overhear

$129 ($165.96 with taxes and fees)

Free internet, Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby

$83 ($105.58 with taxes and fees)

Business center

 Fitness center

 Indoor pool(s)

 Internet access

 Pet friendly

 Pool(s)

 Restaurant(s)

 Smoke-free rooms

Omigosh! RevealHotels is a huge advance, @thereuare!  I haven't traveled recently and just came back to visit the betterbidding site. Clearly you've been working hard!

Congratulations on a really neat, new tool!

Will do. Thanks again for your help!

OK, I went through with my experiment and booked a single night -- the last night of our trip -- and got the InterContinental Tokyo Bay. I'm a bit shocked by the tax which bumped up the price to $296.68. I'll have to think carefully about whether we can swing all those additional days. 

I agree about DC, but we're living in Melbourne right now so it would be a tad inconvenient (not to mention all the udon and sushi we'd have to forgo). Actually, if I'd thought about it before we bought our plane tickets, I'd have avoided cherry blossom season altogether. Too much competition.

Would it make sense to book the 5* for our last night as an experiment?

Thanks for your thoughts. I would be extremely tempted to go with the 5* if I had confidence that it was Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills. I do think there's some disagreement "out there" as to whether it qualifies as 5-star, but at that rate I wouldn't be complaining.

Hi thereuare,

The December 2014 trip ended up being broken into 2 threads because we ended up staying part of the time in Tarrytown and part in New York City. For the Burlington stay, we did end up in our Plan B hotel, the Courtyard Marriott. I'll add a note to the thread on that right now.

As for Japan, most of Tokyo, albeit not all, is booked up for the night of Sat. April 4. We have some refundable backup reservations: The nights of April 5-6 at the Park Hotel Tokyo, and a single night at a ryokan in Nikko on April 9. I would like to consolidate and stay at one hotel in Tokyo from April 4-9, and then will need a room for our last night in Tokyo on April 10. Although I'm not optimistic about anything desirable opening up in Kyoto for mid-week, in that unlikely event I would consider a side-trip. So, at this point I'm trying to see what might be available.

Sorry that I neglected to wrap this up. We did end up at our plan B hotel in Burlington -- the Courtyard Marriott. It was a splurge and a very lovely stay.

Hello,

We will be in Tokyo and perhaps Kyoto from April 4-11. Given the cherry blossoms blooming, it's very difficult to find rooms, but I'm trying.  In Tokyo I'm in the perilous position of hoping to book one particular hotel -- the Park Hotel Tokyo - Shiodome in Minato.

We are 2 adults and a teenager.

Would you be so kind as to help me ID the following?

Thank you in advance!

5* Tokyo - Minato

April 5-9

$225 USD

FULL AMENITIES: Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Internet access, Spa services

4.5* Minato

$191 USD

FULL AMENITIES: Free parking, Free Internet, Indoor pool(s), Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Spa services, In-room accessibility

3.5* Shinjuku - Nakano

April 5-9

FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible path of travel, Accessible parking

4* KYOTO - Sayko

Apr 7-9

FULL AMENITIES: Free parking, Free Internet, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking

Phew! I'm glad that's over with! It turned out that what appeared to be the Lexington was the Roosevelt. There's a bit of whinging about the place on Tripadvisor, and although I can't say I'm elated with the outcome, I think we'll have a great time and a great stay at the Roosevelt. The location is perfect, it's described as impeccably clean, and given the pre-holiday prices, I'd say we got a great deal.

Thanks so much to the senior members for your assistance!

Sorry, I think I got my zones confused. I'm trying to expand my options a bit, but see that the UES hasn't been ID'd much. 

If you have a chance, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the properties below. Sorry for all the flailing around. You're certainly right that I picked a tough week to visit NYC.

3.5* - MTE - $258

FULL AMENITIES: Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower

3* - MTE - $260 (Club Quarters? The free breakfast doesn't match)

FULL AMENITIES: Free breakfast, Free Internet, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Business center, Internet access

3.5* Upper East Side - $211

FULL AMENITIES: Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access

3.5* - Upper East Side - $235

FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Pet friendly, Studio, Full kitchen, Air conditioning, Fitness center, 24-hour front desk, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom

Hmmm, the MTC hotel was listed as 3* rather than 3.5*. Would that change your guess at all? 

Hello,

We're getting ready to begin our journey, so I'll have to wrap up the NYC portion of our trip. Rates in NYC for 12/9-12 continue to inch up. 

Would you mind helping with some new IDs?

3.5* - Empire State Building - $235 

FULL AMENITIES: Boutique hotel, Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access

3* - Empire State Building - $238

FULL AMENITIES: Free breakfast, Free Internet, Fitness center, Business center, Internet access

3* - MTC - $234

FULL AMENITIES: Internet access

3.5* - Soho Tribeca - $254

FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Accessible parking, Roll-in shower

As always, I very much appreciate your help.

Thank you for the ID. It's much appreciated. I think I'll just hold off and see if anything else pops up. 

Hello,

Happy thanksgiving to all you in the US! As it's not turkey day here in Melbourne, I'm continuing my quest for an affordable hotel in NYC. I've booked at the Comfort Inn Financial Center as a backup, but I don't think we'd be thrilled to be there.

If you would, can you help me ID these 2 Hotwire hotels in NYC? Right now I'm looking at 12/9-12.

Thank you!

3.5* Times Square - $210 - Belvedere or Hotel Manhattan at Times Sq.???

FULL AMENITIES: Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s),

Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access,

Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing

impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility,

Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower

3* - Times Square - $192 - Washington Jeffereson?
FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center,

Restaurant(s), Self-service laundry, Internet access

My quest continues! Hoping to find something in the mid-$100s in Manhattan for this time period. I'll report back.

Hi Guys,

I'm still toying around with my plans for 12/9-12. At this point I've decided it would be best to be in Manhattan those nights, IF I can find something within my budget. Based upon previous successful bids on the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins, I've done a little bit of bidding, so far unsuccessfully on PL. I understand that the odds are against me due to my budget constraints, so I'm trying out BackUpBooking.com.

On backupbooking, if I enter "New York, NY" or "New York City," I only seem to find hotels in lower Manhattan. I'd like to what's available in all of Manhattan. Can you advise?

EDIT: I just figured it out. I entered W 32nd St, NY and found the hotels further uptown.

COMMENT BY THEREUARE: if you search by 'NYC, NY' it will focus from the center of Manhattan... you could also use 'Times Square NYC' if looking for a radius from that point.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll check with my traveling companion and see what she thinks. Will report back.

I just made my first successful stab at a PL bid for this segment of my trip. Since the Doubletree appears to be available on hotwire for 12/9-12, I tried bidding for those dates on priceline under the assumption that I might be able to add a night later. If not, I can stay with friends. 

Based upon the history of wins on this site, which range from about $60-$115, I bid $60, 75, 90, and 105 for a 3.5* hotel with no luck. I guess I'll wait my 24 hours and try again.

I see your Hotwire hotel win for 12/15-12/18... can you please add a reply to that thread with the amenities showing before your purchase; you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT >> MY TRIPS link near the top right of their home page.

For the renaming nites, you still need 12/9-12/12? If so, what are your plans for 12/12-12/15?

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

For whatever date remain in between my stays (possibly the nights of 12/12-14) I'll stay with friends. 

I see your Hotwire hotel win for 12/15-12/18... can you please add a reply to that thread with the amenities showing before your purchase; you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT >> MY TRIPS link near the top right of their home page.

For the renaming nites, you still need 12/9-12/12? If so, what are your plans for 12/12-12/15?

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

Hello,

I just updated the posting with the amenities list from Hotwire.

I am seeing the same 3.5* on hotwire -- presumably the doubletree -- but in the mid-$190s. It shows up if I choose 12/9-12 which might work for me, but $196 is well over my budget. So, I'm thinking of giving a 3.5* a go on priceline.

The 3 wins on the hotwire hotel list for 3.5* in Tarrytown-White Plains are the Sheraton, Marriott, and Doubletree. Of those, only the Sheraton is a bit undesirable, and it's probably not too bad.

Amenities list is as follows:

Hotel Amenities

Free parking
Indoor pool(s)
Fitness center
Pool(s)
Restaurant(s)
Business center
Self-service laundry
Internet access
Golf nearby
Tennis nearby
Accessibility
Accessible for hearing impaired
Accessible path of travel
In-room accessibility
Accessible bathroom
Accessible parking
Roll-in shower

Sorry, I'm doing so well today that I decided to go for a PL bid -- using the BiddingHelper.com. I had checked all the past wins in Utica and didn't see any below $70, but I should have bid lower because I got the Radisson Hotel-Utica Centre for $60/night on my first try. Still, it's hard to complain about a $60 a night hotel room ...

I'll post the win now to help future bidders.

Thanks again for your help.

Could you help ID this hotel on Hotwire? On easy view it shows at $85, but on the full view I am seeing $90.

Hotwire - Utica - 12/7-8
3* 
FULL AMENITIES: Free parking, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom