The Harbor House

The Harbor House was a perfect choice for my needs. I chose it because of its proximity to the water right across the street. I appreciated the front porch and watching all the activity on the narrows, the NY harbor, and the changing lighting of Manhattan. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations with the owner who is a very gracious host.

We chose the Harbor House for the views and the economy. Our suite was roomy and met our needs well. We enjoyed the ferry rides to Manhattan. We would stay here again.

We enjoyed our stay at the Harbor House and would recommend it to others with the understanding that this is a very basic B&B. The location is amazing: quiet safe neighbourhood, free street parking, and a fantastic waterfront view of the city. An all-day bus/subway pass can be purchased for $8.25 at the top of the street and it will take you to the ferry and anywhere in NY. It seemed (at least coming back at night) that the 51 bus runs in-sync with the ferry arrival so the travel time is about 40 minutes. This is a beautiful old house with high ceilings but I’m afraid the owner has let it go (he didn’t seem to be around the weekend we were there). The staff keep everything clean and were friendly and helpful - letting us get our house key before the 2pm check in so we could head to Manhattan and return after their 9pm check in deadline. There is huge potential to improve the house but seemingly a reluctance to do even little things. Everything from the cutlery to the artwork, to the plastic pumpkin shaped butter and jam containers shouted hostel not B&B (note: bring your own peanut butter). For the duration of our 4-day stay there were two toilets in our very dated bathroom (one presumably as a back-up as it was not hooked up). The 2nd bath mat covered up some of the missing tiles nicely. Note as well the TV in the Brooklyn room can be turned on by removing the duct tape and pressing the button in the small hole (we didn’t try the 2nd sitting in the closet as presumably it was broken) Having said all this I would go back to this location, as it’s not that we were upset about our stay; just saddened that this house is not being taken care of (and in some respects maybe the guests too).

We stayed for ten days at the Harbor House, and, honestly, I don't think we could have found a better place to spend that time. Staying during off-peak times kept the house pretty empty and quiet, but cozy nonetheless. The view (from right across the street and out of our sitting room windows!) was great even in gloomy mid-February weather, though I'm sure it's no comparison to what the general ambiance of the entire neighborhood is like in the summer months. After just a few days there, we found ourselves saying not "let's go back to our B&B room", but "let's go home". The staff were very welcoming, courteous and professional. The Harbor House is not a modern chain hotel, but such things aren't to everyone's taste. If you prefer being waited on hand and foot by round-the-clock room service at a fancy hotel, this B&B is not for you. If you, instead, prefer a charming and homey environment in which to feel relaxed and at ease, while never being more than just a ferry ride away from the busy and bustling city of NY, then this little (and I use that term loosely; the house is huge) B&B is a perfect choice, in terms of comfort, cost, and value.

Read with some interest one review of the Harbor House, detailing "time lost" by having to take the ferry into downtown. Should one wish to be in the center of the city, Harbor House, or more approriately stated, Staten Island, is NOT for you. Rather, go to the Ramada, the Hilton, ect, in Manhatten ! That said, should you wish to ENJOY one of the best views of THE CITY, and much of it's surroundings, then the Harbor House SHOULD BE on the top of your list ! Have been there twice, and am coming back again this September ( 2009 ). The owner and his staff are friendly, and strive to meet one's needs eagerly. The house and rooms are kept exceptionally clean, and the stay, overall, is one of the most enjoyable I have had when travelling. As to "time lost" with the ferry -- we found as we started out our day, and drifted past the statue of liberty, and saw the city drawing closer and closer, that this way of "coming to the city" just enhanced our expectations of the day ! And the relaxing, leasurely " drifting back to the Island " after a very full day, was just what the doctor ordered ( and being an R.N., I KNOW about doctors orders ! ). Coming to New York City ? Want the best of both worlds ( ie: the city, and all it has to offer, and a safe, relaxing, clean place to lay your head ) ? Then make sure you have as one of your stopping places, the Harbor House ! Mike Holy, RN

My wife and I stayed there in mid April 2009. We had one of the bedrooms with shared bath, and it waqs very nice. Street parking was easy (and free), neighborhood was very safe, and the surrounding view in the harbor is fabulous. For the price you will NEVER get this nice a spot in Manhattan. Just a few things to know.....be sure to bring towels and washrags with you, the breakfast is continental in style and not like a country B and B inn, and know that you don't have cable TV (only local channels) nor high speed internet at your disposal. And if you take public transit, it's a 20 minute ride there.....but if you have a car, drive and park for $4.00 for 12 hours up the hill from the ferry station or at the station itself for about $7.00. All that aside---it is a fabulous value, and you will enjoy it---at much less than Manhattan prices.

Nice, friendly, close to Manhattan. A good stay for a couple of days.

We stayed in the large ground floor suite in Jan 07 and dreamed of coming back in the summer when we could sit on the porch and look out over the Manhattan skyline. I couldn't get in sum 08 but drove back on a Sun afternoon to tour the Alice Austin museum next door. Sat on the shore & watched the Cruise ships leaving port & "local" families waving to fam & friends on board from shore. Victorian Villa is a short walk to the Ferry but the Har Hs views & breakfast can't be beat.

There are pros and cons on the Harbor House, but every Hotel or Bed & Breakfast has some. Pro's 1.) The view from the picturesque Harbor House is fantastic; to your right is the Verrazano Bridge, which at night is beautifully lit up. Swinging north is the southernmost part of Brooklyn, looking across the bay just 6 miles away, you see the southernmost part of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and New Jersey. At night you can see them glowing in the distance. 2.) The house is in a quiet and safe residential district. There is little traffic noise, in fact the house is so well insulated that when the frigid wind comes howling off of the bay you don't even hear it. Neturals- breakfast is cornflakes, bread, croissants, occasionally bagels and an orange type drink. There is also milk and coffee or tea. A second type of the cereal and fresh fruit would be nice. Cons - the amount of time you lose getting to Manhattan. The Harbor House's 2.6 miles from the Ferry terminal. If you take public transit the average time it took me from leaving the door at the Harbor House to Manhattan was almost 90 minutes. It takes more than 20 minutes to get to the terminal. The Ferry leaves on the hour and half hour and normally you have a 15 to 20 minute wait. The Ferry trip is 30 minutes long. Basically, you lose 2 1/2 to three hours a day traveling to and from the southernmost end of Manhattan to the Harbor House. Check out time in is 11 a.m. and if your flight is not until late at night you may want to consider taking your bags to the airport early. At JFK (as of May 2008) terminals one and four have a baggage storage for a few bucks you can drop your bags off and go back for a few more hours. Take the A or E subway trains and transfer to the air trains at JFK. The air trains are an additional five dollars per direction.

First in a life time visit to New York for both of us was july 2007. We stayed at the Harbor House for a week then. We liked it so much that we're doing it again this year. I mean a great room for 70$ bucks a night, free parking, veranda on of the Hudson, sun-rise & sun set on Manhattan, + you get to salute the Famous Lady from the water, two times a day, for free and travel all over New-York, the most amazing city in the world, in air conditionned buses for 12$ a week. That leaves some spare change for food, booze and fun and the little lady's shopping...

My husband, girlfriend and I stayed here for 3 nights. The view is incredible as the inn is right on the harbor. The inn is one block from the bus stop, which takes you right to the ferry station. Also two blocks away is a cozy bar (the Rosedale I believe) where we had wonderful homemade ravioli. Thankfully this inn had a room with a double and a twin, which fit our circumstances perfectly. We did have to share the hall bath which could use some remodeling SOON. The owners were quite friendly and breakfast was tasty and filling. This is now our place to stay when visiting NYC. CAn't beat the rate and I love the ferry rides.

I very much enjoyed my stay at Harbor House. It was wonderful waking up to see the sun rising between the towers of the bridge, and sitting outside on the front porch drinking my coffee while the boats went by. A very cozy, friendly place and a great location.

This was a great place to stay. Located right on harbor with great view of Statue of Liberty and Manhattan. Hosts were very helpful. Loved the free Staten Island Ferry and excellent Italian restaurant nearby. Very peaceful at the end of the day.

The owners are hospitable, the room we stayed in was homey and comfortable, there's a great view of the harbor, there are a couple of friendly restaurants just up the street, and they got their wireless internet connection going while we were there. You couldn't ask for more.