The Pod Hotel New York

My girlfriend and I stayed at The POD Hotel in NYC from 9-25-08 to 9-29-08.

I started planning this trip for us in early 2008. I spent months looking for different hotels. I had a list of about 15 different options and looked up loads of info on each of them. I couldn't find the pricing info on some of them without having to call, which is how The POD Hotel was. Because of that, I saved those for last.

I got to looking at The POD Hotel and noticed how they had many different styles of rooms. They had single rooms with couch beds, bunk bed rooms, and larger rooms with larger beds. Since we weren't planning on being in the room a lot we didn't need a larger room. We decided on the bunk bed room. I called and got all of the pricing info and was really happy. For our five day, four night stay at The POD Hotel it came out to a total of around mid-$800's, including all taxes and fees.

I will admit that the bunk bed room was very small, about the size of a prison cell, LoL. It had a little desk, in room sink and mirror, and a small open closet area to hang up your shirts with shelves above and below. The beds were bunk beds, of course, and each had a small, and I mean small, pull out TV attached to a swivel on the wall.

The rooms didn't have their own bathrooms. Each floor had two shared bathrooms. The bathrooms were small, but very nice. Each bathroom had a single shower and a door that could be locked, so it wasn't dorm room style. Each room, or POD, had a signal above the door letting you know if the bathrooms were in use at the moment.

The hotel was always very clean. We had our bags and all of our souvenirs and what not laid out on the floor in a corner of the room and nothing was ever touched or moved, but the room was always cleaned with the beds made each day.

I'm not very sure about the different amenities because of the small room we chose to stay in. I'm sure the larger rooms were more well equipped.

The location was great. At the end of the block was a great little deli called PAX's. We ate our breakfast here every morning. It's just down the street from a subway location. There are many different tourist locations located all around. It's only about a mile from Times Square which isn't a very long walk at all. If you prefer to catch a subway to Times Square, there is a subway location about a block and a half (5 min or less) going towards uptown that you can catch and it will take you directly below Times Square in a jiffy.

I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a cheap, fun place to stay while enjoying the wonderful city of New York. For older couples, you may want to go for the larger rooms (still cheap). Younger couples, go wild and get the bunk bed rooms, they're fun, and you still have room to get your groove on!

I will always stay at this hotel while visiting NYC. The only reason I would not stay here is if I would like to stay for only a night or two at a big fancy uppity hotel for just the experience of it, which would cost half of the total cost or the full total cost of the POD cost for the entire trip.

Pod Hotel: 230 E 51st St, New York, NY 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th

I loved this hotel. And that's saying a lot considering it was a 'budget' hotel in NY & that I always felt lonely staying any place other than a hostel or friend's house.

My favourite part - and I think it's reason enough to go there on its own - was the rooftop. It was spectacular. The view really made me realise how amazing New York City really is. Laying down on the warm, bright astro turf and looking up and out at it all was one of my favourite things to do.

The hotel room itself came as quite a shock at first. A tiny room with a small single bed and ... "Where's the toilet?". It took me a while to decide that there was no secret door or flip out compartment containing the loo. It sounds odd - but the room looks a little like a kids playground and so I don't feel too silly for jumping to that conclusion. There were a bunch of hidey holes for storing things & I'd never been to a hotel without a bathroom within the room itself.

...But that's why the Pod Hotel is such good value. There were about four or so bathrooms to share amongst an entire floor of people but you know what? They were always empty when I went passed them. I was particularly impressed with the cleanliness of the bathrooms. They looked so modern and brand new that I felt as though I wasn't the millionth person to visit them - which believe me, is SUCH a good feeling after staying in big old hostels with worn out bathroom tiles/fixtures/handles etc.

One of the main features of the Pod is that every room contains an iPod docking station - something which I found thoroughly uber spectacular and used every moment that I spent in that room without a raging hangover. i.e. Not a lot to be honest!

I would HIGHLY reccommend this hotel. Especially for couples or lone travellers who don't want to stay in hostels. It's modern, young and the staff were helpful and kind - except for the unusually cranky maids. I'd stay at the Pod again in a heartbeat & I'll happily tell anyone who asks me where they should stay that this is the place!!

"It's so cute!" That was my cousin's reaction as we stepped into our room at The Pod Hotel. Yes, it was small, about 8x10ft. The colorful bunk bed covers are what we first noticed. The space planning in the room was carefully designed to accomodate two guests in the most comfortable way possible. The room is small but since my cousin and I were in NYC for sightseeing we weren't going to be spending much time in the room anyway. The time we did spend there was fit for two travelers on a budget. The total cost for three nights was reasonable, at least in comparison to the other accomodations we checked while planning our journey.
Showers and toilets were down the hall by the elevators. There are four WCs on our floor, 3rd floor, by the way. Above the door in each of the bedrooms are four little lights that illuminate when the WCs are occupied. That way you don't even have to leave your room if there is not an available WC. I never once found all four WCs occupied however. Not even in the morning when I expected all the travelers to be getting ready to hit the city. Like dorm-room living, this was only a minor inconvenience. Most notably when I had to get up in the middle of the night and stumble down the hall to the WC. The WCs were always clean. Thanks in part to their sparse amenities. Two surprises were the shampoo and shower gel dispensers on the shower wall. Since I had not packed any shampoo it was a welcome surprise.
The cleaning staff were so nice. The lady who maintained our floor was very accomodating and brought us towels when requested.
The main desk staff were a godsend. Our flight arrived in the early morning and we got the hotel at about 0910am. I thought we would only be able to check in our bags until later in the day before checking into a room. This was not the case. The front desk clerk said he had a room available and offered it to us straight away. Thank you Agha for your help. This helped us get in a nap before heading out on the town and to our Broadway show.
The hotel lobby is stylish in a modern way. Bright colors on the wall mural and accent pieces keep the vibe lively. Who couldn't help but feel happy in this environment? Our concierge was just that, happy. He gladly explained our Gray Line Tour ticket options, pointed me to the nearest United Colors of Benetton and even gave us some restaurant feedback.
If you are traveling to NYC and are looking for an affordable, comfortable and stylish place to stay go for the Pod.

We stayed at The Pod hotel for 2 nights. We got the room with 2 bunked twin beds. The bed is big enough for small people like me and my friend. Each bed has a personal reading light and a 10" LCD TV with headphones. There is an iPod docking station, which was not compatible with my Iphone. There is a small sink station in the room, just for hand washing and speedy tooth brushing. We shared toilets and bathrooms with the other guests and we did fine because it's not crowded. They have a concierge service available at the lobby everyday. We got good travel tips from them.

We didn't have time to do the Empire state building on that trip. So, we were happy enough just to have a nice view of the city from above on the rooftop.

Me and my brother stayed here for a week in February 2008, and we were both very satisfied that we chose Pod Hotel. It situates in a good location near subway station, and only a short walk from Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and United Nations.

Our room was called the Bunk Pod, which was indeed really small, smaller than an average cabin on a cruiser ship. Even so, I was really happy because the room was cheap and also very clean. It even had a small LCD TV for both beds. The shared bathroom was next door, and there was some nice ambient music playing 24/7 which was nice. It was cleaned several times a day, so it was always tidy.

Breakfast wasn't included in the price, but nearby there is the Pax Wholesome Foods store, which I can recommend. Overall, I think Pod Hotel is a very affordable choice if you need a convenient place to stay in Midtown. It's not luxurious, but does its job well as a place to stay for a night. You might still want to take earplugs with you, because sometimes it was a little bit noisy at night. For me it wasn't a problem though, since I was always so tired after exploring the city all day long. :)