Start with the problem, not the room type
When a family searches for connecting rooms in New York, the actual need is almost always the same: the kids need to sleep somewhere with a door, the adults need somewhere to sit after 8pm that isn't the end of a bed, and nobody wants to be in a different unit down the hall. Connecting rooms are one answer to that. They're not the only one, and in Manhattan they're often the hardest one to get.
Here's the thing about connecting rooms in New York specifically: the inventory is thin. Older downtown buildings were not built with connecting doors, and where hotels do have them, they're usually assigned rather than guaranteed, which means you find out at check-in whether you got what you pictured. That uncertainty is fine on a two-night trip and genuinely stressful when you've flown a family across an ocean.
A two- or three-bedroom suite comes at the same problem from the other direction. Instead of two hotel rooms with a shared door, it's one apartment with two or three bedrooms off a shared living room, plus a kitchen. You get real doors, and you get the thing connecting rooms never give you: somewhere for the adults to be that isn't a bedroom.
What we have, plainly
We don't have connecting rooms at 17John. We do have two and three bedroom suites for larger parties. A three bedroom accommodates a party of five comfortably, and a two bedroom with a sofa bed also sleeps five. We sell the room rather than charging per guest, so the price doesn't move with the number of people as long as everyone fits the layout and occupancy. If you've already booked and want to add an adult and two children, that's usually fine, we just need to know so we can put you in a layout that actually works.
If you'd rather have separate suites (grandparents who want their own front door, two families travelling together), you can book them together and we'll do our best to put them on the same floor. Floor assignments firm up closer to check-in, so that's a genuine best effort rather than a promise we can make in March for a stay in August.
How to choose
Choose connecting rooms if your group is two clearly separate households who want separate bathrooms and separate keys, you're staying two or three nights, and you're happy to take the risk that the connection isn't confirmed until you arrive.
Choose a two- or three-bedroom suite if you're one family, you're staying more than a few nights, you want to cook or at least make breakfast, and you want the evening to work: kids down in a bedroom with the door shut, adults in the living room with the lights on.
Choose two suites booked together if you're a bigger group (two families, or a party of eight or nine) who want a bit of separation but the same lift, and you can live with same-floor being an effort rather than a guarantee.
One more practical note. A suite with a kitchen changes long family trips more than the bedroom count does. Breakfast without leaving the building, laundry mid-trip in the laundry room downstairs, and a fridge for the leftovers. On a week-long stay in New York with children, that's the difference between a holiday and an endurance event.