When to Visit Manhattan, NY
Figuring out the best time to visit Manhattan depends on the purpose of your visit. Not only is summer the hottest time in the city, it's also the busiest. The months between June and August see an influx of tourists as families come to see the city while children are out of school, and visitors from around the world take vacations to tour Manhattan. As a result, hotels usually charge top dollar during these months.Early fall still brings plenty of visitors as the temperatures hover around a comfortable 60 or 70 degrees. If you plan your travels in September and October, you'll still be paying steep hotel rates. However, if you can plan your vacation in early November, you can take advantage of some good hotel deals. If you're looking for good prices, make sure you don't plan your vacation over Thanksgiving. Millions of people fill the streets for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and hotels charge a higher rate for rooms.December brings a trimmed tree at Rockefeller Center and decorated windows along Fifth Avenue. It also brings plenty of visitors to the area to take in everything Christmas in Manhattan has to offer. If you're thinking about visiting the city in the winter, wait until late January and February. At this point, hotel prices will drop. Just be sure to pack warm clothes, since temperatures stay in the 20s and 30s and snow is possible.The months between March and May bring warmer temperatures and spring rain showers. If you plan your trip for late spring, not only can you take advantage of discount hotel prices, you also get to enjoy many outdoor activities, such as walking through the parks, shopping the outdoor markets, and dining outside.
Below is a chart of the current pricing seasonality of hotels and motels in Manhattan, NY:
Averate Rates by Star Rating
Below are 3 charts displaying average rate trends by star rating class in Manhattan, NY. Analyze these charts to determine the least expensive dates to book a room in Manhattan for any future trips.
Luxury Hotel Options in Manhattan, NY
4 Star Average Prices: £195.85
Treat yourself to the best amenities available with a stay in a luxury hotel in Manhattan. One of the most famous luxury hotels in the area is the Waldorf Astoria New York. This legendary landmark is just blocks from famous attractions such as Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, and more. When you're finished with a day of exploring the city, come back to the hotel and book a treatment at Guerlain Spa, located on the nineteenth floor. Choose from services including body wraps, massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures.Enjoy stunning views of the Manhattan skyline during your stay at Lotte New York Palace. Built in 1882 by railroad baron Henry Villard, the grand entrance of the hotel is directly across from St. Patrick's Cathedral. While you're relaxing in your room, take advantage of luxuries such as a plasma television with premium cable channels, in-room massages, and premium bedding. If you get hungry, try out one of the several on-site restaurants like Pomme Palais, Tavern on 51, and Trouble's Trust.Enjoy a luxurious Manhattan getaway at The Peninsula New York. The hotel is conveniently located on Fifth Avenue, around some of the best shopping in the city. It's also an easy walk to spots such as the Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park. Back at the hotel, head up to the rooftop pool and take in spectacular views of Manhattan during your swim. You can enjoy poolside dining, or dine at Clement, the on-site restaurant that offers a contemporary American menu with locally-sourced ingredients.
Affordable Hotel Options in Manhattan, NY
3 Star Average Prices: £164.48
Even if you're looking to stay in the heart of Manhattan, it's possible to find affordable hotels that fit your budget. At Hotel Pennsylvania, located across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, you can get in a quick workout in their fitness center or indoor pool before heading out to explore the area. If you get hungry while you're there, be sure to check out the on-site restaurant, Statler's Grill. This classic New York steakhouse serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with amazing views of the city.While you're staying at Travel Inn Hotel, you'll enjoy advantages such as a flat-panel television with cable channels, an outdoor pool, fitness center, and room service. However, the best part is what you can explore right outside the front door. Attractions such as The Majestic Theater, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, and Times Square are all within walking distance. If you're interested in trying some New York-style cuisine, stop in the on-site Broadway Coffee Shop for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.Manhattan Broadway Budget Hotel is just four blocks from Times Square, six blocks from the Empire State Building, and a half-mile from Madison Square Garden and Macy's. The hotel also offers daily housekeeping and 24-hour front desk concierge services. Best of all, you don't have to leave your furry friend at home when you come to visit Manhattan because, for an extra fee, your pet can stay with you.
2 Star Average Prices: £105.66
Best Discounts in Manhattan, NY
Whether you're looking for hotels that offer a military discount or AAA discount, you can find both with hotels in Manhattan. The Hilton Garden Inn New York/Manhattan – Midtown East offers a Bed and Breakfast Package. With this package, all active and retired military service members and their families enjoy deluxe accommodations up to 15 percent off, free wireless Internet, and full breakfasts for everyone. Even if you're not a military member, Hilton Garden Inn offers discounts for AARP members, and other packages, such as the Family Fun Package and the Bloomingdale's Shop and Stay Package.At The Muse, AAA members receive special discounts and perks, such as free wireless Internet on all your devices during your stay, free coffee and tea in the morning, a hosted wine hour in the evening, and up to 20 percent off the best available rate. If you're not a member of AAA, be sure to take advantage of The Muse's early booking discount and seasonal discounts.
Best Value Options in Manhattan, NY
Manhattan has plenty of mid-range hotels available near many of the top attractions. Holiday Inn Manhattan – Financial District is in the heart of Manhattan, and just a short walk to the New York Stock Exchange, One World Trade Center, Battery Park, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Rooms at the Holiday Inn come with conveniences including free wireless Internet, a flat-panel television with cable, pillow-top beds, and room service.All 1,050 guest rooms and suites at Wyndham New Yorker are above the eighteenth floor. Therefore, many rooms have amazing views of New York City. When you're not enjoying the view from your room, step outside and explore some of the close attractions. Macy's, Herald Square, Madison Square Garden, and Penn Station are all just blocks from the hotel. The Wyndham New Yorker is also home to Tick Tock Diner. This authentic New York diner is open 24 hours a day, and serves 10 kinds of pancakes, 20 types of omelets, sandwiches, salads, wraps, burgers, cakes, and pies.
Manhattan, NY Neighborhoods
Even though Manhattan is the smallest of the five boroughs, it also has incredibly diverse and unique neighborhoods. If you truly want to stay in the middle of it all, look for a hotel in Times Square. The sidewalks teem with pedestrians as nearly 300,000 people pass through here every day, and the neon and LED marquees glow day and night. If you want to catch a show on Broadway or watch the array of sidewalk performers, Times Square is the place you want to stay.The symbolic and geographic center of Manhattan is Midtown. If you're planning a trip to visit famous attractions such as St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York Public Library, Empire State Building, and Grand Central Terminal, look for a hotel in this neighborhood. The shopping in Midtown is also some of the best in the world. From Macy's and Bloomingdale's to Tiffany & Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue, there's always something new to see in the store windows here.When you're looking for a hotel room in Manhattan, you want one close to the attractions you're most interested in seeing. Whether you want to explore Times Square or you're interested in being in the middle of Midtown, with the right planning you can find the perfect hotel for your trip.
'Start spreading the news
I am leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York!
These vagabond shoes
they are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it
New York, New York!
Frank Sinatra, considered by many to be the finest American singer of all time, had this to say about New York “ the city that never sleeps. Despite not having born in New York, Sinatra had an insanely mad love affair with the city, made quite apparent in the way of longing that he talked about it even after permanently leaving the city.
Manhattan is the best known image of New York to people at large. It is as integral to New York as is the Lincoln Memorial to Washington DC or the Hollywood sign to Los Angeles. One of the five boroughs that make this city reclaimed from a swampland that once prevailed on the mouth of river Hudson, New York has, over centuries, become a city of dreams to Americans in smaller towns, a city of hope to immigrants and a city of redemption to those who want to make a new start, wiping their slates clean.
Manhattan embodies this spirit of New York City like none else. From an objective point of view, it is nothing but a jungle of high-risers and streets, a sea of people wading through to earn a living and a throng of people clicking pictures to show back home. Noted as the costliest place in the whole wide world to buy real estate in, Manhattan is one thing that every tourist wants to check off their to-visit wish list, sooner rather than later.
If you are one among these, this quick guide to hotels in Manhattan may be a great place to get to know what it is like to stay in Manhattan.
Staying Cheap in Manhattan
To make things clear upfront, finding cheap hotels to stay in Manhattan is as difficult a task as you can imagine. In the middle of an ultra-urban region where not one inch of habitable space is left to let go uninhabited, it is quite understandable that hotel prices “ even for the cheapest ones “ have already gone through the roof, and beyond the reach of most of average tourists.
If it comes as any consolation, the strategy that most tourists do seem to employ “ booking a hotel in a relatively affordable borough like Queens and hopping around the city seeing sights “ is quite effective as well as efficient.
Raising The Bar of Luxury
There would be a lot more to write about luxury hotels in Manhattan, though. To put it very simply, Manhattan houses some of the oldest, most significant and most expensive hotel properties in the world. From the great Plaza Hotel that has hosted guests as varied as Mark Twain and Elton John to posh new places like the Ritz Carlton Manhattan, there seems to be really no dearth at all of luxury Manhattan hotels that will never fail to impress their guests with perks of the richest neighborhood in the world, history of many layers and amenities that prices as high as $600 per night entail.
Manhattan: a Sightseers' Paradise
Being in Manhattan is, for new visitors, akin to getting lost in a wonderland where every corner is significant and every building seems to have a place in the annals of history or pop culture.
The best known and most cherished among hundreds of attractions that attract tourists regularly, the Empire State Building is a symbol of everything that Manhattan, and perhaps America, stands for. After you are done visiting the Empire State Building, you can choose to visit the American Museum of Natural History “ noted for its educational tours, immaculately drafted fossils and an admirable collection of specimens from around the world “ a sight that's definitely going to need your full day for a thorough walk. You can reserve a morning or two (even evenings would do, especially during summer) to visit the Central Park, famously known as the air purifier of NYC.
For shopping aficionados, Manhattan is the place to be, perhaps second only to Paris. There's no global brand that doesn't sell here and no fashion trend that's no available here. From electronics to properties, everything is available in Manhattan. Just head to Macy's Herald Square to get a glimpse of what's hot and what's not.
For people with a penchant for learning and history, the UN building in Manhattan is a not-to-be-missed attraction. In the same vein, take a half day's trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to satisfy the art lover inside you. If you ever happen to be in Manhattan around Christmas time or New Year, Rockefeller Center is definitely going to head your sightseeing roster. The famed Christmas tree and the countdown ritual there is a thing that you would remember for the rest of your life!
There are a number of other attractions scattered around Manhattan. So, plan your days meticulously so as not to miss out on any of these!
Local Traveling in Manhattan
It's incredibly easy to get from one place to another in Manhattan. Being one of the most equipped cities (in terms of infrastructure), Manhattan boasts of a highly efficient public transport system consisting of buses and intra-city & inter-city subway trains that run around the clock, around the year.
Of course, the ubiquitous taxis of New York City are always there to fall back on.
Best Time to Enjoy Manhattan
As far as seasons go, the best time to enjoy the real beauty of Manhattan is the winter (October-December). If you manage to plan a trip to NYC that coincides with the Christmas week, count your blessings as that is the best time for one to be in Manhattan.
Cheap hotels, however, are a non-existent concept during the holiday season, here in Manhattan. Tourists should also keep in mind that many Manhattan hotels do slash prices just after the New Year's week.