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An NYC Hotel Recommendation That Keeps 'The Cost in Line'

Where: 244 West 56th Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10019

It's back! We have decided to rev up our popular VIP Hotel Reviewer Series again, except VIP is sooo last decade. This time around, in light of all the private hotel sales popping up, we're calling this series, THE INVITED.

Every so often, we'll invite an expert in the travel and media worlds, and beyond, to tell us what are their favorite hotels and why. Pay attention: These invited guests are skilled at what they do and they don't mess around when it comes to their hotels.

Our first invited guest is Sean O'Neill, the deal-hunting senior editor at BudgetTravel.com who has detailed for HotelChatter his very own budget pick in Manhattan. Enjoy.

The Da Vinci Hotel

Type of hotel: Budget.

Kind of guests: Tourists.

Why I Booked It: My partner and I have lived in Brooklyn for a few years, so I decided to surprise him with an overnight in Manhattan. Given our personal priorities, I knew it’d be more important to splash out on the food and entertainment rather than on our hotel room. So I booked a night’s stay the Da Vinci for $164 (after taxes and fees) on an August weeknight.

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Hotel News / Tips / Hotel Amenities / Budget Travel / → All Tags

How to Brew a Decent Cup of Coffee in Your Hotel Room

We can think of exactly zero instances in which we have been completely satisfied with coffee we've brewed in our hotel rooms using the drip coffee maker provided for us. Maybe we're Starbucks brats, but it always seems like the hotel room's coffee is not hot enough, it tastes like ash or it is reminiscent of coffee-flavored dishwater. Not so delicious.

Budget Travel hears us. A coffee fiend over there consulted Cook's Illustrated, who recently tested out a bunch of drip coffee makers, and found that "the devices can't brew your coffee at the perfect temperature, which is roughly between 195 degrees and 205 degrees Fahrenheit." So really, it isn't necessarily operator error or the fact that the coffee grounds in your hotel room have been sitting in that little package for lord knows how long.

In other words, getting a hotel room's drip coffee maker to brew you a nice cup o' joe isn't easy -- but there are workarounds!

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