Hotwire Hotel: 4* NYC (Times Square-Theatre District) Millennium Broadway

[stylishtrvlr]

We will be visiting New York end of Oct this year. We already booked tickets before we found out that New York is most expensive during Oct and Nov. When should we start bidding? In your experience, will one get better choice of hotels if I start bidding as early as MAy or or just wait til the last 2 weeks before departure?

Based on the hotels being released lately, For a 4* hotel, which area has the best value for money hotel winnings? ESB, MTW, MTE TS CPS? In what order should I start the zones? Which area should I avoid for 3.5* hotels.

Thanks

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

Unfortunately, NYC is problematic during the Fall and Winter; the Fall with conventions and nicer weather and the early half of the Winter with people doing holiday shopping/seeing festivities.

It is a little early, but knowing that rates in the Fall are definitely on the high side, it's best to start trying now, and you can set a price "ceiling" of your choosing on your attempts now, and then raise that ceiling over time if you aren't getting accepted at that level. I would definitely not wait until the last two weeks.

Times Square is usually the most expensive zone in the city, while MTW also tends to be on the high side. ESB/MTE are usually - although there are some exceptions at times - the most reasonable of that bunch. CPS is also a good place to find deals at times.

A couple of notes on 3.5*'s - there are a couple of MTE properties (Hilton Manhattan E, Millennium UN) that, while nice hotels, are far E in MTE. The Hudson in CPS at the 3.5* level also has infamously small (even for NYC) rooms.

What are your dates of travel and desired budget per night?

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

[stylishtrvlr]

We will be looking for 3 rooms for Oct 25-29. We're hoping that our ceiling will be 200usd inclusive of taxes. What do you think are our chances? What zone has the best 3.5* hotels in NYC district? Thanks

[AaronJB]

Opinions on hotels really are going to vary from person-to-person - MTE has a nice set of 3.5* properties, although a couple of those properties are rather far East in that zone. MTW has a limited amount of 3.5*'s, as does CPS. The smallish group of TS 3.5*'s are nice, and Downtown-Soho-Financial (while generally not recommended from a tourist perspective, as you can wind up too far down.) has a very nice group of 3.5*'s.

In terms of overall opinions, there are a lot of hotels in NYC and most hotels at the upper star ratings get at least decent reviews (and some get good/great reviews.) There are generally one or two in a number of star ratings/zones that do not, however, such as the 3.5* Hudson in CPS, which is infamous for tiny rooms. When bidding, you have to be willing to accept any of the possibilities based upon what star rating/zone you're bidding for.

Unfortunately, based upon the rates that I'm seeing on HOTWIRE and elsewhere for these dates, I think $200 "all-in" (w/taxes) is going to be unrealistic at the 4* level and I think it - at least at this point - is probably unfortunately going to be unlikely at the 3.5* level in most midtown zones. This is a busy time so rates certainly do have a chance of staying high or going higher, but may fluctuate between now and then given how traffic expectations look for the Fall (and there's really no way to predict that.) There's also no way to know to what degree hotels have offered discounted inventory several months in advance.

I think you could try for 3.5* starting at $150 for the Midtown zones that will work for your travel plans and work higher by $5's using re-bidding or, given the amount of time you have until your stay, spacing out bids over time. If you were to get to $175 for a 3.5* in the zones of interest (in other words, which zones out of MTE/TS/MTW/CPS/ESB and if you wanted to include MSG/Chelsea worked for your travel plans) and were not accepted, then I'd stop and wait a couple of weeks and try again. If it gets to early May and you are not getting accepted in the $175-180 range (which I believe would be the max bid if you are looking for $200 all-in), then at that point you may want to reevaluate options/budget.)

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

[stylishtrvlr]

We plan to bid at pricline for Oct 22-24. We'll be joining a tour that starts at 48 Bowery so bidding at Zone 5 ( Downtown Soho) seems a practical idea. Is there any star rating to avoid? We just plan to stay for 2 nights. Do the 2.5* or 3* hotels that Priceline offer at Zone 5 have good reviews? Thanks

[AaronJB]

Usually, my view is to not include it unless really necessary, as - from a tourist perspective, you can end up pretty far down in the city. That's not to say that this isn't a nice zone and there are certainly some great sights in this area, but it is definitely a bit of a trek up to Midtown. As I've noted in other threads, walking in NYC is wonderful - going through neighborhoods you pass all sorts of great little shops and restaurants that you won't find anywhere else - but definitely have good walking shoes if you plan to walk from further down in the Downtown-Soho-Financial area up to Midtown. There is also quite a bit of public transit, but if the weather's nice (and October in NYC can be rather nice), walking through the city is a lot of fun.

That said, while I don't usually recommend the Downtown/Soho/Financial zone, if you are meeting your tour group there, then that's fine. There have been a few properties reported at the 2.5*/3* level to the board, and they mostly get good reviews. However, keep in mind there could be others NOT yet reported to the board.

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

[stylishtrvlr]

In your experience, how many % discount can one bid from Hotwire prices? Example: hotwire offers 188usd for a 3 *MTE property, how much do you think I can get it on priceline?

[AaronJB]

The discounts can vary, and generally (although there are exceptions and it's worth starting lower) are smaller the busier the period of time/season is - and can vary from day-to-day. This far in advance though, I'd definitely start low. In terms of 3* MTE (to use an example), if HOTWIRE is showing a 3* in the zone for $190 (the price you see may vary slightly), I'd start at $120 and work up by $5's to $150. Again though, while October is generally an expensive time of year, I'd recommend starting low and going slowly upwards.

Given the tour start at Bowery, did you want to include that in initial bidding, or were you interested in focusing on the more central Midtown zones first, then add that if Midtown options become exhausted?

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

[stylishtrvlr]

Actually, what we plan to do is get a place near Bowery for 2 nights ,no need to be fancy, just in a safe and clean neighborhood. So if the 3 star hotels in downtown/soho area being offered by priceline seems ok, we can stay there. We can always visit staten island, soho,nolita and have dinner at peter luger. We will join the tour and after coming back we plan to bid for a better room near midtown already.which will be almost on Oct 25-29.

Do I have other zones I can add which offer good 3 and 3.5 star hotel? Is chelsea or Hell's Kitchen neighborhood safe to roam at night? How are the reviews of the hotel won in this area?

So I can try Soho then rebid ESB, then rebid CHelsea? then rebid HK?then work my way to the zones in the upper side.(mtw,mte.ts,cps)

How about madison square garden? should I include it?

Thanks

[thereuare]

Given your needs for this stay, and that the Downtown zone works for your plans, i'd be willing to stay in the Chelsea, Downtown, ESB, MSG, MTW and TS zones. If you don't mind a small room (like the Hudson hotel) you can also include CPS in the mix too. While many of these zones may put you a bit away from your meeting point at Bowery St, the subway can get you there quick enough and i would be looking to include as many zones as you're willing to accept given your budget is on the low side for these dates. I'd be avoiding the MTE zone at the 3.5* level at this point given that some of the hotels are a bit of a walk from the subway.

Let us know which zone(s) you're willing to accept, and your maximum bid at this point in time, and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[stylishtrvlr]

I have been trying to bid at the winning bids in Priceline and have bid 140usd for 4* downtown but failed. I'll just try after a month after. Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll use the Pricline Link next month. I'm closing this thread because I'll be asking information for new winning bids for Singapore for April.

[yellowdog]

stylishtrvlr

You can have two threads open at the same time. Just start a new for your April stay.

But please update this thread once you have tried bidding again. I belive many members are interested in progress for this stay. This is what the board is about :)

Thanx for using boards PRICELINE link :)

Yellowdog.

[stylishtrvlr]

I saw an interesting offer in hotwire today.

Can you help ID this hotel :

10/22-10/24 $159 4* TS

-fitness center

-internet

-restaurant

-business center

still gathering info

trip advisor 4 out of 5

Thanks

[AaronJB]

This amenity set (4*/Times Square/fitness, business, restaurant, internet) has been seen with the Millennium Broadway, Crowne Plaza and Inter-Continental Times Square.) $159, to me, would seem like an awfully good deal for a well-reviewed 4* in the traditionally expensive month of October.

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

[stylishtrvlr]

October is still 6 months away. But I'm very tempted to close the deal. Do you think I should grab the chance to stay in Times Square? Other tourists find Times Square too loud, touristy and crowded. Will appreciate any feedbacks.Its our first time to visit NYC. Thanks

[AaronJB]

Staying in Times Square would likely qualify as a love it or hate it experience (and I can understand either viewpoint.) Personally, I like a bit more low-key area. However, there are definitely people that love being in the middle of the hustle/bustle, and there's certainly a lot to see (although there's a ton to see across NYC.) It's traditionally the most popular (and therefore, usually most expensive in terms of hotels) area of the city.

From a price perspective, I think $159 for a 4* in NYC in October (which is traditionally a bad/expensive period) in TS is a very good deal for a well-reviewed (4/5 tripadvisor rating) property. It may be a new/unreported hotel, but this information has been previously seen with the Millennium, Crowne Plaza and Inter-Continental.

If you are ready to book at this point, I'd definitely consider it, as $159 for a traditionally expensive (no way to know if this year is the same, but if it's anything like previous years, late Fall and into the Winter are pricey) period is an excellent deal.

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

[thereuare]

From a price perspective, I think $159 for a 4* in NYC in October (which is traditionally a bad/expensive period) in TS is a very good deal for a well-reviewed (4/5 tripadvisor rating) property

Times Square or not, this is an EXCELLENT price for a 4* hotel anywhere in Manhattan this time of year. If you look at the other HOTWIRE offers, the 4* hotels are all well in excess of $200 (the midtown offers in excess of $300... only Central Park and Downtown are in the $200's). Even the 3.5* hotels are in excess of $200/nite, and you don't see any midtown offers until the 3* level, at which point they start at $185/nite.

As long as your plans are firm, and you don't mind the Times Square location, i would act sooner rather then later... as i would think there is more risk that in the future the best deal you're able to find is priced much higher then this.

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[stylishtrvlr]

Hi, used HOTWIRE link to book. But when I tried to book they said there are no more available rooms. So back to square one. I was really excited cuz a betterbidding member was able to get a booking in Hilton Times Square, :)

[thereuare]

I think the Hilton Times Square was likely the hotel you were seeing above.

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

[stylishtrvlr]

After weeks of checking HOTWIRE and PRICELINE thru this site's link, I finally landed a deal for Oct 25-29 at Millennium Hotel Broadway for $128 for 3 rooms.

I was right with my guess that I'll land this hotel which I was not very excited with since lately most of the reviews for this hotel was very bad. But I can't resist the price of $128 for Oct (being a very expensive month) and its central location. I have mixed feelings with this deal and will not know if I made the right decision until after Oct 29. Hopefully someone in the forum can assure me that this hotel doesn't as bad as the reviews.

Any reco for nearby shops or restaurants will be greatly appreciated.

I will definitely use this website's PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links whenever I have any travel requirements. Thank you for all the help.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Best hotel in NYC... nope, but at $128/nite for these October dates this may be one of the best 'bang for your buck' hotel at this point in time. I've also read thru some recent reviews and overall they're favorable, there are a few negatives, but you'll get that with almost all hotels in a large city.

As far as where to eat, if you're a large group, Carmine's (200 W. 44th St) is a lot of fun... might not be the most gourmet food, but it is very good, and with a large group it's always a good time (everything is served family style, so one entree is designed to feed 2-3 people). Given the entrees feed a few people, prices are inline with NYC, but note that drinks are on the pricier side. You should book a reservation now if interested.

For casual fare John's Pizza (down the block from Carmine's, closer to Eight Ave) is an inexpensive dinner in a nice atmosphere... in a converted church so high cathedral ceilings and you can watch them make the pizza at the open pizza kitchen stations. Stick with the pizza and stay away from the entrees. :)

For a 'real deal' NYC experience you can (and should) try the

on the SW corner of 53rd and Sixth Ave as a late nite dinner (after a few drinks) or an early dinner... they 'right' cart is the one that is there from 7:30pm-4am (and there is usually a line at most hours)

Thank you for sharing your win and using the HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your purchase.

Have a great time in NYC.

[stylishtrvlr]

I forgot to mention that I got this deal thru website's HOTWIRE link and the Hotel ID is 4* Times Square-Theater area with fitness, restaurant, business center and internet icons. for 128usd plus taxes.

Thanks for all the restaurant tips. Hopefully the reviews will improve thru the months.

[stylishtrvlr]

The Millennium Broadway Hotel was classified as 4 star in hotwire, the title states 3.5* only

[thereuare]

FIXED... thanks!