What's a reasonable price to pay per night for a three-star hotel in a decent neighborhood in Manhattan?

I've always stayed with friends when I've been to NYC, but I feel too old to do that now. How much should I expect to pay a night just for a reasonable 3-star hotel? (I'm not looking to stay at the Pierre or the Peninsula.)

• Use Hotwire to figure out prices, then bid on Priceline. Cost will depend on time of year and other factors. (Supply and demand, you could look it up.)

• May I suggest The Milford Plaza, We stayed there this summer. Nice little place, not pricey at all. We got better walk in rates than we found online.

  http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d1938661-r145839372-Milford_Plaza_Hotel-New_York_City_New_York.html

• It will vary as stated but I would say $300 would be a decent budget.

• Lots of new Comfort/Hampton/Doubletree Hotels in the 30s.

• "And in the center of it all... is the Milford Plaza!"

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwlvkUMsDgI

  Manhattan Baby

• For $300 you can have the whole hotel

  Hotel%20Carter

• Depends on the time of year, OP. A hotel room that goes for $500 a night in June could easily be $150 in January. But a very general answer would probably be an average of $250-$300 a night.

• I'd love to stay at the Carter just for the sordid thrill of it.

• R8, don't say that, even the lobby is horribly sordid. Seems like a place you could get a rash or meningitis.

• If you google "Hotel Carter Reviews" you will find hours of fun! Horror story after horror story. How does this place stay open? On one of the review sites there was a section for people to post photos of the experience. Many just posted pictures of their arms and legs covered with bed bug bites. Good times! Here is my favorite review quote: I found it weird that the bed sheets were labeled "Trumbull Memorial Hospital"

• I just went to the Hotel Carter site. Wow, even their website is fucked up. It's obviously written by someone who doesn't have English as their first language.

• Red Roof Inn. No frills, reasonably priced and clean.

• r2,5 .. the hotel is getting a makeover. New name "The Milford." Open during renovations.

• Faux Naive Troll! No one could accidentally pick the Pierre and the Peninsula as three-star hotels in a decent neighborhood.

• There are some new, chic, hip hotels now in Long Island City. It's very close to Manhattan, right across the 59th Street Bridge. If you're on a budget, why stay in Manhattan, when you can save hundreds and get into the city in 10 to 15 minutes? After all, the hotel is just a place to sleep and plan your day. I gather you will be spending time in Manhattan? It takes much less time to get into Manhattan from LIC, than to get from downtown to midtown!

  native%20New%20Yorker

• Interesting advice, r15. Do you live in LIC? Not the OP, but I'm gonna keep your words in mind for next time I plan a visit. Not sure it would work for me: I typically stop by the hotel once or twice a day... and somehow it's just not quite the same as staying in Manhattan! but it's certainly worth a look next time. Thanks!

• Another option is Jersey City which has 24/7 subway service to Manhattan. IMO it's a lot calmer than LIC.

• R8, and anyone else interested in staying at the Carter for "the sordid fun of it all," someone I know did just that. The first part of her video adventure at link.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DSgBE1L8_WUs

  wouldn%27t%20stay%20there%20EVER

• ElderGays remember the Carter when it was the Dixie.

• r2, since when is a 27-story, 1,300-room hotel "a nice, little place?"

• The Milford Plaza is undergoing a very badly needed major renovation. I'd guess if you can be sure to get one of the newly renovated rooms, it'd be OK, but I think I'd wait until they were all done to stay there. The Paramount Hotel is something of a surprisingly good deal. It's on 46th near 8th, just a block from Times Square (directly across from the Richard Rodgers Theatre). And aside from some extremely small rooms it's really an excellent hotel. All you have to do is ask for an upgrade (free) when you check in, or even ahead of time, and you won't get stuck with one of their micro-rooms. In winter you'll pay well under $200 a night, and in summer you should be able to get a room for under $250 if you hunt for bargains.

• Three stars. TRES CHIC!!!

  Cheryl

• R16, yes I live in LIC, I actually grew up there. I bought a loft in LIC way before gentrification. I'm not in the most 'happening' part of the area, but I don't need to be and wouldn't want to be. I think the money you'd save not staying at an expensive Manhattan hotel, you could afford going back and forth taking cabs to LIC. If you need to go back to the hotel more often you might be better off in Manhattan. There was a cool bed & breakfast in the Village, a friend stayed there for a week when the bathroom at their 16th Street apartment had been badly flooded. At the time, about 17 years ago, the rates were pretty low. I wish I could remember the name. I remember it being on a corner and it looked like a townhouse, you would have never known if was a bed & breakfast. I guess you could Google for information. R17, LIC also has 24/7 subway service to the city and, of course, there are always cabs zipping down 21st Street to get to the 59h Street Bridge. I don't know what part of LIC you are thinking of, but I never saw my area as anything but fairly calm. LIC is not exactly Williamsburg and I really hope it stays that way!

• If you're going to try Hotwire and/or Priceline (highly recommended), go to biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com for helpful hints, hotel reviews, and an idea of what kinds of prices people are currently paying. Also you can get an idea of what kinds of hotels to expect to find in a particular neighborhood.

• Rev. Moon would like to have your business on one of the refurbed floors at his HOTEL NEW YORKER. Good prices these days.

• In the heart of the world's busiest city, Marriott's Essex House is a breath of fresh air on Central Park.

  TV%20ad%2C%20late%2070s

• The Hotel Pennsylvania is a cheap place to lay your head at night. Reviews suggest that it's a little rundown but clean -- far from the shithole that is the Carter.

  http://www.hotelpenn.com

• Last time I was there I stayed at the Wellington (near Carnegie Hall) and walked to all of the theaters and Lincoln Center. Room was tiny, but the price and location were good.