When we first arrived in NY, our plan was to stay in a specific hostel. That hostel was hell, however, and a friend of mine recommended the Carter as he had stayed there once or twice before. So we called and asked if they had any last minute rooms. They were very friendly and told us to come on over. The guy at the desk told us flat out that this was going to only be a few steps up from the hell we had just come from, but we honestly didn't care. It was a million times better than the other place! The hostel didn't have an a/c or any kind of fan...our room at the Carter had a GREAT a/c in the room! At the other place, we had one shower and one toilet to share with a floor of about 20+ rooms (meaning at least 40 people). At the Carter, we had a private bathroom with a shower. The shower WAS on the small side, but it worked and it was our own! At the other place, we were given a bunk bed that if you barely tapped it, it shook like it was about to completely just fall apart. At the Carter, we had a king-size bed with clean sheets. It wasn't the most comfortable bed on the planet, but that's okay. Sure the room wasn't luxurious, but you're spending around $130 a night in Times Square. What do you expect!? And if you're anything like I am, when I go to NYC I hardly spend any time in my room. All I ask is that my bed doesn't break, I have a/c, and my own shower. I would recommend taking flip flops to wear into the shower, but I do that on vacation almost anywhere I stay. We didn't ever leave our valuables in the room, but that was mainly a personal choice. There was NOTHING at the hotel that made us think our belongings were unsafe. The staff was friendly, the little diner downstairs was great, the ATM downstairs only charged the usual $2.00/transaction (in NY it can get really steep!) and we were in a perfect place to hail a cab, get on the subway or simply walk to our destination. I definitely recommend this hotel if you're staying in NY on a budget. WELL WORTH IT!
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