Independent reviews, neighborhood-by-neighborhood advice, and the best deals on Hotels.com — all written by Brits who actually know the difference between a good Times Square hotel and a tourist trap. From family-friendly suites to hen-do-ready boutiques to your first business trip stateside.
Choosing a hotel in New York from the UK is harder than it should be. The city has over 700 hotels across five boroughs, prices fluctuate £150 a night between low and high seasons, and most travel sites are written for American audiences who don't need to know about ESTA, three-pin adapters, the £-to-$ swing, or why the airport you fly into really matters when London-to-NYC flights have been delayed.
That's why this site exists. Every page is written from a UK perspective. We tell you which neighborhoods are actually walkable for British tourists who don't want to be in a yellow cab every five minutes. We flag the hotels with kettles in the room (most don't). We rank options by what matters to you — whether that's a hen do near rooftop bars, a quiet family suite near Central Park, or a business hotel near Grand Central where the wifi actually works.
Use the neighborhood guides below if you know roughly where you want to be. Use the traveller-type guides if you know who you're going with but haven't decided on an area yet. And whichever route you take, every hotel link goes straight to Hotels.com UK so you see real GBP prices for your dates.
Where you stay defines your trip. Times Square is brilliant for first-timers; Midtown for business; Brooklyn for the trendy crowd. Pick your patch.
The neon, the chaos, the Broadway shows on your doorstep. Best base for first-time visitors who want everything on the doorstep — though seasoned travellers find it a bit much.
Times Square hotels →Grand Central, the Empire State, Rockefeller Center. The most central, well-connected and walkable patch of the city. Brilliant for business or first-timers who want quiet.
Midtown hotels →Central Park on one side, the Museum of Natural History on the other, leafy residential streets in between. The Brits' favourite quiet base — especially with kids.
Upper West Side hotels →Wall Street, the 9/11 Memorial, the Statue of Liberty ferry. Quieter at night when the bankers go home — which makes it surprisingly peaceful for a holiday base.
Lower Manhattan hotels →Williamsburg, DUMBO, Park Slope. Cheaper than Manhattan, more interesting food scene, and the skyline view from the Brooklyn Bridge is honestly the best in the city.
Brooklyn hotels →The right hotel for a hen do is not the right hotel for a business trip. Here's our guide for every group.
Family suites, pools, kid-friendly neighborhoods, and the hotels with proper sit-down breakfasts. From toddler-tolerant to teenager-tested.
See family picks →Boutique hotels with skyline views, rooftop bars, and the right balance of central and quiet. From honeymoon splurges to weekend escapes.
See romantic picks →Group-friendly hotels close to the rooftop bars, brunch spots and shopping. The ones that won't moan when you arrive at midnight after a delayed Heathrow flight.
See hen-do picks →Hotels with bars on-site, central locations near sports venues, and good sleeping rooms for hangovers. Practical recommendations from people who've done it.
See stag-do picks →Reliable wifi, proper desks, gym access, and locations near the Financial District or Midtown corporate offices. Things UK business travellers actually need.
See business picks →High-intent picks for what people actually search for.
Cheap-but-not-cheerful is hard in NYC. Here's what genuinely costs under £200 per night without ending up in a closet in Queens.
See budget picks →Rare in Manhattan, more common further out. The hotels where the kids can swim — including the few rooftop pools that are open to non-guests for a fee.
See pool hotels →Wake up across the road from one of the world's most famous parks. Rooms with park views, walking-distance hotels, and the genuine bargains around the corner.
See Central Park hotels →The hotels where you wake up to the Manhattan skyline. From the obvious Times Square towers to the Brooklyn rooftops with the view in the other direction.
See skyline hotels →Real GBP prices for your travel dates, free cancellation on most rooms, plus Hotels.com Rewards credit on every booking.
Search New York Hotels →The bits American hotel sites won't tell you. ESTA, transfers, tipping, when to go.
The £17 visa waiver every Brit needs before flying. How to apply, what it covers, common mistakes that get people refused at JFK.
Read the guide →Yellow cab, AirTrain + subway, Uber, private car — what each really costs and how long each really takes when you've just landed at 8pm jetlagged.
Read the guide →How much, when, to whom. The rules Brits get most wrong, and the moments where not tipping is genuinely rude (and the moments you're not expected to).
Read the guide →Month-by-month for UK travellers — Christmas lights, summer humidity, Thanksgiving prices, autumn foliage. When to book and when to avoid.
Read the guide →No sponsored rankings, no hotel chain favouritism, no patronising "10 reasons NYC will blow your mind" listicles.
Hotels can't pay to appear in our guides. Every recommendation is based on neighborhood research, traveller reviews, and our own UK-perspective judgment.
Every guide is written for British travellers. We talk pounds, mention adapters, flag jet lag, and address ESTA — none of which the US-written competition does.
When you book via our links, we earn a small commission from Hotels.com — never from you. Prices on the site are identical to going direct. See our disclosure.
NYC hotel scene changes fast — new openings, refurbishments, neighborhood gentrification. We update our recommendations multiple times a year.