Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (ESB) Affinia Dumont

[Steve2010]

Hey All,

First Timer here. Just thought I would pass on my first experiences with Priceline and New York City hotels. Since I am coming to New York for Oct 15-17 from Metro North into Grand Central I thought I would try for zone 10 (I think). Of course I started out with a low ball offer for a 4* hotel at 125.00 rejected immediately. Then using the tips I found on this board I tried again right away using another zone that did not have a 4* hotel. I also upped my bid to 150.00, also rejected. Then i tried again immediately, again using another zone w/o a 4* hotel, but alas rejected again at 165.00 So that is where I stopped for now. Ihave time so I may try again in a couple of days. I guess I'll do the same thing. To all the "veterans" of these forums....did I do the right thing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is Zone10?? Please use the names of the PRICELINE zone, not the zone number, as it will be clearer to others (both now, and especially in the future when the zone numbers and order change)

Let us know and we'll have a look at your dates.

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

[Steve2010]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What is Zone10?? Please use the names of the PRICELINE zone, not the zone number, as it will be clearer to others (both now, and especially in the future when the zone numbers and order change)

Let us know and we'll have a look at your dates.

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

Sorry about the confusion, zone 10 is also called Mid Town East. It has Grand Central in it's zone so I assume it is a popular area, ESP with people like me who arrive by train. I knew my bids were low initially and my last was for $165.00 which was rejected. But am I getting warm?

[AaronJB]

MTE is a very nice area, offering a variety of restaurants, shopping and sights while being less crowded than TS (and not being that far from TS in terms of most parts of MTE.)

For a 4* property in MTE for these dates, my guess is that you are looking at a bid taking as much as $175-225, although unfortunately, the higher end of that range is more likely.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

I'd agree, but even extend the range a bit to say $200-$250 (whiich is inline with Aarons's 'top end of the range' prediction)

I don't think it will help much as rates are high and at the 4* level MTE is often one of the lesser expensive zones, but i wouldn't only bid MTE since that is where your train arrive/departs. Most midtown zones (MTE, MTW, TS, ESB and CPS) typcially all work fine for the average users, and for some of the things you intend to do during this trip, some of these other locations may be more convenient then the MTE zone. The point i'm trying to make is that you'll likely be doing things all over the city, so why not take the best value (ie- the least expensive 4* in any of your acceptable zones) insteady trying to be near your arrival/depature destination?

Let us know your thoughts as well as your maximum budget and we'll take it from there.

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

[Steve2010]

Thanks for the feedback. My budget is flexible but a max in the area of 225.00. I will take your advice and expand my areas. Truth be told I would love to have a high rise hotel room with a view and even a rooftop Terrance . Don't know how realistic that is. I've thought about the Downtown/Soho area but not sure I want to stay at Millenium Hilton. The reviews are hit or miss due to the WTC construction going on through late into the night. Many people unable to tolerate the noise while others have had no issue. Which leads me a question. If I booked a room through Priceline, does that mean the hotel will stick me in their worse location and not for example grant any requests like floor requests?

[AaronJB]

PRICELINE rooms in general only guarantee a regular/non-upgraded room with 1 bed/double occupancy. From there, it is up to the hotel in terms of granting requests (higher floor, etc.) That may depend on the hotel, availability or who you talk to. If you do get stuck in room that is particularly subpar (in terms of wear or other such condition), you could call PRICELINE and have them handle the situation.

There's no way to guarantee a view room or a rooftop terrace - I believe the Hudson Hotel has the latter, but wouldn't offer the former and there's no way to guarantee that particular property when bidding. In terms of view, I think the issue is similar to Chicago, in that with all the buildings together in a major city, views are not always possible - the hotels that do have the potential for views in this case are often at the outside edges of the area (such as the Millennium UN in NYC, which is far E in Midtown E.) I wouldn't recommend bidding for the Upper East/Upper West central park zones, but I would recommend trying to exhaust the possibilities in the Midtown zones (including ESB and CPS) before trying to look into staying in the Downtown area.

Additionally, Travelocity has a 4* "Top Secret" property for $241. While a bit more than you were looking to spend, it is an option a bit above your max to consider if $225 is not accepted.

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

[thereuare]

You're not going to get a NYC room with a terrace... you should put such expectations out of your mind or you'll only be disappointed with wherever you end up.

So what is your next step, did you want to try bidding for a 4* hotel in the MTE, MTW, TS, ESB and/or CPS zones? Any zone(s) you don't want to include in your bidding?

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

[Steve2010]

Can anyone shed light on what hotel this could be? Traveling 10/15 - 10/17, 4* Downtown-SoHo,Financial District, $229/nite

Amenities are

STE

Comp Breakfast

Fitness Ctr

Restaurant

Business Ctr

Laundry facilities

Hi speed internet access

recommended by 90% of HOTWIRE customers

Some "suites" hotel?????

Thanks

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread (if you ultimately use HOTWIRE we'll move the entire thread to that section of the board) and use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board for your purchases and searches.

Please click this HOTWIRE link and reply to this thread... we'll then comment on the property above.

Thanks!

[Steve2010]

Thereuare,

You'll have to excuse me...but I'm not sure what you want me to do. Do you want me to click on the HOTWIRE link you left, that takes me to the Hotwire homepage. Then what should I do? I switched from using the Priceline forum to the Hotwire forum because my new question was to ID a Hotwire hotel. Sorry, hope I'm not frustrating you too much.

Thanks

[thereuare]

Yes, i wanted you to use (by clicking on them) the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board for your bidding and searches.

The HOTWIRE property above is a match for the Embassy Suites so that would be my best guess for this one.

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

[Steve2010]

I have been trying to land a 3.5* or 4* for weeks to no avail. I targeted the ESB area 10/1-10/2 and hopefully the Affinia Shelburne. I had gone as high as 290.00 per night and kept getting rejected! Then last week I tried again. I bid 260.00 figuring it would be rejected...surprise, the bid was accepted, the confirmation then said they bumped me up to a "4" * and it turned out to be the Affinia Dumont, not the Shelburne. I checked booking the hotel directly and their lowest published rate is 295.00 So, what happened? Could I have done better? Was this a victory or a defeat?

[Steve2010]

Just to clarify, although the header says 295.00...... It actually was 260.00

[AaronJB]

Fixed - thank you.

Not sure what happened in regards to bidding; while not a major discount, the positive is that this is an extremely well-reviewed property - one of the top hotels in NYC on tripadvisor - and in a terrific location.

Enjoy your stay.

[Steve2010]

Just wanted to check back in about the hotel experience. I loved this hotel, Affinia Dumont. It has a small lobby but the staff was very friendly and helpful. When I got to my room my jaw dropped. I was in a corner room on the 37th floor. I walked into the room with the full night time view of lower Manhattan. What a spectacular sight. The New York Life Bldg and the Met Life bldg were so close I felt like I could touch them. They were so beautiful lit up at night. I also had a view to the East river and Brooklyn beyond. The room was great, roomy, and with a good sized full kitchen. Of course due to the bed bug scare i was diligent but never had that issue. While I may have overpaid for the room??? it was an experience that when I look back the money issue will be forgotton. Subway was close, Grand Central a short walk.

[thereuare]

Glad you enjoyed your stay... this hotel, and for the most part the Affinia brand, does a very nice job in managing their properties.