HotelChatter

Hotel Elysee: A lovely little hotel on East 54th Street, the Elysee is offering a Liberty for Less package that includes your room, two one-day 'fun pass' Metrocards, ferry transportation and entry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. They'll even get all Americana on you when you arrive and place two jumbo choc-chip cookies and two cartons of milk in your room as welcome gifts. (Hmmm, calcium!) There is a two-night minimum, but the good news is there are still rooms available for July 3–5, starting at $294 a night.

Hotel Indigo Chelsea: We saw this pop up in a Quikbook search for $229 a night over the weekend, but when we checked with the hotel directly, we found even cheaper rates—just $159 a night. The Indigo brand is one of our favorites in the affordable category, Chelsea is a great central location for your holiday-party hopping, and best of all, there's a rooftop bar. And don't forget that the fireworks are once again over the Hudson River, so this should be a solid vantage point.

Affinia Shelburne: Another hotel with a rooftop bar, only over on the East Side. We still expect Rare View to be popular on the Fourth, but it may be slightly less insane than the hotels further west. We like the size of the rooms, and the fact that they have kitchenettes. You can also be a good American and sink your teeth into a juicy burger at Rare Bar & Grill in the lobby. Quikbook has rooms from $160 on Sunday night.

Affinia Manhattan: When checking on the availability of terrace rooms at the Shelburne (no luck), we discovered that there were studio suites and one-bedroom suites with terraces available over at its sister property near Penn Station. We're not sure if you'll get a view of the fireworks from the suites still up for grabs on the Fourth—best to ask before you book—but the terraces do have outdoor tables and chairs and they are kitchens inside the rooms. The studio is $254 a night and the one-bedrooms—which have sofabeds in the living rooms—are $324 a night.

The Pod Hotel: If you all want is a place to lay your head after celebrating the nation's birthday, this is one of the best deals in town. Via Quikbook, rooms—er, pods—start at just $96 a night for a twin with shared bath or you could splash out on a Queen Pod for $128. If you book through the hotel, ask about the Last Call Package, which covers your night in a bunk-bed room and a post-party recovery kit that includes Emergen-C, a bottle of water, and a Pod-branded eye mask.

[Photo: borman818 via Flickr / Creative Commons ]