Economic digs in the big city

[John Kasaian]

So you're going to shoot in a big city, say NY, LA or DC. Where are the safe, economical places to stay?
Got any tips?
In the summertime I like to research the larger universities, since they'll often have dorms or a hotel for visiting faculty with vacancies for a modest price.
On weekends, hotels near big airports often have very low rates as they cater mainly to businessmen who work during the weekdays, so weekends are as low time.

[Frank Petronio]

http://www.carltonarms.com/ in NYC yoh! Good fun place. Wear shorts.

[anglophone1]

I've been thinking of a NY trip over the next 12 months, Frank this is a really great tip!

[chassis]

Safe *and* economical *and* in NYC? Could be an oxymoron.

[David A. Goldfarb]

More affordable NYC hotels: The Larchmont, The Milburn. If you can tolerate a tiny room and an overabundance of design The Jane, The Hudson.

[Terry Hull]

When I commuted to NYC 2hours each way (20+years) I used to stay at a place that I believe is now called 3 West 51 Club. There were 33 rooms, not fancy but clean and well located. The info I give is 4 years old, but worth a try at 212.582.5454 for folks visiting NYC

[Rick A]

It's fun to stay at the wye em cee aye!

[James Morris]

I stay a little out of the way to get good rates.

NYC - Astoria
DC - Arlington VA

[wclavey]

Union Theological Seminary (UTS), in New York, at 120th & Broadway (diagonal to the Columbia Univ Campus) has had a collection of their rooms converted to hotel rooms... nothing fancy, but entirely adequate and completely safe. And half the rooms look out onto the courtyard in the center of the building. It is called "Landmark at Union Theological" or something like that... Google will find it.

In addition to being an inexpensive place to stay, the building has some amazing architecture: chapels, refectories, meeting rooms, etc. that all look like backdrops for scenes in Harry Potter. I lived there as a graduate student many years ago - - and loved the architecture then, as now. It is also 1 block over from the Riverside Church which was designed by the same architect who assembled the multiple monastery pieces together into the coherent structure that is now The Cloisters. Both are well worth the visit.

[Scott Davis]

If you're going to New York and don't mind doing a LITTLE driving/commuting, stay out by Newark Airport. You'll get a giant hotel room for around $100/night, which is an absolute bargain in New York.

For DC, the weekend low rate thing really only applies to the hotels out by Dulles Airport, which is so far out of town as to be impractical. Hotels here are not cheap, and they're rarely discounted because when it isn't tourist season, Congress is in session and the dropoff in the one business is made up for with the upswing in the other. Your best bets are hotels in the suburbs near the ends of the Metro lines (Gaithersburg/Shady Grove/Rockville in Maryland, or Vienna/Falls Church/Alexandria in Virginia). There are still a few inexpensive motels in Arlington but I've not heard great things about the comfort/cleanliness of them. I'd research B&B's in the city as they'll probably have better accommodations at lower prices than the hotels will.

I won't make any promises as to availability, because they often have their own summer programs running in the dorms, but in DC good options would be American University (which is in a very nice neighborhood and has reasonable access to Metro), George Washington University (they are an urban campus with little to no parking except on the street, but they are smack-dab on top of a Metro station, so there's no need to have a vehicle there), and Georgetown (the definite third choice because they've got the worst of all worlds - no Metro, parking in Georgetown is about like trying to find parking in the West Village on Gay Pride weekend, and high volume of summer students). Catholic University is worth a thought - it's in a much quieter part of town, they do have Metro near campus, and there is on-street parking in the area if you drive. The neighborhood is ok, but it's still got rough edges. Not the place I'd recommend for someone unfamiliar with how to read urban neighborhoods.

[John NYC]

Sometimes visiting friends have found specials at On The Ave on the upper west side. The Washington square hotel might be another place go check out.

Keep in mind economical for NYC is expensive for other places.