Pod Hotel - 230 East 51st Street

There is barely space to swing an MP3 player in the rooms, and couples will have to be very close before they’ll want to use the see-through bathrooms, but there are compensations to this Midtown hotel. Even though a third of the rooms have shared bathrooms and bunk beds, all of them have flat-screen TVs and iPod docking stations. The designers, who also worked on the fashionista-fave Maritime Hotel, drew inspiration from airlines to take the sting out of the cramped conditions.

The rooms with shared bathrooms, for instance, have indicator lights telling you when the bathrooms are free. In keeping with the designery budget feel, the concierge produces a handy daily tip sheet on bargain meals, sample sales and exhibitions.

Singles from £48, doubles with private bath £73

20 classic New York stories

The travel editor at Times Online delves into the collection to choose his favourite NYC features

• Top 5 New York spas

New York's new cultural quarter

New York's Lower East Side is growing from faded bohemian seediness into a blossoming centre of culture

BACKGROUND

• Sinatra's New York

• Bargain hunting New York

• New York: stay for under £100

• New York's coolest hotels

• New York's hip hotels

Related Internet Links

• New York travel special: immigration, shopping and tips

Related Links

• The Top 10 cities to visit in 2009

Cosmopolitan Hotel - 125 Chambers Street

In the heart of Tribeca, a couple of blocks from SoHo, the Cosmopolitan isn’t flashy, and doesn’t draw attention to itself, but lives up to its name with accommodation that will suit everyone, from families and couples to solo travellers. With 125 rooms, all en suite, it uses considerable ingenuity with some awkward spaces, the miniloft rooms are the cheapest and most quintessentially New York – with a bathroom and sitting area on one level with staircase leading up to the bed area – and is fantastically clean. The management is friendly and efficient, and the location is great – crammed with bars, vintage shops and general downtown cool.

Doubles from £83

The Gershwin - 7 East 27th Street

Andy Warhol hung out here in the 1960s and left behind some fine screenprints, but it’s not the only reason to stay here. The hotel, pictured on our cover, is in the heart of Midtown, close to Madison Square Garden and the Flatiron building.

The Canadian owners want the hotel to be a melting pot, so every type of accommodation is on offer, from dorm rooms (from £16 a night) to suites (£161 a night), with a few quirky touches thrown in – the fourth floor usually houses models and has extra large cupboards as a result. There is also an artist-in-residence programme. All rooms are en-suite.

The downside: as the manager, Joel Oury, says: “It’s an old hotel, you’ll hear the heating start up in the morning and street noise.” The rooms can be plain, but the art-stuffed lobby and bar hold regular exhibitions and readings. Occupancy regularly runs at 100 per cent – book early, particularly for the sought-after family rooms.

Doubles from £53

Hotel 17 - 225 East 17th St

The star of Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery and, thanks to the 1950s wallpaper, many an edgy fashion shoot, this veteran budget hotel accommodates tourists and long-term residents (with a strong showing in actors and models. If you want to get plugged into the club scene, there’s no better base than here, just off the East Village. Hotel 17 has 120 rooms, the cheaper of which have shared baths. A room with private bath hits the psychologically important $200 mark.

Doubles from £68

Bed and Breakfast on the Park - 113 Prospect Park West

No longer cast as a mere Manhattan spillover; Brooklyn has landmark museums (notably the Brooklyn Museum), parks, some of New York’s best restaurants and a well-heeled counter-culture feel. Prices tend to be lower than Manhattan and the Subway is fast. Housed in a brownstone mansion, Bed and Breakfast on the Park is full of chintzy Victoriana and the basement rooms come in on budget.

Rooms from £93

Park Slope B&B - 604 Fifth Street

A self-contained apartment within a brownstone, which has two rooms, a kitchen, and its own meditation room.

Doubles from £85

Landmark Guest Rooms - 3041 Broadway

Probably some of the best-value accommodation in Manhattan, and all the rooms come with air-conditioning and your own en suite bathroom. Yes, it’s part of a seminary (itself part of Columbia University) and probably not the best place to plan a major party session, but this imposing Gothic-style early 20th-century edifice offers a rare blend of tranquillity and cable television on Broadway. There are 25 rooms in a family-friendly mix of singles, doubles and twin rooms. It’s a short walk from the Upper West Side and Harlem in Morningside Heights.

Doubles from £81

Chelsea Lodge (and Suites) - 318 West 20th Street

Behind a discreet brownstone, the Chelsea Lodge has 22 rooms – all of which have washbasins and showers (the lavatories are in the hall). Just around the corner, the same owners have opened a set of suites.

All have their own bathrooms while the garden suites have access to outdoor space – an excellent way to enjoy the fantasy of being a Manhattan resident (with daily maid service on the side and the back-up of a hotel’s services if necessary). Walking distance from Chelsea’s clubs and the quainter joys of the West Village and deservedly popular, so book well in advance.

Doubles from £63, suites from £95

Self-catering

Staying in an apartment is a good way to keep accommodation costs low, especially on longer trips. The least expensive options come with a resident New Yorker whose flat you share, but you can also find private apartments for less than £100 a night, if you look carefully. Affordable NYC has 120 properties on its books. Prices start at £46 for a hosted apartment (four-night minimum stay) and £85 for a private, one-bedroom apartment (five-night minimum stay). City Sonnet concentrates on Lower Manhattan and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, although there is a studio apartment on the Upper West Side for £85 a night. There is usually a three-night minimum stay.

Harlem Flophouse - 242 West 123rd Street

This four-room B&B typifies the new arty coolness of Harlem. Restored by the owner, the artist René Calvo, the original tin ceilings have been preserved, the furnishings are 1930s utility, and the walls are painted in moody greens, with patchwork quilts and vintage prints. None of the four rooms is en suite (not historically accurate) or has air-conditioning (ditto). Just off 125th street and a short hop by bus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection and the Guggenheim. It’s also the ideal place to appreciate the Harlem Renaissance and learn about the area’s fascinating past (the owner has a superb library of books and music about the district).

Doubles from £64, room only

Times recommends

• The smart guide to travel blogging
• 30 top takes on New York
• Europe's 20 best Christmas markets 2009