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[britmom]

My apologies for bombarding this board with my questions....

I've been looking for a hotel for when I'm in NYC, but the prices are hurting my eyes. I've always stayed in Manhattan before, but I'm wondering whether I should venture elsewhere in the hope that I might actually be able to afford a private bathroom. Any suggestions? I must confess to never having left Manhattan when I've visited before so I really don't know where the good locations are. I'd like to keep it below $150 per night, including taxes. Safety is more important than anything else. I'd like a private bathroom, but could cope without.  I'll be travelling to the Schomburg Library in Harlem. Many thanks!

[scampster]

You could always stay up in White Plains and take the Metro North directly to 125th Street in Harlem. White Plains is lame, but I just stayed there recently and had a suite for under $150 a night. But on the other hand, if you are flying into/out of JFK (per your other thread), you are looking at an $100 cab fare each way plus an hour of travel time with traffic. (I'm sure it can't be figured out by public transport as well though - someone else was paying my bill and they told me to take the cab.)

[fourhats]

There is even a better way:  go to VRBO.com (it stands for Vacation Rental By Owner) and put in the city or the borough.  They are apartments, often a floor of a brownstone, that can be rented by the night for often half of what a hotel room costs.  I've had great luck with them, and it's handled really professionally.  Often they are people who live in the building themselves, and rent out a flat with a separate entrance.

[systeme_d_]

Britmom,

These are very reasonably-priced rooms for rent at Union Theological Seminary, which is on 122nd and Bwy, right near Columbia.  The cab ride to the Schomburg would be quick (and cheap), since it's under 15 blocks away.  Unfortunately, taking the train would be a pain, since Union is on the #1, and the Schomburg is on the #2 and 3.

http://www.utsnyc.edu/Page.aspx?pid=520

[oldfullprof]

Tarrytown Courtyard by Marriott.  I always prefer it to the Roosevelt at Union Station for a certain meeting.  You have to leave your car at the hotel and cab to the station - no parking there (5 minutes.)  You take the commuter train in.

[bluezebracat]

systeme_d's recommendation is the closest.  I would not stay out in White Plains. A hostel might be more along the lines of what you're looking for or try hotwire.com.

If you're travelling in the summer, it's hard to get lower rates. Manhattan is a pain to get into from NJ or from the north; you might have better luck in Queens or Brooklyn, but you should expect your commute to be at least 45 min to an hour.

[mystictechgal]

I was going to suggest that you also check out www.couchsurfing.org (and it still might be worth checking), but their wiki on surfing in NYC suggests that, because hosts there get so many requests, it might be difficult to find one. (Note: "couches" can range from actual couches to beds in spare rooms.) the wiki also offers links to hostels and other lower-cost options, though, along with suggestions on how to look for "couches" in the area, so it might be worth taking a look. It can be found here: http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/New_York_City

I do have a friend that just recently moved back to this area (at least temporarily) to care for her Grandparents. Not sure exactly where she lived in NYC, or what she did with her apartment (although, I think she's kept it). If I can get ahold of her, I can check to see where it is relative to where you need to be, and see if she'd be willing to let you stay there. Not entirely sure how we'd work out logistics of keys and such, but figuring that out can come later.

[fourhats]

I've found places on VRBO that get me into Manhattan in 15 minutes on the subway from Brooklyn.

[bcohlan1]

When I went last year a bunch of hotels had started to crop up around the Queensboro Plaza subway stop.  These were nice, much cheaper, and ten minutes from the south end of Central Park by subway.

[totoro]

I've stayed in Jersey City a couple of times. Short ride on the PATH Train.

[natsteel]

Either Jersey City or Hoboken would give you a shorter ride on the PATH Train into Manhattan than a subway from Queens. There are also cheaper hotels in Secaucus which would entail a cab to the train station and then a 10-minute train ride on the NJ Transit train one stop to Penn Station in New York City.

[prytania3]

You might consider staying on the Jersey side of the ferry (NY Waterways). Here is the ferry schedule and NJ destinations. You would want Midtown.

http://www.nywaterway.com/FerryRoutesSchedules.aspx

[npaleveda]

Stay at the Hotel Roosevelt in midtown manhattan-good rooms good rates.

[tee_bee]

Either Jersey City or Hoboken would give you a shorter ride on the PATH Train into Manhattan than a subway from Queens. There are also cheaper hotels in Secaucus which would entail a cab to the train station and then a 10-minute train ride on the NJ Transit train one stop to Penn Station in New York City.

My wife stayed at a nice enough hotel about a block from Newark Penn Station, which gives easy access to PATH and the NJ Transit lines to downtown or midtown Manhattan (no, it's really not a pain to get to NYC from NJ).

Ah ha, here it is: the Best Western Robert Treat hotel. Hotels.com (which is great) shows rooms at $96 a night for August. They say they're a half-mile from the train station, but I'm not sure it's that far. The hotel says they have a shuttle that goes to Newark Airport (EWR) and to the train. If you're flying to NYC, this is also good, because EWR is a lot more convenient than JFK, and I prefer it to LaGuardia (not a factor if you're flying in from overseas, of course!).

It gets a four stars out of five rating from over 300 reviewers. Sorry if I sound like I'm a flack for this hotel, and I didn't stay there--my wife and kids did for a trip to NYC. But they loved it, and downtown Newark, while not the most exciting place, is nowhere near as awful as some would have you believe. But if it is night time and the shuttle isn't running, you may want to take a short cab ride. This would be true in Jersey City and Hoboken as well.

There are other places, of course--lots of good ideas here.

[paultuttle]

Columbia University's International House has guest rooms for short-term stays. Once when I needed a cheap place to stay for an NSF conference at Columbia, I used that as my "hotel room."

It was a 1930s-1940s apartment/suite with AC and a fridge. I can't remember whether it had a microwave or not. The prices were and are very reasonable. I don't know how well it would work for someone driving into town or needing to go all over NYC, though.

Just Google it and you'll find more information under "guest accommodations" in the Google results for "Columbia University International House."

Good luck!