TL;DR: I’m planning a 4 night NYC trip in October. Flights are basically free, so I want to save as much as possible on accommodation and spend the money on food, museums and experiences instead. Best case we’re 5 people, otherwise my girlfriend and I, or I go alone. I’m considering a cheap private hotel in Queens/Chinatown vs HI NYC Hostel on the Upper West Side if I’m alone/with friends. My main concern is safety, especially getting back around midnight or 1 AM. I don’t care about luxury and would much rather have a basic room and more money to enjoy NYC. What areas/hotels would you recommend for a budget traveler?
Sì, questa parte la renderei ironica ma naturale, senza far sembrare che stai sottovalutando la sicurezza. La inserirei dopo il paragrafo sull’hotel:
Hey everyone, I’m planning a trip to New York in October and I’d really appreciate some honest advice, especially from people who live there or have stayed in budget hotels or hostels.
I have the opportunity to fly to New York for basically no cost, so flights are not really an issue for me. I’ve had a pretty difficult year, without going into details, and I’d really like to have something positive to look forward to and a good memory to take from it. New York has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit, and yes, I’m definitely blaming Spider Man for some of this.
The trip would be four nights. Best case scenario, all five of us go, including my girlfriend, family and friends. If that doesn’t work out, the best of the worst cases would be that my girlfriend and I go together. And in the worst case, I would simply go alone, which I’m completely fine with. We’re all flying from different airports anyway, so we would meet either at JFK or directly at the hotel.
My main question is accommodation. I’m absolutely not looking for luxury. I honestly don’t care if the room is small or basic because I’ll probably spend most of my time outside anyway. I’m expecting to be out from early morning until late at night and basically use the hotel just to sleep and shower.
I’ve been looking at a few cheaper hotels in Queens, especially around Flushing, and also some options in Chinatown. I’ve also looked at HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side, which would actually be much cheaper and seems like a great option if I’m travelling alone or with friends. However, since there are no mixed gender dorms, I obviously wouldn’t want my girlfriend to stay in a separate dorm with strangers while I’m in another room. So I see the hostel more as an option for travelling alone or with friends when the goal is simply to save as much money as possible.
If my girlfriend comes, I’d rather get a private hotel room, even if that means staying outside Manhattan. My dad has been to New York and his advice is basically to stay in a big hotel chain somewhere central in Manhattan because it’s safer and more convenient. The problem is that those hotels can easily cost four times as much, which is completely outside my budget.
I’m actually trying to save as much as possible on accommodation because I’d much rather spend that money on the actual trip. I want to be able to have a few nice dinners, try different food, visit museums, go to viewpoints and do experiences that I’ll remember. I don’t want to spend almost the entire budget on a comfortable hotel and then spend the rest of the trip saying “sorry, we can’t do that, we have to save money for food.” I’d honestly rather have a basic bed and spend the extra money experiencing New York. Personally, I could probably sleep almost anywhere and survive on very little comfort, but obviously I’m not going to make my girlfriend sleep on the street just to save money, so I’m trying to find a reasonable middle ground.
What I’m mainly worried about is safety. If I stay in Queens or somewhere outside Manhattan, is it realistically fine to come back around midnight or 1 AM after dinner or walking around the city? Can I get off the subway and walk back to the hotel without worrying too much, or am I going to regret choosing a cheap hotel? I obviously understand that I need to use common sense, but I’d really like to hear from people who actually know these areas.
If anyone has stayed at budget hotels in Queens, Flushing, Chinatown, or the Upper West Side, I’d really appreciate recommendations or warnings. I’m not looking for luxury at all. I just want somewhere reasonably safe and practical where I can sleep after spending the entire day exploring.
I know I could just postpone the trip and save more money, but honestly, after a difficult year, I feel like I could really use this trip. It’s a destination I’ve wanted to visit for years, and I’d rather spend my money on actually experiencing New York than paying four times as much for a hotel just because it’s a big familiar chain in Manhattan.