I will absolutely advise you to stay in a hotel within walking distance from the finishing line. If you stay in Staten Island you will have a LOOONG way back, and that's not what you want after finishing the Marathon. The same if you stay by the ferry terminal. It's difficult to get a taxi. Subways are crowded. So staying within walking distance of the finish is the only thing that I will recommend.
Here is a map where I have drawn the approximate area where I will advise you to stay. It's inside the red lines. "F" is the finishing line and "H" is the hotel where I have often stayed, Hilton New York Midtown.
If you think that it may be difficult to get to the start at Staten Island from this area, it's not. You take the bus or the ferry. My Facebook group organize two group going from Midtown Manhattan to the start together, taking the subway and ferry. More about that under "Transportation to Start"
I will NOT recommend a specific hotel. There are hundreds of hotels in this area. In all price ranges and all standards. It also depends on your needs - are you traveling alone or with family?
What you should know, is that the hotel rates vary all the time, also for the same hotel. Often rates go up when the hotels fill up closer to the Marathon. But also, I often see that rates drop quite a bit in the last couple of weeks before the Marathon. The reason for that is that travel agencies book a lot of rooms, and release rooms closer to the Marathon when they know exactly how many they will be. What I recommend is:
Book a room early. I usually book almost a year ahead.
Check all the big booking sites and also check hotels directly.
If you see a rate that is OK, book it. But it MUST be fully refundable!
Check again often and re-book if you see a better rate, at the same or another hotel.
You can save much if you follow these points.
Be aware that the rate you often see is far from the final price you pay. New York has a lot of taxes and fees that can add up to a lot. They come in addition to the rate you usually see.
If the location is not that important to you, you can save a lot by looking at hotels in for example New Jersey or Long Island City (Queens).
