Wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to a hotel in NYC that’s fairly affordable, and has parking.
I don’t need to be right in the thick of things, as long as the subway is within a few blocks, and is within close proximity to Manhattan.
If you don’t mind being in one of the burroughs, you can get very reasonable stuff if all you need is a place to crash. Older hotels in and around Manhattan, even expensive ones, are tight on space. Some even utilize shared bathrooms. I stayed at the La Quinta Inn on Queens Blvd. for about $200 a night. Two double beds of decent quality and plenty of space to spread out. Their idea of a “free continental breakfast” is donuts, coffee, cold cereal and bagels though. I didn’t want to spend $300-$400 for something in Manhattan either, and I figured that realistically it would take a good half hour to get to Queens by train. Queens is certainly not Manhattan though, and you will be bumping elbows with many working-class, non-English-speaking immigrants on the subway cars the further away from Manhattan you get. Wasn’t a deal breaker to me, but I can easily see how it could be to someone else. If $300+ per night is reasonable to you, I suggest trying for something anywhere in Manhattan so you don’t have to trainhop to get back home at night. I’ve never been there during the winter, but I think waiting in the steaming gate for the 7 Train in September was about as close to the ninth circle of Hell as I’ve ever been. I think paying an extra $50-$75 a night for something in Manhattan might have been worth it. Such a deal is not easy to come by, though, but it is possible to find some cheap deals if you book at the right times.
Wait. You said you want … parking? You’re not actually planning on driving around Manhattan, are you? That there would be the tenth circle of Hell, my friend. Let this serve as fair warning: you really don’t want to try it, unless you really do enjoy paying outrageous parking fees and having a nervous breakdown every twenty seconds in traffic. And I say this as someone who doesn’t mind driving all that much, even in Chicago.
I recommend the Americana Inn on 38th and 6th. Fantastic hotel run by fantastic people and runs about $80-$100 per night. The rooms are small and they have semi-public bathrooms (meaning 5 or 6 bathrooms with a toilet/shower per floor which actually worked out really well. I have stayed there 5 times and never once had a wait for a bathroom.) but really for the money you pay I promise you won’t find anything better especially when you consider that it is literally 3 blocks from Times Square!
This cost was for one person, the cost would probably go closer to $150-$180 with 2 or more people. Oh, and seriously don’t bring a car to Manhattan. That is the equivalent of wishing for death.
Inn on 23rd Street.
http://www.innon23rd.com/
Cute place, good neighborhood, but directly next door to a homeless shelter, FYI. The website doesnt have prices but I remember looking into it once and it was cheaper than many, much less nice, hotels.
Does not have parking, but theoretically street parking in the neighborhood is possible.
Looks like I’m leaving the car up metro north.
I don’t know what I was thinking. 
What do you consider affordable? There’s a Marriott Courtyard in Jersey City, has access to Manhattan via NJ PATH. (If you’re not familiar with it, PATH, trains are basically a subway that crosses the Hudson. It would probably be more convenient to Manhattan than many hotels in the boroughs.)
ETA: yeah, leave the car behind if you can.
I have stayed several times at the Herald Square hotel on W.31st between (I think) 5th and 6th. Very nice people working there. It’s the original Time-Life Building. If you want a quite small (but perfectly suitable) single room with a shared bath it’s $89 a night. There appear to be only 2-3 rooms per floor that share a bath and they must clean them every couple of hours. I’ve never even seen another person using one and never had to wait to get in. Single rooms with private bath are $109/night. Free coffee/cocoa/snacks in the lobby 24/7, free wireless throughout the hotel. Ignore the terribly designed Web site; it’s not indicative of the business. Someone there sure likes Flash. The actual reservation page isn’t too bad. Parking is discounted at $21 for 24 hours (a FABULOUS rate for Manhattan) in a garage one block up, on W.32nd. http://www.heraldsquarehotel.com/
I’ve also stayed a bunch at the Da Vinci on W.56th btw Broadway & 8th. Nicer than the Herald Square and more expensive, but still cheap. Depending on time of year (and this is an expensive time), you can get a double-bed room with very nice private bath for $120/night during the week. Weekends are more expensive, probably $170 or more (and they are more expensive at every NYC hotel). Poor wireless access, if that’s important to you–weak signal unless you’re in the lobby. I believe their parking is a little ways down the street and I think I recall something like $25 for 24 hours.
Re driving in Manhattan: I do it all the time and I don’t find it bad at all. Of course you want to ONLY drive in; not drive around once you’re there, if you can avoid it.
Agreed - the actual driving isn’t nearly as bad as its reputation. But the parking often comes very close indeed.
The YMCA has been favored by a few people I know. I’m sorry, I don’t know the location, but it’s in Manhattan, not far from NYU.
Clean, cheap, and you have your own bathroom. For about $120/night, IIRC.
If you’re traveling alone there are advantages to hostels. I can recommend two. Youth isn’t a requirement. (Neither is being single or having no (teenage) children but I would think the price advantage would then disappear.) Almost all guests are young but both guests and staff have always treated me very nicely at both these (I am 56). The cheapest rooms are mixed (coed) with anywhere from six to twenty per room on bunk beds. They’re clean and safe. Both are $30-$35. They’re great if all you need is a shower and good night’s sleep.
HI - New York, 891 Amsterdam Avenue at West 103rd St. Up near Columbia, very close to two subways. Large bathrooms, many showers.
Jazz on the Town - East Village, 307 East 14 St., near Union Square. Small rooms and (shared) single bathroom/shower per room.
I prefer HI-New York because if has a curfew and many showers.