Priceline Hotel: NYC Noob help Sept 2019

[RedDevil]

Hi all

 

Looking to take a trip to NYC in the first 2 weeks of this September for 5-7 days.

 

Don't mind walking, using public transport but would also like to be fairly central to the main tourist attractions. We have been to Paris, Rome, Venice & live in London so fully understand that NYC is expensive, and won't be expecting a palatial suite the size of a football (soccer if you must!) pitch! But would like a reasonably sized room that is clean & functional, so probably 3*? 

 

Any tips for areas, what we would be looking to pay and anything else would be gratefully received.

 

As I say I am a complete noob to NYC so apologies if the post is a little vague but will update as I learn if that is OK?

 

Thanks for reading

 

P

[thereuare]

RedDevil,

Welcome back.

 

You have four previous topics on the board, none of which have a resolution or where we asked for additional information regarding the hotel that you won.  Please begin to follow-up your threads with your results/decisions (if you don't ultimately use PRICELINE / HOTWIRE) as this helps keep the board better organized and more useful for everyone... as well as being a courtesy to anyone who took the time to help your plans.

 

For your NYC trip, not sure if you can leave as early as Aug 30, but if so i would look at that if your objective is the lowest prices, since this includes the Labor Day weekend/holiday which is usually cheaper in NYC (usual tourist traffic but no business travelers, which means less hotel demand and lower prices).

 

As far as star ratings i would try to focus more on the actual hotel than the absolute star rating, as the star rating will have little to do with room size.  There are some 4 stars that are quite spacious... others that are the size of a shoebox; same goes for 3 star hotels.  However, i would suggest trying to stick with the 3.5 stars as some of the lower star rated properties are older and tired, but again, i would focus more on the actual hotel than the star rating... you may find a newer 3/3.5* property that is getting good reviews, has spacious rooms, and works well for your plans, but there will probably be more hotels that fit this description at the 4* level than at the 3/3.5 star level.

 

For something 'nice' and centrally located you're likely looking at about $150-$200/nite which i know is a fairly wide figure, but your actual dates will determine whether you fall into the lower end or higher end of this price range.

 

When will your dates be finalized... or were you going to choose your dates based upon the hotel availability (and airfare after the hotel)?

 

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 if the price range above fits in with your expected budget and when/what will determine your actual dates.  Have you also looked at airfare already, as that may fluctuate based upon actual dates more than hotel prices.

[RedDevil]

@thereuare thank you for you reply. My threads are very old and from memory I do not think I went with the bids, sorry I should have updated them before. Can they be deleted please?

 

Regarding NYC I am flexible with the dates , travelling on the 29/30th may be a possibility although it would be an extra £100 or so flights. But from what you are saying we may save that on hotels, also do you think it would be better to be there for Labor Day weekend?

 

As for finalising dates there is some flexibility so would depend on flights/hotel costs really. As to budget we are aware that hotels in NYC are expensive, $150 sounds good and about on budget!

 

Also I have read about a nightly residents fee, is this included or is that payable on top?

 

 

 

 

[thereuare]

1 hour ago, RedDevil said:

travelling on the 29/30th may be a possibility although it would be an extra £100 or so flights. But from what you are saying we may save that on hotels

Not sure but it could be a 'wash'... assuming that's 100GBP/pp (x2) that is equal to about $250USD; on a 7 nite stay that is about $35/nite, if hotel savings is more than $35/nite that makes up for the airfare... if hotel savings is less than $35/nite then it's wiped out by the more expensive airfare.

 

An example of what would be available for Aug 30-Sept 5:

4.5* HOTWIRE Rockefeller Center for $141.00
Smoke Free
Fitness
Restaurant
Business
Hi-Speed Internet
Blind Accessible
Deaf Accessible
Travel Accessible
Room Accessible
Bathroom Accessible
Handicapped Parking
Roll-in Shower
==> Warwick New York would be my best guess for this one

 

Change dates to 1 week later (Sept 6-12) and what appears to be the same hotel is $260/nite (this may be a more extreme difference than you find for other hotels, and for example even for this second set of dates you can find a 4 star Wall St/World Trade Center hotel for $175/nite which would certainly be do-able, but just not as nice of a hotel or as centrally located as what is believed to be the Warwick listed above).

 

1 hour ago, RedDevil said:

do you think it would be better to be there for Labor Day weekend?

Depends how you define 'better'... the city may be a little less crowded and a little more quiet, but this can be a positive or a negative; but in some areas you won't even notice; an area like Times Square you won't notice any difference... the Upper East Side or Midtown East (more residential) may be a bit more quiet.  An advantage is that the lines/crowds for some things will be lighter, the trade-off is that some things may be closed (although you have 3-4 other days to do them after the holiday).

 

1 hour ago, RedDevil said:

residents fee, is this included or is that payable on top?

Resort fees are becoming more and more common in NYC and would be payable directly to the hotel in addition to the amount you pay PRICELINE / HOTWIRE.

 

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 how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[RedDevil]

Thank you for that detailed reply @thereuare

 

The flight would be an extra £100 or so for both of use, so around $125 or so. As such seems to me that 30 August would be the better date as get that and more back from savings on the room rates. 

 

Any chance to see NYC when it is a bit quieter sounds good to me, given how busy the City is!

 

Warwick, if it is that, does look very nice. It has a resort fee of $25 per room per night. Would that incorporate the City Tax or would that be another fee on top do you know? This is how they word it:

 

A $25 facility fee is applicable per room per night and is subject to 8.875% tax.

 

Also I heard a reviewer a while back saying to stay out of the Centre as a lot more reasonably priced & transport links are very good, plus you can get some Hotels that have stunning view of New York over the river. Unfortunately I cannot remember the area he was talking about! 

 

 

[thereuare]

If you go to HOTWIRE (or use our BiddingHelper.com as you can then see results from both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE with just one search... as well as (hopefully) next week there are going to be some awesome new features!) you will see the breakdown of room rate, fees/taxes, and (if any) the resort fee.  Room rate and fees/taxes are paid directly to PRICELINE / HOTWIRE and included in your total... resort fees are payable directly to the hotel (but typically shown on the checkout page to help minimize unexpected surprises).

 

Staying outside of the city is an option, but just like Wall St-World Trade Center... it's 'do-able', but not ideal (except for the right price).  Basically the two options that are typically referred to are Long Island City and Hoboken (NJ).  If you can save a significant amount of money, or hotels within the city are not within your budget, these locations become viable options... but you do lose a bit of the 'buzz' and 24/7 convenience of what (imo) makes NYC special... you don't choose these options to save $20/nite, nor do you travel 3500 miles to stay outside of NYC (unless that's the only way you are able to make the trip possible).

 

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.

[RedDevil]

Thanks yet again! I think what you say makes a lot of sense & will endeavour to stay in the Centre if I can.

 

Emailed the Warwick to ask about fees etc and they replied:

 

Taxes is 14.75% plus $3.50 occupancy room charge  per day , facility fee is $25.00 per day plus taxes

 

So just to confirm does that mean if I book through Priceline or Hotwire I would not have to pay the 14.75% and $3.50, only the 'facility fee'.

[thereuare]

23 minutes ago, thereuare said:

If you go to HOTWIRE (or use our BiddingHelper.com as you can then see results from both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE with just one search... as well as (hopefully) next week there are going to be some awesome new features!) you will see the breakdown of room rate, fees/taxes, and (if any) the resort fee.

Did you try the above?

 

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.