Hotwire Hotel: 4* New York City (Midtown East) The Westin New York Grand Central

[JohnC47]

I'm taking my family to times sq to see a show, I have small children ages 4 and 6. The show is Friday and we changed our plans from coming in friday morning and staying friday night to possibly staying Thurs night bc of a pretty bad snow storm. This gave me way less options, friday was more flexible. Anyway here are my questions:

- What is my best option for 2 double beds in times sq?

- Do you believe prices will come down due to the weather forecast, should I wait to book?

- I was going to bid on a 4 star in times square for $150, is that a good bid?

- My other option was to look closer to penn station for a better deal.

Basically I'm looking to be under $200 in times sq 4 star with room for 4 people to sleep, this was possible for friday but now since changing to tomorrow prices were higher. Thank you and my apologies if these are stupid questions I'm new to the board. Any immediate answers or advise is much appreciated.

John

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

PRICELINE is not recommended in terms of NYC and bedding for four. The service only guarantees one bed/double occupancy and while requests can be made, there's a high risk of not getting two beds in NYC. This is due to the city's smaller-than-normal rooms - when two beds is available, it's often an upgrade fee (and there is no guarantee that the hotel will even offer the option.)

HOTWIRE is a better option, as it allows you to indicate the amount of people in the party and as a result get some form of bedding for the party - that may be two beds, one plus sofabed or one plus rollaway.

Are you coming in to Penn Station? What day are you checking out? If you see any listings of interest on HOTWIRE, please let us know the complete details of the listing (star rating, zone, price per night before taxes/fees, full list of amenities and date/s)

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

[JohnC47]

Yes we are coming in Penn Station, checking in tomorrow 1/2 and out 1/3, we are seeing a 2pm show 1/3 so I'm thinking I either need to stay close to the train or close to the theater for simplicity. The 4 and 4.5 stars on hotwire are coming in close to 300 after fees while the 3.5 is coming in around $150. However I've narrowed down the 3.5 to be the Manhattan which is very run down and with terrible reviews. I'm stumped looks like I will have to spend the extra $$ or wait it out and hope tomorrow morning people cancel to avoid the snow storm... Any thoughts?? Also thank you very much for the quick response and closed out my windows and used the links in your post....

[thereuare]

Are you cutting it close as far as the time the show ends and the time your bus/train departs?

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

[JohnC47]

No I'm actually thinking of having dinner Friday night after the show just to alleviate the hustle of rush hour with 2 small kids. I'm just taking nj transit rail line into south jersey, they usually have trains every 30min to an hour. Thanks again

[thereuare]

If there is no rush to get back to Penn Station i wouldn't worry too much about the location. Yes, the Times Square or MSG would be most convenient, but if pricing/options aren't working out for this trip, then staying almost anywhere in midtown should still work out fine... store your luggage at the hotel and take a taxi to the hotel after your dinner (or walk to a restaurant near the hotel for dinner after the show) and take a taxi to Penn Station with your luggage. From midtown you're looking at $10 or less for a taxi so better to spend the extra $10-$20 for a taxi then spend $50-$100 for a Times Square hotel.

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

[JohnC47]

That is a really good point. I've actually stayed in some Empire State Building hotels before that are easy ride to times sq. I just over thinking, thanks for the common sense check. I'm going to look for better value.

[thereuare]

We're happy to help. :)

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know how we can assist further.

[JohnC47]

I believe this to be hilton garden could someone confirm? This is for tonight checking out tomorrow. thanks

3* times square

Free Internet

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

Self service laundry

Internet access

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

[JohnC47]

Also having trouble identifying this 3.5 star for the same time and day:

Free Internet

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Business Center

Self service laundry

Internet access

Accessible for the blind

Accessible for the deaf

Accessible path of travel

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same trip in the same thread (and also remember to include the room rate per nite in your posts)

I believe there are more amenities then what you have posted above as HOTWIRE has a new interface that does not show the complete set of amenities unless you click thru a few extra links.

NOTE that to see the complete amenities associated with each you will need to do the following:

1) search HOTWIRE and select the offer from the search results page

2) click the BOOK NOW button

3) in the TRIP SUMMARY BOX click the 'See more' link at the end of the amenities

Using this method this is what i'm seeing for each;

3* Times Square

Free Internet

Smoke Free

Fitness

Restaurant

Business

Laundry

Hi-Speed Internet

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Handicapped Parking

Roll-in Shower

--> best guess for this property would be the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square

3.5* Times Square

Free Internet

Smoke Free

Fitness

Business

Laundry

Hi-Speed Internet

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Handicapped Parking

Roll-in Shower

--> best guess here would be the Hotel Manhattan at Times Square

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[JohnC47]

Thank you for all your help... Couple questions hilton garden website says they have no rooms for tonight is that possible that they keep rooms reserved for hotwire even when no availability? Also is there any truth to what they post when it says "book soon the last person got ...." if so they said the last person got the amsterdamn court hotel which you guys have listed as a 2.5 star ... I'm getting cold feet now haha I'd like the hilton garden however if its not I'm afraid what I might get .. thanks

[thereuare]

Although more the exception than the rule, we have seen hotels won when their own websites were otherwise showing sold-out.

The "last person got..." info is relative to the star rating and zone, not the specific hotel offered.

Should our guess for this property be wrong, the hotel is/was showing a 4.5/5.0 TA rating, so even if some other property quality shouldn't be an issue based upon the excellent rating from previous guests (as well as the 100% recommendation by previous HOTWIRE guests, iirc). However, it all may be a moot point now as i'm no longer seeing this property offered when searching for your dates and 2adults/2children.

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

[JohnC47]

Sorry I never replied with the final details on this:

 

Got the :  The Westin New York Grand Central

 

Paid: $153 plus taxes and fees total $198.00

 

Very nice and satisfied for the price and location.

[thereuare]

Was this thru HOTWIRE?  If so, can you please add a reply to this thread confirming the amenities that were associated with this property... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT >> MY TRIPS link near the top right of their home page.

 

Hope you enjoyed your stay and time in NYC!

[JohnC47]

Booked through HOTWIRE, these amenities were listed...

 

Pet friendly

Fitness center

Restaurant(s)

Business center

Internet access

 

[AaronJB]

Thanks for the follow-up!

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.