Jazz on the Park Hostel, New York

My wife and I stayed at Jazz on the Park Hostel for 5 nights in May 2009. Total cost was about $650. We found the general price of New York hotels to be high so searched around for cheaper alternatives. After all, being in New York, we intended to spend a minimal amount of time sitting in our hotel room anyway, so how much luxury did we really need? We've stayed in a few hostels before, so we had a good idea of how bad they can get.

I have to say, we were very pleased with our choice.

The hostel is easy to find only 2 blocks from the nearest subway station. It is in an area of town that felt very safe to us. It is incredibly close to Central Park (2 minutes walk, max), so we spent many happy hours wandering through the park. The hostel is run by long term residents so they have a good idea what people want out of a hostel. We booked online and had printed out our booking reference so check in was easy.

The hostel offers a small snack bar & dining area, cheap internet access with printing facilities (very handy for online check-in for our return flight), baggage storage, secure lockers and a lounge area. They run entertainment a couple of times a week, often featuring jazz musicians (hence the name!). They provide free towels that can be exchanged whenever required. The rooms were pretty much as you'd expect for a hostel; fairly small, limited lighting through the window, clocks that don't work. But other than that, our room was very comfortable. The bed was a particularly pleasant surprise as we've had our fair share of dodgy springs and bed bugs in the past. Bathroom facilities are shared and fairly basic.

The hostel is actually divided between 2 buildings about a block apart. We were in the satellite building separate from main reception. However, security was good, with access being controlled by electronic key-cards. A basic breakfast (bagel & hot drink) is included in the cost (we had forgotten about this by the time we arrived in New York so it came as a nice surprise).