Carlton Arms

New York City

160 East 25th Street, New York City, New York, 10010, United States

 

81%

of people enjoy staying here

3.5 our of 5 stars 154 Opinions

Excellent
 
47
Very Good
 
51
Average
 
28
Poor
 
13
Terrible
 
15

Our Members Say

  • BeatChick profile photo
  • Reviews: 655

5 out of 5 starsUser Rating

2.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

Ye Olde Carlton Arms Hotel

We stayed at a really cool, funky place called The Carlton Arms Hotel in Gramercy Park (just east of the Flatiron District). Each room is hand-painted by a different artist (or set of artists; please see photo of one of the artist renderings in our hotel room).

For such arty digs you pay just $140/night for a triple and the West Village is just a few short blocks south!

Photo: October 2008

  • Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
  • Related to: Road Trip, Family Travel, Budget Travel
Carlton Arms Photo: Hotel Room Mural

Carlton Arms Photo: Hotel Room Mural


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  • Robs3mp profile photo
  • Reviews: 13

3 out of 5 starsUser Rating

2 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

Have a lot of fun!

I stayed there for 5 nights in September with three friends of mine ( and Gregorio a funny dead cockroach...)
You should go there if you want a budget accomodation with a clean bathroom and an eccentric room.

Unique Quality: I think it's a great alternative to manhattan hostels becuse it offers a funny experience: you can choose the room and every floor is different.

  • Opinion of Price: less expensive than average

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  • Robs3mp profile photo
  • Reviews: 13

3 out of 5 starsUser Rating

2.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

Have a lot of fun!

I stayed there for 5 nights in September with three friends of mine ( and Gregorio a funny dead cockroach...)
You should go there if you want a budget accomodation with a clean bathroom and an eccentric room.

Unique Quality: I think it's a great alternative to manhattan hostels becuse it offers a funny experience: you can choose the room and every floor is different.

  • Opinion of Price: less expensive than average

Was this Carlton Arms review helpful?

  • Robs3mp profile photo
  • Reviews: 13

3 out of 5 starsUser Rating

2.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

Have a lot of fun!

I stayed there for 5 nights in September with three friends of mine ( and Gregorio a funny dead cockroach...)
You should go there if you want a budget accomodation with a clean bathroom and an eccentric room.

Unique Quality: I think it's a great alternative to manhattan hostels becuse it offers a funny experience: you can choose the room and every floor is different.

  • Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
Carlton Arms Photo: We were choosing the room

Carlton Arms Photo: We were choosing the room

1 more images

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  • sunlovey profile photo
  • Reviews: 228

3 out of 5 starsUser Rating

3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

A funky place to lay your head in NYC

Recommended for a younger, artsy, unpretentious crowd for sure- feels a lot like a hostel.

Rooms are clean. Each is painted invidually with a unique theme in mind. Some have private baths, most just have a sink in the room and a shared bath/toilet in the hall.

Ours had a private bath, it was a clawfoot tub/shower set up. Can't for the life of me remember if it had a toilet! Gosh we were drunk!

No phones or TVs in rooms- you DON'T NEED A TV IN MANHATTAN ANYWAY, you're in Manhattan! But they do have phones you can use in their lobby.

Unique Quality: This place is like a funky artsy acid trip... totally painted up by various artists. You're destined to meet cool people here from all walks of life. It's an experience to say the least. There was a nice little Irish pub/bar right next to it I believe....

  • Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
Carlton Arms Photo: Me at the Carlton Arms 1996

Carlton Arms Photo: Me at the Carlton Arms 1996


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  • SarahJay profile photo
  • Reviews: 5

5 out of 5 starsUser Rating

Not for everyone!

I would have stolen their own motto, but wanted to credit it... "It ain't no Holiday Inn!"

Its not scrupulously clean, not all the rooms have their own bathroom. And those that do don't necessarily have a door. The decor is...unique!

But its lovely and warm in the winter, and I heard they got A/C now too; you can chat with guests from all the world in the cosy reception area, or just pet the cats. And you cannot beat the price - a room that can sleep 3 or 4 people for $110!!

Downstairs is a pizza place, across the street you have a Chinese, an English pub and a supermarket. 5 minutes away from the delectable Lyric Diner, a multiplex cinema on the next street, and you're halfway between Central Park and Battery Park.

What more do you want?!

I've stayed here 3 out of 3 trips to the city.

Unique Quality: bucket loads of attitude!

  • Opinion of Price: less expensive than average

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More about Carlton Arms

Like staying a punk rocker's crusty pad.

by A TripAdvisor Member

Only in NYC could a hotel get away with charging $80/night for a complete dumphole. My room, 8B, had an unvaccumed carpet, a sink clogged with hair that had some kind of clear goo in it that I hope to god was Draino but may have been something more sinister, and a mirror on the ceiling. The water in the room's sink (the ONLY sink, as the hall bathrooms have no sinks) ran out of water after 5 minutes of use. To turn on the light, you pulled on a cord dangling from mannequin's crotch. Basically, imagine staying in a cross between the Muppet hotel and the Garment District vintage deparment store in Cambridge MA: some sort of post-hippie punk rock fleabag pad that takes a crummy, rundown place and shilacs it in paint and paraphernalia to try to make it "cool". Looks like a bunch of artschool college kids got hold of a building and made a hotel out of it. And just like college kids, expect there to be cigarette butts and seediness.

Good location. Disgusting place. I suggest you check under the mattress for bed bugs, as this place undoubtably has them.

It depressed me

by A TripAdvisor Member

Before our trip to New York, I read many good reviews of Carlton Arms Hotel. Now I want to present my opinion. We were there four nights. Carlton Arms Hotel depressed me. It was so awfully dirty and totally out of date. I didn`t expect much, but some kind of style, I suppose. It is easy to say, that this hotel is not for everybody. What does that means? They don´t need to do any housekeeping. They hadn´t even cleaned toilet facilities after previos customers. The rooms door was full of holes, because old locks were taken away. They gave us a padlock and we could lock the door. This kind of place claims to be a hotel. I have travelled on budget all over the world. Maybe this is not the worst place, where I have been, but if so, then it has been in Asia over ten years ago. However there were good beds and no bugs. It is easy to make good websites, but not to run a hotel.

Great value for adventurous travelers!

by A TripAdvisor Member

Great place for the money. Small rooms, but clean. Staff was friendly. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a CHEAP place to stay in New York, while not expecting any frills. Instead, it's a fun, adventurous, artsy experience only a couple of blocks from the subway and the best bagels in the city (Ess A Bagel on 21st and 1st).

for a different experience

by A TripAdvisor Member

If you like 5 stars hotels, like to sleep in beautiful sheets, a brand new bed with marble bathroom: FORGET IT!
If you like to live different experiences, to feel AWAY from home, meet a different kind of tourists and don't give a F*** about the hotel: that's your place!

Ok, some rooms are old, painted maybe 10 days ago, but it's always weird and fun. And don't forget: you sleep in the middle of Manhattan for much less than the big hotels! And you're away from Times Square which is sometimes a good idea...

I sleep there since 10 years now and i was never disapointed. Sometimes less pleased by the decoration, the art in the room, but always smiling at the end...

GIve it a try. No hotel like this anywhere else in the world! If so, please tell me!

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The Place

 

The People

 
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SarahJay profile photo

 bucket loads of attitude! 

7512 members live in New York City

 

Questions and Answers

A16 profile photo

Q: JFK to Morningside Heights "I am arriving at JFK on July 1st (a sunday) around 11 am. Since I'll be alone and with a fair amount of luggage, I was thinking..."

Agraichen profile photo

A: "That's the price I paid on my last trip to NYC. Sunday's are usually lighter, but you never can count on a quick trip from JFK to down town."

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 Carlton Arms

We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:

Carlton Arms Hotel
Carlton Arms New York City

Address: 160 East 25th Street, New York City, New York, 10010, United States