Brian Cicioni

You don’t need us to tell you that The Big Apple is a pricey place. Anybody visiting for the first time will soon realise that all the pizza slices, cocktails, museum tickets and cab fares quickly stacks up, but one way to easily make some savings is by booking yourself into a budget-friendly hotel.  What are hotel prices like in New York City? Hotel prices in NYC can be pretty harsh on your wallet, whether you book well in advance or not. But don’t fret, weary traveler—we are here to help. Our cheap New York hotels guide comprises a list which has not been skimpy on that effortlessly cool New York style, but still only features stays with a starting price of $215 per night or less.  What’s the best area to stay in New York City? It’d be easy to assume that staying smack-dab in the heart of Manhattan will set you back a chunk of change—and don’t get us wrong, that is often the case. However, even in New York’s coolest zip codes, you will find budget-friendly places to stay. Have a read of our guides to all NYC’s neighborhoods, and cross-reference with our brilliant list below for the best affordable hotels in the city.  New York’s best budget-friendly hotels, at a glance: 👙 Best pool: Margaritaville Resort Times Square 🗺️ Best location: Now Now NoHo 🤩 Coolest: Romer Hell’s Kitchen Hotel  📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York City How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old

There isn’t really a bad time to visit New York, but when the streets are at their stuffiest and the sidewalks practically radiate heat, having a glistening pool at your hotel can offer travelers some much-needed respite. That’s why we’ve taken the time to handpick the best ones, from cabana-lined rooftops in Brooklyn to stylish, spa-adjacent plunges hidden away in Manhattan. Dive into our dazzling list, updated fresh for spring 2026. Which area is best to stay in New York? Pools are hidden away all over New York City, from deceptively secluded Manhattan rooftops to spacious Brooklyn hangouts with brilliant skyline views. For all the best local tips on where to stay, have a read of our guides to all NYC’s neighborhoods, compiled by Time Out’s local writers.   New York’s best hotels with swimming pools, at a glance: 🌃 Best view: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge 👙 Best rooftop: Gansevoort Meatpacking District 👛 Best budget: Margaritaville Resort Times Square 💎 Most luxurious: The Peninsula New York 🤩 Most iconic: The William Vale 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many of the hotels featured below, but we may not have stayed at every single one. Any we haven’t stayed in have been selected by experts based on their amenities,

New York: it’s a frantic experience. That’s why, when you’ve only got a handful of days to dine, sight-see, museum hop and shop, that oh-so-precious shut-eye becomes all the more important. But, despite its famous moniker as the “city that never sleeps”, the Big Apple is brimming with stylish, innovative, and world-renowned hotels. So, here’s Time Out’s gleaming collection of our absolute favorite places to stay, all tried and tested by local writers.  New for spring 2026 are reviews of Nine Orchard, Ace Hotel Brooklyn, The Ned NoMad, and our brand-new number one, The Fifth Avenue Hotel. Scroll on. Which area is best to stay in New York? Well, we’ve compiled an entire neighborhood guide to help you find the best fit for your trip, but first-timers should consider Midtown (particularly on and around Fifth Avenue), frequent visitors who want to feel like a local should opt for hotels in Williamsburg, and for particularly stylish boutique stays, you’ll find plenty of those in Tribeca, NoMad, the Lower East Side, and the Meatpacking District.  New York’s very best hotels at a glance: 💎 Most luxurious: The Plaza 👛 Best budget: The FiDi Hotel 🌃 Best view: The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad 👙 Best pool: Equinox Hotel New York 🍸 Best boutique: Nine Orchard 🪩 Coolest: The William Vale 🤩 Most iconic: The Hotel Chelsea 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—

Nowhere in the world does luxury quite like New York City, and from sleek, glassy, towering stays which overlook Columbus Circle and Central Park to tiny little boutique hotels which feel more like ridiculously fancy private homes, luxury comes in all grandiose shapes and glitzy sizes here.  But we aren’t just talking about cloud-like bedding and pretty decor—luxury also means gorging on dishes crafted by world-class chefs, being in prime New York locations, and enjoying polished, attentive service. So, looking to splash out on an ultra-luxe stay in NYC? Here’s where we would recommend, with new reviews of The Fifth Avenue Hotel, The Knickerbocker, and obviously, The Plaza.  Which area is best to stay in New York? For proper, over-the-top luxury, blockbuster New York hotels live on Fifth Avenue, in FiDi, or on the Upper East and West sides. You can browse our comprehensive guide to all of New York City’s best neighborhoods—it will help you figure out which is the best for your trip.  New York’s most luxurious hotels at a glance: 🤩 Most iconic: The Plaza 💎 Most luxurious: The Lowell Hotel 👛 Best budget: The Wallace Hotel 🌃 Best view: Mandarin Oriental 👙 Best pool: The Peninsula New York 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have re

Whether you’re a frequent traveler or somebody visiting New York for the first time, you deserve a place to stay which embodies everything that makes the Big Apple so effortlessly, timelessly cool. After all, a hotel is far from just a place to rest your weary, tired head: when you think about it, they’re basically your gateway into the city.  So, from towering concrete masses to boutique Brooklyn outposts, new additions for Time Out’s 2026 roundup include Nine Orchard, The William Vale, The Standard, High Line, and The Hoxton, Williamsburg. Scroll on for an expertly-curated list of the coolest hotels on the block when it comes to where to stay in NYC. Which area is best to stay in New York? If you’re after a neighborhood which is as cool as your hotel, below you’ll find stays in Tribeca, NoMad, the Lower East Side, the Meatpacking District, and Brooklyn. In fact, we have guides to all of NYC’s neighborhoods, so you can find a spot which is the best fit for you.  New York’s coolest hotels at a glance: 💎 Most luxurious: Crosby Street Hotel 👛 Best budget: Moxy NYC Downtown 🌃 Best view: The Standard, High Line 👙 Best pool: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge 🤩 Most iconic: The William Vale 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many

Gone are the days when the New York spotlight was shone solely on Manhattan. Brooklyn is not only the edgier, cooler younger sibling to the Big Apple’s heartland in terms of its vibe, but also because of its hotels. Don’t get us wrong—there are cool places to stay all over New York, but with so many peppered throughout this particular borough, we simply had to compile a list of the best. So, with new reviews of The William Vale, Ace Brooklyn, and The Hoxton Williamsburg, scroll on for our updated roundup of Brooklyn’s top hotels for spring 2026.  Which area is best to stay in New York? First-time travelers to New York will likely get the most of out of their stay by opting for a Midtown hotel, which is touristy, but super convenient for sightseeing. However, if you’re a frequent visitor to the city, and are after somewhere which feels more neighborhood-like, Williamsburg is a stylish yet well-connected alternative.  Brooklyn’s best boutique hotels at a glance: 🤩 Most iconic: The William Vale 💎 Most luxurious: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge 👛 Best budget: Pod Brooklyn 🌃 Best view: Wythe Hotel 👙 Best pool: Arlo Williamsburg 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in between—to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many of the hotels featured below, but we may not have stayed at e

There’s no time quite like the festive season to visit New York—the already twinkly city will be draped in endless lights, red ribbons will be wrapped around banisters and the parks will be glazed over with ice rinks. Hell, you might even get some snow. But, it’d be a shame to find yourself in a hotel which isn’t giving it’s all to the Christmas spirit, and that’s why we’ve done some digging to compile this ‘nice’ list of top places to stay in the month of December. New additions ahead of winter 2025 include The Plaza, The Knickerbocker, Park Terrace Hotel, Loews Regency New York and voco The Franklin, but there’ll be merriment spreading all over the city, so check out the full list below. Which area is best to stay in New York? Midtown is chaotic, but on your first visit to the city it’s arguably the best central spot to be at the forefront of the action. However, we’re also fans of staying in the Meatpacking District to have stylish restaurants and a lively nightlife to hand, or Williamsburg for a cool spot slightly farther from the Manhattan bustle.  New York’s best Christmas hotels at a glance: 💎 Most luxurious: Mandarin Oriental New York 👛 Best budget: voco The Franklin New York by IHG 🤩 Most iconic: St Regis New York 🎄 Best Christmas Tree: The Plaza 📍 Discover our ultimate guide to the best hotels in New York City How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world—new openings, old classics and everything in betw

The unruly, untamed soul of Italy is bustling, noisy and full of life, but it’s also a cultural goldmine full of art-filled churches, underground crypts, archaeological and historical wonders, and gleaming palaces. The rugged coastline dotted with tiny beaches within easy reach is pretty special too, and then there’s, well, the pizza. Naples’s accommodation is equally wide-ranging, so choose from boutique and budget to all-out luxury, and, if you can afford it, get a room with those incredible views over the Bay of Naples and smouldering Vesuvius. Here are our picks of the best hotels in Naples.  RECOMMENDED: 🛏 The best Airbnbs in Naples What are the best areas to stay in Naples? Now that Naples has firmly shaken off its slightly sketchy reputation, you can count on all of its major neighbourhoods feeling safe to roam in. Our safest bet for an all-round good time is Centro Storico, which puts you in a great position to discover the city’s top attractions and landmarks. For a more up-and-coming area, try the Spanish Quarters, where you’ll get Naples at its bustling, authentic best. Discover all of our recommendations on our list of the best areas to stay in Naples.   How we curate our hotel lists Our team of writers and travel experts review hotels all over the world – new openings, old classics and everything in between – to bring you fresh, honest recommendations, all year round. We have reviewed many of the hotels featured below, but we may not have stayed at every single

The W Fort Lauderdale is ideal if you’re looking to splurge at a 5-star property that has enough to keep you on property for days but that is also close enough to the main attractions. From the pool that gets warm enough in the afternoon to render the hot tub unnecessary to the upscale steakhouse with dozens of jellyfish floating gracefully around the showcase fish tank, the W manages to impress in ways both big and small. Here’s what I thought of it.  What are the rooms like at the W Fort Lauderdale? The 621 rooms fall into seven different categories, with Deluxe being the most affordable, plus two penthouse options with nightly rates comparable to a month’s rent in Miami. Fittingly, the floors are as blue as the Atlantic Ocean that’s directly across from A1A, and each room has a balcony with a view, overlooking either the ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway.  If your room faces the ocean, you’ll also be overlooking the pool, which can at times feel just as inviting as the beach. Inside, each room has a Nespresso machine (which every luxury property should have, arguably) and a Bluetooth speaker loud enough to hear in the shower. That’s in addition to the small bedside radio clocks, which also have Bluetooth capabilities. What is the food like at the W Fort Lauderdale? The two most notable dining options at the W Fort Lauderdale are the casual El Vez and the upscale Steak 954. The latter gets its name from the area code used in Broward County, of which Fort Lauderdale serves

The Hotel Royal dates back to 1955, but the property has been in its current Royal Continental form since 2003, when the then-neighboring Continental was added. So it’s got history, and found right on the centre spot on Naples’s seafront promenade, but still manages to feel like a quiet sanctuary away from the madness of Naples. Why stay at Royal Continental Hotel? Royal Continental Hotel is a proper holiday spot – you don’t ever really have to leave if you don’t want to. There’s enough in the way of activities at the property to get stuck into, and you can spend an entire day enjoying the rooftop pool, and soaking up the views from the hotel terrace. It’s big enough to handle tour groups from overseas (the property has long been a trusted lodging choice for reputable tour companies), but somehow the English-speaking staff manage to greet you by name once they’ve met you the first time.  What are the rooms like at Royal Continental Hotel? The 397 rooms fall into eight different categories, with the majority being Classic, Plus, and Superior Sea View. To stay at the Royal Continental in a room without a sea view would be penny-wise and dollar-foolish: from your balcony, you’ll be able to smell the salt from the Gulf of Naples. If style is your thing, head to the first floor, which still holds true to the hotel’s original design in the 1950s, overseen by Milanese architect Gio Ponti. On his namesake floor, you can find Ponti-designed furniture in the rooms and hall walls adorne

The Radio Hotel has got to be one of the most striking New York buildings north of central park. Looking at the eight different colored sections stacked like Lego toys, with the green one atop proclaiming ‘Radio Hotel’ adds a massive splash of much-needed color to the journey along the congested Cross Bronx Expressway. Even truckers who hate journeying into New York will have a little joy injected into their day.  Why stay at the Radio Hotel? The Radio Hotel is modern, clean, has a really good restaurant  and won’t set you back anywhere near as much as the average hotel south of Washington Heights. Is it central? No, but it is good value. This is your chance to spend time in a Manhattan neighborhood that’s a far cry from the Hop-On Hop-Off bus route, away from the chaos.  What are the rooms like at the Radio Hotel? Colourful, to say the least. The unfinished ceilings give this place a little bit of edge, but it being the Radio Hotel, all the bluetooth speakers are shaped like little radios—antenna and all—and are powerful enough to be heard even if you’re enjoying the (surprisingly spacious for a Manhattan hotel) shower.  And while this place is comfortably removed from the bustle of more central neighborhoods in Manhattan, you are still in Manhattan, meaning the cacophony of car horns is unavoidable (even from the very top floors). Still, you’re close-by to landmarks like the George Washington Bridge, Highbridge Park, and the Harlem River.  What is the food like at the Radio

The large black awning nearly extending to the edge of the Park Avenue sidewalk between 61st and 62nd Streets feels very Upper East Side, and that tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the Loews Regency New York.  Guests swan into the lobby an air of confidence distinctive to this side of Central Park. The high ceilings are grand, but stacks of New York’s two major print newspapers hint at this hotels’ popularity among business travelers. However, the location, with Bloomingdales to the east and Central Park to the west, make this an ideal base from which to explore the Upper East Side’s famous high-end shopping, all with the comfort of a luxe and spacious room to rejuvenate you afterwards.  Why stay at the Loews Regency New York? Here, you’ll have the five-star experience in a charming older hotel, which has been hosting guests since it opened way back in 1963. While it’s recently been renovated, the old-timey details bleed through: hallways of all 21 floors are adorned with framed black and white photos of old New York, and strolling along them does evoke the sense that you’ve slipped back into a different era.  As for the contemporary touches, those are most present in the facilities, such as the Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa or the adjacent Sant Ambroeus Coffee Bar, which serves desserts you've probably never heard of but need to try. What are the rooms like at the Loews Regency New York? The smallest rooms are the 250-square-foot Superior King, while

The William Vale is effortlessly cool. Nestled on the border between the ultra-hip Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods of northwest Brooklyn, the five-star stay opened back in 2016, has 183 guestrooms over 23-floors and resembles something you’d see in an up-and-coming neighborhood in Tokyo or Seoul.  With a gym, pool, rooftop bar(s), and three dining spots that get many of their fresh herbs from the on-property Vale Garden, there’s enough here to enjoy The William Vale as an urban resort, all with the perk of being nestled in a lively, walkable part of New York area that’s not overcrowded like much of Manhattan. Why stay at The William Vale? First up, while in Manhattan hotels can feel pretty cramped, visitors to the William Vale will instead enjoy spacious, modern rooms (which each have their own balcony), plus access to the gym, pool, and three different drinking and dining options—you don’t need to leave the hotel if you don’t want to.  But, as it’s close to some of the museums, restaurants, bridges, and public spaces that make New York America’s top tourist destination, William Vale allows you to enjoy the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods as a proper, temporary local What are the rooms like at The William Vale? There are 15 different room types, from the Queen rooms to the Vale Garden Residence, which has a large deck with a hot tub. And in case you don’t have the energy to make it down to the gym, the Vale Garden Residence has its own Freemotion Coach bik