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Priceline Hotel: 4* New York City (Madison Square Garden - Convention) Wyndham New Yorker Hotel


learningtheropes
By learningtheropes,
in

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Hello there,

 

I have been trying to research as much as possible before starting my bid for two rooms in NYC or March 18 to March 21 2015.

I will provide you with as many details as possible about what I am hoping to get and do. Any advice on ANY aspect of our trip is greatly appreciated. :)

 

Family of four, two teens age 14 and 16 and myself and husband. My husband is a bit skeptical about using priceline bidding for New York as we aren't New York, or even very travel, "savvy". We are doing a three night stay in New York before heading to Orlando for our first cruise. We were hoping to catch all the usual tourist attractions, (I'm pretty sure I am going to purchase a new york city pass) and I'm hoping to use public transit (?) to save money so we would need to be central.

 

We also hope to catch a broadway show (I'm thinking Avenue Q, my teens are pretty mature) so I am looking into discounted tix.

 

I have read your comments on the Hudson Hotel having smaller rooms so I would want to avoid it, (I realize NY hotel rooms are generally smaller than most cities so that is why we are spending more of our budget on two rooms). We generally stay in 4 or 4.5 star hotels like the Hyatt, higher end Marriotts, Westin, etc. because they are more affordable here in Vancouver than New York. We would be okay with a Best Western or similar as long as it is safe, clean, convenient location and well managed.

 

Ideally, I was hoping to pay a total 750.00 US, for both rooms,  "all in" as that equals approx 1000.00 CAD for the booking. (Our dollar has been taking a beating) 

But having said that, we will pay more rather than lowering our star level as we probably wont be going back to New York again for a very long time, if ever and I want the family to enjoy themselves.

 

As far as bidding areas, we would like to be walking distance to attractions or close to transit and in safe neighborhood. (I am not at all familiar with New York)

 

Thank you for your time.

 

 

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Welcome to BetterBidding!

You've come to the right place as i'm well versed in PRICELINE bidding and local to the NYC area. :)

To get started on the hotel part of your trip, unfortunately you're budget is a bit light for these dates... $750US all-in (3 nites/2 rooms) is about $125/nite per room all-in... deduct NYC hotel tax and booking fees and you're at about $100/nite room rate, which is usually only available during the slowest of times in NYC (Jan/Feb and for some dates during the summer months)

If you want to stay within your budget and are willing to share a room with your kids, you can use HOTWIRE and search for 2adults/2children. HOTWIRE guarantees accommodations for everyone you include in your search, but note that the second 'bed' in the room could be a rollaway brought into the room, a pullout sofabed, etc. If this is acceptable i'm seeing what appears to be the Belvedere Hotel for $180/nite ($680US all-in) which would be an excellent location for exploring the city.

I'm also seeing (1room/2adults/2children) what looks like the Hotel Indigo for $207/nite ($777 all-in) if this is of any interest.

If you'd like to stick with the idea of 2 rooms you're likely looking in the $150-$170 area for something nice and centrally located.

... so basically it comes down to budget vs. comfort.

Once you win a hotel i can offer more suggestions in the immediate area (or as you let me know more about your families like/dislikes) but i will add that i LOVED Avenue Q, although it's not a traditional Broadway play and there are some sexual overtones (some subtle... some very clear), just as an FYI.

If you do opt for a Go Card make sure that you plan your itinerary accordingly to make use of all of the included activities, and please use our Viator link for your purchase (they have a variety of passes there so choose the least expensive that includes all/most of the activities you want to do... or price the activities individually (most are likely offered thru Viator) to make sure that you're not better buying them all individually)

Let us know your thoughts (and questions) on the above and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

PS- if you need a place in Orlando feel free to start a NEW TOPIC for that leg of your trip or visit our sister site pre.crusie :)

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Thank you very much for the speedy response!

 

I think I would like to get 2 rooms and could live with bidding up to 150 "ish" per room per night. That would probably work out to approx 1200 usd for the three rooms all in for the three nights? 

 

If I am not successful then I will take your advice and look at hotwire at that point and get only one room.

 

I'm glad you liked avenue Q, I have read great reviews. I did read the content disclaimers about the mature subject matter and I think I might be pushing the envelope a bit but I think my teens are ok to attend. But I'm also open to other show suggestions! I would say they lean towards comedy, not so much musicals.

 

Thank you for the viator link  I briefly checked it out and I will visit it again to have a better look. 

 

In Orlando we will not be needing a hotel, we are lying in on embarkation day and out on the last cruise day. We may need a layover hotel on the route home to Vancouver (I havent booked that leg yet) and I will start a new thread with that as I do not want to be stuck 10 miles out from the airport.

 

We will be arriving at EWR at approx 3:30pm on Wednesday March 18 and will be flying out of LGA at 7:00am on Sat the 21. Any suggestions of airport to hotel transportation? And then hotel to LGA transportation? We would probably feel less anxious if it was a shuttle of some sort that went straight to and from our hotel, especially as we'll have luggage. 

 

And finally, would you recommend I start my hotel bidding now or wait until closer to our arrival date of Mar 18?

 

Thanks again!

 

 

 

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That would probably work out to approx 1200 usd for the three rooms all in for the three nights?

A typo, and you need two rooms, correct?

 

If so you could probably creep up as high as $160/nite per room and be at your $1200 all-in budget (assuming the hotel has not resort fees, which unfortunately, are starting to appear for a few hotels where as last year there were maybe 1 or 2 that charged mandatory fees)

 

If you can get Avenue Q tickets than that sounds like a good show for your family... if unsuccessful you can consider Blue Man Group (again, not a traditional show so you have to open for something a bit 'different', and over the years they have expanded to many more locations so it's not longer a 'New York Experience')

We will be arriving at EWR at approx 3:30pm on Wednesday March 18 and will be flying out of LGA at 7:00am on Sat the 21.

Taxi would be your best option for both, given the amount of luggage that you have and that there are four people. There are less expensive options (not by much when you are four people traveling) but they are not as convenient... the only alternate option from EWR --> NYC hotel would be to take the AirTrain in an effort to avoid traffic at the tunnel, but it's not really that convenient (there is a bit of walking to the monorail, to the train platform, then you'll likely need a taxi to get to your hotel once at Penn Station... but we can cover this once we know exactly where you will be staying)

As far as zones, at the 4* level, i would recommend the following (with comments where necessary):

MTW, TS, MSG, ESB --> all generally considered well located and convenient to subways

Chelsea --> can be up to a 10 minute walk to the subway but this is a 'hot' area right now with lots of restaurants, clubs, cafes, boutiques, etc. so it's still considered a very desirable area and often included in bidding

MTE --> most 4* hotels are well located but a few can be up to a 10-15 mintue walk to the subway, include/exclude this zone based upon how you would feel about a 10-15 minute walk to the subway

If you let us know which zone(s) are acceptable, and confirm your maximum bid (US Dollars) we will suggest a strategy for you to follow. (or feel free to ask any additional questions regarding the above should something remain unanswered or the info above prompts an additional question)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Yes, that was a typo. Only two rooms and three nights.

 

I think I will cap at 150 then, to buff for "resort fees" etc.

 

I think your advice on the taxi is a good idea. Once I win a bid maybe someone could give me an idea on the fare based on the hotel distance? And suggested tip percentage/amount? I don"t want to shortchange the driver.

 

I really like the sound of the Chelsea area, actually, so that walk to the subway would be more than acceptable if it is through a trendy/eclectic area.  We are in the food industry so that is right up our "alley". :)

 

Perhaps MTE would be a bit too far of a walk if there isn't anything happening there, so let's leave that out of the bidding zones.

 

And, just curious, why do you not recommend Hell's Kitchen?

 

And just to completely shake things up....how hard would it be to commute from the LGA area to downtown New York for the sightseeing/theatre for thurs and fri? I was thinking that the rooms are substantially cheaper and then getting to LGA on Saturday morning would be easier, perhaps even with a hotel shuttle?  Wed night we would just chill at the hotel and we would zip into downtown all day thurs and then all day fri. 

If it is too hectic to do the extra commute into NYC, though, then we would rather stay right in the middle of it all.

 

Thanks for all the details included and I look forward to bidding!

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I wouldn't recommend the LGA area as a 'NYC substitute'...

1) some of the hotels are not that close to the subway

2) the hotels in the area are not that nice (may airport zone hotels have a high percentage of one nite stays and the constant turnover can have a 'wear and tear' effect on hotels)

3) i forget if you said otherwise, but this is your first time in NYC (or at the very least you don't get here often) and you will lose out on much of the 'NYC feel' if you stay outside of the city. Part of the appeal of NYC is the freedom of having everything at your fingertips, walk outside your door and you could have just about any thing you want at most hours of the day... you lose much of that 'vibe' when staying outside of the Manhattan. If you do want this option i would look at Long Island City (not my favorite area although the area is going thru a gentrification process and is greatly improved, it's still somewhat industrial and just not a 'clean' feeling to me, although in another few years this may be an excellent option)... or Hoboken (which won't make your LGA commute any easier but it's an easier trip from EWR and an easy commute into Manhattan, but again, you're missing out on the true 'nyc experience')

Regarding the Hells Kitchen zone, the 'known' 4* hotel here would be the Ink48, which gets GREAT reviews, but it's not really that convenient to the subway and not that close to where you ideally want to be.

If you're looking to save money you could consider the Downtown/Financial District, which is often a little less expensive, although not as convienent then midtown, but it's still 'do-able' and would be better choices, imo, than LGA, Long Island City, or Hoboken.

Let us know your thoughts, and if you want to start bidding, confirm your zones and we'll outline a strategy for you to follow.

EDIT TO ADD: after all the above i just searched your dates once more time and there is a new hotel offered which i highly recommend you make a decision and act quick on if interested... search for your dates 2rooms/4children there is a 3.5* hotel on HOTWIRE (please use this link) in the MSG zone for $109/nite with:

Free Internet

Smoke Free

Fitness

Restaurant

Business

Hi-Speed Internet

Golf

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Roll-in Shower

... beset guess for this one would be the Wyndham New Yorker. It's an older/historic hotel (so it does get some mixed reviews as many people like newer/stylish type of properties), but it has an excellent location and for your dates i think it's a very good deal at this price. This hotel is 4* rated on PRICELINE, so you could try bidding on PRICELINE first for a slightly lower rate (and given the price of the other hotels for these dates i suspect that is the one you would win, but winning any 4* hotel at this price would be pretty good, and should your bids be rejected (up to say $105 for example) then you can just take this HOTWIRE offer (or just take the HOTWIRE offer for convenience)

Let us know and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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I'm seeing this when searching for 2 rooms, 4 adults but not 2 rooms, 2 adults, 2 children. I'm seeing it for $107, you may see a slightly different price.

 

I'd also say if you do see this, I'd take it immediately (plus use the WINTER20 coupon.)

 

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

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Confirm your dates, number of rooms, number of guests, etc. on the landing page, but you can also try THIS LINK (which will only be 'active' for 30 minutes after it's posted)... i'll send you a PM to make you aware of the link, but if you miss it we can try again (if the offer is still offered at that time)

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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I found it, thank you for the link!

But one quick question, do I enter total people per room or the total occupants for both rooms?

And I can still do a quick Priceline bid attempt if you think I might be able to get the same rate with a higher star level? If it is the Wyndham it looks pretty good, I did read the reviews and they thought the 3.5 rating was a touch inflated and there were a few room repair issues. My only concern is that with hotwire I have heard that sometimes you get delegated the "hotwire" rooms. With a four and a half star or even four star hotel then the hotwire rooms would still be pretty good rooms. I think. :)

I realize I can't have my cake and eat it too, (darn it) and that I would have to pay more for a higher star room but I think maybe I would try taking my chance on Priceline first.

Thanks

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If you use the BiddingHelper.com there are separate occupancy boxes for each room.

If you want to try bidding on PRICELINE at the 4* level let us know which zones you want to try for and we will suggest a strategy for you to follow.. but i'd suggest taking care of this as soon as possible as the current offer can disappear at any time (and then you're likely looking at $150+ for a hotel room that meets your criteria)

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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To confirm you're bidding for TWO rooms (since PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy).

Using the zones you indicated i would bid as follows:

Select 4* MSG...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* TS...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* ESB...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* Chelsea...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG and MTW...

Bid $88, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* TS and ESB...

Bid $88, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* Chelsea and MSG...

Bid $88, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG and TS...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MTW and ESB...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* Chelsea and MTW...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG and ESB...

Bid $93, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MTW and TS...

Bid $93, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* Chelsea and TS...

Bid $93, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, MTW, TS...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, MTW, ESB...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, MTW, Chelsea...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, TS, ESB...

Bid $98, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, ESB, Chelsea...

Bid $98, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MTW, TS, ESB...

Bid $98, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, MTW, TS, ESB...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, MTW, TS, Chelsea...

Bid $100, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* ESB, Chelsea, MSG, MTW...

Bid $103, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* ESB, Chelsea, MSG, TS...

Bid $103, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE...

Select 4* MSG, MTW, TS, ESB, Chelsea...

Bid $105

Any questions feel free to ask... if the above is rejected, take the HOTWIRE offer.

Please remember to start all your bids and purchases with the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Congrats on your success. :)

Definitely a lucky win, as around $100 for late March is definitely something to be jumped on quickly - that's a terrific rate for this time of year (and if you're not going to be in the hotel for the majority of the time anyways, doing other things in NYC, the savings can go elsewhere.)

 

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

 

Enjoy your stay.

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Glad to see you were successful and thanks for using the board [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=40]PRICELINE[/url] link for your bidding.

A short walk from your hotel i recommend this place for breakfast (it's counter service and small, so you may not get a table or a counter seat by the window, at which point you can take your breakfast towards Sixth Ave and see if you can get a 'street table' in front of Macy's or head to Times Square and sit on the bleachers behind the TKTS booth and take in the sights/sounds/people of NYC):

Best Bagel and Coffee

225 West 35th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Ave)

Also, if your luggage is manageable you could now take Airtrain/Train from EWR --> Hotel since it will take you to Penn Station, which is right across the street from your hotel, just be prepared that when you get to Penn Station is may be rush hour so will be busy/crowded, but you want to exit towards Eighth Ave and 34th St (at which point your hotel would be diagonally across the street). Also, note that there is Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station... you obviously want the New York Penn Station. ;)

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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