Priceline Hotel: 3* New York (Times Square - Theatre District) Mayfair New York

[Orochi]

3* Times Square - Theatre District for $136/nite with:
Business Center
Restaurant
Free Internet available
Free Internet
 

I booked the above 3 star express deal from priceline for the Times Square Theater District area. Hotel reveals as Mayfair hotel.

Upon checking on google, it shows that this is a 1 star hotels while any hotel booking site would claim this is 3 stars.

The reviews are also mixed as some of the recent gave very poor review but some spoke very positively of it (questionable).

 

i called PRICELINE and they demand that this hotel will exceed my expectation but my question to them is what if it's not and I am getting a 1 star hotel while paying for 3?

They offered me to call the hotel directly and the guest service folk does not even know how many stars they have even though he didn't acknowledge the fact that Google listed them as 1 star.

 

Any body stayed in this hotel before? I would really appreciate any thought and input anybody can give for this.

 

Thank you.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

 

Not sure where you are seeing this as a 1 star hotel, but if you find one site that rates this 1 star and all the other are 3 star, then you have to go with the consensus that this is more likely a 3 star property.  There is no standardized methodology for assigning star levels to hotels, and each company can use their own criteria, but if companies consistently overrate hotels (especially PRICELINE / HOTWIRE where it is a 'blind' booking) then customers would stop using their service, so the star ratings they assign are typically inline with expectations.

 

With the above noted, star ratings are subjective... you can get a customer who loves a Motel 6 and thinks it deserves much more than a 1 star rating, likewise you can get a customer who is disappointed in a 5 star Ritz Carlton and thinks it should be rated much lower.  So i suppose the question for you is 'What do you need from this hotel for this stay and based upon what you have read so far, where do you think it may fall short?"

 

I'm local to this area and although i have never stayed at this property, and i can tell you that it's very centrally located just off of Times Square, with easy access to 3 different subway stations within 2 blocks away.  It's an older hotel, likely a bit dated, and rooms are probably small as is common throughout NYC, but if you just need a clean room for the nite i would expect that it will meet your needs.  It wouldn't be my first choice for an extended stay, but then again it comes down to what your needs are and (more importantly) your budget, as you're not likely going to find many Time Square properties for this price at this time of year.

 

Feel free to ask the board for help before your next trip as we can help you find the best deal based upon your needs, travel plans, and budget... as well as help you avoid disappointment in your purchase.  Not sure if you needed to be in this specific area, but there are usually other zones nearby that provide better value and are just as convenient for the average tourist.  NYC is one of those places where we typically recommend that users stick with the higher star rated properties and chain properties since they are often newer and/or more recently renovated.

 

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.

 

Enjoy your time in NYC.

[Orochi]

Thank you so much for the response. It certainly helps alot. The booking is for my friend who has not been in NYC that often. Certainly if it was for myself, I would not have that much concern as I normally stayed in Flushing. The 1 star rating I found is from Google when I search for Mayfair Hotel New York which I thought that was odd.  My guess would be for the many negative reviews that I’ve seen, they probably came during the renovation periods or are not familiar with the NYC style smaller room.

[thereuare]

Most who come to NYC pay a LOT for a hotel room, and when paying more they expect more, but they don't necessarily realize just how expensive NYC is (including hotel rooms).  Given it is frequently the most they have ever spent on a hotel room (in any other city) they have high expectations, and are letdown when the room is one of the smallest they have ever stayed in.  They may feel 'ripped off' but the reality is just that NYC is much more expensive, and rooms are much smaller, than in just about any other part of the country.

 

At the 3 star level in NYC your friend should expect a basic and clean room.  If there are serious problems then s/he can try to resolve with the hotel and/or call PRICELINE to get them involved, but any issues would need to be tangible as opposed to not liking the decor, the hotel being dated, etc.

 

Now that you have found BetterBidding have your friend post here in the future or ask for help with your own trips.

 

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.