Hotels and vacation rentals- there are choices for days in this busy city. This guide will help you figure it out.
Heads Up: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we may get a commission if you make a purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you. We don’t do sponsored posts or accept items for reviews. We only link to things we like and use personally. Read more about our philosophy.
New York City has turned out to be one of my favorite places to keep coming back to. It is always changing but somehow always the same too. It’s a unique mix and I think that goes for accommodations too.
Hotels and especially vacation rentals are constantly changing but I have found some keepers over the years. And more importantly, I have figured out what areas of the city are my favorites to stay in.
Top Choices
I will mention a lot more down below but these are some of my go to spots.
NH Collection Madison Avenue– amazing central location in Midtown and close to Grand Central but on a quieter street. Upscale but not overly pricey, wonderful restaurant downstairs and a beautifully restored building.
Hyatt Place Long Island City– lower price than Manhattan since it is in Queens but very easy access to multiple subway lines to take you into Midtown or Brooklyn within 10 min. Or you can ride the bus a short distance to the Hunters Point ferry which can take you down to the Financial District or DUMBO.
Radio City Apartments is an apartohotel with nice rooms for good value considering its central location near Rockefeller Center. You can get an apartment with a king bed, sofa bed and kitchenette.
Chelsea Concrete Jungle House- Spacious 1 Br- Sleeps 5 Comfortably is near the High Line in Chelsea which is one of my favorite things to do in New York. It has one real bedroom (with a door) that has a King bed and a twin in an alcove. There are also 2 twin sofa beds in the living room (real twin mattresses on these sofas).
A few broad tips about lodgings in NYC to keep in mind
Hotel rooms are smaller than the average hotel room elsewhere in the U.S. Set your expectations accordingly. Even when rooms claim to be large, they are not.
Quiet does not mean noise- free. Trashmen and delivery trucks start early, and fire engine/ ambulance sirens are frequent. Remember this when deciding between a convenient ground floor apartment and a 5 story walk- up. (Also walk-ups are very much a thing. Read apartment rentals carefully to see what floor you are on!)
Most of the neighborhoods of New York are pretty safe. That being said, some are more safe than others. Times Square has a high per capita crime rate (mostly due to its high tourist numbers) but New York still has lower levels of violent crime than most other large North American cities. So be alert but don’t be fearful.
Very General Overview of Some of the Most Popular Neighborhoods
Manhattan
The Financial District is close to a lot of tourist sights and all the subway lines but it is pretty quiet in the evening for nightlife or eating out.
Midtown is a great central location but it can be loud and you need to watch yourself around Times Square (pickpockets abound). But around Midtown South (between the Empire State Building and Bryant Park) it is a little quieter but still within walking distance to many major sites and easy subway access to multiple lines.
The Lower East Side and East Village are cosier neighborhoods where you can still find an authentic corner bodega but also a celebrated chef’s new fusion project. They can be a bit farther to a subway though.
Chelsea, West Village, SoHo, and TriBeCa are great central locations and very trendy neighborhoods but they can be expensive.
The Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Harlem are where you can usually find more spacious accommodations. They are convenient for Central Park and some of the museums but will be a longer subway ride for everything else.
Outside of Manhattan
These neighborhoods usually have cheaper lodgings than you will find in Manhattan but you will be riding the train a lot more. All 3 are distinctive in their own right, especially if you like to be more local/ less touristy.
Brooklyn
Long given a rep as a hipster haven, Brooklyn is a terrific destination in its own right. The amazing Prospect Park rivals Central Park but on a smaller scale and we also love Brooklyn Bridge Park and Domino Park which are both along the river and have terrific views of the city.
Cool restaurants and shops abound in Brooklyn, perhaps even more than in Manhattan itself. Good subway connections into the city but check to make sure you are within walking distance of a stop. Ubering into the city gets expensive due to the traffic.
Queens
Long Island City is one of my favorite places to stay when I visit New York. A quick subway ride into the city but with plenty of its own restaurants and shops. And there is the convenient East River ferry to get you around as well.
Also, it is easy to pop down to Brooklyn on the Green Line straight from Queens. The redeveloped waterfront at Hunters Point and Gantry Plaza State Park is terrific whether you have kids young or old, or none at all.
Hoboken, New Jersey
People sometimes forget about Hoboken but it is an easy train ride into the city as long as you stay pretty close to the river and the main station. And there are plenty of restaurants and shops along the main drag near the riverfront.
Recommended Lodgings
These are places that I have stayed before or bookmarked as possibilities for my family to stay. Finding lodgings in New York more than most places I think involves trade-offs- price versus size versus location, etc. Each of these places has their pros and cons that I have tried to point out.
General Tips
- Read apartment rental descriptions carefully! Note if it is on an upper floor and find out about an elevator- it is not always a given in New York. Also AC if you are visiting in summer- also not always a given.
- Err on the side of staying closer to a subway stop if you have several choices. You’ll appreciate it after a long day walking.
- There are a thousand more hotels in New York than these mentioned below. Use whatever is your favorite booking platform to check prices. I like booking.com, hotels.com, VRBO, and Airbnb. Or use hotel points if you can.
Hotels
I have stayed at the NH Collection Madison Avenue and loved it. I wasn’t familiar with the brand before but apparently it is pretty big in Europe as a solid upscale hotel brand. It is now on my go to list. The building was converted from apartments in 2020 and they did a nice job with the design and have incorporated eco-friendly prinicples- energy and waste reduction for one. The downstairs bar has a throwback to the 1950s and the heyday of Madison Ave (think Mad Men). The location is walkable to most of Midtown and Grand Central is only 2 blocks away so it is easy to get pretty much anywhere. Does have connecting rooms for families.
Inside a king room at the NH Collection 
The room is smartly laid out with lots of storage space 
The bathroom at the NH Collection Madison Ave is also very roomy
Cambria Hotel & Suites. There are 2 hotels by Cambria in New York– the Cambria Chelsea and the Cambria Times Square. Both get good reviews on TripAdvisor and booking.com for location, cleanliness and new furnishings. This is a no frills, business hotel chain but the prices are good.
The Residence Inn by Marriott Downtown Manhattan/ World Trade Center is in the Financial District near the Fulton St subway station. It gets great TripAdvisor reviews and has studios with a separate kitchen and living room. Includes breakfast. The Courtyard by Marriott Downtown/World Trade Center is very similar in location and amenities.
The Kimpton Muse Hotel is on W. 48th St near Times Square. This hotel is a little more fancy than the ones above, and is slightly more expensive, but gets rave reviews for the employees, the rooms, and location. Has a daily wine reception if that floats your boat. Tip: Join the free Kimpton Karma Rewards for free Wifi.
The Knickerbocker Hotel is another slightly more expensive, luxury hotel but the location can’t be beat. Around the corner from Times Square, one block away from Bryant Park, and with multiple subway stations nearby, this hotel makes a perfect base for exploring the city. Also has a rooftop bar that looks amazing. Request a room with a view as some of the rooms look out over Times Square and some face a brick wall. Also be aware they add a ridiculous $30 “residency fee” to each night that makes the true rate higher than advertised.
Hotel Belleclaire This hotel is in a beautiful pre- war building on the Upper West Side so it has charm but also quirks. Previous guests include Mark Twain and Babe Ruth. They have family suites (2 BR- 1 Queen, 2 Full), Parlour suites (1 King, pull- out sofa), and free WiFi. Ask for a room not facing Broadway as it can be loud.
Airbnb and VRBO
*** Be Aware of Regulations for Apartment Rentals***
NYC is severely cracking down on Airbnb. It is illegal to rent a class- A dwelling for less than 30 days unless the owner is present also, meaning renting someone’s extra room is okay but not their whole apartment without them there. Class A dwellings are those in a building in which 3 or more families reside, so basically all apartment buildings. The basement apartment of a brownstone or an apartment above a shop in a 2 story building should be okay though.
Many of the listings in NYC appear to be violating the law so we are not sure how stringent enforcement is. But we would ask your host for clarification that they are a legal rental before booking. We were informed about 2 weeks before a recent visit that the host had been evicted from the apartment for running an illegal Airbnb. Lesson learned and now we always ask. You should as well so there are no unwelcome surprises during your trip.
Also be sure to check in Brooklyn, Queens, and Hoboken for good prices if you don’t mind being a little farther out from Manhattan.
Radio City Apartments is an apartohotel with nice rooms for good value. And it very centrally located near Rockefeller Center.
Chelsea Concrete Jungle House- Spacious 1 Br- Sleeps 5 Comfortably is near the High Line in Chelsea which is one of my favorite things to do in New York. It has one real bedroom (with a door) that has a King bed and a twin in an alcove. There are also 2 twin sofa beds in the living room (real twin mattresses on these sofas).
Charming Row House Flat 15 min to NYC and MetLife Stadium is a beautiful @ BR/ 2BA(!!!- so rare!) located in Hoboken. Just 2 blocks from the main street with all the restaurants and shops and 4 blocks from the waterfront, it has easy access to subway, ferry, and bus lines to get you into the city quickly. They live in this apartment with their young daughters when they aren’t renting it out so it is well set up for families.
Charming Nolita / Lil Italy 2 Bedroom has 2 bedrooms and 1 BA and rave reviews. Located between Little Italy and Chinatown so lots and lots of restaurants to choose from. And it is near a subway. Each bedroom has a queen bed. It is one flight up a walkup- no elevator.
Chic Two Bedroom Apartment at the Historic Mansfield Residence is near Bryant Park in Midtown so it is in a great Central location. Has 2 BR, 1 BA and sleeps 4. This is more of an apartohotel rather than a true apartment so no kitchen. And the bathroom is tiny, even by NYC standards. But the price and the location are what make this place.
Luxurious Loft Suite at Mansfield, Central NYC Location near Top Attraction In the same building as the apartment mentioned above, this one is more pricey but roomier, with a normal person-sized bathroom and has a kitchen area.
I hope this helps you figure out where you want to stay when you visit New York. Don’t forget, proximity to public transportation is key!
