OK, I have a wife and 2 teenagers and am on the average salary, so 2 rooms in downtown New York was going to cost a heck of a lot of money. I found the Seton Hotel and got a family room (2 doubles) for about $150 per night. This is less than 1/2 of what 2 rooms would cost in the downtown area, so I booked it. The hotel is old, the furniture in the rooms mismatched and the carpet needed replacing in 1979. However, the location is great, a 10 minute walk to Times Square and a 15 minute walk to Madison Sq Garden. Lots of food places around to suit all tastes and budgets. Room has a fridge, TV, coffee machine and air con. Good closet space and fresh linen daily. Staff helpful ensuite worked fine. You could easily right the place off, it is no Hilton. If you want a hotel close to the action at a cheap price and all you want the room for is to crash at night, then you will be OK. If you want sleek and modern or to impress then keep looking. I was on a budget and on the go all day so it was fine for me Some people mention the safety aspect, I felt quite comfortable at all times, saw no dodgy guests, and the neighbourhood is fine.

Best location, just meters from The Grand Central Station. Cheap for New York standards. Clean rooms. But ashtrays in every room even though prohibited smoking in the building. Smokesmell in the rooms, we checked 5 of them and more or less every room is a bit smoky. Old and a bit broken furniture and bedlining. No breakfast! But meters from Dunkin Dounut and Starbucks.

I have just come back from a 4 day trip in New York. I was planning on spending as much time exploring as possible so just wanted somewhere cheap to crash out at night. The downside is the place needs modernising and the fittings etc are tatty so can be a bit of a shock when you first turn up. But the place is clean. The sheets and towels where changed every day. My bed was comfortable. I had a room with a double bed, an old tv ( a few basic channels) and fridge and also a basin. I chose to have a shared bathroom but I never had any problem getting in there. Always had hot water. The floor I was on was very quiet and I never was disturbed by any other guests. The location can not be beaten, just a five minute walk to Grand Central and the Chrysler Building. Easy access to the Subway. So if you want luxury or are planning on spending a lot of time in you hotel for a romantic holiday go somewhere else. But if you want the basics at a great price in a safe location then I would recommend the Seton.

My stay at the hotel was really OK. The location is just PERFECT..it is in central Manhattan, very near from Grand Central Station and many many interesting places..the area around is full of restaurants and coffeeshops. As for the hotel, it is a very very old one, not so well maintained but for a 100 dollars in that location it is more than excellent. the room was clean, everyday bedsheets and towels were changed. The sheets were a little smelly-possibly because old not because dirty-. I. booked a room with a shared bathroom and shower. I was so scared of the idea..but actually the bathrooms and showers were very clean. At anytime you would find them in a very good condition-although again very old-. The guys at the reception were very helpful. My american friends could not believe me when they knew about the price of a room in such location. For an extra 25 dollars you can get a private bathroom and shower. I would definitely go back, unless I become very rich and manage to stay at the Sheraton:):):)

O.K., the only real reason we stayed at this hotel was because it was made famous in 1945 by J.D. Salinger. His troubled teen hero, Holden Caulfield pops into this hotel one cold December night to meet an old school chum and do some underage drinking in the (then) hotel's entertainment lounge "The Wicker Bar". So, the hotel is a part of literary history. Holden described it as "swanky" in 1945. It's a flea bag folks. If you're going to spend the money to visit NYC, you might as well treat yourself to a nice, clean hotel. Walk by, take a picture of the Seton Hotel, and keep goin' !.......