Priceline Hotel: 3.5* New York City (Madison Square Garden - Convention) Affinia Manhattan

[Marcos Martins]

Hello,

I'm bidding for these dates with no success.

Tried 3.5/4* CPS/MTE/MTW/MSG/TS/Chelsea/ESB up to USD 190, not being successful.

Tried 3* CPS/MTE/MTW/MSG up to USD 175, nothing happened too.

Am I too far from a winner bid? I'm expecting to spend up to USD 200 for a nice (and well located) hotel but considering NYC crazy prices I can adapt my budget to the market (wich I don't know exactly).

Thanks in advance for any tips. I always use the PRICELINE link above.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I know this is only a 3 nite stay, but is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option? I think you can get a 4* hotel in the zones you're bidding above for ~$190-$210/nite... then move to a different hotel for the last nite of your stay. Things may be a little busier for the last nite of your stay as it's the first mid-week nite of your trip (which are typically a little more expensive then weekend nites) and as visitors may come to the city in remembrance of the September 11th.

If splitting is not an option i'm guessing at the moment a 4* hotel may cost about $275, a 3.5* $225-$250, and a 3* about $200 (although HOTWIRE has a 3* in the ESB zone for $179/nite... but i'm not sure what hotel this may be and therefore unsure if this would be a 3* or 2.5* rated hotel on PRICELINE)

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

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

[Marcos Martins]

Hi, many thanks for your quick reply. Let me check with my girlfriend about the SPLITTING issue and I'll get back to you.

Btw, we really liked the HUDSON HOTEL and we don't mind staying in a small room. If you have any tips to [try to] get this hotel (beside re-bidding for a 3.5* in CPS) just let me know.

Always using the PRICELINE link on the board.

[thereuare]

Unfortunately i don't see any way to target the Hudson Hotel at this time.

Let us know what you decide regarding splitting the stay and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[Marcos Martins]

Splitting our stay in such a short period would end up in too much time-waisting. So our answer is no, we wouldn't like to split our stay in more than one hotel.

Used the PRICELINE link on the board.

[thereuare]

So what are your thoughts moving forward from here...

• wait it out and hope for lower rates in the weeks ahead
• raise your maximum bid
• lower your star rating
• include other zones

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

[Marcos Martins]

I chosed raise my maximum bid. Went up to $245 for CPS and nothing happened. Went down to $230 and added MSG and got the AFFINIA Manhattan. Maybe I could have got it for a cheaper bid, but I guess it's OK since the hotel website is charging $100 more for the same period.

Tips for restaurants/bars nearby are welcome.

Thanks again for your help. Used the PRICELINE link on the board.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Hope you're pleased with the results. This a centrally located property right near Penn Station so should be very convenient to get around.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

As far as restaurants... what type of food like?

Enjoy your stay.

[Marcos Martins]

You know, food that you usually like to try when you're in holidays... (a nice place to have breakfest, nice burgers, nice pizzas, nice donuts/bagels, nice italian food, etc).

[thereuare]

None of these are in the immediate area, but it's NYC so nothing is too far away ;) ...

breakfest / bagels

Ess-A-Bagel on Third Ave at 51 St. For some nice breads a little hole in the wall place (which is not really that closer to any subway) is Sullivan St Bakery 533 West 47th Street (usually best when you can get something some close to coming out of the oven)

bugers

Jackson Hole on Third Ave at 35th St. On the west side is 5 Napkin Burger which i've heard good things about, but have never been (NOTE: burgers here are like ~$12 and up... at Jackson Hole all should be under $10). Also on the west side is the new outpost of Shake Shake with good 'fast food style' burgers... although a better option would be on a nice day to go to the original Shake Shack in Madison Park (23rd St and Madison) and sit outside.

pizza

Johns on Bleeker (NOT the one in Times Square), Keste (high end neopolitan across the street from John's), Adrienne's Pizza Bar (downtown on Stone St), see the NYC PIZZA thread for more pizza details.

italian

We have quite a few good ones in Hoboken that i seldom cross the river and go out for Italian... although there is always Little Italy (and a reminder to visit Chinatown too... Wo Hop on Mott St is very popolar... the downstairs location)

[Marcos Martins]

Thanks!