Priceline Hotel: 4* New York City (Empire State Building) Kitano New York Hotel

[hopeland]

Not sure what the special event is, but this is a very expensive weekend in NYC.

* Lowest 4* hotel retail was the Royalton at $297.

* Backup bid at the Gild Hall for $255, which is either 3*, 3.5* or 4* depending on whom you believe.

* Minimum Hotwire 4* was the Doubletree Financial District, which is questionable as a 4* and not acceptable to me due to a several recent reviews citing problems with the elevators.

* Otherwise, minimum Hotwire hotel was $240 at the Kitano.

* About half of the hotels were sold out, including the Sheraton New York, which a few posters won at $160.

Bidding:

* As always, used BiddingHelper.com.com for all HOTWIRE searches and PRICELINE bids.

* Began bidding CPS+Chls+ESB+HK+MSG+ME+MW+SoTri+TS/TD at $160.

* Rebid in increments of $10 up to $200. Then bid $205 with no success.

* Restarted bidding with UWS+D/FD, and made the same bids. No success, no counter-offers.

* Restarted bidding CPS+Chls+ESB+HK+MSG+ME+MW+SoTri+TS/TD+UWS at $210.

* Counter-offer of $252 and declined.

* Rebid $215, then $220.

* Bid accepted at $220.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you are pleased with the results, and more importantly successfully avoided the hotel(s) you didn't want... nicely done!

Two places i often recommend in this area:

Jackson Hole Wyoming (Third Ave at 35th St): diner type feel, service hit-or-miss, but one of the best HUGE burgers in the city

El Rio Grande (Third Ave at 37th St... look at the base of the residential building on the west side of the street): very strong (and not that cheap for the small size... but you often only need one!) frozen margaritas. Eat dinner elsewhere, although the chips and salsa served at the bar are pretty good.

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

Enjoy your stay.