A practical two-star hotel in Long Island City, Queens, moments from the East River, MoMA PS1 and the subway to Midtown Manhattan.
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Romana Hotel - NYC is a straightforward two-star hotel in Long Island City, the fast-changing waterfront neighbourhood of Queens that sits just across the East River from Midtown Manhattan. It is a practical, no-frills base built around location rather than luxury, and it earns a Pleasant 6.3 across 1,167 guest reviews — a reasonable score for travellers who want a clean, functional room close to the subway.
Every room is air-conditioned, with a flat-screen TV and cable channels, a desk, a wardrobe and a private bathroom with a shower. Choose from a King Room, a Double Room with two full beds for friends sharing, or the compact Deluxe Queen. The property is fully non-smoking and step-free, with a lift and rooms adapted for guests with reduced mobility.
On site there is a small fitness centre, a shared lounge and TV area, a 24-hour front desk, a concierge and a tour desk for planning days out. Free WiFi reaches every corner of the building. Worth knowing before you book: there is no parking, payment on site is by card only, and the minimum age for check-in is 21.
Romana Hotel - NYC keeps its room types simple, and all of them share the same practical fit-out: air conditioning, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a desk, a wardrobe and a private bathroom with a shower, plus free WiFi throughout. The King Room and the roomier 28 m² Double Room with two full beds both suit couples or friends who want a little more space, while the compact 19 m² Deluxe Queen is the budget-friendly choice for two. Every room holds up to two guests and the whole property is non-smoking, with step-free access and options adapted for guests with reduced mobility. It is a functional city room rather than a design statement.
Facilities here are focused on the essentials rather than extras, and they are done well. The standout is the on-site fitness centre, still a rarity in a two-star city hotel, so you can keep to a routine without leaving the building. Free WiFi reaches every room and common area, and there is a shared lounge and TV area to unwind in. The 24-hour front desk, concierge and tour desk help with late arrivals, luggage and planning trips into Manhattan, and an invoice can be provided for business travellers. Rooms are air-conditioned and heated, soundproofed and non-smoking, and the building is step-free with a lift. Note there is no parking, and payment on site is by card only.
Romana Hotel - NYC is at 38-59 12th Street in Long Island City, a few blocks from the East River in the Queensbridge pocket of Queens. The closest subway is 21 St-Queensbridge, about a five-minute walk away, served by the F train and, on weekday daytimes, the M — both run under the river through the 63rd Street tunnel and put you in Midtown Manhattan in around fifteen minutes. Walk a little further south to Court Square and you pick up the 7, E, M and G lines, one of the handiest interchanges in the borough, with the 7 reaching Grand Central and Times Square in ten to fifteen minutes. For airports, LaGuardia is the closest at roughly four miles, about fifteen minutes by taxi or a bus-and-subway combination; John F. Kennedy is around fifteen miles to the south-east, best reached by the AirTrain and the E train. There is no parking at the hotel, so public transport or a taxi is easiest.
Long Island City has quietly become one of the best places in New York to watch the Manhattan skyline, and the waterfront is the reason to stay here. Gantry Plaza State Park and the neighbouring Hunter's Point South Park line the river with piers, lawns and the famous red gantries, and are unbeatable at sunset; Queensbridge Park sits just below the door. MoMA PS1, the contemporary-art offshoot of the Museum of Modern Art, is a ten-minute walk and hosts its lively Warm Up parties on summer Saturdays. The Museum of the Moving Image and the Noguchi Museum are a short ride away in Astoria, and the neighbourhood itself is full of breweries, coffee roasters and waterfront restaurants. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for walking the esplanade; if you come in high summer, head to the river in the evening when the skyline lights up.
