Two modestly priced hotels, neither with room service, for different parts of the trip: citizenM New York Bowery, from about $180 with no nightly fee, if you want a base for downtown nights out; the TWA Hotel, an airport hotel from about $225 plus fees, if you would rather spend your first or last night in the Sunken Lounge, aboard Connie and in a rooftop pool facing the runway.
The smart moneyA downtown Manhattan double from about $180 in January, under a top-floor rooftop bar and a street-art stairwell.
$From about $180 a night
Choose citizenM New York Bowery if
The catch
Every room is about 150 sq ft (14 m²): the bed meets the walls on three sides, and the shower is a glass pod in the room itself.
The special oneSaarinen's 1962 TWA terminal at JFK as a hotel, with a bar in a Constellation and a runway-view pool.
$From about $225 a night
Choose TWA Hotel if
The catch
It is an airport hotel. Midtown is about 50 minutes away by AirTrain and the E train, so it works as a first or last night, not as a base for the city.
| Best for | citizenM New York Bowery | TWA Hotel |
|---|---|---|
| Best design hotels in New York | On the list | On the list |
| Best value hotels in New York | On the list | On the list |
| Best central hotels in New York | On the list | Not on the list |
| Best hotels with a view in New York | On the list | Not on the list |
citizenM New York BoweryTWA Hotel
citizenM New York Bowery
TWA Hotel
The verdict
Two modestly priced hotels, neither with room service, for different parts of the trip: citizenM New York Bowery, from about $180 with no nightly fee, if you want a base for downtown nights out; the TWA Hotel, an airport hotel from about $225 plus fees, if you would rather spend your first or last night in the Sunken Lounge, aboard Connie and in a rooftop pool facing the runway.
Questions people ask
Two modestly priced hotels, neither with room service, for different parts of the trip: citizenM New York Bowery, from about $180 with no nightly fee, if you want a base for downtown nights out; the TWA Hotel, an airport hotel from about $225 plus fees, if you would rather spend your first or last night in the Sunken Lounge, aboard Connie and in a rooftop pool facing the runway.
Book it for the price, the roof and a downtown address you can walk out of, and pay the small step to the Premium view. Treat the room as a well-made bed with a window, and live in the rest of the building. Cheap for Manhattan and designed rather than merely budget: the money goes into the bed, the art and the roof, and none of it into floor space. It is a base for being out downtown, not a room to spend an afternoon in.
There is no pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.
Book it for the night you land or the night before you fly, and spend it in the Sunken Lounge, aboard Connie and in the rooftop pool facing the runway. Base yourself in the city for everything in between. A landmark to spend one night at rather than a base for New York: the terminal, the bars and the pool on the roof are the stay, and Manhattan is the best part of an hour away. The price is modest for the city, the design is the whole point, and it runs on airport hours.
It has a rooftop pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.