New York hotel questions, answered

Roughly 700 operating properties and about 135,000 rooms across the five boroughs, second only to Las Vegas among US markets. This directory covers 661 of them.

It varies enormously by season and area. Midtown Manhattan in December behaves very differently from Queens in January. As a rough guide, budget properties in the outer boroughs start around $120 a night, mid-range Manhattan runs $250 to $400, and luxury starts around $600 before tax.

New York room charges carry a combined tax of roughly 14.75%, plus a small fixed nightly occupancy fee per room. Some hotels also levy a destination or facility fee, which is charged whether or not you use the facilities. Always check the final total at checkout rather than the headline nightly rate.

For a first visit, Midtown puts you within walking distance of most of what you have come to see. For better value with a short commute, look at Long Island City, Downtown Brooklyn or the Financial District. For a quieter trip, the Upper West Side or Brooklyn's brownstone neighborhoods. Each neighborhood page here sets out what is actually within walking distance.

Substantially, yes. The same standard of room in Astoria, Long Island City or Sunset Park typically costs 30 to 50 percent less than in Midtown, and the subway journey is often under twenty minutes. The trade-off is that you will commute at the end of a long day.

The second and third weeks of January, by a clear margin. Late summer is the next cheapest window in Midtown as business travel drops. December is the most expensive month of the year.

Essentially all of them do. New York summers are hot and humid and air conditioning is standard even in budget properties.

In older Manhattan buildings, yes. A standard room in a 1920s Midtown hotel is frequently under 20 square metres. Newer properties and outer-borough hotels are generally larger for the same money.

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No. The figure on each page is an indicative band showing where a hotel sits relative to its neighbours. Live rates for your specific dates appear when you follow the booking link.

Pages marked as directory entries carry only verified facts — address, coordinates, brand, room count where recorded. Pages with full write-ups have been researched and described in detail. We would rather show you a short honest page than a long invented one.

It is customary. Roughly $2 to $5 per bag for porters, $3 to $5 per night for housekeeping left in the room, and $5 or more for a concierge who arranges something for you.