Having just nearly a week in NYC I feel your pain. Our family of 4 snagged a family suite (2 BR) at the Hotel Metro on West 35th Street for about $450 a night and I felt lucky! We also discovered at checkout that the convenient bedside bottle of water was $3.75--and considered a "minibar item" even though it was nowhere near the minibar. The minibar came with a sign warning the items out of the fridge for longer than 20 seconds would be charged. And we didn't bother driving but took Amtrak instead, which is always its own experience.

The bonus for us was the continental breakfast which meant we could save on at least one meal per day. The decent pizzeria up the street was the site of two dinners.

We had considered the Pod Hotel but they didn't have a room for 4 the week we were going. If we go back, we'll try to plan further ahead and stay there.

Stay in NJ for a fraction of the cost and in a much larger room. Free parking at most hotels. You can take NJ Transit (buses and trains) into the city or you can drive to Staten Island and take the ferry ($7 to park, ferry is FREE). If traveling with kids, I strongly recommend the ferry! They'll love it and you can get some great pictures of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

Agree with the comment about the ferry. We attempted to visit the Statue of Liberty but one look at the line told us we'd be there all day. So we took the SI ferry round trip and got pictures not only of the Statue & Ellis Island but also the Queen Mary 2 which was docked in NY.

I stayed at the Pod this winter, and it was fine, but expensive. Over Thanksgiving weekend a couple of years back, we stayed at a Days Inn in Long Island City, just one subway stop from Manhattan. Nice rooms, continental breakfast, free street parking, and about $150 a night.

When I am looking for a room, and I don't want to "slum" it at the Flushing YMCA, I usually stay at the Colonial Inn in Chelsea. They have some rooms with a shared bath, and some rooms with a private bath, and offer a nice Continental Breakfast. I am not certain, but most of them, if not all are under $200.
They market as a gay hotel, but I have stayed a couple of times and there were straight european couples staying there as well. It is close to a subway stop, but does not have an elevator, so be prepared to carry your luggage up narrow steps. Also I think it has a cancelation policy of a week in advance, and you have to leave your room key(not a swipe card) at the desk when you go out. Those things may be deal breakers for some people.

When I am looking for a room, and I don't want to "slum" it at the Flushing YMCA, I usually stay at the Colonial Inn in Chelsea. They have some rooms with a shared bath, and some rooms with a private bath, and offer a nice Continental Breakfast. I am not certain, but most of them, if not all are under $200.
They market as a gay hotel, but I have stayed a couple of times and there were straight european couples staying there as well. It is close to a subway stop, but does not have an elevator, so be prepared to carry your luggage up narrow steps. Also I think it has a cancelation policy of a week in advance, and you have to leave your room key(not a swipe card) at the desk when you go out. Those things may be deal breakers for some people.

I'll second the Colonial Inn. If you need workspace or free wi-fi or whatever than it's not a good choice, but if all you need is a place to sleep and wash up, it's perfect.

The Embassy Suites in the Financial district was great about $169 a nite with AAA discount for a king sized bed and seperate living room with full size sleeper. But be careful they will try to put a 200 hold on your account for each DAY you are there, they wanted to hold $1000 on my card for my trip, and then acted dumb when I explained I would have little money to actually spend if they did that

Yes, the financial district has good weekend bargains because that area of the city is typically EMPTY after 5pm on Fridays.

I stayed at the Hotel 57, a "boutique" hotel near Central Park and the Plaza, on my last trip and it was pretty fantastic. The Saturday night rate including taxes did come close to $300, but it was for Labor Day weekend. The room was quite large with the nicest bathroom I've ever seen in NYC.

Also, make sure to check out the actual hotel's website. I got a $199 a night rate at the Hotel Wales last Labor Day weekend for my mom, because they were having and end of the summer special.

We like to stay on Long Island and take the train (Long Island Railroad) in. Long Island has some very nice places to stay with great amenities. Parking is free and you have a car to go exploring.

We have found that for the price some of the older hotels in downtown Manhattan can be pretty disappointing. Sad to say, the guy in the uniform that opens the door for you is often the highlight of the experience.

The couple hundred a night that you save by staying off Manhattan goes a lot further by spending it on the many fun things NYC has to offer.

I am so grateful for friends with floor space. NYC is out of control.

Beyond the Craigslist sublet option and the Financial District hotels mentioned above (both routes I have had success with, especially on weekends), there are some great little brownstone hotels in Brooklyn for a fraction of the cost of the Brooklyn Marriott. Just Google 'Brooklyn hotels' or 'Park Slope hotels' and quite a few come up. In most cases it's pretty basic (nice room and bathroom, leave the key when you're done), but the locations are great and the prices very reasonable.

A sneaky little tip- go on to the Javits Center Website and see what conventions are in town. Very often you can book through the convention's website for a fraction of the cost of the room. We did this last February during the toy convention and got a room at the Grand Hyatt for $225! It works in other cities as well.

Chelsea Inn, Chelsea Loge or Chelsea Star.

Try Priceline. I usually get the Hyatt at Grand Central or the Roosevelt Hotel for around $160 per night (except for holidays and when big conventions are in town). Though, I once got the absolutely terrible Hudson Hotel once. That's a hipster hotel with a loud thumping nightclub in the lobby and rooms no bigger than your bed.

For real bare-bones, try the Hotel Madison at 62 Madison http://www.madison-hotel.com/rooms.htm.

The single rooms are small, but clean, and only $138 a night including taxes and breakfast at the attached greasy spoon/Indian restaurant. And they encourage you to have food delivered-even had some menus available.

Try the Bentley hotel on the upper east side. It's relatively quiet since it's a block from the river. Ask the front desk for a room with a view of the Queensborough bridge. The hotel is so close to the bridge that the right room offers an amazing view. We've always paid under $200/night. I've heard a few people had issues, but who knows if it was the guests or the hotel. We've always had a great stay and so have friends we've recommended it to.

If you're willing to stay in NJ, the Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites in Avenel is a pretty good option for $79/night. For transportation, you'd have to take the hotel shuttle to an NJ transit stop. Driving into the city is actually not too bad -- bestparking.com helps you find parking garages, some of which have weekend rates of $12 for the whole day, which can be even cheaper than taking public transportation.

Try radiocityapartments.com.It is hard to get a booking on short notice, but if you plan ahead, it is fantastic. It is on 49th between 6th and 7th ,near theaters, shops, restaurants, almost everything. You get a full kitchenette, which saves a fortune.

If you're looking for a clean, basic room and don't mind sharing a bath, check out Hotel 17. Stayed there with friends (girls weekend) last July and the room w/2 full beds was large by NYC standards. The room was clean, quiet, had a sink and a working air conditioner. A bathroom is shared by 3 rooms and was very clean. All for $145/night! The hotel is on E 17th St in Gramercy Park, near Union Square (pick up a portable lunch at Whole Foods and eat in the park across the street). Travel Advisor ranks it #108 - NYC hotels.

I travel to NYC regularly for work (federal employee) and my challenge is finding a hotel that will honor the government rate-- during most seasons, hotels have no rooms available at that rate, so I need to find rooms elsehow that will come close to that.

www.lastminutetravel.com
Affinia Chain - www.affinia.com

Depending on your business affiliations, you may be able to get a room through www.clubquarters.com , which also offers rooms for pleasure travel.

The WashingtonPost.com site used to have an "Affordable NYC Hotels" page with a clickable map on it with 15 possible options on it.

K.C.: I have a list I keep for co-workers, would be happy to email it.

I stayed at the Comfort Inn Brooklyn Bridge over the last weekend in February. $92/night from Hotwire, but now the prices are astronomical, even on Hotwire. That being said, this hotel and its staff are so wonderful, and its walking distance from Atlantic Terminal stop. The room accomodated a king-sized bed, large TV, a really clean bathroom w/large tub, and a view of Manhattan from the window.

Keep the great suggestions coming, everyone. We're going to compile them in a special lodging tips box for our upcoming New York issue (April 6).

Casta, you're right about that cheap NY hotel list we put together, and it is still online here.

But it's two years old now, so that's why we're looking for new tips. Keep 'em coming, folks!

Btw, we've also written recently about NYC hotels with shared baths. Not for me, but if you can stand the thought, it's another good way to save. Here's the link.

I have had great success with Expedia.com, The rates were under $200 and some nice hotels to boot. Also paying in advance through expedia means I don't have to worry about THAT expense when I get to NYC. I am going Labor Day weekend and got the Radisson on Broadway for $154 a night! Besides as long as the bed is fresh and they have decent cable what more can you ask for.

My boss had a Feb 2008 hotel bill on which $16.00 was charged for the bottle of water from the mini-bar.

I want to echo about Priceline. I got a $180 rate at the Grand Hyatt through it.

Thanks so much for the info. No, the article I referred to was just a few weeks ago. It was a critique of three or four B&B's in NYC. However, the March, 2008 article is helpful.