Hotwire Hotel: HELP ID 4* TS-TD 7/3 - 7/10

[97egarza]

Hi,

Im trying to ID a 4 star property for two rooms each for 7 nights the week of July 3- July 10th. This is what Im getting:

4 Stars

Times Square Theatre District Hotel

$174 per night

Amenities : Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet

Reccomended in 80% of Hotwire Customer Reviews

From your listings I can tell that this looks like either the Millenium, the Hilton, or the Intercontinental.

I already have a backup refundable reservation at the Intercontinental at 275/ night and would love to get the same hotel at this lower rate. How likely is it that This would be the IC? If its notm is there a big difference between the IC, Millenium or Hilton?

thx,

eg

[Zissel]

Hi.

I suppose it's the Millennium Broadway, because I just got this one with the same amenities/rating (see my hotwire hotel win).

Don't know anything about the differences between IC, Millenium, Hilton.

[97egarza]

Thanks for your post Zissel. After reading it, I agree with you that this is very likely to be the Millenium. I will do some research as to the pros and cons of the Millenium vs the IC for the price difference and come back and let you know what I decided.

cheers,

[thereuare]

These amenities are common for NYC and three properties (the InterContinental, Millenium Broadway and Hilton Times Square) all use this same amenity set so any of these are possible. If i had to guess i think the Millennium Broadway is the most likely of the three, but it really could be any of these.

The InterContinental and Hilton Times Square are probably nicer then the Millennium, but for me it usually comes down to value... and i don't think the IC is worth $100 more per nite then the Millenium (assuming that is the identify of this 4* offering). That savings can go a long way to doing some activities outside of your hotel to make this trip a bit more memorable.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[97egarza]

After reading reviews on the Millenium Broadway and thinking there's a good chance that this might be the 4* still showing up on hotwire at $171-175 depending on the day, I have decided to continue to look for other options for now as there is still time. I have been bidding on priceline (using your link of course) for TS or CPS at the 4* level ( I noticed that on priceline the millenium is only a 3.5* property, so with 4* i can avoid it alltogether) every 2-3 days using free rebid zones bidding from $120 all the way up to $165 each time with no success.

Question is, am I being too conservative on my bids and should i consider going up to 180 or 190 to have success? My rationale had been that at $170 I guess i would go with the hotwire 4* option and risk getting the Millenium Broadway anyway, but now im thinking that if I get the IC or the Marriot Marquis through priceline at 180-190 I would still be happy, even if CPS shows up with Parker Meridien, or Lowes I would be ok too. Should I go ahead and bid up to that level or should i continue to retry at the lower level every couple of days? Thanks in advance for putting up with me.

eg

[thereuare]

My question would be only why only these two zones? There are some excellent hotels offered thru HOTWIRE for just about this same price-point... what is it that you're looking for, or looking to avoid, for this stay?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (please use the links on the board and not from your bookmarks)

Thanks.

[97egarza]

Basically location, to be within walking distance of midtown manhatan and easy access to subways. Midtown east is too much of a walk, downtown too far out of the way, empire state too far south. Also would like to avoid the boutique concept which sometimes translates into smaller rooms. However, if you can identify something on hotwire outside these zones which makes sense, Im all ears. Many thx,

eg

[thereuare]

Midtown east is too much of a walk...

I think this is a bit too much of a generalization... there can be as little as one avenue difference between the boundaries of the Times Square zone (which you want) vs. the Midtown East zone (which you're saying you don't want)

Basically location, to be within walking distance of midtown manhatan and easy access to subways.

Exactly what do you consider to be 'midtown manhattan' and what is it that you want to be close to? CPS, MTE, MTW and TS are generally all considered to be 'midtown'. As well, as long as you're close to a subway you can get just about anywhere in midtown in about 10 minutes or less. You know your needs better than i do, but from a location point of view, it's seldom necessary to only bid on one or two NYC zones... if you're trying to target/avoid specific properties it's a different story, but from a location point of view, NYC is so dense, compact, and the zones geographically small that in terms of convenience most zones are fairly interchangeable.

Have you been to NYC previously... where did you stay?

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

[97egarza]

I have and I stayed at the New York Palace which is on 50th and Madison. I liked the location but its at the border eastwise as I would like to get as I plan to spend a fair bit of time at the theatres and would like to stay as close to TS as possible. I have also stayed at the Hudson, which from a location perspective is fine, but the rooms were far too small for my taste (that's why Im sticking to 4*). Empire State area is too far south as well.

The other properties that I could identify on Hotwire available for those dates are : The Benjamin (too far East, on Lexington) , St. Giles Court (too far south: in ESB zone), Cassa (too trend, dont like reviews), and the Milenium Broadway (really a 3.5* on Priceline).

Hotels that I would love to get in TS or CPS are the IC TS, Marriot Marquis, Hilton TS, Le Parker Meridien, etc. Maybe im being to picky, but I do want to make an infomed decision before selecting the right hotel. Any color on the Hotwire properties above where I might be missing something? or advide on hoy likely it is to get the TS or CPS properties that Im looking for on priceline for $180?

thx,

eg

[thereuare]

It's your stay and you know best what your needs are, but i stand by my comments above... the zones are so close together that i think you're putting too much emphasis on the zone selection... if you have good subway access nothing is going to be more than about 10 minutes away (and if you don't want to take the subway a $10 cab ride to/from the theater is better then $50+ per nite for a hotel).

Not sure what reviews you're reading about the Cassa Hotel and Residences but almost all the reviews i've read are GREAT! Perhaps the pictures are indeed somewhat trendy, but it meets all your other criteria of budget, location, close to the theaters and subways. Again, it comes down to value... if you know exactly what you want and that is all you're willing to accept, you can pay $275/nite for a hotel room... but if you're flexible and can give/compromise on one or two things, you can still get a great hotel and save $100+ per nite.

I think your budget may realistic, it's too difficult to say given length of your stay. While summer is typically slow season for NYC you need a hotel which has offered availability for the entire length of your stay; if a hotel is a little busy for just one nite of your date range and hasn't offered availability for that one nite, then that hotel is out of the running for your bid. As well, Times Square is often one of the most expensive zones, and we don't see too many 4* wins in CPS since it too is one of the most expensive zones at the 4* level.

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

[97egarza]

This has to be the best deal ever on priceline!!! I am not even sure that they will honor it, Im sure this was a mistake but nonetheless here goes. After checking back in on hotwire every couple of days to search for properties and bidding on priceline unsuccesfully, this morning I was making a random check of outright purchase hotel options on PRICELINE (not name your own price) and here is what I ended up booking:

The Waldorf-Astoria (4 stars)

301 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022-6897

212-355-3000

Check-In: Sun, Jul 3, 2011 - 03:00 PM

Check-Out:Sun, Jul 10, 2011 - 12:00 PM

Hotel Freebies:Special Discount 95% off

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $30.00 (USD)

Number of Rooms: 2

Number of Guests Per Room: 2

Number of Nights: 7

Room Subtotal: $420.00 (USD)

Taxes and Fees: $111.02 (USD)

Total Room Cost: $531.02 (USD)

Unbelievable!!!!

[AaronJB]

WOW!

Absolutely a price mistake, but hopefully they will honor it.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[97egarza]

Happy to report that I just got back from NY with no trouble whatsoever. Both Suite resevations were honored and there were no additional charges for our weeklong stay in NY. Both suites were in the 27th floor with wonderful views of the city. No priceline attitude from the staff, and overall a great experience and a great stay. Its unbelievable that we got this lucky!! Hope that all of you get as lucky as we did this time around. Happy travels!!

[AaronJB]

Wow - glad to hear that the price was honored and that your stay went well.