Looking for the best cheap hotels in NYC? You’ve come to the right place! After more than a dozen visits to The Big Apple, I’m thrilled to share personal reviews for seven properties in Manhattan that offer the best value in the three- to five-star range. Some include breakfast with your stay, while others have house cars for guests.
Here it is: the 7 best cheap hotels in NYC list
Listed from least to most expensive, keep in mind that prices can fluctuate pretty wildly from midweek to weekends and low to high seasons. And although I can vouch for each hotel here at time of writing, if there are new owners, management changes, reduced cleaning protocols or other issues, this can change a hotel in the blink of an eye; it’s always best to narrow down your choices here and using other reputable sources where reviews have not been paid, then do an extra search on Google Reviews and/or TripAdvisor to take an even closer look at the most-recent reviews.
Also keep in mind that “cheap” is subjective; what’s cheap to me may be an indulgence for someone else. With that in mind, I have included five-star hotels that are “cheap” by NYC luxury hotel prices, but may not be doable for many vacation budgets. That said, I think you’ll find plenty of great choices in the less-than-$300-a-night category.
Flying into NYC and wondering which airport is best? I’m partial to LGA because of the FREE LaGuardia airport bus that’ll take you directly to a transit hub that’ll get you anywhere you want to go in New York City.
1. DOUBLETREE BY HILTON NEW YORK TIMES SQUARE SOUTH (525 8th AVE.)
WEBSITE | 3-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$150/NIGHT MIDWEEK
Want to avoid walking down those sketchy side streets where you can see people doing hard drugs in real life? Then this 8th Avenue hotel might be the one for you! Priced well with decently sized rooms that are marginally bigger than StayPineapple but smaller than the Hyatt (both listed below), the DoubleTree by Hilton is an easy walk to both Herald Square and Times Square, and a mere minute or two by foot to Penn Station.
It’s clean and there are king beds to be had! You’ll find Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries in the bathrooms, nice bedding and free Wi-Fi if you’re a Hilton Honors member. There’s limited storage space and you won’t get even a single bottle of free water nor find a robe or slippers in your room, but there is a big TV, lots of outlets and USB ports, a safe, bar fridge and coffeemaker.
I had a street-facing view and this side is definitely open to city noise, so download the free White Noise app on arrival before you go to sleep. I had to put mine on nearly full volume to drown out sirens and people on the streets, even from 10 floors up.
Google says this is a four-star hotel, but I’m calling it a three.
2. STAYPINEAPPLE NEW YORK (337 W 36TH ST.)
WEBSITE | 3-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$200/NIGHT MIDWEEK
This is a newer one for us and we enthusiastically give it all our thumbs up! Talk about mega bang for your buck.
From the great location and budget-friendly rooms that don’t sacrifice modern conveniences or decor to the little details like free snacks and amenities like the hotel’s signature yellow bicycles, which guests are free to use during their stays, we can’t say enough good things about Staypineapple’s service, inclusions and price.
Snaps, Tik Toks and Instagram pics and Reels are probably on most people’s list of things to do in NYC with teens, and Staypineapple has a number of fun social-forward vignettes that are perfect.
An important consideration when choosing Staypineapple New York City’s property, though, is that it only has king-sized beds. Now, as a couple who only book rooms with king beds, this is a delightful option and one that is sorely lacking in Manhattan where what seems like the majority of hotels — especially boutique-style properties — only offer doubles and queens. But as a family, it’s a less ideal bedding scenario because it means each adult is sharing with a kid. Fine for Miss Q and me, provided I create a pillow divider to avoid being kicked in the jugular, but not exactly ideal for Big B (at 6’6″) and The K Man (who, at 15 years old, is nearing six feet tall).
Did we make it work, though? Absolutely. Because finding a fun hotel in a great location in Manhattan for around $200/night per room (especially where your pup is welcome, if you’re bringing him/her) is worth a bit of family jostling. And, bonus — the mattresses and bedding were spectacular. It may be a 3-star hotel, but it’s got 5-star bedding.
Pro tip: we usually prefer adjoining rooms, but it turns out we liked the non-adjoining rooms more at Staypineapple. They’re actually a fair bit bigger! And the adjoining rooms share a mini-foyer that has a light that won’t turn off, so it means you still need to shut your individual doors anyway.
3. HYATT PLACE NEW YORK CITY / TIMES SQUARE (350 W 39TH ST.)
WEBSITE | 3.5-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$225/NIGHT MIDWEEK
Breakfast is included with your stay — and it’s actually pretty good (even if it doesn’t photograph very well)! Google will tell you the Hyatt Place in Times Square is a four-star property, but I’m going to disagree here again with Google. It’s modern and nicely appointed to be sure, but in the grand scheme of Manhattan hotels, the star-rating system needs to be tougher. For the most part, you won’t get amazing views from your room here nor does it feel like it’s right in the heart of Times Square like its name would suggest but it does feel higher-end than the DoubleTree.
However, it’s a relatively easy walk to Times Square and it’s on a quieter side street so you can escape the hustle and bustle. It’s also less than a five-minute walk to a subway station that a number of trains service. I felt safe-ish walking alone at night back to the hotel, but it’s not exactly on the nicest, most well-lit street, so nervous travellers may not want to book here if travelling solo.
Hyatt Place NYC was really easy to find coming directly from the airport without using a taxi. Rooms are compact but well laid out, and in NYC, small rooms are the name of the game and this hotel gets big points for providing a bigger-than-average footprint on a very decent budget. There are a number of different room categories, too, making it easy to find one that’s right for you and your family.
There’s a lot more NYC content on the blog to help you plan! Check out the perfect 4-day New York Itinerary; my Restaurants – NYC post for a list of more than 80 restaurant options around the city; Things to do in NYC with Teens; and how to spend a weekend in Brooklyn or time in New York City in the rain.
4. IBEROSTAR 70 PARK AVENUE (70 PARK AVE.)
WEBSITE | 4-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$240/NIGHT MIDWEEK
I stayed here with girlfriends a few years ago, and we all loved this hotel. It’s in a great location, just a few blocks from the East River on one side and the Empire State Building on the other and you don’t need to walk through any sketchiness to get “home” after dark. Plus, the rooms are nicely appointed, with a number of different bedding configurations that will work for various groups and families.
The Iberostar name comes with consistency. I’ve stayed in a number of the portfolio’s properties around the world — including the Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites, Iberostar Paseo de Gracia, Iberostar Las Letras Gran Via and the Iberostar Santa Eulalia — and they’re always good to excellent. This one also happens to be easier on the wallet when it comes to New York City hotels.
Not far from the world’s biggest train station, Grand Central Terminal, there’s also plenty to do within walking distance of the Iberostar 70 Park Avenue, like the Empire State Building, Bryant Park and both Fifth and Madison Avenues.
5. MILLENNIUM HILTON NEW YORK ONE UN PLAZA (ONE UN PLAZA)
WEBSITE | 4-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$300/NIGHT MIDWEEK
The last time we did NYC with kids five years ago, when they were just six and eight years old, we found what I think must have been an error fare on Expedia for this hotel. We found ourselves in a grand two-bedroom suite, with views of the East River on one side of our living room — a full-sized living room! in Manhattan!! — and a glorious city view on the other for just CAD$288 per night, including all fees and taxes. I still thank the travel gods for that one.
Literally across the street from the United Nations Headquarters, this property is the least centrally located of the ones I’ve listed in this post but offers exceptionally spacious rooms, which can be hard to find in NYC. When you’re travelling with teens, space is something you might be willing to sacrifice something else to get; in this case, it’s subway proximity. But, hey, they’re teens — full of stamina and attitude…they can walk.
You’ll find the service here closing in on five-star, too, which is a nice bonus.
Pro tip: even if you plan to book online, always call hotels to ask if there are any discounts available — for example, your CAA/AAA card may get you an even better rate.
Best cheap hotels in NYC: the luxury edition
Here begins the five-star NYC hotel section, where the “best cheap hotels in NYC” claim starts to get a bit murky if you were here hunting for properties that run a couple hundred a night at most. But for some of you, I know you’re looking for luxury — for less. And these next two options fit the bill because they both come in at far less than many of Manhattan’s most upper-crust hotels.
There’s a huge jump in price when you go from a four- to five-star hotel in NYC. But there’s also a huge jump in service that comes along with it.
6. THE BEEKMAN, A THOMPSON HOTEL (123 NASSAU ST.)
WEBSITE | 5-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$485/NIGHT MIDWEEK
If well-worn leather and old-world celebrity married and birthed a hotel, The Beekman would be it. Shrouded in dim lights with a distinctly sultry-but-sophisticated vintage vibe, names like Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe are no stranger to this revived 19th-century hotel. The experience here is refined. Regal. It feels like a step back in time, in terms of both decor and service.
Completed the same year as the Brooklyn Bridge (1883), what’s now called The Beekman was one of New York City’s original “skyscrapers.” This storied building has been preserved in its reinvention with meticulous attention to detail, including a commitment to next-level service. In a post-COVID hotel world where daily housekeeping is a fading norm, this property still offers evening turndown service — on top of morning housekeeping.
The Beekman’s house car is a six-passenger Lincoln Navigator with somewhat limited availability for guests.
7. THE LANGHAM, NEW YORK, FIFTH AVENUE (400 5TH AVE.)
WEBSITE | 5-STAR | OFTEN STARTING AT USD$750/NIGHT MIDWEEK
If your list of things to do in NYC with teens includes a five-star luxury hotel experience, this is definitely it.
The Langham represents one of the best hotel stays of my life (right up there with the Four Seasons in Toronto, Waldorf Astoria Orlando and The Mira Hong Kong) because of the service.
Let me paint the picture for you to illustrate just one of the reasons it stands out: my friends and I were waiting in the lobby for the last of our group to come downstairs one morning. As we talked amongst ourselves, one friend wondered aloud if we should have brought sunscreen with us for the day. Before it should have been humanly possible, one of the front desk team members grabbed some petty cash and ran to a nearby store and procured a tube of sunscreen — handing it to us with a casual “have a great day in New York, ladies!” as if this was perfectly normal. And, at The Langham, it is.
The Langham New York also has a house car, and it was my first experience with such a thing. When we visited, it was a four-door Aston Martin but I understand it changes every year to a new luxury vehicle. It’s first-come, first-served and if you’re the first to ask while it’s sitting onsite waiting for guests, you can skip the subway, taxi or UBER to get to your destination in NYC and take the house car — for free. Just be sure to give the driver a tip before exiting.
I think it’s important for me to note here that I am not wealthy; we scored a flight-and-hotel package for three nights through Expedia to stay at The Langham for less than a single night costs today. I still don’t know why or how, but trust me when I tell you it was a “start the car!” moment.
DISCLAIMERS: unless otherwise noted, all prices listed are USD. And, although we may have had a handful of partners who provided media rates during our many visits to NYC, this post represents mostly self-funded hotel stays. All opinions are recommendations are my own.
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