Where should I stay to see the Daily Show?

September 1, 2011 8:45 AM

Where's a cheap place to stay in New York, near the Daily Show studio?

My wife and I have tickets to see The Daily Show tape in late October, and we're on a bit of a budget, both money- and time-wise. We're usually Hostel travelers, so we're not looking for anything fancy, just clean, safe, and honest. And close to the studio.

Bonus points if you happen to be a hostel-operating Mefite who has space free on October 26-27.

Advice?

(Also, if you happen to have insight on how to guarantee that I get into the taping -- I've got reserved tickets and a confirmation -- please let me know if there's anything I need to do)

posted by ChrisR to travel & transportation around New York, NY (23 answers total)

FYI, the Daily Show studio is NOT in a nice neighborhood. You want to stay somewhere else. Chelsea or Times Square, maybe.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:48 AM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

See, that's information that I need :)

So, I'm open to any options that don't put my wife and I in the position of having to spend too much of our time lugging ourselves around an unfamiliar city. We've got Wednesday evening and Thursday morning/night to ourselves and want to enjoy the city a bit, but we've got somewhere to be in the afternoon.

Times Square looks to be pretty close, but I assumed it'd be prohibitively expensive to stay there.
posted by ChrisR at 8:51 AM on September 1, 2011

The Big Apple Hostel is practically next door (the studio is at 51st Street and 11th Avenue, the hostel is at 45th and 6th Avenue -- it'd be about a 20-minute walk). However, I see some people have reported bedbugs.

The IYH-affiliated hostel in New York is on 102nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, which is about 40 minutes away by bus -- and it's a fairly direct bus (the bus is right by the hostel, and the stop you'd need for the studio is only about 1 block). It's also a fairly decent area -- near 2 parks, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and Columbia University.

And to comment on the neighborhood the Daily Show is in: it's not "oh no I'm going to get mugged for sure", but it's not "I can take a lovely picturesque stroll" either. For someone unfamiliar with town it'll feel a little creepy. The IYH Hostel neighborhood is prettier, and you're two blocks from Central Park one way and 2 blocks from Riverside Park the other way; you're also 8 blocks south from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which could be an interesting spot, and if you walk through Central Park to the other side you'll be on "Museum Mile," a whole stretch of museums running down the East Side of Central Park.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:55 AM on September 1, 2011

You might check out Radio City Apartments (a cheap hotel, but not bad).
posted by mattbucher at 8:57 AM on September 1, 2011

Oh, wow. That's cheap? $620 before taxes for two nights? Uh...

For what it's worth to subsequent responders, that's too expensive for us.
posted by ChrisR at 9:05 AM on September 1, 2011

Manhattan just isn't that big and public transport is quite good. You can take the subway to 8th ave and 50th street and walk three blocks. Just find a cheap decent hotel anywhere int town and take the train. (also its within an easy walk of nearly all of the tourist focused hotels on the west side.)

If money is a huge issue then stay in NJ and take the PATH into the city and the subway to midtown.
posted by JPD at 9:11 AM on September 1, 2011

Check any potential cheap hotel on the bed bug registry first, because NYC is fucking infested.
posted by elizardbits at 9:12 AM on September 1, 2011

The IYH-affiliated hostel in New York is on 102nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, which is about 40 minutes away by bus

Or about 15 by subway.
posted by elizardbits at 9:15 AM on September 1, 2011

I had a very positive experience at the Jane Hotel last April. I'd stay there again. If you get the bunked room, it'll be pretty cosy, like sleeping on a train berth, but when you're in NYC there's no need to hang out in a hotel room. Bathrooms are shared, but spotless. Rooms are microscopic, but clean and well designed and omg quirky. I saw no sign of bedbugs anywhere (a HUGE concern at nyc hotels) and I felt confident staying there.
posted by mochapickle at 9:16 AM on September 1, 2011

> The IYH-affiliated hostel in New York is on 102nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, which is about 40 minutes away by bus

Or about 15 by subway.

Yeah, but it's a bit longer walk to the subway at both ends, I think. And it's harder to give up on a subway and get out early and hail a taxi if it's being pokey.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:21 AM on September 1, 2011

The Jane looks pretty cool. Affordable, too, for the bunk bed rooms.
posted by ChrisR at 9:33 AM on September 1, 2011

I don't have suggestions about places to stay, but as far as going to the show... just get there early. We've gone to the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, and we got there about an hour and a half earlier than the confirmation told us to... and there was already a line! But we had no problems getting in.
posted by kimdog at 9:47 AM on September 1, 2011

Check out homeaway.com and airbnb.com for an apartment or room you can rent for the 2 nights. Craigslist vacation rentals occassionally have legit deals, but most of the posts are fake/scams. Also a huge fan of Couch Surfing. My friends and family always rent an apartment when they visit - it's usually way cheaper than a hotel and in nicer neighborhoods.

Anywhere south of 110th-ish street in Manhattan will be relatively easy to access; also some parts of Brooklyn.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:20 AM on September 1, 2011

Um, hey guys, I just went to the Big Apple Hostel web site to check it out. It has a big announcement on the front page:

Dear Visitor,

Unfortunately, we are not able to take
any reservation at this time.

The New York City Buildings Department
has shut down the Big Apple Hostel.
We are trying to get the problem resolved
as fast as possible.

Unfortunately it will take a few
months to complete.

We are very sorry for
the inconvenience and hope to get
a chance to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,
Big Apple Hostel Team

So sorry to hear this. From EmpressCallipygo's comments, it sounded like a cool place.
posted by marsha56 at 10:28 AM on September 1, 2011

For the record, Marsha, I was speaking more about the HI-New York Hostel, which is indeed operational. (THIS is the one that's near the parks. Big Apple is the one that was only a few blocks from the studio, but may have had bedbugs.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:33 AM on September 1, 2011

Oh, sorry, for the misunderstanding. And thanks for clearing that up. Carry on.
posted by marsha56 at 10:38 AM on September 1, 2011

FYI, the Daily Show studio is NOT in a nice neighborhood. You want to stay somewhere else. Chelsea or Times Square, maybe.

Just to clarify about the neighborhood...It's totally fine. I lived a couple blocks away for several years (and saw TDS correspondents hanging around all the time). There are plenty of great inexpensive restaurants on 9th Ave. and there have been a ton of condos going in further west. It's not particularly scenic, but not dangerous, and definitely not clogged with tourists the way that the Times Square area is.
posted by pourtant at 10:52 AM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

pourtant and EmpressCallipygos; can you suggest places to stay right around the studio, then? I'm open to it, if it's just "less pretty" than elsewhere.
posted by ChrisR at 12:57 PM on September 1, 2011

I'm afraid I don't know of any hostels in that area -- the only thing I know of is a Best Western on 48th and 7th, but I don't know the price.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:01 PM on September 1, 2011

Check your MeMail.
posted by essexjan at 2:09 PM on September 1, 2011

There is also the Best Western near the Jacob Javits center. Expedia says it's around $130 a night.
posted by cazoo at 2:41 PM on September 1, 2011

Well, I've never here, but might be worth checking out on Trip Advisor:

The Skyline - I've passed by many times. It has sort of an unintentional retro vibe and gets pretty decent Yelp reviews. Pricier than a hostel though.
posted by pourtant at 3:45 PM on September 1, 2011

I've stayed at the Skyline. Clean, decent, would recommend to others. Only minor weird thing I remember is that there was no clock (or alarm clock) in the room.
posted by mattbucher at 7:09 PM on September 1, 2011