Priceline Hotel: 3.5* New York City (Midtown East) The New York Helmsley Hotel

[pqa]

I'm looking for advice on finding a good hotel for my daughter who will be attending a dance teacher's program during mid-February. School seems to be in Empire State Bldg area (on Broadway), so don't want to be too far away. I'm looking for the best deal on a 3.5* or above hotel (although it seems there aren't any 3.5* in ESB area - but what about nearby areas? Are they close enough to walk to Broadway?). Will be there at least 10 days - will that yield a better deal than usual, or will typical nightly rates apply? This period will also cover two weekends. I'm looking for any advice on areas to look for and bidding strategy, and whether it's better to wait closer to the time or bid now.

Thanks.

[thereuare]

School seems to be in Empire State Bldg area (on Broadway)...

Do you know the address or cross streets?

I'm looking for the best deal on a 3.5* or above hotel... Will be there at least 10 days...

Are the dates firm? Are you able to commit to a non-refundable purchase at this time? What are the dates of this trip? What is your maximum bid per nite?

Let us know the above and we'll be in a better position to offer some suggestions/options.

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

[pqa]

Appears to be around Broadway and 20th. Yes I can commit to n-r purchase. Dates are Feb16-27. Max per night maybe $120 but would prefer below 100. Given the length of stay, I wonder if a direct call to hotel might yield a better deal?

[thereuare]

If the subway is an option a LOT more options open up as there are multiple subway stations around this area which would get her close to where she needs to be. If only walking is an option things get a bit tougher as the hotel you receive could be anywhere in the zone. Although the zones aren't that big geographically, even the ESB zone (the closest zone to your cross streets), if she were to end up at the northern most point, could be a 20 minute walk to her location (and a subway ride less than 5 minutes)

With HOTWIRE you'll usually pay a little bit more but you can take a guess as to the hotel you may receive (which in turn also gives you a guess as to the location).

Some ideas i think i've identified on HOTWIRE which, assuming correct, would be close to your desired location:

3* Holiday Inn Sixth Ave: $108/nite

3.5* Ramada New Yorker or Doubletree Chelsea: $103/nite

Based upon rates i'm seeing you can proabably get a 3.5* on PRICELINE if you're willing to expand your zones to the surrounding areas (MTE, ESB, Chelsea, MSG, and TS)... but not all of these would provide a hotel that was necessarily walkable to the venue.

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

PS- you can also enter cross streets or an address at MAPS and HOTELS.com which will show you all the surrounding hotels. You an then filter by star rating and sort by price to see prices nearby and how much more/less it would cost if you were to stay closer/further away or go up/down in star rating.

[pqa]

Short subway ride is fine. Walkable is ideal but not mandatory.

Thanks!

[pqa]

Is that The New Yorker Hotel or the Ramada Eastside? I checked Tripadvisor and they show those separate hotels, but not a Ramada New Yorker. Maybe it's no longer a Ramada?

[AaronJB]

The New Yorker is the Ramada Plaza New Yorker, which is still listed on the Ramada website, but is (as of recently) showing on many places without the Ramada name.

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

[thereuare]

I don't have any knowledge of the Ramada selling this property, but given the historic-ness of the property, they have tried to mostly refer to it as "The New Yorker", trying to give it iconic status.

Based upon the hotels i mentioned above with prices, do you prefer to try for one of these 'likely very close' to your daughter's destination OR do you prefer to try for something cheaper and (more likely than not) further away?

If you want to go the PRICELINE route which zone(s) are acceptable? What star rating do you want to try for first and up to what maximum bid price?

Let us know the above, or any additional questions you have, and we'll take it from there.

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

[pqa]

Hi, as I heading out of town tonight myself, I tried to make progress on this last evening. The $103 3.5* Hotwire deal mentioned yesterday seemed to have disappeared last night, or had been replaced by/gone up to $109. The New Yorker looked good but the reviews on Doubletree with small rooms caused some concerns. So I tried PL bidding for 4* properties, starting with ESB area,expanding to Chelsea and other neighbouring areas. Went all the way up to $125 without success. So thought we'd try again for 3.5*. Started at $99 in ESB, then $105 including Chelsea. Then before going back to Hotwire thought we'd try one more at $111 including the MTE area. Ended up winning the New York Helmsley Hotel at that price. A little disappointed at not getting the New Yorker or one of the 4*s in area as others seem to have got the Kitano for between $110-120, but perhaps the later Feb dates are getting into higher season. Still, it seems like a good hotel for this price - and easy to get to school on Broadway. 4 stops away on a single subway line.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Very nice deal for this property. I think Fashion Week is happening during part of this time period, so that may have had an effect on rates, and it is often a little harder to get a good deal across a longer period in NYC.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.