Under $150" hotels are probably unappetizing, although the Fodor's prices are just a guide - you may get a special at one of these hotels! I'd go on the hotel websites (or call if there is one) and check prices for your dates. However, I would say $150-$200 is about on target for a good N.Y. hotel... Others with favorites are welcome to contribute as well, as I said I haven't even BEEN to any of these places (though I've probably passed BY many):

Barbizon
Best Western Seaport Inn
Chelsea Savoy Hotel
Crowne Plaza at the U.N.
Excelsior
The Gorham
Holiday Inn Wall Street
Hotel Beacon
The Iroquois
The Lucerne
The Mansfield
Milburn
The Muse
Plaza Fifty
Roger Smith
Sofitel New York

Good Luck!

Wyndham Hotel
42 W. 58th St.
New York, NY 10019

(212)753-3500

This is a quaint, unassuming little hotel located right behind the famous Plaza Hotel, at the south end of Central Park. It is not associated with the Wyndham chain. We last stayed there two years ago during the Christmas shopping season (an expensive time in Manhattan) for $138.00/night.

Beware of NY hotels that are any cheaper than this. Many of them are shoebox sized, and often don't have private bathrooms. Be sure you ask specifically about things you would take for granted anywhere else (like bathrooms).

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Originally posted by cruiseny:
I can say that most people do find it a "hard" city to stay in...

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London is exactly the same. I could not name a single cheap Hotel in London!

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Originally posted by joe at travelpage:
Malcolm,

Have you been on the NY Subway?

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Yes, it is not quite like the Underground... Or certainly not the simply marvelous Metro in DC!

Our subway was the pride of the city - at the last turn of the century... Who do you think you are, Mike Bloomberg (NYC's mayor, who commutes by subway to City Hall every day - now that's a guy with guts!)

When you mean the edge of town I suppose you mean the outerboroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island). It is not too easy to get from them to Manhattan. New York is a difficult city to get around, because it is located primarily on four different pieces of land. The Bronx is the only part on the mainland U.S.A. The rest of New Yorkers all live on islands. And I live, near New York City, on Long Island, the same island on which Brooklyn and Queens are situated, in Nassau County, as do lots of other "New Yorkers." Some live east of me, in Suffolk County. Some live east of the Bronx, on the mainland, in Westchester, near the border on Connecticut. And others, who aren't New Yorkers at all, live in Connecticut itself, or New Jersey... So you see, New York is really a whole metropolitan region encompassing parts of three states, or a city (that would be the boroughs themselves), or a state (Our largest city is not our capitol!), or Manhattan island! Four different definitions, some more technical than others. You are looking really for a hotel in the area defined by the latter definition!

I agree - 3 days is not long - you need to be in Manhattan proper -

try this site -
http://www.a1-discount-new-york-city-hotels.com/

There's something for everybody there.

Cheers.

I had half an idea about going to NY on vacation. I’ve been twice before. Each time I stayed right in central Manhattan.

When I recently looked at the Hotel prices, and I was a bit shocked. I had forgotten just how expensive life in the big city is. London is exactly the same, though, but I don’t need Hotels in London!

Strangely enough, Paris, another one of the worlds great cities has a multitude of cheap hotels on the edge of the city. You can pay maybe $40 or £50 per room, per night for a two or three star hotel and then travel maybe six subway stops into the city centre – bargain! Mind you Paris is not NY!

I have now come to terms with the NY prices. If I do go, I would definately pay to stay in the heart of Manhattan.

Yes I’ve used the NY subway. I thought that it was O.K.

The London ‘underground’ is not exactly trouble free. The rush hour in London can be murder, and our fares are many time more expensive that those on the NY subway. I use trains to get to work, so I’m used to them. In fact I spend more than 15 hours per week on them!

[ 05-17-2002: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
The London ‘underground’ is not exactly trouble free. The rush hour in London can be murder

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I suppose it is true, I can't say I love the Underground myself. And I guess since you have actually been on our Subway, you know how it is. I don't like it, I don't use it. I don't need to use it, but I don't know what I'd do if I had to.

What I do use (not on a regular basis) is the world's largest commuter railroad, the Long Island Rail Road, which, as the name suggests, runs from Long Island (a big place, by the way) to the City. It is not too bad. I wouldn't want to be on it every day, but it is OK for trips into the city.

On the other hand, have you ever been to Washington? I don't walk or drive anywhere in Whashington, doing so would be aimless and silly. The MetroRail is absolutely amazing, and fantastic. It is new, clean, fast, cheap, safe...

By the way, if you ever do go to Washington, have I got a good hotel to stay at! Not exactly GBP50 but it is a five star property, and it is not very expensive, for a big city. ($150-170/night). A hop, skip, and jump, via MetroRail, to wherever you want.

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Originally posted by DCM:
Malcolm,

Take a look a this USA Today article.
Manhattan Super 8

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Interesting article. I've never stayed at a Super 8. Interesting to see why that is the corporate name, though - $8.88/night! Can't get a rat trap in the middle of nowhere for that price any more!

From the article, it sounds like a fine hotel. I don't think I'd be any more inclined to stay at a Quality Hotel than a Super 8. I haven't stayed at either and don't feel inclined to.

Incidentally, if you're looking for a cheap place to stay, Sleep Inn is supposed to be good. I haven't stayed in one myself but I do know they're all pretty new.

Most large chains are really rather iffy. There are some really good ones, and some bad ones, within the same chain of hotels. When you're talking about a mega-chain like, say, Best Western or Hampton Inn, you could be getting a gem for a cheap price, or a bad deal.

Regardless, I am not a big fan of hotels. Most of them are especially lacking in the areas that you'd expect are easy - beds and baths! And that's really what I stay in hotels for in the first place!

I find no chains have truly uniform excellence except maybe for Ritz-Carlton. I don't stay in those often enough to really know, but from my own (limited) experiences and everything I've ever heard, they are simply a notch above. Although Four Seasons may be a bit more luxurious. I'm yet to stay in one so I don't know.

There may be other chains that match up to those, I just haven't stayed in them.

On the other hand, I have stayed in small, independed hotels, that meet the quality I've gotten at Ritz-Carlton. Not in big cities though.

I've stayed in some brand-name dumps. I've stayed in Omnis twice, one in Philadelphia that was nearly up to Ritz-Carlton quality except for perhaps a few little details, and one in Baltimore that was mediocre, or maybe below mediocre. The latter, by the way, changed to another brand a few months after I stayed in it. Also, the former was owned by Omni, the latter franchised. Just observations.

So, with hotels, it is generally hit or miss. Luckily I don't usually stay in them for more than a few nights!

Just to see what prices are running I logged onto the Ramada site. They have a hotel in Manhattan, I think it was around 8th Ave. and for August it gave me a price of $108.00. Cruise Nutt gave you some good suggestions to start with. Don't forget to try Comfort Inns and Suites, Microtel, Super 8, Motel 6, La Quinta and Knight's Inn. There's also one called, I believe, AmeriSuites. These are all pretty much budget end of the scale but that doesn't mean grunge and most of them offer a Continental breakfast. One other suggestion, if you narrow it down to a couple hotels, join their frequesnt guest program. It's alot like frenquent flier miles with the airlines. Collect so many points from previous stays and you get free nights but a lot of times you also get discount rates.

Good luck and have fun.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Thanks for the advice, folks!

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Aah, but what exactly is it you need the advice for?

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Originally posted by Barryboat:
Milford Plaza Hotel is reasonable. Not far from the piers either.

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If I am not mistaken it has been renovated and renamed. Not 100% sure but I think it was on Broadway, and is now called the New Yorker? Or is that a different place I am thinking of...

I know another "M" hotel, the St. Moritz, is becoming a Ritz-Carlton.