A Simple, Good-Value Base on Boston Road
The building is impossible to miss. A tall stack of turquoise and silver panels standing over the low brick shopfronts of Boston Road, it has been taking guests since March 2023, and what sells it is everything you can reach within a few minutes of the front door. Gun Hill Road station is about ten minutes away on foot, and the 5 train runs from there down into Manhattan. Jerk chicken, curry goat and a long-running Chinese kitchen are closer still, a couple of minutes north and south along the same street.
Inside, the list is short and it is the right list. A lift serves the upper floors, the front desk is staffed around the clock, there is an ATM in the lobby, and every room is air-conditioned with its own bathroom, cable television and free WiFi that guests praise more warmly than anything else about the place. The bedrooms are plain and the bathrooms are the surprise: pale tiling floor to ceiling, a black stone vanity and a lit mirror. Royal Hotel Bronx works well for travellers who want an affordable, well-connected room in the East Bronx and would rather put the difference into the city itself.
Take it if you want a good-value room with the 5 train, the zoo and the botanical garden close by, and you travel light. Look elsewhere if you need to leave a car at the door, want a fridge in the room, or expect the bed made every day without asking: none of the three comes as standard here.
The Bathrooms Are the Best Part of the Room
Every room follows the same simple recipe, and it is the bathroom that lifts it. Behind the door you get large pale tiles, a black stone vanity with a lit mirror above it, a hot shower and towels on an open rail, which is why guests who grumble about other things still put the bathrooms in the positive column. The bedrooms themselves are unfussy: a slate-blue or soft grey wall, a wide padded headboard, a dark wardrobe and dresser, a flat-screen on the wall, heavy curtains and a wood-effect floor that will age far better than carpet.
Three grades are sold and the practical difference between them is small. A Queen Room and a Standard Double Room cover almost the same footprint, and the Standard Queen Room is the accessible version of the first, with a step-free tiled shower, grab rails on both walls and a basin you can roll under. All of them are non-smoking, air-conditioned and heated, with cable television and a telephone beside the bed. What none of them has is a fridge, so plan around the shared microwave on the first floor or the kitchens along Boston Road.
A Caribbean Food Corridor on Your Doorstep
This stretch of Boston Road is one of the borough's liveliest West Indian and Caribbean food corridors, and for a lot of guests it is the reason to pick the address. King Barka Jamaican and American Restaurant sits directly opposite, about two minutes on foot, doing jerk chicken, curry goat and oxtail. Good Taste, a long-standing neighbourhood Chinese takeaway, is a few minutes north at 3416 Boston Road. Around them are bakeries, barbers and the ordinary daily life of Baychester and Williamsbridge, a quieter, residential, tree-lined pocket of the north-east Bronx rather than the hard-edged borough of the films.
The green space is close as well. Bronx Park, the corridor that holds both the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden, is around two and a half miles away, and both entrances are a short drive rather than a trek. The Mall at Bay Plaza, the borough's big enclosed shopping centre, is about a mile and a half east, and Orchard Beach, the crescent of sand the Bronx calls its Riviera, is roughly four miles on. For a room at this end of the market, that is an unusual amount of the city to have within a short drive.
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Interesting Points About Royal Hotel Bronx
- Third-party listings still describe this as a five-room property. It is not. The hotel holds around 56 rooms across its upper floors, all reached by lift, which is why the front desk is staffed around the clock.
- Only one train serves the Gun Hill Road station you can actually walk to, and it is the 5, on the Dyre Avenue Line. Guides that pair it with the 2 are describing a different Gun Hill Road station further west on White Plains Road.
- The 5 does not run through to Manhattan overnight. Late at night it shrinks to a shuttle between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street, so a very late arrival from the city means changing trains.
- The room is paid by card and cash is refused at the desk, yet the refundable US$60 damage deposit works the opposite way: cash on the way in and cash on the way back out, after the room is checked over.
- There is a single shared microwave on the first floor and nothing in the rooms, no fridge either, which is the most common surprise in recent guest feedback.
- Royal Coach Diner, still listed as nearby dining by several travel sites and mapping apps, closed in November 2024. Its old building at 3260 Boston Road is being split between a Sonic and a Zaxby's, both firsts for the borough. It was also a separate business, despite the shared name.
- The hotel opened in March 2023 and is still owner-run by Arpit Patel, which is why the lift, the tiling and the bathrooms are newer than a two-star badge usually suggests.
Rooms & Accommodation at Royal Hotel Bronx
Queen Room
Up to 2 guests · Queen · 15.8 m²
The plain pick, and the one most solo travellers and couples end up in. Around 15.8 square metres with a private bathroom, air conditioning you set yourself, cable television, a telephone and free WiFi, on an upper floor reached by lift. Nothing decorative, and nothing missing that a night in the Bronx actually needs, though there is no fridge, so factor in the shared microwave downstairs.
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Standard Queen Room
Up to 2 guests · Queen · 15.8 m² · accessible
The same room in an accessible configuration, and the one to book for guests who need step-free access. It carries the wheelchair-accessible and hearing-accessible flags, and the bathroom behind the door has a step-free tiled shower, grab rails on both walls and a wall-hung basin with clearance underneath. Same size, same fittings, same lift. Ask for it when you book rather than on arrival, because there are very few of them.
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Standard Double Room
Up to 2 guests · Double · 15.3 m²
A couple of square metres smaller than the queen rooms, and the sensible call for travellers who are only back in the room to sleep. About 15.3 square metres, non-smoking, air-conditioned and heated, with a private bathroom, cable television and a telephone. The floor is wood-effect rather than carpet, which is the right choice in a building this new.
Check PricesIs Royal Hotel Bronx Right for You?
Best Suited For
- Budget travellers who want a New York base and plan to spend the day out of the room
- Solo travellers and couples heading for the Bronx Zoo, the botanical garden or Orchard Beach
- Anyone here for the Caribbean and West Indian kitchens along Boston Road
- Guests who need a lift, a 24-hour desk and an accessible room without paying city-centre money
- Yankees fans happy to take the subway with a transfer
Worth Considering Alternatives If
- Drivers, because there is no parking at the property and street spaces follow the city's alternate-side cleaning rules
- Anyone who wants a fridge or a microwave in the room, since the only microwave is the shared one on the first floor
- Guests who expect the room serviced every day without asking, which several recent visitors did not get
- Light sleepers, because noise from the street and from inside the building comes up regularly in guest feedback
- Very late arrivals from Manhattan, since check-in closes at midnight and the 5 shrinks to a shuttle overnight
Amenities and Facilities
In Your Room
- Individually controlled air conditioning
- Heating
- Private bathroom with a bath or walk-in shower
- Free toiletries, towels and a hairdryer
- Backlit mirror and a stone vanity in every bathroom
- Flat-screen TV with cable channels
- Direct-dial telephone
- Free WiFi
- Carbon monoxide detector
- Non-smoking
- Not available: Fridge
- Not available: Microwave in the room
- Not available: Cots and extra beds
Property-Wide
- Lift to the upper floors
- 24-hour front desk
- ATM in the lobby
- Shared microwave on the first floor
- Key-card access
- Housekeeping on request
- Free WiFi in every room and public area
- Not available: Restaurant
- Not available: Bar
- Not available: Breakfast service
- Not available: Room service
- Not available: Swimming pool
- Not available: Spa or wellness centre
- Not available: Gym
- Not available: Garden or terrace
Accessibility
- One wheelchair-accessible and hearing-accessible room, the Standard Queen Room
- Step-free tiled shower with grab rails in that room
- Wall-hung basin with clearance underneath
- Lift serving every upper floor
- Key-card access to rooms
- Not available: Documented step-free entrance
Parking and Transport
- Gun Hill Road station on the Dyre Avenue Line, 5 train, about a 10-minute walk
- Local buses along Boston Road
- Williams Bridge station on the Metro-North line, about 1.1 miles
- Paid garage at The Mall at Bay Plaza, about 1.5 miles
- Street spaces on Boston Road, subject to alternate-side cleaning rules
- LaGuardia Airport about 8 miles, JFK about 16 miles
- Not available: Parking at the property
- Not available: Airport shuttle
Policies
- Check-in from 15:00 until midnight, check-out by 11:00
- Photo identification and a credit card needed at the desk
- Minimum check-in age 21
- Cards only for the room: American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover
- Refundable US$60 damage deposit, cash only, returned in cash after the room is checked
- Children over 14 welcome
- Not available: Pets
- Not available: Smoking anywhere on site
Location and Getting Around
The address is 3362 Boston Road, in Baychester, on the boundary with Williamsbridge in the north-east corner of the Bronx. This is Community District 12: residential, low-rise, heavily Caribbean and West Indian, and a long way in feel from the South Bronx that most first-time visitors picture. The parade outside is where you will eat. King Barka Jamaican and American Restaurant sits at 3377 Boston Road, directly opposite and about two minutes on foot, doing jerk chicken, curry goat and oxtail. Good Taste, the neighbourhood Chinese takeaway, is at 3416 Boston Road, four or five minutes north, and Sky Cuisine and Lounge is a similar distance away. One local trap: the Royal Coach Diner, still listed as nearby dining by several travel sites and mapping apps, shut in November 2024, and its old site at 3260 Boston Road is being divided between a Sonic and a Zaxby's. It was a separate business, despite the shared name.
For the subway, walk about ten minutes, roughly 800 yards, to Gun Hill Road station on the Dyre Avenue Line. That station is served by the 5 train and only the 5 train, whatever the listings say. The Gun Hill Road stop on the 2 is a different station further west, and it is not the one within walking distance. On weekdays the 5 runs through to Brooklyn, in the evenings and at weekends it turns back at Bowling Green, and late at night it shrinks to a shuttle between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street, so a very late arrival means changing trains. Local buses run along Boston Road, and Williams Bridge station on the Metro-North line is about 1.1 miles away if you would rather come out from Grand Central. There is no parking at the property, and street spaces on Boston Road follow the city's alternate-side cleaning rules, so read the signs on the block before you leave a car. The nearest big garage is at The Mall at Bay Plaza, about a mile and a half east.
- Gun Hill Road station (5 train): 10-minute walk, about 800 yards, on the Dyre Avenue Line
- King Barka Jamaican and American Restaurant: 2-minute walk, jerk chicken, curry goat and oxtail at 3377 Boston Road
- Good Taste: 4-minute walk, long-standing neighbourhood Chinese takeaway at 3416 Boston Road
- The Mall at Bay Plaza: 1.5 miles, the borough's big enclosed mall, with a large paid garage
- Bronx Park: 2.5 miles, the green corridor that holds both the zoo and the botanical garden
- New York Botanical Garden: 2.6 miles, about 8 minutes by car, 250 acres around a Victorian glasshouse
- Bronx Zoo: 2.8 miles, about 10 minutes by car, one of the largest city zoos in the country
- Orchard Beach: 4.2 miles, the crescent of sand on Pelham Bay the Bronx calls its Riviera
- Wave Hill: 4.3 miles, a public garden and cultural centre high above the Hudson
- Yankee Stadium: 6 miles, reachable on the subway with a transfer
- LaGuardia Airport: 8 miles, about 20 minutes by car and the practical arrival airport
Getting to Key Locations
Photo: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0
The New York Botanical Garden
8 min drive
Two and a half miles south-west, about eight minutes by car, 250 acres of National Historic Landmark grounds sit around a Victorian glasshouse that justifies the trip on its own. Give it half a day rather than an hour. Late spring and early autumn are when it earns its reputation.
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Photo: Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Bronx Zoo
10 min drive
About 2.8 miles out and ten minutes by car, this is one of the largest metropolitan zoos in the country. It shares the Bronx Park green corridor with the botanical garden, so the sensible plan from Boston Road is to take both in one day rather than making the same drive twice.
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Photo: Bebo2good1, CC BY-SA 4.0
Orchard Beach on Pelham Bay
Four miles east, the borough calls this crescent of sand its Riviera and it is not being ironic. It is the closest thing to a proper beach day you will get without leaving the city, and it is at its best in late spring and early autumn when the crowds thin out.
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Photo: Paulo JC Nogueira, CC BY-SA 3.0
Yankee Stadium
Six miles south-west, reachable on the subway with one change. If a ball game is the reason for the trip, this address does the job: you are well outside the Manhattan hotel market but still on a line that gets you to the ballpark and back the same evening.
View on MapHow to Get to Royal Hotel Bronx
- From Manhattan, take the 5 train: Board a Dyre Avenue-bound 5 on the East Side and ride it out to Gun Hill Road. That is the Dyre Avenue Line stop, not the Gun Hill Road station on the 2, which is a different place further west.
- Walk ten minutes along Boston Road: Leave the station and head for Boston Road. It is roughly 800 yards to number 3362, about ten minutes at an easy pace, past the shopfronts and takeaways that make up the parade.
- Plan around the late-night shuttle: Late at night the 5 works only as a shuttle between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street, so an arrival after midnight means changing trains. Check-in also closes at midnight, so tell the desk if you will be late.
- Driving in from LaGuardia: Take the Grand Central Parkway to the Bruckner Expressway, then I-95 north and exit for Boston Road. It is roughly 8 miles and about 20 minutes without traffic.
- Sort out the car before you arrive: There is no parking at the property. Street spaces on Boston Road follow the city's alternate-side cleaning rules and the signs change block to block, so the safest option is the paid garage at The Mall at Bay Plaza, about a mile and a half east.
- Check in with ID, a card and cash: The desk is staffed 24 hours. Bring photo identification and a credit card for the room, plus US$60 in cash for the refundable damage deposit, which is not taken on a card.
The Bronx for First-Time Visitors
The Bronx is the only borough attached to the mainland, and the one most visitors skip, which is exactly why it rewards a day. The big three are all within a short drive of Boston Road: the Bronx Zoo, one of the largest city zoos anywhere; the New York Botanical Garden, 250 acres of National Historic Landmark grounds built around a Victorian glasshouse; and Orchard Beach, the mile-long crescent on Pelham Bay that locals call the Riviera.
Eat where the borough eats. Arthur Avenue is the real Little Italy of New York, with bakeries and salumerie that have been in the same families for generations, and the Caribbean and West Indian kitchens along Boston Road and White Plains Road are the everyday version of the same idea. Wave Hill, a public garden and cultural centre high above the Hudson in Riverdale, is the quiet counterweight to all of it.
Two practical points. Distances here are bigger than in Manhattan, so pair attractions by geography rather than by list, and check opening days before you set out. And the subway is the sensible way in and out: driving into Manhattan from the north-east Bronx costs you time, tolls and a parking search you do not need.
Eight Bronx Places Worth the Trip
A local video maker's tour of the borough's best-known corners, useful background before your first full day out from Boston Road.
Is Royal Hotel Bronx worth it?
Yes, if the trip is about New York rather than the room. You get an air-conditioned room with a genuinely good bathroom and strong free WiFi, a ten-minute walk from the 5 train, with the zoo, the botanical garden and Bay Plaza all a short drive out. Skip it if you are driving, if you want a fridge in the room, or if a spotless room matters more to you than the address.
What Guests Say About Royal Hotel Bronx
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Passable
Two things come up over and over: how handy the address is, and how good the WiFi is. Guests arriving for the Caribbean restaurants, the mall or a ball game keep saying it put them exactly where they wanted to be, the front desk earns warm mentions, and the bathrooms are singled out as better than expected. Housekeeping is where opinion splits, with several guests reporting rooms not serviced across a multi-night stay and a few finding the room less clean than they hoped. Noise, from the street and from inside the building, is the other recurring note.
Picked out the bathrooms as the best part of the stay, but found the noise levels high for a solo trip.
2026-08-03Liked the handy spot and thought the room was roomy enough for one person, but did not find it clean.
2026-07-27Stayed three nights as a couple and nobody came to service the room in that time. Found the place small as well.
2026-07-06The spot worked well for him, but he wanted a fridge and a microwave in the room and there were neither.
2026-06-05Called it handy for getting around and was glad of the microwave downstairs. Would have liked one in the room, along with a fridge, but came away calling the stay a decent one.
2026-04-24Exactly the part of the borough he wanted, close to the Caribbean restaurants and the mall. The stand-in room he waited in while his own was made ready had not been cleaned.
2026-04-19Found the room clean.
2026-02-05Warm welcome from the reception team, and easy enough to reach on the bus.
2025-11-23Good to Know Before You Book
Bring US$60 in cash for the deposit
The room itself is paid by card and cash is not taken for it, but the refundable damage deposit works the other way round. It is US$60, handed over in cash at the desk when you arrive, and handed back in cash once the room has been checked over at the end of your stay. This catches out card-only guests more often than anything else here.
No fridge or microwave in the room
There is one shared microwave on the first floor and nothing in the rooms, which is the single most common surprise in recent guest feedback. Caribbean and Chinese kitchens sit a couple of minutes away along Boston Road, and The Mall at Bay Plaza has a full supermarket about a mile and a half east.
There is no parking at the property
Street spaces on Boston Road are subject to the city's alternate-side cleaning rules and the signs change from block to block, with a cleaning ticket costing $45 in the Bronx. The nearest large garage is at The Mall at Bay Plaza, roughly a mile and a half east, so decide where the car goes before you arrive.
Check-in closes at midnight and the minimum age is 21
Arrivals run from 15:00 until midnight and check-out is by 11:00. Everyone checking in shows photo identification and a credit card, and the minimum age at the desk is 21. The front desk is staffed around the clock, so call ahead if a flight or a train is going to make you late.
Housekeeping is on request, and the building carries sound
Rooms are cleaned when you ask rather than automatically, so tell the desk on arrival if you want the room serviced during a longer stay: several recent guests found it was not done otherwise. Guests also report noise from the street and from inside the building, so pack earplugs if you sleep lightly.
Cancellation terms depend on the option you pick
Cancellation and prepayment conditions change with the room and the rate plan, and the exact terms appear before you confirm. Read them at that point rather than assuming, and note that cots and extra beds are not available and children need to be over 14.
Photos of Royal Hotel Bronx
Frequently Asked Questions
Royal Hotel Bronx is at 3362 Boston Road in Baychester, in the north-east corner of the Bronx, on the boundary with Williamsbridge. This is a residential, largely Caribbean and West Indian part of the borough rather than the South Bronx. Bronx Park is around two and a half miles away and the nearest subway station is roughly ten minutes on foot.
There is no parking at the property, so decide where the car goes before you arrive. Street spaces on Boston Road are subject to the city's alternate-side cleaning rules and the signs change from block to block, with a cleaning ticket costing $45 in the Bronx. The nearest large garage is at The Mall at Bay Plaza, about a mile and a half east.
The walkable station is Gun Hill Road on the Dyre Avenue Line, about ten minutes away on foot, and it is served by the 5 train only. Several listings pair it with the 2, but that is a different Gun Hill Road station further west and it is not the one nearby. The 5 runs through to Brooklyn on weekdays, turns back at Bowling Green in the evenings and at weekends, and late at night operates only as a shuttle between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street, so a very late journey needs a transfer. Yankee Stadium is about six miles away, also on the subway with a change.
Check-in runs from 15:00 until midnight and check-out is by 11:00. Everyone checking in shows photo identification and a credit card, and the minimum age at the desk is 21. The front desk is staffed around the clock, so let the property know if you are going to arrive late.
A refundable damage deposit of US$60 is collected when you arrive and it has to be cash. The room itself is paid by card and cash is not accepted for it, which is the contradiction that catches most guests out. The money is returned to you in cash after the room has been checked over at the end of the stay.
No room has a fridge or a microwave, and this is the most common complaint in recent guest feedback. There is a single shared microwave on the first floor that guests are free to use. For anything more, the Caribbean and Chinese kitchens along Boston Road are a couple of minutes away on foot.
One room type, the Standard Queen Room, is listed as wheelchair accessible and hearing accessible, with a step-free tiled shower, grab rails on both walls and a wall-hung basin with clearance underneath. A lift serves every upper floor and rooms use key-card access. A step-free entrance is not documented anywhere, so call ahead and confirm if that matters to your stay.
Breakfast is not served here, and there is no restaurant, bar or room service either. The shared microwave on the first floor handles reheating, and Boston Road has bakeries, Caribbean kitchens and takeaways within a few minutes' walk.
Pets are not allowed and every room is non-smoking, which the property has confirmed repeatedly in its own guest questions. Children over the age of 14 are welcome, but cots and extra beds are not available, so a family of four needs two rooms.
None of the three exists here, whatever the amenity chips on the mapping apps suggest. The facilities are deliberately simple: free WiFi throughout, a lift, a 24-hour front desk, an ATM in the lobby and a shared microwave on the first floor. There is no spa and no airport shuttle either.
Other Great Stays in the Bronx
The Vine Hotel Bronx New
Take this one instead if you are driving: it has a fenced free car park at the door, about a mile south on White Plains Road, where Royal Hotel Bronx has nowhere to leave a car.
LIV Hotel Bronx
Pick it over Royal Hotel Bronx when you want a fridge in the room, free parking and a three-minute walk to Metro-North trains into Grand Central. It is a smarter, newer building for the trade-off.
Hotel Fuego Bronx
Better placed if the zoo, Arthur Avenue and Yankee Stadium are the whole reason for the trip, since it sits in East Tremont much closer to all three. Like Royal Hotel Bronx, it has no car park.
Ready to Book Royal Hotel Bronx?
Boston Road puts the 5 train ten minutes away on foot and the zoo, the botanical garden and Bay Plaza a short drive out. Check your dates and take a room while there is one.
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