LIC Hotel

LIC Hotel makes a useful choice when the priorities are a convenient Queens base, breakfast before setting out and enough of the hotel budget left for the city. Its 21st Street address puts you in Long Island City around Court Square, where the trip can move between Manhattan outings and time spent in Queens without changing hotels.

The hotel’s two most useful shared spaces serve opposite ends of the day. A complimentary hot breakfast buffet gives the morning a straightforward starting point, while the rooftop offers Manhattan skyline views when you return. The appeal is a small independent stay with those practical extras, rather than a large hotel built around several restaurants and leisure facilities.

Room choice makes a real difference here. The catalogue separates a room for one traveller, a couple’s stay, friends who want individual beds and a small family. That is more useful than treating every low-priced room as interchangeable: the most economical bed arrangement may not be the one that works best over several nights with luggage. The room choices below identify the actual layouts.

MoMA PS1 and the East River waterfront give a Long Island City stay a purpose beyond commuting into Manhattan. They are separate outings from Court Square, with Gantry Plaza offering the open-air skyline walk and PS1 a contemporary-art visit. A hotel around Court Square does not mean that its front door is on the waterfront.

Choose LIC Hotel for a trip in which the hotel supports the days out. The rooftop is a worthwhile extra, but it is not a substitute for a larger bedroom or an indoor lounge on a wet day. Travellers who expect a substantial hotel restaurant, extensive leisure facilities or separate living space should compare those priorities with the larger hotels before choosing solely by the starting room price.

For the US Open, Court Square gives you a Flushing-bound 7 journey to Mets–Willets Point. This is a Queens base with a rail trip, rather than a hotel beside the grounds. It works especially well when you also want Manhattan and Long Island City days; the return still includes the walk from the station to 21st Street.