The Historic Blue Moon Hotel - NYC

You’re really treated like family here! David and Kane were very helpful. From dinner suggestions to making sure we had everything we needed, they did not let us down. Pro tip: try the chocolate cupcakes at the cafe!

My husband and I have lived on the Lower East Side since the 1990s and know the neighborhood very well. At various times either friends have come to visit and needed or hotel room, or we've needed a hotel room in the neighborhood ourselves, usually when having work done on our apartment. At the end of November 2025, we were unable to use our apartment for a week and wanted to stay in the neighborhood. Although we've walked by it many times, we decided to try the Historic Blue Moon Hotel at 100 Orchard Street. The reasonable room rates drew our attention, but when we looked more closely, we loved everything about it. It's an original Lower East Side tenement building that the owners seemingly spared no expense to renovate and very tastefully reposition as a hotel. The property preserves a high degree of period detail and offers unique aesthetic appeal that provides an authentic Lower East Side experience that other hotels in the neighborhood cannot match. Maybe best of all, it is a family business with owners, management and staff who genuinely care about their guests' experience. If you are looking to experience the Lower East Side in a way that really captures the historic uniqueness of the neighborhood, and is conveniently located near public transportation and within walking distance of other Lower Manhattan neighborhoods (SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, the East Village, etc.) this is absolutely the place to stay.

We came in kind of late after an event. The staff was so kind and personable. Cain and his cousin gave us all kinds of tips about the area. I was impressed by the family and how each member was caring, patient and woven into the fabric of this hotel. The bed was super comfortable. I love the windows facing Orchard Street that are deep, and in the window seat I sat watching the school children lining up to go into the tenement museum. I look forward to coming back!

Absolutely loved our stay at this boutique hotel. The staff is incredible and really go above and beyond. You can feel the vibrant history of NYC when you stay. The neighborhood is awesome- great shops and restaurants. Also really loved how secure and safe the building was- you have your own code to enter so no keys to fumble with was a plus! Highly recommend and will definitely be back!

My wife and I return to the Historic Blue Moon Hotel on Orchard Street whenever we visit New York City, and it consistently feels like a homecoming. I grew up nearby on Forsyth Street, so the hotel’s authentic Lower East Side character resonates deeply, but the charm is universal—my wife feels equally welcomed.

The property’s location is ideal for travelers. It is two blocks from the IND F line, offering direct access to Soho, the East and West Village, and Midtown, with easy connections to other major subway routes. We used it as our jumping-off point for visits to the NYC Aquarium and the Bronx Zoo. Katz’s Deli, Little Italy, and Chinatown are all within walking distance.

The Lower East Side has evolved since the 1980s, yet the Blue Moon preserves the historic feel of the neighborhood. The owner, Randy, and manager, David, are exceptionally hospitable and truly elevate the guest experience. Randy also provides tours related to the Tenement Museum directly across the street, adding cultural depth to the stay.

The surrounding area is vibrant, safe, and full of excellent dining and cultural attractions, including the International Center of Photography and the Italian American Museum. The Williamsburg Bridge—just five blocks away—offers a scenic walk into Brooklyn.

Rooms vary from standard doubles to a luxurious penthouse, each decorated with Lower East Side memorabilia and named for early 20th-century musicians. The boutique character and sense of history make this property unique.

For future enhancements, a microwave in the rooms and improved Android TV connectivity would be welcome. Overall, this hotel offers an exceptional blend of location, heritage, and hospitality and remains our preferred choice in NYC.

Great location. Love that it has a lot of history and is not commercial. Location was great. Room was spacious, clean and well equipped. Slept like a baby. Staff made the stay even better. Very welcoming and friendly. I’ve stayed at a few hotels on the LES and this is a new favorite.

Perhaps the least commercial hotel in the area and the rooms are somewhat larger than average and it's got some character for sure. The air-conditioning worked fine and the small kitchen area was certainly adequate. The problem is that any rooms that face east particularly have terrible noise on any night that the nightclub on Essex is operating. It goes till 4 am and you would want to avoid any night when it is operating which includes Friday and Saturday nights. That's probably the only thing that would stop us coming back again as it's well located and comfortable and quite reasonable in Price. You are staying in a bit of history as well, which is a positive in our view.

We liked the charm of this boutique hotel as opposed to an impersonal corporate place. The location was great and had everything you need within walking distance. The room was clean and spacious. The only suggestion I have is to maybe add a small microwave to heat leftovers since there are so many great restaurants in the area. Dovid is what really made our stay special. He was at the front desk everyday of our stay and he was the best. He’s very warm and welcoming and had great recommendations no matter what we were looking for. Dovid will forever be part of our family after our time here. As long as Dovid works here this will be our go to hotel.

We checked in on Friday 11/21 & had two rooms (303 and 503). We paid for the rooms up front when we booked in July 2025. We paid the non-refundable rate and took the discount. When we checked in on 11/21 the desk clerk charged my card a second time. I immediately told him that we had already paid in July when we booked with the non-refundable rate. He looked and confirmed this was the case & “reversed” the charge, saying that it would fall off before posting. The charge posted today, so now I have to go through the work of disputing it with my card.

On top of this, room 503 had an absolutely filthy fan. We told the front desk clerk and asked that it be cleaned but no one from housekeeping ever came by to clean the fan during our stay. We mentioned it again at check out to the person checking us out on Sunday, who may have been the owner, but did not introduce himself.

This hotel does not seem to be well managed. A filthy fan in a room speaks to poor housekeeping standards and having hotel staff who double charge accounts and then can’t reliably reverse the charge is unacceptable. We were excited about this property because we were in the city to see Ragtime and were excited about the historic elements of this (beautifully converted) property, but this hotel does not live up to its many accolades and, for a space that’s so proud of them, should work harder to maintain those standards.

The Historic Blue Moon Hotel was a great find! The room was clean and comfortable, and Dovid and Braham were terrific. They were warm and welcoming, and always available with suggestions for restaurants or places to visit. The location was very good, as the Lower East Side has a lot of history and character. As an added bonus, excellent pickles and bagels were a 5-minute walk away. Highly recommended!

I stayed at this hotel for a few nights and the staff were exceptionally nice and caring, with the location ideal. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel.

We absolutely loved our stay at the Blue Moon. The owners and staff could not have been more friendly, helpful or responsive to our needs and have created a super warm and cheerful environment with quirky character in leafy walkable heart of the LES-noisy on weekend nights but otherwise quite restful. The rooms are clean, beds very comfortable and the elevator not nearly as slow as we were expecting in this historic space. We shared a relatively spacious double queen room with shared balcony and would definitely stay again.

We enjoyed our experience! The hospitality and location made it a memorable and lovely stay. Only reason I did not give it a 5 Star was because there were no drawers for clothes and no microwave, but these are small inconveniences in my opinion. I loved meeting the owners and learning about the history. I would recommend to anyone visiting NyC who is looking to stay in LES.

Wonderful hotel. Comfortable room and great mattress made for a good sleep.!
The hospitality of the owner and staff was top notch. Delicious home made lasagna too.

Know that they are 100% serious about no changes. We were unable to take our trip because my husband’s knee blew out the day before our trip. I called the hotel and they absolutely refused to let us reschedule for a later date. They first made us call Hotels.com to call the property, so I also had to spend the time on that. My bad because I should have gotten insurance, but I was really disappointed they wouldn’t let us reschedule even with a doctor’s note.

I’ve visited NYC annually for the past 8 years. This was my first stay at The Historic Blue Moon but will definitely not me my last! The LES location-Orchard Street is a favorite-with proximity to the Essex/Delancey station makes navigating Manhattan easy. The room (King with shared balcony) was spacious and comfortable with all necessities. The team, especially Dovid and Braham,was so full of hospitality. It was a special treat to hear the story of the Blue Moon from the talented and interesting Mr. Settembrini. The stay was like an immersive experience!

Fantastic experience - wonderful people. The place with its historical atmosphere and the beautiful staff and owners made this journey truly special!

Nice smaller hotel with historic feel located downtown Manhattan in a lively area and close to subway, bus and eatery shops.
The room was spacious with all needed furniture and facilities, housekeeping upon request whenever needed, clean, very good Wi-Fi, comfy huge beds. The balcony was a selling point for us, nice to chill in the evening. Reception staff were very friendly and helpful whenever we had a request.
The only thing we felt missing were the sockets next to bed, but other available so manageable. We didn’t experience noise as other reviews mentioned, even we stayed over weekend.
We enjoyed our stay.

Nice hotel in a great location, friendly and helpful staff and a comfortable bed. Would definitely stay here again!

The only reason I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars is because Dovid, or someone just like him, couldn’t be at the front desk during our entire stay. Things fell off a bit when he wasn’t there. He was SO welcoming and helpful that I guess we got spoiled and were disappointed when a less communicative person took over at the front desk for a period of time. The hotel is so charming and full of character with a beautiful history, the neighborhood is equally as charming, diverse and absolutely lovely! The view from our balcony was second to none. We look forward to returning to the Blue Moon and hope Dovid will be there for us again next time. He’s an absolute TREASURE