Hotwire Hotel: 4* New York City (Madison Square Garden) Crowne Plaza Hy36 Midtown Manhattan

[lovelyhappythings]

Hi there, trying to start a hotel search for a family vacation - 2 adults, 2 kids, and looking to be relatively close to fun, tourist-y locales so the kids can really get that big city, NYC vibe. Personally I would prefer a 4* hotel but willing to be a little flexible as long as the amenities are still good. I did some cursory searching on Priceline, but it feels like everything is set up with just 1 bed, and that really won't do for the whole family. So I'd love any and all suggestions, whether it be Express or bidding. Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

As you're finding, NYC hotels have a very high percentage of rooms with only 1 bed in them, so finding a PRICELINE EXPRESS offer that indicates 2 beds may be a bit of a challenge (it's do-able, but you'll have to click thru many hotels, and you'll likely see that rooms with 2 beds come at an additional charge).  If you do find such a room, technically your reservation is still only for double occupancy.  Usually this is not an issue in most locations when the room is designed to accommodate the number of guests in your group, but NYC is one place where the risk at least increases given how small rooms can be.

 

A better option would be to use HOTWIRE where you can search for up to 4 guests per room and HOTWIRE guarantees sleeping accommodations for everyone you include in your search.  This usually means 2 beds in the room, although the second 'bed' could be a pullout sofabed or a rollaway brought into the room, would this be acceptable?

 

Using our BiddingHelper.com tool and searching for 2adults/2children i'm seeing teh following that would seem to be good options based upon your criteria:

4* HOTWIRE Midtown East for $176.00
Free Internet
Pet Friendly
Smoke Free
Fitness
Restaurant
Business
Hi-Speed Internet
==> best guess would be the Even Hotel New York- Midtown East which is a fairly new hotel and has been getting excellent reviews.  The hotel is located a little far east for the average tourist, but certainly do-able and a short walk to Grand Central for subway access to multiple subway lines (it's about a 15 minute walk to Times Square)

 

4* HOTWIRE Madison Square Garden for $176.00
Free Internet
Pet Friendly
Smoke Free
Fitness
Restaurant
Business
Hi-Speed Internet
Room Accessible
Bathroom Accessible
Roll-in Shower
==> Stewart Hotel is my best guess for this one.  This used to be the Affinia Manhattan and was redone a few years ago when it became the Stewart.  I have never stayed here but the location is excellent being less than 1 block from Penn Station, about a 10 minute walk to Times Square, and just like the one above the hotel gets good reviews.

 

Would either of the above work for your needs this trip?

 

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.

 

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

[lovelyhappythings]

Ahh that makes sense! Thank you for enlightening me there. Yes, sofa beds would be perfectly acceptable. let me look into these and I can see if I need any more suggestions, thank you!

[lovelyhappythings]

And one more question - does the potential hotel change depending on if I wait too long to book? For example, I just went to look but the current hotel listed at $176 doesn't have roll-in shower so I imagine this might not be the Stewart anymore. Just making sure I understand how it all works :). 

[thereuare]

The offers could remain the same until the day you check-in or they could disappear the next time you search.

 

To see the full amenity set for a property you need to search using our BiddingHelper.com tool, look in the EASY VIEW tab and click the GREEN 'Full Amenities' button next to the offer.

 

The Midtown East property is no longer offered, but i'm now seeing TWO Madison Square Garden offers:

 

4* HOTWIRE Madison Square Garden for $180.00
Pet Friendly
Boutique
Smoke Free
Fitness
Restaurant
Business
Hi-Speed Internet
Blind Accessible
Deaf Accessible
Travel Accessible
Room Accessible
Bathroom Accessible
Handicapped Parking
Roll-in Shower
==> best guess for this one is the Stewart

 

4* HOTWIRE Madison Square Garden for $176.00
Free Internet
Pet Friendly
Smoke Free
Fitness
Restaurant
Business
Hi-Speed Internet
Room Accessible
Bathroom Accessible
Roll-in Shower
==> best guess here is the Crowne Plaza HY36 Midtown Manhattan

 

I would JUMP on the Crowne Plaza offer as it's a new hotel (just about 2 years old or less), has a great location with it being 2 blocks to Penn Station (multiple subway lines), and gets terrific reviews.

 

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.

 

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

[lovelyhappythings]

Alright, officially booked :). The $178 Hot Rate was indeed the Crowne Plaza HY36! Very excited for our stay, and appreciative for the help. Any other helpful tips or suggestions, being in this area with two younger children? 

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success.

 

Fantastic win for this well-reviewed, newer Crowne Plaza! Glad you are pleased with the result and are looking forward to your stay.

 

A favorite place in NYC is probably the Intrepid Air/Space Museum, which not only is a wild experience (museum made out of an aircraft carrier), but offers some superb views of the city (https://www.intrepidmuseum.org/The-Intrepid-Experience/Exhibits)

 

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

 

Enjoy your stay.

[thereuare]

8 hours ago, lovelyhappythings said:

Any other helpful tips or suggestions

For breakfast nearby i'm a fan of each of these places:

 

Best Bagel and Coffee

225 W 35th St (north side of the street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues)

CLOSED SUNDAYS

==> the more popular of the two but extremely limited seatings and often long lines

 

Liberty Bagels Midtown

260 W 35th St (south side of street, also between Seventh / Eighth, but closer to Eighth Ave)

==> relatively new (a year maybe?) but i've had good bagels the few times i've been

 

If the weather is nice and you're in no hurry to start the day, i live to get my food 'to go' and either:

1) head to the bleachers behind the TKTS booth in Times Square and eat breakfast while people watching and taking in the sights/sounds of Times Sqare

2) a little closer than walking all the way to Times Square, you can also walk to the Sixth Ave entrance (at 35th St) of Macy's and try to get one of the tables on the closed off street; another good people watching spot

 

Another favorite nice weather event is to take the A/C train towards Brooklyn, get off at the first stop (High St) and walk down the hill towards the water to:

Juliana's

19 Old Fulton St

==> one of the best coal fired pizzas in the city.  It's fairly small so i try to go for an early lunch, arriving about 10-15 minutes before they open (otherwise need to be prepared to wait on line).  After lunch walk back up the hill and walk the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan, taking in the skyline (and view of the statue of liberty) along the way

(NOTE: they close from 3:15pm-4pm each day to stoke the fire, so if you are seated just before 3:15 (or arrive sometime between 3:15-4:00) you'll be waiting for a bit as no pizzas come out of the oven and therefore no turnover of tables at this time either

 

If you have any specific NYC questions that are on your mind feel free to ask.

 

Have a great trip.