I was recently in New York City attending the VEMEX Conference at the beautiful Harvard Club. During lunch, I decided it was just too much to go all the way out to Connecticut to visit my dad so I texted him to see if he would come into the city. He kindly obliged, agreeing to the hour train ride.
Because my dad was coming into the city, I needed a last-minute hotel so where did I go? If I’d had my computer, I would have checked the rates using the awesome booking tool on my website (if you’re reading this on your computer, look to the upper right). But since I was on my phone, I went into the HotelTonight app.
There, I found hotel rooms for $150 a night but I wanted something larger since my dad was spending the night. So I chose the Best Western Plus (145 E 49th Street) for only $202. FYI: The best deals on HotelTonight show up after 9am on the day of stay.
It turned out that the location was perfect! Midtown Manhattan and just seven blocks from Grand Central Terminal, where I needed to meet my dad.
When I checked in, I didn’t have high hopes because the front desk and the lobby were tiny and nothing fancy. It was basically just a hallway to the elevator and the breakfast room.
I found out that the nine-story building used to be apartments that were refurbished into a 34-room hotel. All the rooms are huge and come with a kitchen, bathroom, living room and either one or two bedrooms.
I checked in late, around 4pm, and I’m assuming after everyone else since the front desk clerk informed me that I’d been upgraded to a two-bedroom.
I was stoked because it was perfect for me and my dad! When I saw that the second bedroom had two beds, I called my sister to see if she wanted to join us, too. She said ‘yes!’ and came in from New Jersey, which was about an hour train ride for her, too.
I didn’t spend a lot of time there since I had a 5:40am flight the next morning but I highly recommend this for anyone with a family or who wants to live somewhat like a local as it has a fully stocked kitchen.
Again, the location was perfect, the staff friendly, it came with free, fast WiFi, complimentary snacks and bottled water in the fridge and a full breakfast in the morning.
Sadly, I didn’t get to eat breakfast but the cool Filipino morning clerk offered to make me coffee and get me some muffins at 3:55am. I declined but he handed me a USA Today as I headed out the door.
My only complaint, which I told the morning clerk, was that there was a bit of mould in my shower, which he said he would have cleaned right away. Other than that, it was perfect and what a value!
Can you guess this midtown NYC hotel room I scored on HotelTonight! $202! Updated: It was Best Western on 49th/LEX
Posted by Johnny Jet on Monday, October 26, 2015
Check out the video of my room that I posted live on Facebook.
Wow! Thanks for the tip Johnny Jet. I will be traveling to NYC for the first time soon and 2as sweating that I would spend a mint on a dive. Problem solved! :)
It’s not always available at that rate! HotelTonight publishes the morning of