Although the room was clean, there were no amenities, such as an elevator, which, for a place that cost close to $200 for a single night, is outrageous. And the walls were thin, so I could hear the couple next door engaged in very loud lovemaking.

First try to give us a other room (without Hot Tube) that we have booked and payd for. After our complain they change the room.
Next day they dont clean our room between 9 am and 11 pm.
If we are back from the city they need 10 Minutes to do it, it can not be a good work with so less time. Uarrg.
Dingy cold blankets. No hairdryer and no closet at the room but nice hot tube. Dont come back.

Pretty typical low end motel. Reasonably clean, quiet at night. Not much in the neighborhood so it's not a tourist place, at all. About a 10 minute walk from the NQ train to Manhattan. Seems like it should be cheap but it's not. We paid around $160. Worst part is the staff. My friend went to check the place out for me to see if it was clean, etc. and the guy at the desk treated her like she was asking for his right arm. We chose to stay there because it was convenient to my friend's apartment. At check in the guy was barely civil and, again, acted like he was doing me an enormous favor. I would choose somewhere else if I had a good option.

After spending about 2 weeks looking on Craigslist, Kayak, TravelNow and VRBO, I finally chose the Super 8 in Long Island City based mostly on price and location. It is just over the Ed Koch bridge (about 1/4 mile from front door to bridge ramp- a little less to the subway station). My biggest difficulty was finding it (at night, in traffic). But once I found it, I found the staff courteous and the room small but adequate. There is no hotel parking but the desk suggested parking on the side street beside the hotel. I did and left my new Jeep parked there for 3 days without a problem. A buffet breakfast one step up from a continental breakfast was offered. It was good but the breakfast room was frequently crowded beyond capacity. There was a business center taht we used a bit but not much. We didn't use any other hotel amenities. The room was small but comfy, clean and provided what we needed- somewhere to sleep and to leave our stuff while we explored the city. I would definitely stay there again (I saw some bad reviews but had a good experience).