We spent the weekend before Christmas at Stay Hotel for my wife's birthday. We found the hotel staff to be extremely friendly and helpful (even though the hotel has a super hip atmosphere). We followed the advice of other reviewers and chose a large king room, which as expected was not huge, but large by Manhattan standards. Our room was on the 5th floor and faced the street. Activity in Times Square could be heard until 4:00 AM, so if you are a light sleeper you may want to remember your earplugs. Overall we had a great experience and enjoyed the great proximity to Time Square, Rockefeller Center and 5th avenue shopping.

Yes the rooms are small (I opted for the "large" king-bed room and it was still very small) but they're clean, nicely appointed (plasma large screen TV in the room, well-designed bathroom, etc) and if you're looking to stay around the Times Square/Theater District area, you can't beat the price. Who wants to stay in their hotel when visiting NYC anyway? Parking garage is just next door if you're drive, only $30 a day which is decent by NYC standards. For less that $200 a night all in (remember, NYC charges a local tax, etc so your $180 room quickly becomes $210) you' be hard pressed to find a better combo of value and accommodation.

As others have stated, the rooms are extremely small, as is the elevator, and hallways. But, the hotel is decorated very nicely and kept clean. The location is ideal for Times Square and Rockefeller walking. Not a bad value, just be sure to get a room on the alley side if possible and higher than the 2nd floor if you value sleep.

Warning if you book through Priceline... I assume we got the Priceline suite: Second Floor, on 47th Street, right above the hotel Club Aspen which seemed to be thumping music until 4am. Additionally, the smokers congregate just below this room which makes the room smell like an ashtray between 1-4am. There were some pipes rattling very loudly in the walls on our second night which kept us up throughout the night. I called the front desk a handful of times between 3 and 4am with the intent to pay up for another room but got no answer... only wish I done it upon check-in.

The location and price are hard to beat, if you want to be close to Times Square. The rooms are very small, and even though I only had one carry-on bag, I had a hard time finding space for it. The bathrooms are also tiny. However, everything was clean and modern. The subway is also very close to this hotel, making it very easy for me to get to Chelsea and downtown.

I did the breakfast buffet my last morning, which I would NOT recommend. It's $25 for eggs and sausage and some fruit. You can walk outside and go around the corner to a great healthy sandwich shop for a fraction of the cost. Also, in spite of being in Times Square, I didn't find it noisy in the room at all. The lobby is a different story, it's like a big party, which I thought was pretty cool. The decor is also very nice.