Hotwire Hotel: 4.5* NYC (Downtown-Soho-Financial District) W Downtown

[brucelee]

First time posting, thanks in advance for everyone's help! I'm looking at NYC for 1 night June 11th for 3 people. We currently have a reservation at the Marriott Marquis for $280 + $44.80 taxes = $324.80 that can be canceled. I understand that booking through Priceline is risky since there's no guarantee of a second bed. When I search on Hotwire for 2 adults, 1 child, I see:

Downtown - Soho- Financial, $239

4.5*, rec by 95%, fitness, internet

Hoboken, $184

4*, rec by 95%, fitness, rest, bus center, internet, tennis

Times Square - Theatre District, $295

4*, rec by 100%, fitness, rest, bus center, internet

When I do the same search for 2 adults, 2 children, I see:

Downtown - Soho- Financial, $266

4.5*, rec by 95%, fitness, internet

Hoboken, $184

4*, rec by 95%, fitness, rest, bus center, internet, tennis

Times Square - Theatre District, $278

4*, rec by 100%, fitness, rest, bus center, internet

-From the BB Hotwire hotel list, I'm guessing the 4.5* Downtown - Soho is the W and the 4* Hoboken is the W Hoboken.

-I'm trying to get a feel of what the Times Square hotel may be. From the amenities (fitness, rest, bus center, internet), it seems like it could be one of the 4 following:

4* Crowne Plaza Hotel Manhattan (previously 3.5*)

4* Hilton Times Square

4* Inter-Continental Times Square

4* Millenium Broadway (previously 3.5*)

When I search Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Booking.com, and the hotels' own websites, I see no rooms available at the Crowne Plaza or the Hilton for that date, there is availability for the Inter-Continental and the Millennium Broadway

The 100% recommended rating listed by hotwire makes me think that the hotel may be the brand-new (in 2010) Inter-Continental rather than the Millennium. The IC's rating on tripadvisor is excellent (91) vs 80 for the Millennium. Does this make sense?

Finally, I know we can only make educated guesses and that hotwire changes their hotels frequently, so there are no guarantees. Also, I will be happy to do my booking on hotwire through BB's links.

thanks again!

[thereuare]

The 100% recommended rating listed by hotwire makes me think that the hotel may be the brand-new (in 2010) Inter-Continental rather than the Millennium.

But this hotel does have 500+ reviews, which would be a lot for a brand new hotel.

Given the 100% recommendation i would think the Millenium Broadway is the least likely of the four, but i don't think there are enough clues to narrow it down much further then that with any degree of reasonable certainty... among these is there a hotel you wouldn't want??

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

[brucelee]

But this hotel does have 500+ reviews, which would be a lot for a brand new hotel.

Given the 100% recommendation i would think the Millenium Broadway is the least likely of the four, but i don't think there are enough clues to narrow it down much further then that with any degree of reasonable certainty... among these is there a hotel you wouldn't want??

Hi thereuare, thanks for the response and that's a very good point, that does seem like a lot of reviews. Let me know what you think of the following: looking closer, I see the first review for the Intercontinental on Tripadvisor is July 20th 2010 and it's indicated in those reviews that the hotel opened in July 2010. There are 344 reviews on TA.

When I sort the 500+ hotwire reviews by date, I see that the first review there is July 23 2010. That could be a coincidence, but I dug through a few comments to see if I could find anything that indicated how new the hotel was. I think I hit the jackpot with this comment from November 27, 2010:

"This was a first class hotel. Everything was new, clean and elegantly appointed from the lobby to the room. The beds were supremely comfortable, the bathroom and shower were luxurious, and the room was decent sized for Manhattan. The staff was very friendly and helpful, too. The location was close to everything and yet on a relatively quiet street. We would definitely stay again."

The TA comments on the Crowne Plaza indicate it's a little "tired." Hilton comments also indicate "a little outdated." And Millennium comments also indicated "tired." TA review dates also indicate none of the 3 are "new" with reviews going back to what appears to be TA's inception in ~2002.

RE: whether any of the hotels are unacceptable, given the relatively high price for the TS 4* ($280), I guess I'd say the main point in trying an opaque site like Hotwire is to get a better hotel than the Marquis (which we're paying $280 for). Reading the TA reviews, it seems all 3 of the hotels other than the Inter-Continental are inferior to the Marquis?

If that's the case, I think getting the Inter-Continental would be an improvement on what we already have, but getting the other 3 would be a wash/a little bit of a downgrade. I know you have experience with thousands of bids. Given the pricing for this weekend and what's available (TS 4* $280, Soho 4.5* $240 W, Hoboken 4* $180 W, Marquis for $280), what do you think represents the best "deal"? I know it's impossible to tell how prices will change, but do you think it'd be worthwhile to wait it out since we already have the Marquis?

thanks!

[thereuare]

What is the purpose of this trip, what type of things do you plan on doing in the city, and how important is budget vs. location?

If you're actually 2adults/1child... how old is the child?

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

[brucelee]

Sorry no reply before, it got hectic at work and I stopped looking around for hotel. To close out the thread though, the purpose of the trip was to visit family in NYC for my bday and see a show. Budget was more important than location.

What ended up happening was that the 4.5* Downtown dropped all the way down to $162, so we went ahead and booked that (the W Downtown as predicted). Then, when we arrived at the W, they only had a room with a single queen bed (no two beds) available. We pointed out we had booked for 3 ppl on Hotwire, front desk said that internet reservations only guarantee a room, not beds (incorrect, true for Priceline, not for Hotwire). Front desk said they would try to send up a rollaway. When we arrived in room, it was apparent that there wasn't space for a rollaway. We called housekeeping, which reported that all the rollaways were taken anyway.

We called Hotwire and told them about the situation and they offered a refund. We told them we needed a room, not a refund. Hotwire customer service agent offered to book us in another hotel, with them covering any difference in rate. I clarified that we could choose from both the hot rate (discounted) and regular price lists. I agreed and asked what they had available. Agent said she didn't know where the W was located (I gave her the address) and then said she didn't know what was nearby, so then she asked ME what hotels she should search for. We were in the room w no internet/computer and I don't know anything about hotels in the city. After some coaxing on my end (you have the internet there on your computer don't you?), I was able to get the agent to search using the W's address and she came up with the downtown Marriott right next to the W.

Given the time that was being wasted due to hotel change (~1.5 hrs incl front desk wait, call hold time), I felt I should try for something nicer, so I pointed out the Marriott was 4*, not 4.5* which we paid for. Told her if there were no 4.5* available, it seemed only fair that they should bump up to 5 instead of down to 4. Agent agreed. I asked what was nearby. Agent said her search turned up the Ritz Carlton Battery Park, 5*. She had to charge us another 162 plus tax for the new reservation, then refund the old reservation. Agent was very nice but didn't seem like she knew what she was doing, had to put us on several long holds while she conferred with her manager. The Ritz was excellent, gracious customer service, very comfortable beds, and they even sent up a bottle of champagne for my bday. I'm glad we got to try the Ritz, but would have preferred if W had accommodated instead of the stress of changing hotels.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the follow-up.

Sorry to hear that the W was not able to offer bedding for the entire party, but glad to hear that your stay at the Ritz went well. Hope you were able to have a nice birthday after the hotel concerns were worked out.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the site's HOTWIRE link.