St Mark's Hotel

We decided to book our New Year's stay here both because of and in spite of reviews we had read, and because of the fact that they did not jack up their prices 2-3x (or more) for New Year's Eve. We stayed for four nights and paid $110 a night, all taxes and surcharges included (with a $50 surcharge for New Year's Eve only.)

We decided to 'go cheap' so we could blow the money we saved on a fabulous New Year's out, and we're thrilled that we did, St. Mark's wasn't fancy, but it was an excellent deal!

This is not a swanky hotel. Their website clearly shows that. It's not in a fancy neighborhood either, if you're looking for a cushy and tapioca stay, the East Village is not the place for you. If you're uncomfortable knowing that the hotel has transient rooms, go somewhere else. However, if you want a simple and safe place to lay your head at night, some friendly service, and to save a lot of dough, we highly recommend a stay at St. Mark's Hotel.

Our welcome was friendly. We knew to bring cash, so check-in was a breeze. We wheezed up the steep stairs to our room on the top (4th) floor. There are no elevators here, so we were thankful to have packed light.

We expected a small room, which was what we got. However, we were thrilled to see that, although small (and it was small), it was very clean. Our room was in the back of the hotel facing over another building, which gave us zero view, but allowed for a good night's sleep completely free of any street noise. We'd recommend it.

It was not fancy, in fact, it was very bare bones, but we had crisp clean bedding and plenty of towels, soap, shampoo and paper. No dirty movies on the TV as reported in other reviews, we looked and looked (and looked!), and we're sure they weren't there. The furniture was older and simple, but it was clean.

Our only beef with the hotel was their shower. It was spic and span, but the shower temperature changed erratically whenever anyone else flushed a toilet or turned on a shower. It was a constant losing battle to readjust the temperature between freezing and scalding, although showering at night when fewer people were using the water seems to have alleviated some of the problem.

All the same, we still left feeling that we got much more than we paid for. Every day we came back to a tidy room with crisp clean sheets (not just a remade bed) and fresh towels (whether or not we left them on the bathroom floor.) Throughout our stay, the staff was friendly and responsive - we were brought more towels and bedding immediately when requested, came up right away to give us a hand with our radiator when we couldn't figure it out, were quick with a friendly greeting upon our arrivals and departures every day, and took the time to ask us if we needed anything once in a while, all around pleasant folks.

Check out was fast and simple, and they held our luggage after checkout while we roamed the Village one last time (not unusual, but a nice touch not always offered by some of the less expensive hotels.)

As for the service, we've never had better. Fancier hotels certainly have more amenities to work with, but St. Mark's staff was what made our stay memorable. We'll be back.

A week after my trip to NYC, I noticed these bug bites popping up all over my arms and legs. They are itchy as hell. I had no clue what was happening to me, I was freaking out.

I remembered clearly coming across 1 or 2 bugs on the sheets, at the time I didn't think anything of it and just brushed it off the bed. Sure, it's a great location, close by to great restaurants, bars, and the subway. I paid $120 a night for a weekend in mid December.

A subway ride from JFK to St. Marks costs $7 and it's a little under 2 hours.

If you really wanna stay there, clearly inspect your the bed/sheets, edges of carpet for bed bugs, if you see one, that means the room is infested. Get out of there!

Situated right in the heart of the East Village, The Saint Mark's Hotel has an unmatched location. Anything you need is in walking distance- beer, sushi, a tattoo parlor, or a karaoke bar. Sure the rooms are small and you have to hike up many flights of crazy-small steps to get to the often shabby space, but it's cheap by New York standards and the bed isn't too bad. The bathrooms are rather small, as are the rooms, but with so much to do in the neighborhood you probably won't be spending much time in them. Be warned there are some shady characters hanging around the lobby and outside, but you wouldn't expect any less from a hotel on Saint Mark's Place-the center of punk subculture in New York. You can tell the rooms are clean because they often smell like ammonia.