The Pod offers basic essentials for travelers to Manhattan. There’s a room, a bed, a toilet, a sink, air conditioning, closet space, small room safe, and even a desk and a room telephone. The things we expect such as a television or toiletries are also there, but the television is a small flat panel mounted to the wall in an inconvenient location, and the toiletries are tucked away in a little cubby at the stainless steal sink—detached from the bathroom of course.

Getting to the Pod Hotel is a breeze. Take a cab to 51st between 2nd and 3rd and you’re there. You can also take a variety of trains such as the 6 local, or the E, V, N, or R which take you within striking distance of the place. I chose a convenient 8 minute cab ride that cost only about $10 from Penn Station.

Checking in, you walk into a small walkway and then into a large room, filled with stylized, modern art and hidden doorways that blend with the surrounding décor. Those are the stairways that can take you up to each of the 14 hotel floors. The music was clam and elegant and befitting for aging hipsters of New York City. On one side of the hotel lobby is the front desk, with flat-panel monitors that show a slide show of photographic art of the City. To the immediate right was a small concierge desk in the middle of another room the hotel calls the lounge. It’s WiFi-enabled, as with the rest of the hotel, and the lounge serves as a gate way to their café in the summer months. You get to the café through a glass door that opens into their courtyard which resembles a rock garden with beautiful wood platforms below. The website shows photos of tables and chairs, but while I was there, those were stored elsewhere—until summer I was told.

Behind the front desk were the elevators. Three elevators moved people up and down. One was a service elevator—out of order of course, which made going up and coming back down a bit of a hassle in terms of waiting.

Exiting the elevator on the 5th floor where my room was seemed almost surreal. The very low-lit, tiny hall way reminded me of staying in a dreary Union Square hotel. I walked by few rooms and water closets and communal bathrooms. Luckily I paid a little extra and was able to reserve a room with my own bath.

I opened the door to my room and my jaw dropped. Literally a pod that was more comfortable for one child than for two persons, the room was as small as a midsized sedan! We didn’t come to New York City for the room, I thought, so this room was, at the very least, extremely quaint. A few steps forward and to my right were the beautiful stainless steal sink, and up ahead were the air conditioning unit and the wall-mounted flat-panel with an impossible viewing angle unless you stood in front of the television. Walking even further, and to the right, lay the shower and toilet. On the other side was the bed, a little night stand, and a small desk. The furniture wasn’t anything fancy and resembled stuff you buy from Ikea.

It was just a little smaller than that Union Square room I paid for many years ago, but the price was unbelievable. It was only about $100 per night for this room compared to the $169 in Union Square for a tad bit bigger accommodations. The price is even better for singles at a low $69 per night.

To delve further into staying at the hotel, one night there, I experienced a loud intermittent buzzing that annoyed me while I tried to sleep. I assumed it was coming from the hotel, so I called the front desk. Within minutes, they called back to tell me there wasn’t any noise, and a hotel worker would be up shortly. The service was pretty awesome for such a small hotel. As it turns out the noise was coming from outside. This made sleeping pretty hard, but perhaps this was a rare experience.

The hotel’s concierge was very friendly and courteous. Walking up to the man sitting down with his Apple MacBook and texting on his iPhone, I asked him what the best way to get to JFK was. He gave me a few options and ultimately went back to his hipster job. I didn’t mind though, and the hotel’s ambiance grew on me and I even grew to like the tiny room.

On my final day, we ventured up to the rooftop with chairs, and artificial turf. Evidence of a late night gathering lay present such as empty beer bottles and cigarette butts. The Pod is a strict non-smoking hotel, but I suppose the roof doesn’t count. The views from the top of the 14 story building aren’t the best in New York City, but they are pretty grand for an out-of-towner.

In all, the room was very adequate for my needs. It’s in a good neighborhood, and within walking distance to many of New York City’s fine landmarks such as the UN Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It’s also a block away from subway lines that made for easy travel. I will recommend the Pod Hotel to all my friends, and my next stay in New York City on a shoestring budget will probably be in a Pod.

Visit the Pod Hotel