Staying cheap in NYC
I listened to your advice to a woman making her 1st trip in a LONG
while to new York with a friend and you spoke of cheap beds in The
City at something like $120 for a double etc, etc.
Well, it's possible to spend a lot less if you are willing to forgo
the private bath, and the mint on your pillow -- such as the numerous
New York area YMCAs. I would avoid the McBurney YMCA like the
plague because of rampant alcohol and drug use that the staff turns
a blind eye to, and the constant stench of urine in the stairways
and the ever present threat of theft. Otherwise, the Westside
branch is clean, vibrant, and charmingly situated about a block from
Columbus Circle and Central Park West and 57th street. There is also
the Vanderbilt Branch Y a couple of blocks from the United Nations.
The YMCAs singles go for about $60 per night, and it would be best to
make reservations, especially for the warmer months and for
over-weekend stays. Additionally, there is the LARCHMONT, a quaint,
spotlessly clean and library-quiet Euro-style hotel on West 13 Street
(between 5 and 6 Avenues), a five minute walk from the Washington
Square/Village area that goes for about $60 per person a night, or
about $85 for a double. The Washington Square hotel is on the NW
corner of Washington Square -- very quaint, situated right in the
heart of the Village-- the prices you gotta check out. Finally, if
you don't mind the lack of privacy that a regular hotel affords,
youth hostels are not just for the young; at about $22 per night the
Chelsea International Youth Hostel on 20th street between 7/8avenues
( and directly across from a police precinct) is filled with 18 to
35-year-olds, but seeing travelers and tourists well into their
fifties is not an unusual -- and Wednesdays are free-pizza night.
In someone's words, though not necessarily originally said about
New York flops, "location, location, LOCATION!" That's what'll make
half the stay worthwhile--that is being able to walk right out into
the middle of the action rather than needing to take a bus or subway
to a place of interest.
--John
PS (FYI) The McBurney-Y is THE Y from the famous disco-era
Village-People's song "YMCA".
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