Words Phoebe Lovatt
While it’s true that New York is the city that never sleeps, that doesn’t mean that you won’t need to. Trips to the Big Apple are inevitably a whirlwind of sightseeing, subway-hopping and bottomless Bellini brunches, so it’s useful to have somewhere calm and quiet to decamp when it all gets a bit much. But where to crash in one of the world’s most expensive cities when you want to reserve your dollars for Bleecker Street shopping sprees? Here are five affordable options that fit the bill.
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THE JANE
113 Jane St, New York, NY 10014
(212) 924-6700
Overlooking the Hudson River in Manhattan’s upscale West Village, The Jane is the perfect place to get a taste of New York’s good life on a tight budget. Be warned, though: the hotel’s 200 cabin-style rooms – which come decked out with flatscreen TVs and free WiFi - are tiny, with single beds and (super-clean) shared bathrooms on each floor. Regardless, the hotel itself is impossibly cool, with a sexy cocktail bar on the ground floor and an in-house bistro in the form of hipster hangout Café Gitane. Fuel up on their famous avocado toast, then walk it all off on the High Line; a tree-lined elevated park located just two blocks away.
Rooms from around £65, room only
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HARLEM FLOPHOUSE
242 W 123rd St, New York, NY 10027
(347) 632-1960
Go back in time at this restored 1890s townhouse in Harlem, which pays homage to the neighbourhood’s rich cultural history with rooms named after legendary jazz musicians and Harlem Renaissance writers. The interior is a stylish hodgepodge of period furniture and pressed tin roofing, with brass beds and vintage radios in each of the four spacious rooms. Its location at the northern tip of Manhattan might not be the most convenient, but a stay at the Harlem Flophouse offers a unique taste of old New York all the same.
Rooms from around £66, room only
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CHELSEA LODGE
318 W 20th St, New York, NY 10011
(212) 243-4499
The décor at the Chelsea Lodge is as pretty and quaint as its setting on a leafy brownstone-lined street. Each of the 22 rooms comes with wooden floors and floral bed linens, plus its own shower and sink (although loos are shared with the other rooms on each floor). Small inconveniences aside, you’re in a prime location for gallery-hopping in Chelsea’s vibrant art district or wandering around nearby Greenwich Village. The lodge doesn’t serve food or drinks, but you can pick up breakfast half a block away at La Bergamote (labergamotenyc.com), where they serve up some of the best pain au chocolat in town.
Rooms from around £65, room only
Breakfast not included
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THE SOFIA INN
288 Park Pl, New York, NY 11238
(917) 865-7428
www.brooklynbedandbreakfast.net
Explore Brooklyn and even hipper Bushwick from this cool brownstone base camp, right by the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the vast Brooklyn Public Library (all things Brooklyn, basically). There are four, simple but stylish rooms with access to shared bathrooms, and two suites (one with a private garden) that come with their own kitchen and bathroom facilities. You’re in the perfect spot or all the great restaurants and cafes of this pretty Park Slope ‘hood, with easy access to Manhattan via a subway stop a few blocks away.
Doubles from around £65, B&B
Suites from around £105, B&B
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Pod 39
145 E 39th St, New York, 10016
(212) 865-5700
There are two branches of this modern hotel chain in New York’s midtown district, both of which have sleek, compact rooms that are minimal but surprisingly stylish – think industrial chic with punchy red accents. The newer, 39
The Pod 51 rates start around £59 and Pod 39 rates start around £78, room only
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