Priceline Hotel: Manhattan in June

[Michael NOLA]

Hi,

I'm trying to arrange hotel reservations for myself and a married couple. We will be in town June 4th thru the 11th. We are willing to stay anywhere in MTE,MTW,UM/CPS, MS, or Lower Manhattan, prefereably 4 star, preferably under $170 a night. I've been using the usual Priceline strategies, looking for 2 rooms, inching up from a starting point of $120 and I've gotten as high at $155 a night without any luck. I'm considering lowering my star rating to 3 star and taking my chances. Do I need to try splitting my bids ? Should I consider on the same path til I reach my max? Any advice would be appreciated. I've booked a backup room which would accomodate all 3 of us (although I'd really prefer separate rooms). Seems like rates have gone up a lot in the last year or so.

[thereuare]

How opposed are you to SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID?

I would probably do that sooner than lower my star rating right away (and i'd also probably restrict my bidding to just the midtown areas before resorting to downtown... but i don't know the purpose of your trip). You may ultimately have to lower to 3* anyway, but at least this way you get at least part of your stay at a 4* property.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll advise from there.

[Michael NOLA]

Splitting the bids would be ok with me, but my friends may not like the idea. Then again I'm the one making all the arrangements, so they don't really have a say..hehe.. We are going to New York on vacation. No set plans yet. We'll catch at least one Broadway show, maybe do a couple of "tourist sites" (museums, Rockefeller Center, etc). We've all been there before and know that Midtown-ish is the area with all the tourist stuff. We also love the Villlages and Chinatown/Soho. We have another group of friends meeting us there on Thursday the 8th of June thru the 11th so that would be a good date to do the split I suppose. Unless you have other ideas.Thanks.

[thereuare]

I would consult your friends first and explain the situation to them and see if they are willing to split the stay or not. Although you are the ones making the arrangements, they are the ones that have to reimburse you... so you want to make sure you get paid back :)

[Michael NOLA]

After consultation with the friends, splitting the bids is an option. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Since you have a back-up reservation already, do you feel a need to get this done soon?

In looking at the individual nites i don't see too much difference in rates, so i'm not sure how much splitting is going to help at this point... but things may change down the road as this stay is 3 months away. You might be successful, for all or part of your stay, going up to about $180 or so; but not sure if you want to bid that high this early before your stay, especially given that you had already thought about lowering to a 3* when your $155 bids had failed.

[Michael NOLA]

My stay is now just over a month and a half away..... Hotwire prices for 3 star hotels are still over $200 a night, while the only 4 star showing up (looks like the Intercontinental Barclay) is $281 per night. I guess we picked the wrong time for a trip. We'll probably be sticking with our "standby" reservation at the Affinia 50. The reviews on Tripadvisor are really good and the price was just a bit more than the Barclay, but we will all be able to stay in one suite...Can anyone recommend any restaurants near 50th and 3rd?

[jenndon]

I have been VERY pleased with my 3* hotels won off priceline.

[KatiesMom]

Caffe Linda at 145 E. 49 between Lex and 3rd

Burger Heaven, 20 E. 49 between Mad and 5th

Angelo's Pizza, 1043 2nd at 55th

PJ Clarke's, 913 3rd at 55th

For a real splurge (reservations a must):

Spark's Steakhouse, 210 E. 46th, between 2nd and 3rd