Hotel Carter, NYC - Anyone stayed here?

The Megaphone

Hi,

Myself and my girlfriend are heading off to NYC for a week and are thinking of staying in Hotel Carter off Times Square as it is very cheap, i.e. 6 nights for around 800 big ones...

Im interested in hearing from anyone who might have stayed there as the majority of the countless reviews on Trip Advisor seem very critical given you get what you pay for, for example:

"housekeeping didn't make the bed everyday"

"the decor is very outdated"

Would appreciate some realistic Irish feedback.

Thanks

whitey1

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hotel-carter-new-york

Supraman

Its two years since I was in New York . It looked cheap for a reason tbh . It looked like a kip even from the outside . We stayed that time in the best western president I think . We got a great deal at the time with opodo.co.uk . Did you check tripadvisor for reviews on it ?

What about apartment rental in New York , have ye considered that ? We rented them a couple of times and loved the experience , gives a much more liveable experience of New York if you get me. We stayed in Chelsea one year and Murray Hill another time . The hotel offer was too good to pass up.

If ye are travelling with another party it would probably be cheaper alright to stay in apts . If just the two of ye check out both I would say . There's a few companies in the uk that specialise in short term manhattan rentals , I'm sure a quick scout around google would give you the results for eg. http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/new-york-city/orderby.price/

RachealB

My Friends stayed and did not like it. Yes cheap but she did not feel safe. What dates are you going???. Have you tried Applecore hotels? in Nyc they have 4 I think in Midtown and free breakfast good cheap hotels

ScouseMouse

While its a few years since we were there, we really liked the chelsea lodge.

Stayed there twice. Its basic but clean, cheap and easy to get to.

Check out tripadvisor !

chelsealodge.com

RachealB

Sorry me again, there is so many to choice for cheap.. Room Mate Grace is hip and chic,,,, Also the Edison and The Newyorker...

The Megaphone

Thanks everybody for all the helpful replies - one thing i should have mentioned is that we are travelling over in early October so the prices are crazy as its peak season...

Just checked some of the above options and all are quoting 250+ dollars/night (not including taxes) so Im thinking of risking it as i just dont want to pay 200 euros/night....

Hootanany

Pod Hotel thank me later.

The Megaphone

The Pod looks very cool but again its coming in over 250+ dollars/night (not including taxes)...

Just to keep adding to this, i also should have mentioned that New York is our first stop, followed by Las Vegas and Boston... So 2 weeks in total so were trying to keep the travel and accommodation costs below 2 grand (euros) per person... Wish me luck...

Supraman

With all respect it is not worth the risk . It is a kip . Having been in New York 7 times and just back from Vegas they are not the places to skimp on . If you can't afford reasonable accommodation in either it's safe to say you won't be able to afford a decent perspective of what either city has to offer . Pay the extra few quid to stay somewhere reasonable and you won't regret it . Staying in the Carter and you will .

Where are ye staying in Vegas ?

The Megaphone

Yeah thats been playing on my mind - dont want the hotel to ruin the holiday...

The thing is ive been to NYC before and stayed in Hotel Penn which has equally got bad reviews but i found it fine so thats why i was hoping to find a more honest/realistic opinion on here (which i have and thanks)...

But thinking the MGM Grand in Vegas - executive king suite looks very cool: http://www.mgmgrand.com/hotel/executive-king-suite.aspx

Where did you stay?

RachealB

Hi
Try priceline.com.. They are good I am going to NYC in October, and got 3 nights in crowneplaza for 1000 dollars including breakfast so they seem good.x

Supraman

we stayed in aria which is another of the mgm resort managed hotels . I didn't see inside mgm but id imagine it should be fine . The aria is the newest *5 in Vegas . We booked through trailfinders as we could not get a better price anywhere on net . Most hotels in Vegas have resort fees which are $20-30 per day on avg but are not included in hotel net prices . Neither is tax but I'm sure you know that from pricing New York .

To be honest if there's a trailfinders anywhere near you get in for a consultation as they got us unreal prices we simply could not beat , same with flights .

The service etc. should be top of the range in any of the *5 hotels . One very handy thing Aria has is it's central location on the strip . MGM is very south on the strip and cabs add up really quick as it's not got the same public transport system as New York .

When we went the heat was 45 degrees celsius a few days so the option of walking the full strip or even 1/2 to save a few bucks is a fairly sweaty one at best lol .

It's just something to consider but id definitely check out trailfinders for a price .

Have a look on youtube also for customer videos of each of the hotels amenities/ rooms etc. I would assume someone has one up of the carter


edit : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCQ8_LkkaW0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

tus.maith

Hi,

What are the dates for New York part of trip?

whitey1

problem is, when the 1 star ratings are double the next closest rating category your chances of having a bad experience are HUGE.



i would say, if you havent already booked your flights, shorten your trip by a few days and go higher end on the accomadation.

one time my brother came out and they somehow ended up in a sublet appartment. in all my life I have never been in such a $hithole...great location, but I truly feared for my life given the state of some of the other tennants....think Vietnam Vets on disability suffering from PTSD, roaring and screaming as if some one was trying to murder them. To make it worse, there was a bar downstairs that had Karaoke blaring till 5 in the morning

All i can say is you need to suck it up and just go a notch higher on the hotel. theres lots of free stuff to do in NYC, take the train in fron Kennedy instead of a taxi, watch where your eating....a block can make a great difference.

Also maybe post on the tripadvisor or yelp forums. Ask for help.....people who know better than I may be able to point you in a different direction.

Paul_Hacket

I'm Irish and have lived in nyc for the past 20 years. I've written about this before on other posts - basically pretty much everybody that I know who comes to New York these days and are trying to get an affordable rate for accommodation are best advised to avoid hotels completely and use an apartment sublet service such as airbnb.com

I've booked apartments for friends/family using it loads of times and there are thousands of listings with prior reviews so you can see what you're getting. I've never had a problem with it and often use it when visiting other cities too. For your price range you could get a lovely apartment in a much better neighborhood. I strongly urge people not to stay around Times Square anyway as it's a much better place to visit than to stay in. There are no good restaurants, certainly not affordable ones and its just a crush of tourists and grumpy office workers up there - not a relaxing place to stay. You're much better off in downtown neighborhoods where New Yorkers actually live and socialize such as the West Village, East Village or Soho.

I've posted a couple of links below for some places that seem to be available in October in nice neighborhoods if you're interested, however I strongly recommend doing some searches on the site yourself. When looking for places make sure you specify 'entire home/apartment' in the search and look for places with plenty of positive reviews from past guests.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/791191

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/275271

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1226480

The Megaphone

Thanks Paul - just spent the last hour searching airbnb and there are some great apartments out there - deff the way forward - thanks very much...

SpicyChicken

The Megaphone wrote: »

Hi,

Myself and my girlfriend are heading off to NYC for a week and are thinking of staying in Hotel Carter off Times Square as it is very cheap, i.e. 6 nights for around 800 big ones...

Im interested in hearing from anyone who might have stayed there as the majority of the countless reviews on Trip Advisor seem very critical given you get what you pay for, for example:

"housekeeping didn't make the bed everyday"

"the decor is very outdated"

Would appreciate some realistic Irish feedback.

Thanks

It is cheap for a reason!! My advice is stay away, without doubt the worst hotel I have ever stayed in, was so bad we left after the first night, used condoms underneath the bad to rats inside the room and the whole attitude of the hotel staff unreal, think Basel Faulty x 1000 times and you wouldn't even be close. On the plus side there was a shop beside the hotel that made the best ever cheese burger I have ever tasted!!

SHOVELLER

Even better than airbnb is http://newyork.craigslist.org/roo/

Admittedly I lucked out last month sharing an apartment in a great location on the UES for $500 for the fortnight!

But there are some great potential bargains there and it is easier than airbnb.

MadsL

The Megaphone wrote: »

But thinking the MGM Grand in Vegas - executive king suite looks very cool: http://www.mgmgrand.com/hotel/executive-king-suite.aspx

Where did you stay?

Don't book the suites, book a standard and tip the front desk for an upgrade, if you are not there Fri/Sat you should be fine. Join the players club before you check in too then a $20 between your credit card and your players card is the way to discretely pass the tip to the clark.

If you are there Fri/Sat night, rethink the trip. You are paying double and treble rates for Fri Sat nights.

For example I once got my parents a deluxe suite on 46th floor of the Paris overlooking the Bellagio fountains for $25 (standard room) plus a $20 tip. They upgraded my room too.

Vegas, act like you own it and not like a tourist. Tips are your friend.

Paul_Hacket

SHOVELLER wrote: »

Even better than airbnb is http://newyork.craigslist.org/roo/

Admittedly I lucked out last month sharing an apartment in a great location on the UES for $500 for the fortnight!

But there are some great potential bargains there and it is easier than airbnb.

I would be VERY weary of the craigslist property personals in New York. Bargains can be found on it but you really need to know what you're doing. I used to use it both to find and lease out apartments and while there are some authentic listings on it there are a TON of scams.

I definitely wouldn't rent a place via CL without visiting it beforehand in person and authenticating that the person you're dealing with is the legitimate keyholder. There have been instances of scammers getting their hands on the keys to an empty apartment and re-renting it to dozens of people at a below market rate, ultimately disappearing with the renters deposit money in their pockets.

The Megaphone

Paul_Hacket wrote: »

I would be VERY weary of the craigslist property personals in New York. Bargains can be found on it but you really need to know what you're doing. I used to use it both to find and lease out apartments and while there are some authentic listings on it there are a TON of scams.

I definitely wouldn't rent a place via CL without visiting it beforehand in person and authenticating that the person you're dealing with is the legitimate keyholder. There have been instances of scammers getting their hands on the keys to an empty apartment and re-renting it to dozens of people at a below market rate, ultimately disappearing with the renters deposit money in their pockets.

Good advice after good advice Paul - i heard that scam was also going on in Dublin too - have to give it them, its genius...

The Megaphone

MadsL wrote: »

Don't book the suites, book a standard and tip the front desk for an upgrade, if you are not there Fri/Sat you should be fine. Join the players club before you check in too then a $20 between your credit card and your players card is the way to discretely pass the tip to the clark.

If you are there Fri/Sat night, rethink the trip. You are paying double and treble rates for Fri Sat nights.

For example I once got my parents a deluxe suite on 46th floor of the Paris overlooking the Bellagio fountains for $25 (standard room) plus a $20 tip. They upgraded my room too.

Vegas, act like you own it and not like a tourist. Tips are your friend.

Would 20 really be enough??

SHOVELLER

Paul_Hacket wrote: »

I would be VERY weary of the craigslist property personals in New York. Bargains can be found on it but you really need to know what you're doing. I used to use it both to find and lease out apartments and while there are some authentic listings on it there are a TON of scams.

I definitely wouldn't rent a place via CL without visiting it beforehand in person and authenticating that the person you're dealing with is the legitimate keyholder. There have been instances of scammers getting their hands on the keys to an empty apartment and re-renting it to dozens of people at a below market rate, ultimately disappearing with the renters deposit money in their pockets.

No doubt Paul. I just got lucky as my Airbnb let me down last minute and so had to go to CL. Sent off about 10 emails and one of the first back was a girl who said her roommate had left for a few months. Subletting is very common and she was very trusting as she gave me her name, number and address. Sometimes when 2 adults trust each other it works out.

Gotta love NYC:)

Paul_Hacket

SHOVELLER wrote: »

No doubt Paul. I just got lucky as my Airbnb let me down last minute and so had to go to CL. Sent off about 10 emails and one of the first back was a girl who said her roommate had left for a few months. Subletting is very common and she was very trusting as she gave me her name, number and address. Sometimes when 2 adults trust each other it works out.

Gotta love NYC:)

Sounds good - glad it worked out for you. When I first came here in '92 I had a couple of hundred bucks in my pocket and nowhere to stay after the first night and it all worked out. New York often rewards a tryer.