Both stand on the Lower East Side with no nightly fee. Nine Orchard, from about $625, if the building is the point, with cocktails in its 1912 banking hall; citizenM New York Bowery, from about $180, if you would sooner spend on the city than on the bedroom.
The boutique oneA 1912 Lower East Side bank with its dome rebuilt, its marble banking hall a bar, and compact rooms above.
$$$From about $625 a night
Choose Nine Orchard if
The catch
The cheapest rooms are small: the Studio Queen is 230 sq ft (21 m²) with little storage, and the Nook is sold below it without a published size.
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.
| Best for | Nine Orchard | citizenM New York Bowery |
|---|---|---|
| Best design hotels in New York | On the list | On the list |
| Best value hotels in New York | Not on the list | On the list |
| Best central hotels in New York | On the list | On the list |
| Best hotels with a view in New York | Not on the list | On the list |
Nine OrchardcitizenM New York Bowery
Nine Orchard
citizenM New York Bowery
The verdict
Both stand on the Lower East Side with no nightly fee. Nine Orchard, from about $625, if the building is the point, with cocktails in its 1912 banking hall; citizenM New York Bowery, from about $180, if you would sooner spend on the city than on the bedroom.
Questions people ask
Both stand on the Lower East Side with no nightly fee. Nine Orchard, from about $625, if the building is the point, with cocktails in its 1912 banking hall; citizenM New York Bowery, from about $180, if you would sooner spend on the city than on the bedroom.
Book Nine Orchard for the banking hall, the rebuilt dome and a Lower East Side corner with Chinatown on the doorstep, and pay the step up to a Corner King. Reserve the Swan Room when you reserve the room. A small, design-led hotel inside a landmarked 1912 bank, where the public rooms carry the history and the bedrooms are calm and compact. It is a base for eating your way round Chinatown and the Lower East Side, with no spa or pool to keep you in.
There is no pool. There is no beach; the nearest is a drive away.
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.