Hotwire Hotel: 3* Newark (Secaucus - Meadowlands) Sheraton Meadowlands

[taliategan]

I have been bidding on 3* in the Secaucus zone for the past several weeks and I am approaching my maximum bid amount for the dates of 5/4/12 to 5/6/12. I currently have a cancelable AAA rate at the Hilton Garden Inn Secaucus for $115 a night I made several months ago when these dates were not yet finalized. My last bid was $ 82 and I want to to beat the Hilton Garden Inn by at least $ 20 a night. (All of the 3* star hotels on this site's Priceline hotel list are showing rooms available, but the Hilton Garden Inn does not.) I have been focusing on the Secaucus zone because I will have a car and want free parking, and also would prefer to use bus transporation to NYC (my wife does not like the subway). Wondering how the Meadowlands zone compares to the Secaucus zone with tarnsportation to and from NYC, as I was thinking of adding this zone to my bidding? Also does anyone have any "reasonable" dining recommendations for families in the Midtown/Time Square areas for lunch or dinner?

[thereuare]

Most of the Meadowlands properties have good transportation options, but the Sheraton is frequently won and mass transit from this property is NOT great. There is nothing walkable nearby but they do offer scheduled shuttle service to Secaucus Junction where you can then take the train into the city.

As you will have a car another option is to drive to the nearby Park N Ride where you can leave your car and take the bus into the city (i think parking and one bus ticket is ~$9(??) and additional bus tickets are probably ~$3.25)

As far as restaurants go, PLEASE get out of Times Square as it's mostly the same Red Lobster, Applebees, TGI Fridays, etc, etc you have in your own town... if you let me know what type of food you like (and target budget) i'll make some suggestions, but they'll be outside of Times Square. (also, once a hotel is won i know a great family friendly Italian restaurant in North Bergen which likely will be close to your hotel, but let's see where you end up first and we'll take it from there)

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

[taliategan]

Ended up with Sheraton Meadowlands, 3*, through Hotwire at $70 a night for 5/4/12 to 5/6/12; amenities as follows free parking, free internet, smoke free rooms, fitness center, pool, restaurant, business center, high speed internet, golf nearby (the first two amenities seem to be new). Booked for 2 adults, 1 child (even though we have 2 children - a different hotel was showing for 2 adults, 2 children for $ 103.) My last bid on Priceline for 3* in Secaucus was $ 84. The Sheraton listing on Hotwire dropped from $ 86 to $ 70, so I decided to go that route. I guess with a car I'll explore the transportation options - saw mixed opinions on tripadvisor about the hotel shuttle. I'm a relative rookie in NYC (although my wife has been there a couple of times in recent years), but we are going to show on Friday night at Gershwin Theatre on Friday night and probably shopping and touring the City on Saturday. We are not looking for any fine dining - children are 9 and 11 and pretty open to most types of food.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Hope you're happy with the deal you received and are looking forward to your trip.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and helping us add this new amenity set for this property to the Hotwire Hotel List.

Here are some restaurant suggestions nearby and in Manhattan:

Trattoria La Sorrentina

4.5 star rating

7831 Bergenline Ave

North Bergen, NJ 07047

(201) 869-8100

==> short drive from the hotel and although parking in the area can be a little tough (bring quarters for the meter) it's worth the trouble, imo. Really good italian food, GREAT pizza (both rectangle and round), family friendly and reasonably priced.

Gyu-Kaku Times Square

321 W. 44th St.

New York, NY 10036

(646) 692-9115

==> this is Korean style BBQ where YOU cook at the table (not Japanese hibachi where they cook at the table in front of you). They bring out raw meat and you cook on an open fire pit at the table. I'm not such a fan of Korean BBQ (if i'm at a restaurant i don't want to do the cooking) but my wife likes it and my kids REALLY like the novelty of cooking themselves at the table (keep an eye on them as the BBQ pit at the table can get hot). As noted i'm not a huge fan, but this is noteworthy as 1) they have a location in Times Square which you requested, 2) depending upon where you're from you may not have this style restaurant in your home town, and 3) they have really good happy hour deals which makes this a 'NYC Deal'. (http://www.gyu-kaku.com/menu/ny_tsq/tsq_sp.pdf)

Jackson Hole Wyoming

521 3rd Avenue (at 35th St)

New York, NY 10016

==> one of the best burgers in the city and they're HUGE

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

Enjoy your stay.

[taliategan]

Thank you for the restaurant suggestions. We will probably eat in NYC on Friday night before the show and in the Secaucus area on Saturday night, so I will run down your suggestions with the family. Also the "win" in the caption should be Sheraton Meadowlands rather than Sheraton Suites Lincoln Harbor, and 3* rather than a 4*. The new amenity of "free internet" on the Hotwire listing would appear to be wrong as the Sheraton's hotel web site indicates it is $9.95 a day.

[thereuare]

As far as Free Internet, i'm thinking that either wireless internet is offered for free in the lobby .......... OR if you want to make a point out of it and call HOTWIRE they will likely reimburse you.

Have a great trip!

I would agree that this is most likely a free lobby wifi or through the Starbucks adjacent to the lobby. If this is the case, I feel it's misleading.

That said, I just checked HOTWIRE's description of amenities: Free Internet- free wired or wireless Internet in al the rooms. I believe you will have grounds for a valid complaint if the hotel attempts to charge for wifi. You might be entitled to some hot dollars towards your next stay.