Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* New York City (Long Island City - Elmhurst) Red Roof Inn Queens

[Pascal90]

Hey

Me and a Friend of mine planning a trip through the USA for a couple of weeks.

(New York, Las Vegas, San Diego, Tijuana, Los Angeles, San Fransisco and than back to Frankfurt)

And our start will be in New York on September 7th till September 14th.

But we will leave on the 14th for Vegas at 7am. So we don't need a hotel from the 13th to 14th we will just stay awake ;)

(and can hopefully still leave our luggage at the hotel if not we will figure something out )

So we gone need a place to stay from the 7th till the 13th in New York.

We are both students and we don't plan on spending a lot of time at the hotel. (So a basic one will do)

What would be the cheapest option for us? Using Hotwire or priceline?

Should we book now or shortly before the trip?

Should we book the hole time at one hotel or switch hotels?

We are also planing on going out every night so in what area is the best nightlife?

Where were thinking it would be best to stay some where between the two rivers.

We dont want to walk through half the city to get back to the hotel after a night out.

I know this is the New York part of the forum

so just in general is it better to book the Hotels in the other locations now or just a day before or so?

(I dont want to start a new thread in all the areas, so a short answer here will be enough.

I was in Vegas already once for a week and I have a friend in Los Angeles so New York is really the city I kind of know nothing about)

Thx for your help in advance we are open for all tips and suggestions

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

This is generally a busier time in NYC and even basic hotels (2-3*) can often be pretty expensive. What would be your desired budget per night for this stay?

PRICELINE is cheaper than HOTWIRE, but requires more flexibility on where you end up. If you are willing to split your stay between two hotels, that may be a positive but it depends on your budget. I'd suggest starting to look at booking now versus last minute.

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

[Pascal90]

2-3* would be enough. Like I said we only need place to crash so nothing fancy the cheaper the better, but also no one star hole ;)

I know New York is expensive at this time

I know there are different prices in different areas in New York, but I dont know so much about the city I have a travel guide here but I am hopping for some inside tips.

We wouldn't mind taking the subway (we are think about buying a week pass or so anyways) or a longer walk during the day to the classic tourist attractions an more important part for us would be the nightlife.

So which areas do you think would be best for us?

It also would be enough for a start to just list the ares with the best night life or if you think we should switch hotels and go to different areas than which ones.

(I don't need exact prices or so from you just a hint in the right direction than I will also do more research myself)

I just don't want to end up somewhere in a cheap hotel and than have problems with crime in the area or stuff like that

Or if you have a link with the different areas in New York with pro and cons or something like that would be cool too.

[KatiesMom]

Hi there!

Thought I'd jump in. I'm a former Destination/Local Expert for New York City on Trip Advisor.

When you say "Nightlife" what do you mean? There is nightlife ALL over NYC. You may find yourself in different areas on different nights. Here's a link to a Bar/Club Search from NY Magazine. Check out things on the left. Read some. Any pop up as WOW, I gotta go there? That will give a good idea where to begin. I'm thinking you may be interested in the Meatpacking District part of the city for your nightlife. New York is open late REAL late. You can party well into the morning.

Also, not so sure how good an idea it is not to spend your last night at a hotel. What time are you planning on leaving for the airport? Is your flight at 7?

[Pascal90]

Hi,

thanks for the links now me and my friend have some more reading to do ;)

One club that I saw before where we would like to go is the pachanyc

I will definitely check out the link you gave me, but for now I will go to bed its 4am in Germany.

For further tips we are 23 and 25.

Also, not so sure how good an idea it is not to spend your last night at a hotel. What time are you planning on leaving for the airport? Is your flight at 7?

Depart NEW YORK LAGUARDIA (LGA) on Southwest Airlines at 06:55 AM

It departs there at 6:55 so we probably will be at the airport by 6. We extra choose the flight at 6:55 am and not at 11 or 12 so that we can skip the night.

I did the same thing the last time I flew to the US. I was out until 5am and than just grabbed my bags and flew from Frankfurt to Chicago ;)

[Pascal90]

Hi,

we looked a little more at the Hotel prices and saw that we could stay in Long island via HOTWIRE for under 100$ per night.

I know its not exactly in the center where we originally wanted to go, but its like at least 40$ cheaper per day.

How good is the public transportation from there to the rest of new York. (Expectantly at Night)

Or would we miss out something if we don't stay directly in the center? How good is the night life directly in Long island?

[KatiesMom]

I assume you are talking about Long Island City, not Long Island.

Some hotels in Long Island City are better than others as far as quality and transportation into NYC is concerned. Here is a link to a discussion about Long Island City hotels on TripAdvisor. You may want to post questions there too. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k6056573-Long_Island_City_hotels-New_York_City_New_York.html

I sent you a private message on here as well.

[thereuare]

To clarify... i think you're referring to Long Island City, which is very different then Long Island.

What rates are you seeing in NYC and what rates in Long Island City?

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

[Pascal90]

Yeah sry I mean Long island City

In hotwire the cheapest rate is for a two and a half star hotel for 85$,

for Manhatten and Lower Manhatten so all areas between the rivers I get as cheapest option 160$ Sownton SoHo or Madison square 202$

[thereuare]

If you stay in Long Island City you will 'see' NYC, but you won't experience NYC... so it's a trade-off between cost vs. convenience/experience.

If you intend on staying out until 3am-4am i would also factor taxis into your budget as i wouldn't recommend taking the subway at that hour.

You could also consider SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID, saving some money some nites outside of Manhattan and splurging a little and staying some nites in Manhattan.

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

[Pascal90]

Thanks for all your help and tips so far.

We are going to stay in Long Island City and save our self a couple of bucks.

Can you maybe help me Identify this hotel on Hotwire

2.5-star Hotel in Long Island City

This Hotel features the following amenities:

Free Breakfast

Free Internet

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom

Handicapped parking

Roll-in shower

Also I would like to give priceline a shot, maybe I even get a better rate than hotwire offers. I think I should have enough bidding zones available, bc Long island city is one of the cheapest regions anyways and if I would get by some wonder a hotel in Manhattan its fine by me ;)

Can you maybe give me some bidding advice. I also saw that the avarge price in priceline for an 2.5 star hotel is from Sat., Sep 7 - Sun., Sep 8 190$ and from Sun., Sep 8 - Fri., Sep 13 169$

So should I maybe Split my bidding? Or is it probably not worth it?

[thereuare]

Since your goal seems to be the lowest possible price and you intend to start by bidding on PRICELINE, why don't we start there as the HOTWIRE hotel doesn't seem like it is a realistic option at this point in time (unless your PRICELINE bidding fails up to your maximum bid)

So that we don't suggest a strategy that goes higher then you're willing to bid, what is your maximum bid for a 2.5* hotel? Also, please list all acceptable zones, even if outside of your budget, so that we can use this as pseudo-rebid zones (but the zones should still be acceptable in the off-chance that you're accepted at a price lower then you thought possible).

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

[Pascal90]

My maximum bid would be the hotwire price so 85$.

My possible zones are:

Long Island City

Central Park South

Chelsea Area

Downtown - Financial District

Empire State Building Area

Hell's Kitchen

Lower East Side

Madison Square Garden - Convention Area

Midtown East

Midtown West

SoHo - Tribeca

Times Square - Theatre District

Upper East Side

Upper West Side

[thereuare]

I would bid as follows:

Select 2.5* Long Island City...

Bid $50, if rejected add CPS...

Bid $55, if rejected add Chelsea...

Bid $58, if rejected add DT...

Bid $60, if rejected add ESB...

Bid $63, if rejected add HK...

Bid $65, if rejected add LES...

Bid $68, if rejected add MSG...

Bid $70, if rejected add MTE...

Bid $73, if rejected add MTW...

Bid $75, if rejected add Soho...

Bid $78, if rejected add TS...

Bid $80, if rejected add UES...

Bid $83, if rejected add UWS...

Bid $85

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Pascal90]

Ok, I did not have any luck with Priceline.

So now I booked the Hotel via Hotwire.

I got the Red Roof Long Island City.

hotel map

As comparison the Expedia price was $142

[yellowdog]

Pascal90

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Also thanx for the addition for this new property to the BetterBidding Hotwire Hotel List

Can you please confirm your dates, price paid/night before tax/fee's, star rating for the hotel and the amenities HOTWIRE associates with the hotel. You can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Enjoy your stay.

Please use the board's PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your purchases and searches

Yellowdog.

[Pascal90]

Everything is still the same.

2.5-star Hotel in Long Island City

This Hotel features the following amenities:

Free Breakfast

Free Internet

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

In-room accessibility

Accessible bathroom

Handicapped parking

Roll-in shower

In hotwire the cheapest rate is for a two and a half star hotel for 85$,

My maximum bid would be the hotwire price so 85$.

So we gone need a place to stay from the 7th till the 13th in New York.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the confirmation.

Enjoy your time in NYC.