AnnMarieW Posted March 21, 2011 Report Posted March 21, 2011 Greetings,I am a newbie to this site.Our travel party consists of two Moms and two teens embarking on a combination cruise to the Caribbean (RT from Brooklyn cruise terminal). We are celebrating our daughters' high school graduation - two very deserving honor students. We want to make this special for them, but we need to be very budget conscious because we have many years of college and grad/med school expenses ahead!Our flight arrives at JFK on the evening of July 9 (Sat.) and we sail on July 10 (Sunday). We return from our cruise on Tuesday July 19 and leave for LAX on Friday, July 22. That gives us 2 1/2 days to play tourist in NY. It has been many years since I have been to NY and I am just not sure which neighborhoods are the best/safest areas for us to stay. I would very much appreciate your suggestions for the following:***** - where to stay on Sat, July 9 - My idea is to book a hotel in Brooklyn for the one night and then take a cab/shuttle to the cruise terminal Sunday. From what I gather, Fulton St./Downtown would be a good place to spend a few hours on Sunday morning to give the girls some time to do a little shopping Does this make sense to stay overnight in an area close to the cruise terminal or would it be better to stay at an airport hotel and take a shuttle/limo straight to the cruise terminal? (usually cruise ships begin boarding @ 11 a.m.) Any ideas?****What are is best/safest area for us to stay in Manhattan (3 nights)after the cruise? The girls want to do the usual Times Square, Empire State Bldg, and other similar tourist sites plus shopping, shopping, shopping (garment district?) Of course, we want the 3 1/2 to 4 **** hotels for two star prices - the 60% off - chop/chop/chop prices deals. Of course, I will book @ either Priceline or Hotwire (have booked @ Hotwire before and got very lucky, but that was years ago.....)Mini-suites with two double beds for the Moms and pull out couch for the girls would be ok. A room for 4 persons seems to be difficult to locate. WE may end up just getting two rooms...Has anyone recently gotten a super deal on a nice hotel? Any ideas, advice, comments are most welcome.Many thanks!p.s. I'll let you know the details of which hotels we ended up booking!
AnnMarieW Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Posted March 21, 2011 Could this be the Sheraton Hotel? I found a 4**** Brooklyn area Hotel (0.0 - 8.6 mi from city center) for $165 per night for 4 people. ($109 for 2 persons -the price went up by $56 for 2 adults, 2 children in a room).Search parameters= Sat, Jul 9 to Sun, Jul 10 Brooklyn, NY - 1 room, 1 night, 2 adults, 2 children Hotwire describes the hotel as follows:4-star hotel in BrooklynThis hotel features the following amenities:Fitness CenterGuests have access to exercise equipment; an additional charge may apply.Restaurant(s)Property offers at least one restaurant on the premises; hours and days of operation may vary.Laundry Facilities (self-service)<amenity names only please... not descriptions>High-Speed Internet AccessGuestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access; an extra charge may apply. ----Recommended in 90% of customer reviews------Could this be the Sheraton? This is really interesting - If you highlight the price of the room on the hotel search page and enter CTRL C (to copy) - you can actually see a reference # (you can't see this unless you hit CTRL C) This is the reference # listed for this listing is Ref No. 6375900915. Have any of you seen this before?Also, does anyone have a guess on which hotel this could be? Sat, Jul 9 to Sun, Jul 10 *** 1/2 stars ( 3 and 1/2 stars)Brooklyn, NY - 1 room, 1 night, 2 adults, 2 children Super savings - $128 per room Ref No. 6941917727 3.5-star hotel in BrooklynThis hotel features the following amenities:Smoke Free RoomsGuest rooms at this hotel are always smoke-free.Complimentary Breakfast<amenity names only please... not descriptions>Fitness CenterGuests have access to exercise equipment; an additional charge may apply.Business CenterGuests have access to business equipment and services; an additional charge may apply.High-Speed Internet AccessGuestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access; an extra charge may apply. I checked free breakfast as an amenity on Priceline and found a lot of hotels in Brooklyn (including Nu Hotel, 2 Best Westerns, Hotel Le Jolie) that offer free breakfast. Note: Best Western Arena Hotel is currently listed on Priceline for $119 per nightThank you for your help!
thereuare Posted March 22, 2011 Report Posted March 22, 2011 Welcome to BetterBidding!We'll use two separate threads for each leg of your stay... this thread will be for your pre-cruise stay of 7/9; feel free to start a NEW TOPIC for your post cruise stay.I think the first thing you need to do is determine a budget for this leg of your stay, as this will determine whether you're looking at 2rooms for double occupancy each (and consider PRICELINE) or one room for quad occupancy (pretty much locked into HOTWIRE) As well, depending upon your budget, i'd consider Manhattan for the first nite of your stay if you can get a good price. It's summer time which is typically slow season for NYC, so if you can stay directly in Manhattan your first nite for not much more then Brooklyn, take advantage of setting the stage for your trip and go out a little upon arrival. As well, if you intend to have the girls shop pre-embarkation, a better experience (again setting the mood for the trip) in Manhattan vs. Brooklyn, imo. The Brooklyn idea makes sense if the savings are there, but i don't think Manhattan will necessarily cost you that much more.Try to determine a budget and if you'd like one room or two and we'll take it from there.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.PS- the HOTWIRE reference numbers are nothing exciting, they're for tracking and assigned by HOTWIRE to each search in case you have an issue with a given booking or search. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
AnnMarieW Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Posted March 22, 2011 Thanks for the advice!I learned that a quad room @ the Sheraton consists of two double beds - no queens, no kings available in any quad room unless you book a suite! That's way too uncomfortable for us! I also researched other 3*** & 4****Brooklyn websites and found the same configurations. We decided to get two rooms.I went on Priceline and bid approx 18% less than Hotwire's $109 offer for the 4**** hotel, Brooklyn - 7/9 - 7/10/11. I bid $90 per night (each) for the 3 1/2 *** hotel (2 rooms) and won the bid. It turned out to be the Sheraton One reason we are happy with the Sheraton is that it is just a block or two away from the Fulton Street Mall area (230 stores) - New York City's third largest commercial center. It is reported to have some of the best deals on shoes - including the $5 shoe store. That will make the girls very happy - :) Also just steps away from the hotel, is Junior's Restaurant & Bakery. My daughter has been there twice before when visiting cousins in Great Neck - she is thrilled!Now on to the second hotel booking!
thereuare Posted March 22, 2011 Report Posted March 22, 2011 Congratulations on your success!Glad to see you're pleased with the results and this property will work well for your plans for this leg of your trip... sounds like a great start to a great week and a half.Thanks for sharing your win with the board.Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.Enjoy your stay. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases
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