The POD 51 Hotel

For last minute findings, this place is an A+.
It is more like a Pod, but it’s very spacious. I know there are different types of rooms you can get, like bunk beds or just one bed in general. I’m not sure what other options they have. The walls apparently are thin. They don’t have an iron/​board in the room but you can have it sent up to you.
I do like the set up, it’s cute and small. The shower head is more like a fountain spout and the shower is see-​through, but you can hide yourself if you slide the door over the window. But then you’ll have the toilet showing. You can’t hide both of them at once. They do have a window you can open in the bathroom which I like. The lighting is pretty bright and I like that as well.
Another great thing I like about this hotel is they have separate bathrooms and showers on each floor. You just need your key to open it. So, if the bathroom is being used in your room, you can certainly use the shower/​bathroom that’s located within the hallways. It was clean but very hot in there because the doors are constantly locked. It didn’t seem like much ventilation goes through there. Either way — I think that was a great move in putting a couple bathrooms on each floor!
The coolest thing about this hotel is that they have a rooftop you can hang on until 10 PM. Gives you a pretty view of the city. It’s so nice up there! I give this hotel the best rating. I have no complaints!

I can’t recommend this place enough for people looking for cheap hotels! Even though the rooms were small (like college dorm room small) they were very clean and cozy. I thought the beds were pretty comfy and there’s also ac which is a must during NYC’s hot summers. I was a little worried about the shared bathrooms but I never had to wait in line to use them and they were actually really nice. And then the roof top was cool, just a nice spot to hang at the end of the day. I only wish the rooms had small refrigerators but no big deal. Definitely will be staying here again next time I’m in the city

The Unilocal reviews are consistent as well as the Pod 51 photos from their website. This is a nice, simple, easy on the wallet hotel. Clean. Polite staff.
So, I forgot my cell phone in VA, so I wasn’t able to take any pictures to go with the review. The room I stayed in was the most affordable type, bunk bed suite, I had the room to myself. You don’t share the rooms with anyone. The room is small, equivalent to a dormitory single in college. Small desk, sink inside the room, plenty of towels, pillows, tissue, hand soap, lotion inside the room, hangers, and a luggage rack. The bathrooms are shared, outside of the actual room. They have these little lights inside of the room that notifies you which restroom is occupied.
The bathrooms are clean. Equivalent to a gym — a clean gym. So, you take your towel and shower stuff, use your key card to enter the bathroom and lock up. The shower is inside, and the water falls down like an overhead waterfall. Kinda cool actually. They have shampoo and shower gel inside, but I always bring my own. I recommend shower shoes or flip flops and a bathrobe — or you will have to dry and get dressed *inside* the bathroom which is sort of narrow. It gets humid and muggy so getting dressed inside was annoying. Next time, I will bring a long bathrobe. I considered sneaking out in my towel and running to my room, but I figured that may not be following polite etiquette. So, I sucked it up and got dressed in the friggin sweltering, humid bathroom.
The lobby area has a nice little patio off to the side, tables and benches to sit on. They have a mini-​snack bar that sells coffee, snacks, bagels, breakfast food, beer, wine, etc. There is a rooftop deck that you can hang out on which closes up at 10 pm — or slightly afterwards. The rooftop is cool, has nice lounging chairs you can just sit back in and take in the night time view of the city. I forget the hours of operation. I took my meal I had purchased nearby and ate it up there. I noticed they offer free walking tours and the opportunity to sit in on the Comedy Central studio audience on Wednesday night. Bummed I was checking out so I couldn’t attend.
I saw families, people traveling alone, business people, couples, and people from all over, different languages floating in the air.
Décor is modern, colorful, and I would add… sleek and upbeat.
I made reservations for the bunk bed room and said to myself, if its too small, I would bump it up a notch. It was fine.
Not noisy at all — but I was here on a weeknight, not the weekend. Beds are comfortable.
If you’re into paying $ 300 + per night at a fancy schmancy hotel — just to sleep… then go right ahead. I paid $ 158 total, including tax and slept like a baby! I will definitely return. Maybe I will try the other pod hotel the next time.
This place is awesome.

Reasonable rates-​location is great! — room (queen pod) was small but very clean and comfortable. It had everything you need and nothing you didn’t need. We really liked the minimalist design — it was quite soothing.
While The interior was a little bit noisy (some slamming doors) we had a room on the far side of the hotel and had the window open the whole night– and it was quiet.
We did not eat here, but we did go to the rooftop garden and it was absolutely beautiful.
You have your choice of almost any cuisine within a two block walk.
We arrived 230 and asked if our room was ready and was told it was and here’s the keys!
The staff was very nice.
We peeked at some of the smaller rooms like the bunk rooms and they seem to be OK –I would be willing to try one.
We will definitely be back!

Amazing place to stay. More upscale than a hostel, and in a PERFECT location — 20mins walk from Times Square, and less than 5 mins to the tube line!
Also the little café downstairs has amazing breakfast, lunch and dinner options! All at an affordable price. I would highly recommend staying here!
Only downside would be the walls are paper thin — so you can hear pretty much everything in the hallways and the rooms surrounding you.

Pod 51 is a great affordable hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It’s walking distance from most of the tourists locations. I’d say the beginning of Central Park, Rockefeller Centre, Empire State and Times Square is less than a 20 minute walk. You can get downtown using the Subway on 51^st and Lexington — that only takes about 20 minutes. There’s a lot of takeaway/​fast food places nearby and there’s a police and fire station on the next block.
The pods are very small there’s just enough room for the bed and some storage space. We opted for a double room with our own bathroom. Although we took a peek in one of the shared bathrooms and they looked fine. Now the bathrooms in the rooms really don’t feel like they are in a separate room. They are about the size of a wardrobe and the shower windows face into the room so you’ve got to be pretty friendly with whoever you’re sharing with (I’ve attached a picture). I think you can only get your own bathroom in the double rooms. If you’re sharing a bed with someone then I don’t expect this will be a problem.
The rooms are very clean. Our room was cleaned every day, without fail. Regardless of how late we left the room housekeeping had been in to spruce the place up. Definitely tip these guys, they do a sterling job! The rest of the staff seem a little hit or a miss. One day we got coffee in the lobby and the lady serving was lovely. On another day, the other lady was less than lovely. No one was by any means bad, just nothing to go crazy about. Although that seemed the norm around New York.
They café in the lobby is nice, they have a simple menu. Which I’m not going to list here as you can find that out on their website. The café does serve bagels from the very popular place on the corner (Ees-​A-​Bagel). This place sometimes has queues out the door so if you just want a simple bagel with cream cheese grab it from Pod 51. It looks like they are building a proper café/​bar as part of the hotel which looks like it will be nice. The rooftop garden is beautiful and a great place to catch the sun but, as far as I could tell, no bar.
If I had to pick holes my complaints would be that the AC units were very loud (it was hitting 30+ Celsius so they were running non-​stop) but they done there job and kept the place nice and cool. Also our view wasn’t great just into the opposite rooms but we managed to find the humour in that, comparing it to old friends episodes.
I had a good time at Pod 51 and I would definitely recommend it for your trip to NYC. I’ll give it a four stars because it is a good place to stay in Midtown. Although it could still be better.

Clean. Friendly staff. Very simple concept. Small but all NYC hotels are small unless you are loaded. NICK at the front desk helped us so much. Went above and beyond. Expedia confused us with having a «double room» and «double bed». Nick got us a much more comfortable situation. Thank you!

Okay, I love compact living in urban spaces and modernist furniture, so I probably came «pre adapted» to like Pod51. That said, it did not disappoint. The rooms, as many reviewers pointed out, are small. However, as I was staying alone and did not spend much time in the room, I found it to be more than adequate. My needs were simple: a nice, clean, quiet place to sleep in Mid Town. All these were handily met. In addition, the staff were helpful and the lounge served a nice espresso. Plan on putting more than one person in a room? You might find this place a little cramped. Likewise, were I planning to spend significant time in the room working, I might like a slightly bigger workspace.
However, if you want a great value in a nice, CLEAN sleep space in mid town, give Pod a serious look.

Stayed here last week with friends. I would stay here again. It isn’t fancy… but it is efficient, clean, friendly staff, everything worked fine (blow dryer, hot water etc) very accomidating and great location. If you’re hoping for the plaza… this aint it. But if your looking for something quaint and affordable in good location~this will do! Very urban hipster and fun.

If you’re looking for an affordable and clean hotel in a good east side location, look no further than the Pod51. While it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of full service hotels– room service, capacious rooms, etc.– the rooms are always clean, and the building has been well maintained over the 5 or 6 years I’ve been staying there. There’s a great café in the lobby where you can get your morning coffee and evening wine, along with light fare. Several subway stops nearby. Best of all? The free walking tours offered by Streetwise– 2.5 hours with loads of fun historical info. Free!

200 dollars per night!!! The employees at the reception were rude, dirty, noisy, ugly décor, bed sheets seems to be made of cement, Something unseen in New York, they don t asked me passport or credit card.

Yes, the rooms are a little small; however, it’s a great hotel and I really enjoyed staying here!

This hotel is a minimalist heaven. The room, hallways, bathrooms, are exceptionally «small» but is practical. If you’re planning on exploring the city, this is the place to stay. If you’re planning on being a «home body» inside the hotel room, forget it, you’ll feel a little claustrophobic.
My friend and me stayed here January 2016 in a double bed room, here is a more in depth review:
Cleanliness: ⁵⁄₅ .
Rooms are cleaned daily! If you sleep in, and missed the housemaids cleaning your room, do not worry they will be back to clean once you’re out of your room. The feeling of coming back to your room and seeing it spotless is amazing, especially since the rooms are small!
Noise: ⁴⁄₅
Because our room was located towards the back of the building and not facing the street (51^st street), the sounds of the city was quite mellow.
Although, if you are planning on sleeping in, do not be surprised that the house maids will be vacuuming (around 10AM-​11AM). Due to the narrow hallways, sound travels, and on most occasions, you could hear people walking up and down the hallways talking.
Lighting: ⁴⁄₅
Lighting inside your hotel room is amazing, but lighting in the hotel hallways are dim!
I enjoyed showering in the hallway showers during the day, but wouldn’t necessarily feel safe doing so in the night. In comparison, the hotel hallways are darker than being inside Hollister store. LOL, no joke. Well, to be fair it seems more like being inside a US Navy submarine, hallways are long, narrow and dark. There is no natural lighting in hallways, but only in your room (windows).
Comfort: ⁴⁄₅
Beds are comfortable, clean.
Depending on how much stuff you bring on your trip will also determine the comfort level in your hotel room! DO NOT OVER PACK especially if you plan on staying here!
My friend and I shared a double bed, we only had a travel size carry on plus our 2 winter coats each. We pretty much filled the closet, but we did not use the storage under beds. In American standards we were «crammed» but we didn’t mind because we were always out enjoying the city.
**My tip is: as long as the beds are comfortable and the hotel is clean, you don’t necessarily have to unpack but you could use your suitcase as storage to keep a small room spacious.
Convenience: ⁵⁄₅
This place is in a perfect location! Close to Subways. I enjoy walking, so to me everything was walking distance especially to 5^th Avenue, Central Park, and for everything else we took Subway.
**The hotel offers rides to the airport when checking out of the hotel but you must book your ride 24hrs in advance. Ask front desk for details. The cost of transportation is $ 15 (includes one bag). Depending on how many luggage you have would very in cost. My total cost was $ 22, which included my carry on luggage.
Extras:
They have a beautiful rooftop view!
It’s ideal for a date night. Sitting out and enjoying the midnight air is quite a memory.
Rooftop is clean and gives you a 360 view of NYC buildings hovering over you.
They also have a lounge outside near front desk, we didn’t get a chance to see because we were busy enjoying the city.
Have fun, Enjoy NYC!

Super Hotel! Zimmer klein aber fein! Alles vorhanden! WC/​Dusche im Zimmer!
Sehr gute Lage!
UBahn, Brunch, Park alles in der nähe.

Got a room with a private bathroom. It was really tiny. I could barely move inside since I had two luggages with me. The room was clean, per say, but it sort of had a smell. I still wouldn’t even dare walk bare foot on the carpet. I couldn’t really complain because it was the cheapest hotel I could find that I was willing to settle for and I was only staying there for one night. Another reason why I chose this place was because of the location, easy access to everything.
I probably won’t be back here just because I want to try other hotels but this is not so bad, especially when you won’t be at the hotel the whole time.
TIP: If you need a ride to the airport, they do have shuttle service but you have to inform the front desk beforehand so they can put you on their schedule.

Just finished a 2 day stay here in a bunk bed room with shared bath for about $ 80 per night in the middle of winter.
Pros:
–Cheap for NYC and it’s location
–Clean
–Walking distance to Times Square
–Little TV on extender arm you can pull right up to your face while laying in bed.
–Reception was friendly
–Rooftop and little café/​sitting area near reception
–Decent free WiFi and desk for doing work
Neutral:
–No hand dryer/​paper in shared bathrooms
–Beds a little on the firm side
–Not much space if you have a lot of big luggage
Cons:
–Walls were extremely thin, could hear people in shared bathrooms, the elevator «Ding» every time it arrived at my floor, other room doors closing all from my room. Could hear everything that happened outside.
Reason for 3 stars: Silence, or as close as possible, is really important to me in a hotel room as I wake easily from noise. Unfortunately the doors and windows did almost nothing to block out sounds from the outside and the hallway.
Final thoughts: I liked the hotel, I just wish it was a little quieter. I would stay here again, but the competing rates (from a quieter hotel) would have to be more than a few dollars higher.
Update/​edit: I was on Floor 3. I went up to one of the single rooms on floor 10 or something around there and it seemed quieter but it was during the day when everyone was out and no one was in the hall so I don’t know for sure.

Mi decepción con Pod 51 nace de que tenía un 10% de descuento haciendo check ni con Unilocal y no lo procesaron, lo que me puso de mal humor. Tampoco estuvo bueno que en toda mi estadía solamente pedí que hubiera servicio de mucama dos veces, y que solamente en una de ellas me hicieron la cama porque la segunda «no tuvieron tiempo». Quiero ser lo más considerada posible, por eso pongo el cartelito de Do not disturb cuando no necesito, por eso me molestó que en toda una estadía solamente me hicieron la cama una vez. La conexión a internet, lentísima y mala. Lo demás, bien.
El hotel está bastante bien ubicado, a pocas cuadras de las líneas 6, E y M del subterráneo. La zona es tranquila, pero se puede caminar a áreas súper céntricas de la ciudad en pocos minutos.
Yo reservé una habitación con baño y ducha, pero sé que había duchas en cada piso para los que no las tenían en la habitación. El tamaño de la habitación es normal para lo que es el precio y la ubicación, aquellos que dicen que son pequeñas seguramente no se quedaron en muchas ciudades con anterioridad.
Como soy paranoica, leí muchos comentarios mencionando bedbugs, pero en mi habitación no había, al menos donde revisé. Está todo bastante bien en la habitación, los mobiliarios y demás están en buen estado.
Me hubiera encantado darle más estrellas, pero de haberme procesado el 10% de descuento de Unilocal me hubiera ahorrado casi cien dólares. Y eso duele, Pod.

Excelente hotel, con muy buena conexión a las líneas de metro que te permitirán recorrer todo Manhattan. Recomendación… New York se conoce caminando y en metro, no en buses turísticos.

Ted Bundy would love this place — it definitely has a stabby murder vibe. The tiny tiny room is sweltering (in WINTER), the walls are thin — we can hear everything from the street and in the «hotel».
This is NOT a hotel. Calling it a hotel and adding a concierge does not balance the freakishly tiny rooms, the lack of adequate bathrooms, and the worlds slowest elevator. Pack a lunch if you are staying on a higher floor.
Did I mention that the room is TINY? Oompa Loompas would feel cramped here. This could be a cat hotel. If only cats were staying here, it would be adequately sized with enough bathrooms.
People rent rooms to sleep, right? I did. Why does Pod 51 BLAST music in the hallways starting at 7am?! That’s brilliant, guys — people from all over the world, struggling with jet lag, and you said, «Hey! Let’s play some jazzy sh*t LOUDLY, so they can enjoy that and the elevator noise and the bathroom door noise and every other mouse fart because we made the walls out of single-​ply toilet paper.»
My advice? Sleep on a subway. It’s roomier and smells better.

When I visit my best friend on the east coast, I’m usually not terribly concerned with getting a very upscale place to stay for the night. With that line of thinking in mind, I booked a very reasonable night’s stay at The POD 51. And you know what? It was delightful in every way.
The hotel is very nicely decorated in contemporary style, and tho the rooms aren’t large, they are comfortable. I had a room about the size of my closet at home, but it was big enough for a bunk bed (yes, a bunk bed! How cool is that!!!). There’s also a small sink and wash area, a safe, and a coat rack. That’s it. You share a few bathrooms with the rest of the floor, and that’s fine with me because they’re kept clean and tidy by the housekeeping staff. I didn’t shower while there, but I did inspect the facilities and they were clean looking.
I expected something akin to a hostel-​type experience and was pleasantly surprised to have a comfortable and enjoyable night’s stay.

We paid roughly $ 100 for a room and it was perfect. We were on the top floor with the super cute bunk beds. The bathroom was right outside the door and the door to the rooftop lounge just a few steps down the hall. We had no problems with the AC keeping the room comfortable. We could easily walk to Rockefeller Center and take the subway everywhere else. I will stay here from now on. The tour buses make a stop at the Waldorf Astoria a block or two away. Great restaurants right around the corner. What a fantastic location and cute place to stay.

Hotel muy lindo, moderno, limpio.
Los baños compartidos siempre hay uno disponible, no es un problema. Las personas de recepción muy amables. Me había enviado cajas x correo de compras y te las reciben una semana antes de llegar sin costo. Me gusto todo!

What used to make the Pod Hotel special was that you could get a decent rate on a room (between $ 110 and $ 170 per night depending on room type) if you were willing to compromise on the size of the room and sharing a bathroom.
Now that the prices have doubled or tripled, this hotel is no longer a bargain. In fact, for those prices, you can now book better standard hotel rooms without the compromises. It’s a shame that Pod Hotel got greedy and moved away from the business model that made them special.

Spent two nights in a room without a functioning air conditioner. They sent a maintenance guy 2 so we were stuck waiting. They keep saying it got fixed. The room temp never budged from 80. The AC temp was limited at 70, but the air was barely cold. It definitely could not keep the room cool. I felt sorry for my guest sleeping on the top bunk it felt much hotter up there.
To top it off I was only reimbursed $ 50 when it was $ 170/​night. They said they were fully booked, so we weren’t able to switch rooms and when we did on our room had less amenities. I planned on speaking with their manager about this in the morning, but they don’t even get to work until 9am … Needless to say I will never be returning to this establishment.

Una amiga me recomendó este hotel, después vi las reseñas de los Unilocalers y decidí hospedarme aquí.
Nos hospedamos en una habitación con baño privado. La habitación es pequeña pero está súper bien distribuida y decorada muy bonita. Además es Nueva York y la relación precio-​espacio-​comodidad-​seguridad es muy buena. Hasta tiene un escritorio y ¡ventana! Es que una vez me hospedé en un hotel muy fancy que no tenía ventana :(
Hay espacio para colgar y doblar tu ropa, y guardar tus cosas debajo de la cama. El baño también tiene buen espacio. Mi único pero es el área del lavabo, un poco incómodo pues todo salpica.
El personal es buena onda. Si quieres, te reservan el shuttle al aeropuerto para que pasen por ti. Sino, hay una estación del metro a una cuadra. El hotel está en el barrio diplomático, es muy tranquilo. Te queda cerca todo, a distancias caminables, sin estar en el mero bullicio neoyorquino.
Pd. Checa la promoción al hacer check-​in en Unilocal

Sehr sauber und ordentlich. Zimmer sind wie beschrieben klein und funktional, wer aber nur zum schlafen ins Hotel kommt hat hier auf jeden Fall eine gut gelegene und preislich günstige Option. Nur am letzten morgen gab es unter keiner Dusche warmes Wasser, was auch nicht behoben wurde, daher 1 Stern Abzug.

5 étoiles pour le prix et la qualité des lieux. Nous avons fait une réservation pour 4 nuits, pour une chambre avec lit double et salle de bain privée à la chambre. Cela nous a coûté 750 $us. Ce qui vaut le prix! Il est situé dans Midtown East. À environ 12 $ de taxi de la gare centrale d’autobus d’où nous arrivions.
Dès l’entrée nous avons apprécié l’odeur des lieux. Personnel courtois. Endroit propre autant dans le lobby que dans la chambre.
La chambre est très petite, mais beaucoup de rangement, tout est bien pensé. La toilette et la douche sont dans un espace exigu, mais parfaitement fonctionnel.
Nous avions très bien dormi, malgré le rythme de la ville. Nous avions demandé une chambre avec le moins de bruit possible, notre demande a été respectée on nous a placé dans une chambre loin des ascenceurs, au 12e étage.
Je vous recommande fortement cet hôtel pour votre prochain séjour à NYC.

Preis/​Leistung in der gegend kann man Überhaupt nicht schlagen. Super schick eingerichtete Zimmer und freundlichem Service. Klar, man muss WC teilen, ist aber kein Ding. Habe ich die Preise erwähnt. Midtown ist nicht so meins aber wenn es nicht anders geht, dann gerne im Pod!

Alles perfekt! Super Lage und der Service ist für deutsche Verhältnisse so hoch, dass man ihn gar nicht messen kann!