The Big Apple on a small budget
The U.S. has lifted all its pre-arrival testing requirements — and there’s no need to spend a fortune once you’re there
NeW YORK is expensive. But with planning and know-how, it is possible to eat, drink, explore and sleep in this wonderfully buzzy city without burning a big hole in your wallet. Some things are even free . . .
Stays under £200 a night
■ Walker Hotel Tribeca
THIS hotel prioritises all the right things: huge, comfy beds; soundproofed walls; luxurious products and brilliant city views in a lively location a few minutes’ walk from a Canal subway stop.
Creamy flat whites and giant pastries are served downstairs at the brilliant Blue Bottle coffee shop. The beds are hard to leave but you should — this is the wrong city to visit if you’re hoping to spend most of your time in a hotel.
Rooms from £180 (walkerhotels.com).
■ Freehand New York
THIS trendy hotel in Manhattan’s Flatiron District is one of four created by the same team behind the noMad. Original artwork is painted directly onto the walls in all 395 of its spacious rooms (which include bunk rooms sleeping four). Guests can enjoy the hotel’s cafe, restaurant and a rooftop bar with great city views.
Doubles from £160 (freehandhotels.com)
■ Boro
JUST a hop across the river from Midtown Manhattan is the Boro, a 108-room boutique hotel in the hip neighbourhood of Long Island City in Queens. each room has floor-to-ceiling windows, rustic hardwood floors and comfy robes. Chic restaurants, bars and shops are on its doorstep. Doubles from £159 (borohotel.com)
Eating and drinking ■ Skirt Steak
STeAK and new York is a combination that can leave you hundreds of dollars out of pocket, even before you order drinks. But there’s a new place in town where a delicious cut of steak is the only thing on the menu.
Queues of hungry carnivores snake around the block at this Chelsea restaurant (it doesn’t take reservations) for the set-course menu, which starts with bowls of salad featuring Boston lettuce, followed by mouthwatering cuts of skirt steak (or cauliflower steaks for veggies) served with peppercorn bearnaise and all-you-can-eat thin, crispy fries for £23.
Make sure you leave room for pudding. Diners choose from a rolling wooden cart and the ParisBrest filled with hazelnut pastry cream and the chocolate raspberry tart are not to be missed. skirtsteaknyc.com
■ Panorama Room
OBSeRVATIOn decks such as The empire State Building can cost a fortune, so why not visit a rooftop bar instead? There’s no shortage of these in new York, but the latest is unique.
On the 18th floor of the first hotel on Roosevelt Island, the Panorama Room has sweeping ‘never-seenbefore’ views of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx — arguably the best in the city.
enjoy a cocktail (£14) on the terrace at sunset, then head inside to a vintage velvet sofa for shrimp cocktails (£18) and huge bowls of truffle fries (£14) as you watch the city light up. graduatehotels.com
■ Valerie
In THe heart of Midtown Manhattan, near Times Square, this is the place to go for a classic new York brunch.
Bloody Marys, Mimosas and negronis (from £9) are served alongside smoked salmon benedict (£15), banoffee French toast (£14) and hanger steak and eggs (£20) in the dining room, which has antique smoked mirrors, burlesque murals and leather seats. valerienewyorkcity.com
■ Gotham
WAnT to visit an nYC dining institution of nearly four decades without spending a fortune? Head to Gotham, once described by architect and designer David Rockwell as ‘the living room for new York’, and order the famous cheeseburger for lunch.
Business people, locals and tourists travel from across the city to sit in the traditional dining room, with white tablecloths and splashes of colourful art on the walls. The burgers (£23) are served dry-aged with crispy shallot aioli, redmond cheddar and fries.
gothambarandgrill.com
■ Westlight
THeRe’S no better place to drink in the views than with a Manhattan cocktail at Westlight, a glassfronted bar with a wraparound terrace, 22 floors up in the William Vale hotel in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
The food is well worth trying, too — the bar’s ‘bites’ menu ranges from bowls of coconut curry cashews (£7) to succulent beef burgers (£18).
If the weather doesn’t play ball, you can hed to the chic enclosed bar — every table has glorious views. westlightnyc.com
How to get there
VIRGIn Atlantic flies between London Heathrow and JFK daily. Returns from £389 ( virgin atlantic.com).