Priceline Hotel: New York 4.5/5* Hotel. Manhattan. Help, please

[heythere]

Looking to travel into NYC on 3/22 till 3/29. 

 

Budget around 80GBP per night. 

 

4.5 or 5* hotel would be nice somewhere in Manhattan. 

 

Is this realistic? I've bid up in £5 increments from 50GBP adding zones that do not have 4.5 or 5* hotels in them but not getting anything from that way. 

 

Would I be able to get different results from Hotwire? 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

(using your links :) )

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please post to the board in US Dollars as it makes all rates on the board consistent and not subject to interpretation based upon future currency fluctuations.

 

Which zone(s) did you include in your previous bidding? 

 

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

[heythere]

I can't seem to edit my post but 80GBP = ~115USD, with the increments used (5GBP) = ~7.50USD.

 

In terms of zones, I chose all the Manhattan zones south of Central Park except those with no 4.5/5* properties, started at £50GBP (~72USD) and worked upwards.

 

Is this realistic? 

 

Will be a tourist in NYC, but happy to be anywhere that is central of vibrat/interesting

[thereuare]

To avoid any confusion, please list all the zones, by PRICELINE name, that you are willing to accept.

 

$75USD is not going to be realistic for a 4.5* or 5* hotel in NYC for these dates... a 4.5* or better hotel will likely run you closer to $150-$165 range... a 4* hotel somewhere in the $120-$145 area.

 

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

 

 

[heythere]

Hi

 

I started at 72USD, knowing it was unrealistic - but these things are always worth trying, right? :) 

 

Anyway, I reached ~115USD on my search for a 4.5/5* hotel. Maybe I was just under? 

 

Zone-wise; 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11-19. If you think any of these are particularly unsuitable for a first-time tourist in the city, please let me know! 

 

Edit - 

 

Zones of interest; 

 

Central Park South
Chelsea Area
Downtown - Financial District
Empire State Building Area
Greenwich Village
Hell's Kitchen
Lower East Side
Madison Square Garden - Convention Area
Midtown East
Midtown West
Queensborough Bridge
SoHo - Tribeca
Times Square - Theatre District
Union Square - East Village
Upper East Side
 

[Romelle]

If you look at the Priceline Express and Hotwire rates, you can get a good idea as to the point where bidding might be successful.  For that matter, if your bidding gets to that level without success, you might consider just taking one of those deals.

 

Lowball bids do occasionally work, and I also always explore the area first.  The exercise is free.  

 

I'll let thereuare respond to the safety question (he is a native NYer), but you do need to pose it in using the actual zone names.  The numbers can change rather frequently, and the answer would be meaningless to someone reading at a later date.

 

Romelle

 

FYI - I'm a member, not a board official.

[heythere]

7 minutes ago, Romelle said:

If you look at the Priceline Express and Hotwire rates, you can get a good idea as to the point where bidding might be successful.  For that matter, if your bidding gets to that level without success, you might consider just taking one of those deals.

 

I'll let thereuare respond to the safety question (he is a native NYer), but you do need to pose it in using the actual zone names.  The numbers can change rather frequently, and the answer would be meaningless to someone reading at a later date.

 

Romelle

 

Thanks - didn't realise they change! Very new to priceline but I can see its usefullness. 

 

I've made an edit to my post showing names rather than numbers. Thanks! 

[thereuare]

4 hours ago, heythere said:

I reached ~115USD on my search for a 4.5/5* hotel. Maybe I was just under? 

Not really... as per my previous post, a 4.5* or higher will likely run you in the $150-$165 range... it's a 4* that is just over in the $120-$145 area.

 

Discussing zones may be putting the cart before the horse until we know if you're interested in raising your budget to land a 4.5* hotel OR lowering your star rating to 4* (for a hotel closer to the amount you have already bid), but generally speaking:

 

Central Park South - at 4* or higher has the Hudson Hotel which is well located, but notoriously small rooms (even by NYC standards) so you would need to make sure you're OK with this as an outcome before bidding in this area
Chelsea Area - subway can be up to 10 minutes away but a 'hot' area right now as it's trendy with lots of new bars, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, etc.
Downtown - Financial District - a little out of the way if most activities are in midtown, but do-able at the right price
Empire State Building Area - OK
Greenwich Village - OK, but not too many hotels in this zone
Hell's Kitchen - the higher rated hotels are on the western side of this zone (based upon current boundaries) are a bit too far out of the way, imo
Lower East Side - not the most centrally located, but an interesting neighborhood that has gone thru a transformation over the last 5 years and is now 'hip' with a lot of new restaurants, bars, boutiques, etc. (the F train is near most of the hotels in this zone which will have you to midtown in about 10-15 minutes)
Madison Square Garden - Convention Area - centrally located but make sure you're OK with the Wyndham New Yorker if bidding this zone
Midtown East - most hotels well located but a few can be up to a 15 minute walk to the subway (a select few hotels in this zone i'd prefer to avoid, but lots of hotels here, so i often prefer PRICELINE EXPRESS in this zone so i can hopefully avoid the hotels i hope to avoid)
Midtown West - OK
Queensborough Bridge - too far west
SoHo - Tribeca - not my taste but perfectly acceptable if it's your thing... midtown about 10-15 minutes via subway
Times Square - Theatre District - OK
Union Square - East Village - OK, but not too many hotels in this zone
Upper East Side - not the most centrally located for the average tourist, imo

 

That was then i originally intended but sometimes once i get started i can't stop :)

 

Let' us know your thoughts regarding stars/budget and we'll take it from there.

 

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