B&B The New York Way

HOLIDAY-MAKERS reared on seaside B&B in Britain may feel cheated by the New York version. When you arrive, there's no blue-rinse battle- axe to greet you with a lengthy list of dos and don'ts; the TV assuredly is not screwed to the wall; and as for your chances of tucking into artery- fuzzing bacon and eggs every morning, forget it.

So how come? Well, Manhattan-style bed and breakfast is something of a misnomer. What you are buying is the use of an ordinary New Yorker's residence, minus the resident New Yorker. They hand over their keys, you hand over your money, and after that, you're on your own, buddy.

During our most recent stay, we had the run of a spacious and well-furnished three-room apartment in the trendy East Village for just US$120 (pounds 75) a night. Not cheap exactly, but you'd struggle to get even a basic hotel room for the same price in mid-town Manhattan.

New York can be brash and intimidating but, when you've got your own pad, it all seems much more homely. Suddenly you begin to feel at home, adopting the hometown swagger as you mooch through the streets. Before you know it, you'll be singing "Native New Yorker" as if you wrote it yourself.

Adrian Goldberg

Adrian Goldberg stayed with Bed and Breakfast in Manhattan, PO Box 533, New York, NY 10150 0533 (001 212 472 2528)