GPS

I just wanted to let you know that I just tried bidding 3.5* in this area for 10/12-10/15 and I went up to $155 with no success. The Expedia prices for these dates are around $290 so I was disappointed but not surprised.

I already have a cancellable reservation at the Mariott for 7/30, so at least I have a place to stay. The rate is almost triple priceline's rate though! We sail to Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Russia and Germany for 10 days.

These stays are for pre and post-cruise. Failed at $88 and then had my husband bid at $90. I tried up to $100 for 7/30 and failed. Mariott was only showing executive rooms available for this date so I'm not surprised.

To get to Seventh Ave and 56th St, is there any difference between taking the M60 bus to Astoria Blvd to get the N train vs taking the Q33 to Roosevelt and taking the R train? It looks the same on the subway map but I cannot tell which ride ends up better. How long should this commute take?

Thanks for the reply, but I am actually staying at Park Central for the first 4 nights, so I am going to Seventh Ave and 56th St. Is there any difference between taking the M60 bus to Astoria Blvd to get the N train vs taking the Q33 to Roosevelt and taking the R train? It looks the same on the subway map but I cannot tell which ride ends up better. How long should this commute take? I will take your advice in reverse to go from the Waldorf back to LGA.

Thanks.

I figured that the cheapest way to get to midtown from LGA would be public transit. Since we intend to buy a 1-week unlimited metrocard anyway, I am hoping that we can buy the metrocard at the airport and use it to get to our hotel. Is it possible to buy this card at the airport? If so, where exactly? Does anyone have other suggestions on a cheap transfer? Thanks.

Bid for 3* up to $95 for UM-CPS without success. (Was trying to come close to my win of $80 for 1/28-2/1 but I noticed rates at Park Central had gone up significantly since I last bid on Monday.) Tried 4* UM-CPS up to $130 and failed. Tried 4* MTW up to $130 and failed. Got the Waldorf Astoria in MTE at $119, after $118 failed. Cheapest rates for my dates on the hotel website was $249 for a Queen bed.

My first bid for these dates was at $80. I had was not confident they would even accept this as they rejected me up to $95 with my entire date range. Had I known, I would have started lower and used my free rebid to up my amount.

I got Park Central for $80 when I split my bid! The most days I could get at this rate was 4. Now I just have to find a hotel for 2/1-2/4. Funny thing is that the Saturday had a rate of $179 (highest day rate), which is within my winning bid, but the dates not included only have rate of $139. I can book Park Central off of Priceline for the $139 but I'm going to try to do better in the meantime.

I've been bidding for MTW and UM-CPS for the last couple weeks with no success. I've tried 3* in UM-CPS up to $95, and 4* in both zones up to $125 so far. There is availability for my dates in all of the hotels that have come up for others in the past week, with rates similar or even lower than others with successful bids. I realize my bids have not been really high, but I'm surprised I can't get a hotel while others did so easily and for lower amounts. I've noticed that when broken up, rates for Mon - Thurs are substantially higher than weekends, but my average hotel website rate still is usually in line with others who have won at Priceline. Is it more difficult getting an entire week through Priceline? Should I split my bid into two in order to get a better average price? Here is an example of rates for my dates, through hotel websites: 3* Park Central - 1/28 $139, 1/29 $179, 1/30 $109, 1/31-2/3 $139 (many others have won this hotel for weekends at $80-87 with dates at higher rates than mine) 4* Le Park Meridien - 1/28-1/30 $215, 1/31-2/3 $285 4* Hilton NY - 1/28-2/4 avg rate $249 or 1/28-1/30 $239, 1/31-2/3 $269 (depending on various date ranges, the avg price varies quite a bit, with no distinguishable logic as I can see, except that adding Mon Jan 31 into the date-range seems to increase the rate a lot) I have made over a dozen successful bids on Priceline in the past, so I am familiar with bidding strategy. This time, I just can't see a relation between rates for my dates and a successful bid. I'd really appreciate some advice from others who are familiar with New York hotels, as this is my first time trying for this city. Thanks!