The price was what initially attracted me to City View Best Western and, overall, I think it was an excellent value.

When we arrived about an hour before stated check-in time, our room was ready and the woman at the desk told us they would be upgrading us to a room with a king-sized bed rather than the double we booked. The room itself was quite spacious and nicely decorated (nice table and chairs but no "easy chair) and the bed was genuinely comfortable. The tv was large and got great reception; the well-appointed bathroom was quite clean. A coffee pot, blow dryer, good-sized closet, iron and ironing board were among the basics in the room. There was even an exercise bike in the room (good news) but the height adjustment of the bike was held together by a ballpoint pen (bad news).

Best Western City View provides a fabulous free breakfast daily in a small dining area adjacent to the lobby. Each morning they had scrambled eggs, sausage, make-you-own-waffles, bagels, donuts, yogurt, cereal, fresh fruit, juices, and coffee. Given the price of food in NYC, this was a huge benefit—we never really needed lunch because we had a lovely, filling, hot breakfast. Coffee was available all day and at night, they made cookies in the oven—dynamite. Next to the breakfast area was a fitness center which had room for one bike and a treadmill. It was literally too small to use comfortably. In the lobby, there were two public access computers with internet. They were frequently busy, but I did manage to get on line a couple of times.

It’s important to understand that this hotel does, technically, have a “city view” but it is in a residential section of Queens (Long Island City/Blissville/Sunnyside) which is across the East River from Manhattan. The hotel, which is in a former private girls school building, is across the street from a huge cemetery (Calvary, in case you are interested) and next to some commercial property—might be a warehouse. This is not a garden view and the neighborhood, while safe, is not picturesque. Someone unused to NYC and its diversity might be frightened of the neighborhood.

The deal is that the hotel provides a shuttle to the nearest subway station. The subway is not, in my opinion, within walking distance of the hotel; I’d guess it is more than a mile. But we found the hotel shuttle to be completely reliable. In three days, we never waited more than five minutes for a van to arrive. I programmed the hotel shuttle phone number into my cell phone and dialed it as we came down the steps from the elevated subway station. The meeting place is a 24 hour fruit/vegetable market that is well-lit. I will say that the drivers offered a “variety” of styles from blasting rap and 70 mph to a more sedate but silent drive. The van itself was merely serviceable; it was not filthy, but the check engine light was on the whole time and one door had to be opened by the driver--it didn't bother me, but it might annoy the persnickety motorist.

When you get to the subway, it is about seven stops to lower Manhattan. When we checked in, the front desk gave us a full subway map which was hugely helpful. They were pleasant and polite. We had no security problems during our stay. I researched subway fare cards and for our three day stay it was cheaper to buy an unlimited fare card for $25 for both of us so that once we left the hotel, we could travel to, from, and within Manhattan at will. It was great to be able to hop on a subway anyway the whole time without having to fish for subway fare every time. Do keep your Metrotickets in a safe place though!

The cost per night via Orbitz was about $110 which is a huge bargain for NYC. The closeness to the city itself was great. I am originally from the New York area, so I was pretty comfortable with the location of the hotel, but I don’t know that people who have never been to the city would be as comfortable. You have to be confident in your ability to use the subway system and you should not expect something super luxurious. It’s not a quick trip back and forth to the hotel, so it’s important to plan your days out carefully.