KatiesMom

Woodbury Commons is in Central Valley, New York. That would be the Poughkeepsie-Fishkill zone on priceline. There is an Americas Best Value Inn (2*) within walking distance of Woodbury Commons. For your travel date 9/23 it is listed on priceline in the regular NOT name your own price section for $70. It might be risky targeting a blind pricleine bid if you want this hotel because Poughkeepsie-Fishkill is a large area.

A friend of mine reported this recent win to me. Rates during this time are between $300 - $400 a night for 4* hotels, according to several hotel Websites.

Please tell me The Hudson was won at 3* not 4*... I like to bid 4* but Hudson is too small and trendy for me. Thanks.

Kstrom, that's great!

Hi, I'm familiar with this area because my daughter goes to Wheaton College in Norton and we visit frequently. We stay at the Holiday Inn near the Extended Stay property. The Holiday Inn is excellent. It has a pool and fitness center and rooms are really nice. Anyway, in all honesty the Extended Stay really feels like it is in Taunton. Definitely not Norton. I really don't like the way priceline has this area zoned. It's just way too broad. Because of that I have the Holiday Inn preferred customer card and just work with that and earn points (Also, they always put us on the top floor in their "Priority Club" which is a nice gesture). As for unchecking the Middleboro zone... I think you have to close your browser and start over again for that to work. At least the price you got was good.

Wow, that's a phenomenal rate for one of New York's busiest times of year!

Eric, it might help if you explain in your own words what you think the re-bid zones are, that way we can help if you aren't getting it. Re-bids are the key. And don't be afraid to ask for help. We were all new once.

Hi, I was in the same boat as you, coming up for a Red Sox game on 7/1, and got the Marriott Copley for $85. I think it's possible the hotels haven't released their rooms for August yet. What I would do is make a fully cancellable without penalty reservation at a hotel now. Then you have some peace of mind and you can keep checking to see if anything opens up as your date approaches.

One thing I should add: Priceline also offered me the option to add additional days at the Marriott for the same $85 price...so even though I booked for 7/1 I would guess this price is good for other days in early July too.

We're coming up to see a Red Sox game and needed a room for one night. Got the Marriott Copley Place after bidding: 4*, Waterfront Downtown, $65, rejected Added Copley, $70 rejected Added Brookline-Brighton, $75 rejected Added Medford-Somerville, $80 rejected Added South Boston, $85 accepted I was looking for somewhere different....we usually always stay in the Downtown-Charlestown zone. This fit the bill. I started through savingsbarn.com.

I agree that Peter Luger's in Brooklyn has excellent steak. It serves porterhouse (a filet mignon and a sirloin on one bone, like a T Bone), and that's it. But what good steak it is. It is very difficult to get a reservation at a prime dining time, so I recommend going for lunch - same great steak. And bring cash, no credit cards allowed, only cash and Luger's in house charge. And yes, they do have menues. Here is another terrific steak option: Landmarc just opened a branch in the Time Warner building in Columbus Circle. Their steak meals come with fries, greens and your choice of steak sauce. Choose from Sirloin, Skirt, Filet, Hangar, Rib. I think Hangar is the best myself. It's very flavorful and only costs $26 for the whole meal. The wine list is amazing and very reasonably priced. A half bottle costs what one glass goes for in other steakhouses. For more information go to this Web site. Just click on other restaurants to get the branch in the Time Warner building. (The one in Tribeca is good too just much smaller and not open as many hours). landmarc-restaurant .com

It looks like I won't be able to confirm whether the mystery hotel is or isn't the Grosvenor. A group of students going on a Spring Break alternative trip to New Orleans to work on home repairs had an opening and my daughter is going down with them. Cost is pretty minimal, so it works well for all of us, and I cancelled the hotel. BTW, if the bookit.com mystery hotel is the Grosvenor, their advertising is misleading. Their list of Orlando hotels includes the Grosvenor and in the specs lists when the hotel was built and renovated. The dates do not match those of the mystery hotel. Just something to keep in mind. Thanks everyone for the help!

Hotel budget is around $100 a night, but willing to go higher. The first preference is somewhere in the park or Downtown Disney so they can get easy shuttle service. Grosvenor I have ruled out. There is a special on travelzoo for an inside the park hotel for $69 a night through bookit.com. The reservationist at bookit.com said the age limit to check in is 18 so that works for us. I tentatively booked it and they said they will send me an email tomorrow with the hotel's name. I can cancel it if I don't want it. Outside the park, I would want a place that has good shuttle service to the parks.

Thanks Thereusare, I am definitely NOT willing to risk having my daughter turned away at the hotel, so can not go priceline/hotwire route. I'll check out EasyClickTravel... any other suggestions? Also, Grosvenor is out, as reviews are way too awful and it gave me nightmares last night thinking about sending my daughter there.

Thereuare, I didn't know this hotel required 21-year old check in. I saw that Best Western Lakeland required 21 year age minimum, so I discountred that one... I guess that is going to limit this trip even more.

My daughter and a girl friend (both 18) want to take a mini spring break somewhere warm from March 11-March 14. I am checking out Disney World and so far all the Disney resorts are booked solid. However for the above dates, hotwire is listing a 2.5* property, for Orlando Lake Buena Vista, for $68 a night... with amenities Resort, Pool, Business, Tennis, Fitness, Restaurant, Laundry, Children's Activity Program. According to the pinned listed on here Grosvenor is a 2* not a 2.5*. I think maybe it got upgraded because some of the rooms have undergone a renovation. I also think it is the Grosvenor because Hotwire says the price is 40% off the regular price, and the regular price to the penny matches a standard room at the Grosvenor. The price is good, the location is good, but the TA reviews are very mixed to poor. Any thoughts, ideas, or alternatives??? I am also not having great luck finding airfare deals... So far the cheapest is $175 R/T from Newark. Any NY tri state area airline okay. Also, destination not carved in stone, just that daughter not a partier (I am lucky) and looking for something fun... Again, open to thoughts. There was a $399 special posted on hotwire for Bahamas included airfare and hotel but as of 1/23/07 you need a passport and neither girl has one. Help. Please.

We're back from the trip, and I am happy to report that the Boston Park Plaza did right by us! We were given room 1234, an executive king corner room (two windows), with a lot of space and even a partial view! When we checked my daughter in on the hotwire bid, I asked if she could have a room on the same floor as us and they gave her room 1244. A smaller room than ours, but comfortable and also with a king bed. No complaints this time around. So if you win the Park Plaza, try to get something on the 12th floor. Also, the burgers, frappes and onion rings (and raspberry lime rickeys) at Bartleby's Burger Cottage in Harvard Square seriously rule.

My own thoughts are its too early right now and other inventory isn't out yet.

My college-aged daughter decided she wanted to come up on 2/10 to watch her mom receive a journalism award at the convention, so I decide to spring for a separate room for her at the Park Plaza so she can have some privacy. To make sure I got the Park Plaza and not the Doubletree, I decided to book through HOTWIRE. $90 + $16.35 tax= $106.35 Amenities: fitness, restaurant, business, hi-speed internet. Customer favorite. I used the savings barn link to help out betterbidding. Hope we all get nice rooms... fingers crossed!

That's a great price on the Eastgate that Thereuare mentioned. I also agree that tehre is no one place near everything. But the midtown hotels mentioned above are in good locations for visitors. Also, public transport is really convenient and easy to use in New York.

There is a one bedroom suite for your travel dates offered on affinia.com for the Beekman Tower for a total of $1,075. This would give you a huge amount of space and privacy for your daughter. Reviews on Trip Advisor for this hotel are very good, especially for the one bedroom suites. Edited to add: There is also a Junior Suite at the Eastgate Tower for $1,043 and a studio suite at the Shelburne Murray Hill for $1,205. All affinia properties.

A friend of mine just got the following hotel by bidding on priceline. She was hoping for the Grand Hyatt, and based on the fact that the GH was turning up on hotwire for $175 for her travel dates, she figured it would be worth risking a lower priceline bid, and it worked. Two days ago she was rejected up to $125 (Bidding MTE and her free rebids) Yesterday she bid and was rejected up to $135 (Bidding MTE and her free rebids) Today bidding: 4* MTE, $135, rejected 4* MTE, UES, $140 rejected 4* MTE, UES, UWS, $145 accepted for the Grand Hyatt She then went online and joined the Hyatt's frequent guest passport program so she can get any perks or upgrades they offer.

If you're bored sometime and need a good laugh.... look at the candid photos and read the reviews of the Hotel Carter on Trip Advisor. Having once stepped inside the lobby of that place, I can vouch for how bad it is.

Can't be totally certain, but these condos seem like they are Woogo, which is very bad. Woogo formerly known as Your Stay, has a reputation of operating hotel operations illegally in residential buildings. They are involved in major litigation about their practices. Visitors complain about poor quality accomodations and misrepresenations.

You got it, good luck! :)