Spending a quick weekend in New York City, we wanted a comfortable place to stay without busting the bank. New York City hotels are generally quite expensive and after a bit of scouring, I found the Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Midtown East on Hotels.com. After double-checking rates and the TripAdvisor reviews, it seemed to be a solid option in a great location.

Overall Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Location: 5 of 5 Stars
Service: 4 of 5 Stars
Comfort: 5 of 5 Stars
Cleanliness: 5 of 5 Stars

You already know I’m a fan of the Hotels.com Rewards program with it’s simple rewards earning concept.  I had booked the room at the Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Midtown East on Hotels.com and redeemed a free reward night worth ~$180 USD, which was only a few dollars short of the cash nightly rate. Considering the is rated very well on TripAdvisor, that’s not a bad rate for Midtown Manhattan.

We arrived at LaGuardia late in the evening on a Friday in the pouring rain. After an annoying Lyft pickup experience, we made it to the Residence Inn in about 30 minutes in light traffic. The location of the hotel is incredibly central and within walking distance of lots of Midtown Manhattan attractions like Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, The MOMA, Rockefeller Center, Radio City, and much more. There is reasonable subway access and the nearest station is 51st Street at 51st and Lexington.

There are two Marriott properties within a block of each other so be sure you arrive at the correct one. We arrived in the lobby where the polite staff greeted us. Our interaction with the staff was limited to check-in and check-out but both processes were easy. At check-in we were told that our room type had been upgraded to a Larger Studio which was nice surprise. The staff always greeted us with hellos and goodbyes as we passed through the lobby,

Our room was on the 12th floor, very close to the elevator. As we had been upgraded to Larger Studio, we had a corner room. On first impressions, the room was extremely spacious, especially for New York City standards. There was a moderate sized bathroom with a shower/tub combo and lots of counter space. The Residence Inn properties have longer stays in mind the room featured a small kitchenette area which was practical but not something we used during our stay. The kitchenette had a small counter bar with stools, a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and basic dishes.

This room featured one King bed and a small seating area. Some rooms have an additional sofa bed. The bed itself was comfortable and the linens were soft and fresh. But the coolest feature of the room was the balcony and the nice neighborhood view that it offered. Out on the balcony, there was a small patio table and chairs.

Rare for New York City, the Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Midtown East does offer a free breakfast for all guests in the lobby each morning. However, we did not take advantage of this perk during our stay. There’s just too many other places we wanted to eat during our stay.

While the name “Residence Inn” isn’t one the evoke high luxury, we really enjoyed our comfortable, easy stay at the Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Midtown East. The rate was reasonable, the room was enormous by New York City standards, and everything was modern and clean. Everything was overwhelmingly pleasant and I’d have no qualms about staying here again. Solid hotel!