Ask the experts: Douglas Rogers, our New York City expert, advises on renting a short-stay apartment.

My sister and I are planning to go to New York City for nine days around the end of April. It was suggested that we might prefer an apartment rather than a b&b or hotel, but I have no idea where to start looking. Our budget is not bottomless by any means but we would obviously like an area we would feel safe in. We are happy to share a bedroom with twin beds and although we will probably eat out most of the time it would be nice to have a little ’crash pad’ to come back to and put our feet up with a glass of wine at the end of the day. Does this sort of place exist.

Douglas Rogers, New York expert, replies

Your idea is a good one, especially if you want to relax and make a meal at home some evenings, instead of dining out all the time. Thereare several reputable websites that offer short term rental apartments. Among the best are airbnb.com. flipkey.com. and newyorkstay.com.

Airbnb is a famous international site, and it has reviews so you can search for what other guests said about the apartments and their owners. Note that some are b&b-style “home stays” rather than apartments with sole occupancy.

I keyed in your rough dates and found a one-bedroom apartment in East Village for £101 a night; home stays are often cheaper.

In terms of what areas to look at, I would avoid Midtown/Times Square because they are very crowded, and opt for somewhere quiet with a neighborhood feel.

Try the West Village, SoHo, East Village, Gramercy Park, Chelsea, or the Upper West Side. You could also try the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Brooklyn Heights, which are fun and in some ways represent the real old New York.