Where should I stay in Manhattan?
December 26, 2009 5:53 PM Subscribe
I'm visiting New York for an interview at 5th and 46th in 10 days. Where should I stay?
I'm a grad student on a budget, and the suit that I'll be wearing to the interview isn't exactly built for cold weather, so I was thinking about trying to find a place to stay near the interview site. The number of neighborhoods on hotwire/priceline/craigslist is a little overwhelming- can anyone suggest an area?
I've never really been to New York and will have two days to explore (1/5-1/8). I'm a firefighter/Environmental scientist and love walking, interesting food, and culture- all of which I've heard New York has in abundence.
Related question: I'll be arriving on a redeye at 6 a.m. at JFK, my interview is at 5th and 46th at 10. Does JFK have showers? Initial research would indicate not. Any other suggestions on how to get cleaned up in the time I have between my arrival and my interview?
Thanks!
I'm a grad student on a budget, and the suit that I'll be wearing to the interview isn't exactly built for cold weather, so I was thinking about trying to find a place to stay near the interview site. The number of neighborhoods on hotwire/priceline/craigslist is a little overwhelming- can anyone suggest an area?
I've never really been to New York and will have two days to explore (1/5-1/8). I'm a firefighter/Environmental scientist and love walking, interesting food, and culture- all of which I've heard New York has in abundence.
Related question: I'll be arriving on a redeye at 6 a.m. at JFK, my interview is at 5th and 46th at 10. Does JFK have showers? Initial research would indicate not. Any other suggestions on how to get cleaned up in the time I have between my arrival and my interview?
Thanks!
JFK does not have showers. Even if it did you wouldn't want to shower there.
If you land at 6am I would try to push your interview back until later in the day. You will be coming into midtown Manhattan during rush hour along with several hundred thousand of your closest friends. You want ample time to check into your hotel and shower and prepare for your interview. Even better would be to arrive the night before.
As for hotels: go to google maps and enter the address of where your interview is and click "search nearby" and enter "hotel" as the search term. There are a ton in the area.
Note: hotel rooms in Manhattan are generally more expensive than elsewhere. You'll get nowhere fast by trying to find something cheap.
posted by dfriedman at 6:06 PM on December 26, 2009
If you land at 6am I would try to push your interview back until later in the day. You will be coming into midtown Manhattan during rush hour along with several hundred thousand of your closest friends. You want ample time to check into your hotel and shower and prepare for your interview. Even better would be to arrive the night before.
As for hotels: go to google maps and enter the address of where your interview is and click "search nearby" and enter "hotel" as the search term. There are a ton in the area.
Note: hotel rooms in Manhattan are generally more expensive than elsewhere. You'll get nowhere fast by trying to find something cheap.
posted by dfriedman at 6:06 PM on December 26, 2009
Btw, if you're a firefighter you may interested in NY's firefighter's museum:http://www.nycfiremuseum.org/
posted by dfriedman at 6:21 PM on December 26, 2009
posted by dfriedman at 6:21 PM on December 26, 2009
The area you are targeting is where a staggering amount of the city's highbrow and low-brow tourist attractions overlap. If you plan to stay anywhere nearby, you are going to be paying the affluent sightseer tax. Start facing the possibility now that this search isn't going to yield any magically affordable options. Bring a heavy coat, and expect to have to travel a bit further to and from your interview location.
There have been several threads in the past about where travelers can grab a quick shower in NYC. Search a bit and you may find some great answers.
posted by hermitosis at 6:22 PM on December 26, 2009 [1 favorite]
There have been several threads in the past about where travelers can grab a quick shower in NYC. Search a bit and you may find some great answers.
posted by hermitosis at 6:22 PM on December 26, 2009 [1 favorite]
The Pod Hotel has single rooms for those dates at $79/night. It's at 51st St. near 2nd Avenue.
posted by cmgonzalez at 7:42 PM on December 26, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by cmgonzalez at 7:42 PM on December 26, 2009 [2 favorites]
A note on arrival (I can't help w/ the hotels):
Especially at that time of day, take the train option from JFK, not a taxi. Take the monorail to Jamaica station ($5), at which point you have 2 choices:
1. The LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to Penn Station (34th and 7th ave), for $6 or so, and takes about 20 minutes.
2. The E subway train, which makes a series of stops in midtown manhattan (check the MTA map, and will take closer to 40 minutes. $2.50.
The E train does have the advantage of access to more of the city, and is an easy transfer to most other major subway lines - easier to get to your hotel once you figure out what that is.
I'd try to push the interview back - 4 hours from JFK -> interview doesn't give you any leeway if anything goes pear-shaped (e.g. late flight, etc). No hotel will let you check in before 3-4pm (though one might let you use a room to clean up), regardless. See if you can push it off until the afternoon - it'll give you a little time to get your bearings. Also contact your hotel ahead of time and see if they can provide you with somewhere to clean up/change.
posted by swngnmonk at 9:00 PM on December 26, 2009
Especially at that time of day, take the train option from JFK, not a taxi. Take the monorail to Jamaica station ($5), at which point you have 2 choices:
1. The LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to Penn Station (34th and 7th ave), for $6 or so, and takes about 20 minutes.
2. The E subway train, which makes a series of stops in midtown manhattan (check the MTA map, and will take closer to 40 minutes. $2.50.
The E train does have the advantage of access to more of the city, and is an easy transfer to most other major subway lines - easier to get to your hotel once you figure out what that is.
I'd try to push the interview back - 4 hours from JFK -> interview doesn't give you any leeway if anything goes pear-shaped (e.g. late flight, etc). No hotel will let you check in before 3-4pm (though one might let you use a room to clean up), regardless. See if you can push it off until the afternoon - it'll give you a little time to get your bearings. Also contact your hotel ahead of time and see if they can provide you with somewhere to clean up/change.
posted by swngnmonk at 9:00 PM on December 26, 2009
Seconding the Pod Hotel; I stayed there a few weeks ago. It's very basic but clean and friendly. Be aware that most baths are shared. There are handy indicators in the rooms showing whether they're occupied or free.
posted by beagle at 7:17 AM on December 27, 2009
posted by beagle at 7:17 AM on December 27, 2009
Might be too far, but up by Columbus Circle there's a hotel called the Ameritania that has always had great prices. I've stayed there a couple of times and it's always gone very well. In the past (not sure about these days) they had a simple continental breakfast in the morning for free, too.
posted by belau at 8:07 AM on December 27, 2009
posted by belau at 8:07 AM on December 27, 2009
The Pod Hotel is extremely small* but might be a good option since you asked about avoiding Travelocity, Priceline, etc.
The bathrooms are going to be shared for a single room, but I found them to be actually nicer than the average hotel shower. My roommate claimed to have seen a cockroach around a few minutes before I arrived, but the hotel looked great to me. The location looks too close to take the subway, but I think it'd be a $5 cab ride to your interview. Its proximity to subway stations does work well for exploring the rest of the city during your free time.
*How small? I've seen hall closets larger than the two-person room I shared...
posted by tantivy at 9:51 AM on December 27, 2009
The bathrooms are going to be shared for a single room, but I found them to be actually nicer than the average hotel shower. My roommate claimed to have seen a cockroach around a few minutes before I arrived, but the hotel looked great to me. The location looks too close to take the subway, but I think it'd be a $5 cab ride to your interview. Its proximity to subway stations does work well for exploring the rest of the city during your free time.
*How small? I've seen hall closets larger than the two-person room I shared...
posted by tantivy at 9:51 AM on December 27, 2009
nthing the suggestion to change the timing. The combination of the weather, unreliability of flight times, getting out of the airport, getting transport to the city, never having been here before, needing to shower, being tired, going to an important appointment... I'm sorry, but it totally spells disaster. Please don't do it.
If you can't push back the interview, then come to the city the afternoon of the day before.
posted by bingo at 11:59 AM on December 27, 2009
If you can't push back the interview, then come to the city the afternoon of the day before.
posted by bingo at 11:59 AM on December 27, 2009
Unless you are flying first or business class in from overseas, there are no showers available at JFK. A better solution would be to reserve a hotel room for an extra night, with the first night being the night before you arrive, so you could check in as soon as you arrived, shower and change. If you choose that route, be sure to call the hotel and let them know what you are doing so they don't give your room away. I have done this on business trips several times and they are used to people doing it. They don't care, you're paying for the room, but you should tell them so they don't think you're a no-show. They might let you use a restroom to wash up but I doubt any NYC hotel will let someone have access to the room that early in the day without paying for it. Sorry.
The timing is fine, but I still wouldnt recommend it for you. I just took the redeye home from vacation a few weeks ago. I got in at 6:45, claimed bags, and took the airtrain to the E train, and managed to get home to north brooklyn, shower and change and get to work in midtown just before 10am. That said, I live here and can do all this blindfolded, and despite sleeping well on the flight, spent the day feeling like a zombie. I would not have wanted to tackle an important interview in that state. As others have suggested, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage by stacking this all so close together. If you can't move your interview, can you move your flight to arrive the day before?
Regarding hotels, Travelocity is not Priceline. I agree that you should not try to Priceline or Hotwire (a service where the actual hotel is obscured until after you purchase) because the zones in NYC are dodgy. Travelocity, Priceline or Expedia (or similar, those are just the most well-known) do show you exactly where your hotel is. However, they do skew the listing by presenting hotels/chains who are advertisers first. However, again, they do show you where the hotel is.
I would nth the suggestion for the Pod Hotel. I have friends from out of town who stay there all the time. It is centrally located and reputable. The danger with reserving a hotel room when you've never been to the city is the temptation of the cheap, and you don't want to end up somewhere unreputable.
posted by micawber at 2:06 PM on December 27, 2009
The timing is fine, but I still wouldnt recommend it for you. I just took the redeye home from vacation a few weeks ago. I got in at 6:45, claimed bags, and took the airtrain to the E train, and managed to get home to north brooklyn, shower and change and get to work in midtown just before 10am. That said, I live here and can do all this blindfolded, and despite sleeping well on the flight, spent the day feeling like a zombie. I would not have wanted to tackle an important interview in that state. As others have suggested, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage by stacking this all so close together. If you can't move your interview, can you move your flight to arrive the day before?
Regarding hotels, Travelocity is not Priceline. I agree that you should not try to Priceline or Hotwire (a service where the actual hotel is obscured until after you purchase) because the zones in NYC are dodgy. Travelocity, Priceline or Expedia (or similar, those are just the most well-known) do show you exactly where your hotel is. However, they do skew the listing by presenting hotels/chains who are advertisers first. However, again, they do show you where the hotel is.
I would nth the suggestion for the Pod Hotel. I have friends from out of town who stay there all the time. It is centrally located and reputable. The danger with reserving a hotel room when you've never been to the city is the temptation of the cheap, and you don't want to end up somewhere unreputable.
posted by micawber at 2:06 PM on December 27, 2009
I can't say enough good things about The Chelsea Pines. Stayed there last June when I was visiting for a friend's wedding and besides getting a super deal direct off their website, I just really loved it. Great location, close to a MTA station, and great amenities. The local friends who stopped by when meeting up for dinner all said that the size of the room and what was included (like even a cube fridge), it was pretty amazing. The one caveat is that it's an older building with multiple flights, so no elevators. But that actually worked to my benefit of getting in some cardio work in between all the eating I did on that trip.
posted by gov_moonbeam at 10:52 AM on December 28, 2009
posted by gov_moonbeam at 10:52 AM on December 28, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
I would change this if at all possible, because if you wind up losing two hours because of weather, you may not make your interview on time.
Travelocity lets you search for hotels by proximity to a specific address. I see that the Wellington, which is a safe and clean old-school hotel, has rooms for $117/night for those days--bargain.
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:04 PM on December 26, 2009