Tiny New York City Rooms for a Tiny Price

a bed with a red and black bedding
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It can be tough to find a decently priced hotel room in New York City, and many tourists end up spending a ton of money on accommodations alone. Sometimes they aren’t even able to get a hotel right in the middle of the action and end up on the outskirts, requiring longer transit times to popular sights. If the idea of a super small hotel room doesn’t bother you, a Pod hotel room can save you a ton of money and put you in a great location.

Cleveland.com highlighted a 10×12 foot room at The Pod Hotel this week which is a no-frills alternative to overpriced hotel rooms and too-full hostels in the Big Apple. The concept is simple with clean, comfortable accommodations in smaller than usual rooms.

As a bonus, all the guest rooms look like they have windows, something that isn’t always the case in pod hotels where space is at a premium.

There are currently two locations, both of which are about a mile away from Times Square and a short walk from Grand Central Station –

The Pod Hotel 39
145 East 39th Street (between 3rd Ave & Lexington Ave)
New York, NY 10016

The Pod Hotel 51
230 East 51st Street (between 2nd Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10022

There are free walking tours offered to guests, and Pod Hotel 51 also has a rooftop deck and cafe.

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Looking at the smallest Single Pod option in Pod Hotel 51, it didn’t give me square footage but promised a desk, twin bed, free wifi, safe, open closet, thermostat, LCD flat screen TV and hairdryer.

Here are the pictures from a single pod from their website –

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Choosing a random midweek date in January, the price came back at $70 with no prepayment required. Free cancellation was offered with no penalty if done 24 hours before check-in. $70 is an outstanding rate to stay right in Manhattan!

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The only issue I had was the shared bathroom. No thanks, I’d rather have my own.

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The next category up was the Bunkbed Pod Room at $75, which still had a shared bath but would be great for those who have kids (or want to feel like one).

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Moving up to the Full Pod, the description included a private bathroom with rainshower for $90 a night and the Queen Pod for 2 people was $105. I could tell from the pictures that the space was still small, but efficient. There was even a Studio Pod which sleeps 4, though not available for my test date.

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Selecting a more desirable date of Saturday August 22, 2015 the rate for a Queen Pod was still reasonable at $190.

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Here’s a booking link.

Another Pod hotel is set to debut in Washington DC in the fall of 2016.

Would you stay in a tiny hotel room to save money?

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5 Comments

  1. Staying in Citizen M brand in Schipol and Amsterdam City. Both are nice, modern, and pretty cheap. There’s one in NY …

  2. I’m fine with the small room and small bed, but I’m not into sharing a bathroom. I would spring for the cost of a “full” room to get the private bath. Worth the extra cost to me.

  3. I would have no problem staying in a tiny hotel to save money!

    I far prefer something modern and clean, but tiny, to something bigger but older and in need of a refresh.

    1. Plus you can’t beat the location Marc. It’s no wonder business is brisk and I’ll be curious to see if there will be more of these in 5 years. Thanks for reading!

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