STA Travel Bugs: Cheap USA hotels?
North America is pretty high on my dream destinations list right now. I’m feeling squeezed by the credit crunch, dsigusted by London’s cost of living and fed up with a social life that looks more like Eastenders than Sex and the City. But I haven’t got a Carrie Bradshaw budget and want to spend my dollars on shopping rather than a fancy hotel- so this week I’ve been selfish and asked the STA Travel bods to answer this Travellerspoint query from snaily that closely matches my own:
I’m planning to go to the US in september to visit several places. At the moment I’m looking for [cheap] hotels to book… I’m also looking forward to your advice on which places are to be visited first of all in the US, not too far from New York…
Calcruzer has posted some good advice, so head over to the forum to read it and add your shiny pearls of wisdom - and click here for what Dylan in STA Covent Garden has to say…
In New York a just a dollar or two more can make all the difference in the quality of accomodation. When I first went to NY I opted for the cheapest place I found on the net, but regretted it when I got there. I moved down the road and upgraded myself to the Continental Hostel on 95th street which I believe is the best value out there - but book early as this place sells out very quickly. A couple of other good hostels in NYC are the Chelsea or Wanderers Inn. On the West Coast I used the USA Hostels chain - most of the hostels have recently been renovated, have heaps of facilities, clean, safe and have fun communal areas.
In each town I just bought the USA City Passes, they don’t break the bank and save you a ton of money. Simple to use, they are a pocket sized booklet of attraction passes in each city. I’d recommend a tour from New York to Niagra falls and if you have some spare time and the budget permits, there are some really cool day tours by bus or helicopter to the Grand Canyon.
One more thing - here at STA we have recently launched our World brochure which lists all the must see sights and best accomdation in each place, you can check out the America section here - and don’t forget to read the fine print here.
Give our branch us a call if you need any more information on 0871 468 0612 (our branch is open 7 days a week).
Dylan
STA Travel Covent Garden
