A place to sleep in the City that Never Sleeps

July 27, 2011 6:50 PM

NYC hostel or other cheap place to sleep. It needs to have air conditioning and be quiet enough for me to sleep--I don't care about anything else. Suggestions?

Preferably Manhattan (preferably near Chelsea or along the A/C/E subway), but anywhere is OK.

I'd also like an idea of how much I should expect to pay--I'm seeing some in the $60-70 range, but I don't know where to look. I'd like to pay less than that.

posted by Chicken Boolean to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (21 answers total)

Try Couchsurfing.com. I mean, free is cheap, right....
posted by reenka at 7:01 PM on July 27, 2011

Last minute and cheap in NYC can be tough. My two standard looks for cheap places to sleep are HostelWorld (includes some budget hotels and SROs) and AirBnB (more random and time-intensive, but good results are possible).

You may wind up compromising on price vs. sleep quality; $40 and an Ambien, sleep mask and ear plugs may be cheaper than $60-70.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 7:03 PM on July 27, 2011

I just did this a few weeks ago for my Dad. It depends on how far in the future you're looking to book. If it's like, this week? The cheapest I was able to find was the Comfort Inn Central Park West, which I got for $120/night on Hotwire. Definitely check Hotwire and all the other bargain sites obsessively. The hostels that I looked at were the same price as the hotels unless you're willing to stay in a dorm room with a bunch of other people, and even then a lot of them have weird rules.
posted by bleep at 7:04 PM on July 27, 2011

Oh, one other idea - you can trade off time by taking PATH to Jersey City; the ride is something like half an hour and the trains run something like half hour frequency at night, but I found a mainstream decent hotel for a much cheaper rate than anything in Manhattan.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 7:08 PM on July 27, 2011

$60 or $70 for a hotel room in Manhattan sounds to me like you'll be down the hall from prostitutes and homeless people, even if online its listed as a budget hotel.

For that price, i'd look to youth hostels. (Or, i've stayed at Carlton Arms for $110 a night, and it's great. Same with Hotel 17 and Hotel 31. But they're in the low 100s.)
posted by Kololo at 7:27 PM on July 27, 2011

You'd probably be better with couch surfing or a short-term sublet than with staying at a hostel -- you didn't mention bed bugs as a concern, but they're *everywhere* in NYC, especially hotels.
posted by mirepoix at 7:28 PM on July 27, 2011

Try airbnb. I have no idea what their NYC offerings are like, but I've had great experiences with them in the past in other cities -- in fact, I'm writing this now from a room rented through airbnb! (I know that sounded like an ad, but no affilitation here, cross my heart and hope to die.)
posted by threeants at 7:40 PM on July 27, 2011

Couchsurfing is great, but if you're just looking to rent a room and peace out, most hosts are going to feel used. I only couchsurf when I have the social energy to give the host something out of the experience.
posted by threeants at 7:41 PM on July 27, 2011

The Jane Hotel is $99 a night with a shared bathroom in the hallway.
posted by elizardbits at 7:42 PM on July 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: No Couchsurfing/Airbnb, because I want to "rent a room and peace out", not make friends. I only need a place to sleep and I won't spend any time there otherwise.
posted by Chicken Boolean at 7:46 PM on July 27, 2011

Does it really need to be in Manhattan? There's the Greenpoint YMCA that's pretty cheap, or the Bushwick Loft Hostel close to where I live that's also kinda cheap. Both will put you 20 minutes train ride from Manhattan.
posted by greta simone at 7:54 PM on July 27, 2011

At that price I think you're really looking at hostels or subletting/renting a room in someone's apartment, which it sounds like you're not up for. Unfortunately, despite being a huge tourism spot NYC doesn't seem to have the same hostel culture you find in lots of European cities, which makes cheap accommodations harder to come by than they should be.

Try Hosteling International. It's uptown but in a safe area and on the west side, at least.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 8:08 PM on July 27, 2011

Airbnb's are not usually meant for making friends.
posted by sandmanwv at 8:09 PM on July 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

I stayed in the Jazz Hostels years ago and they were nice enough, though I don't know about air-conditioning. Not sure if they'd have openings this soon, either.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:28 PM on July 27, 2011

Chelsea International Hostel is decent. Not sure about the aircon. Must have a passport to book room.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:53 PM on July 27, 2011

I stayed at Chelsea International Hostel for a few nights recently, and it was basic but fine. Great location. Breakfast is included. Also not sure about a/c, though I'm pretty sure we didn't have it (a friend and I stayed in a 2-bed dorm).
posted by changeling at 11:22 PM on July 27, 2011

I've stayed in the Jane. The rooms are tiny, but the location is great and things were clean.
posted by chiefthe at 11:26 PM on July 27, 2011

Wherever you go, be sure to check it out on bedbugregistry.com. You don't wanna bring little friends back home with you.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:24 AM on July 28, 2011

The Jane comes up with quite a few recent bed bug reports. It was one of my options recently, but I passed. I ended up getting the Holiday Inn Express on W29th St for $109 using Hotwire. I was there during the heat wave and it was perfect - the air-conditioning was powerful and the free coffee and ice meant I saved a fair bit on buying iced drinks to keep cool.
posted by unlaced at 4:32 AM on July 28, 2011

I have stayed at Chelsea International Hostel several times during the past few years, and no bedbugs. A/C is an option, and it seems they add more of this all the time. Also, they seem over the top about cleanliness and sanitation. I mean really, it is hard to move about the hostel without tripping over a cleaning person.

In addition, Cafe Grumpy is right across the street, and the High Line is two blocks to the west. A block and a half from the number 1 train and three blocks from the A, C, and E trains.
posted by Danf at 6:18 AM on July 28, 2011

I recommend Club Quarters. Pretty cheap (when I stayed there a few years ago it was like $135 / night).
posted by jeffamaphone at 8:17 AM on July 28, 2011