Priceline Hotel: Jersey City or NYC 12/01/07-12/07/07

[abc321]

Hi!

It'll my first time in the USA and I'm looking for reasonably priced, 2-3* hotel from Jersey City (I've read it takes about 15-20 mins to NYC from JC) or New York City. My budget is about $100-120 per night and I know it's almost impossible to get anything in NYC for this price. Anyway I'll spend majority of my days in NYC (one in Philadelphia and if I get a hotel from JC, then maybe one there) so it's mandatory that I can get there fast and easily so I thought Jersey City would be okay. What I've been checking Priceline it offers three hotels from JC which would be in my price range after blind bidding (except Hyatt, but I noticed that some people has gotten very good offers of it through Priceline):

- Candlewood Suites Jersey City Exchange Place

- Doubletree Club Jersey City

- Hyatt Regency Jersey City On The Hudson

From NYC it doesn't really offer anything.

I've read the board, but I still need someone to assure these things:

1) If I bid 2-3* JC, is all hotels there easily reached from NYC? Is JC really this small area just next to the river?

2) Is there any chance to win?

3) Will I probably get one of those three hotels if I win?

4) I read some post and I saw someone had bid and won three nights and every night in a different hotel. Can this happen to me?

5) Is it even worth trying to bid Manhattan hotels?

I think these will be annoying newb questions, but I was about to book a 0* hostel before finding this page and it just seem unbelievable that I could sleep in a proper hotel for the same price. And when I wrote Manhattan I meant NYC and NYC = Manhattan. :)

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

What I've been checking Priceline it offers three hotels from JC which would be in my price range after blind bidding (except Hyatt, but I noticed that some people has gotten very good offers of it through Priceline):

- Candlewood Suites Jersey City Exchange Place

- Doubletree Club Jersey City

- Hyatt Regency Jersey City On The Hudson

What makes you think that this hotels would be within your budget for your dates? This is a peak time in NYC (and the immediate area) and i'm not so confident that $120 would likely be enough.

1) If I bid 2-3* JC, is all hotels there easily reached from NYC? Is JC really this small area just next to the river?

Jersey City is actaully VERY large, but currently the priceline zone only includes the area near the waterfront, which should be 'safe' to bid to have you be close to NYC transportation. (at least within a 10 minute walk... most are much closer, but i'm going by knowledge of this area and 'what-if' you received a hotel not already reported to the board)

2) Is there any chance to win?

3) Will I probably get one of those three hotels if I win?

See my comments earlier in this post.

4) I read some post and I saw someone had bid and won three nights and every night in a different hotel. Can this happen to me?

Only if you bid one nite at a time... if you bid all nites in the same bid you will be at the same hotel for the duration of your stay. See SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID for further info on why some are interesting in bidding their nites separately.

5) Is it even worth trying to bid Manhattan hotels?

Are you refering to bidding NYC? If so, it never hurts to try, but i'd put your chances of success very low, so it depends upon how you value your time.

[abc321]

What made me think was some positive experiences by other users and Priceline's ads "save up to half off". For example this Candlewood Suites Jersey City Exchange Place is $190 per night, so if I get 30-40% off it'd be in my budget. Those two other hotels I just read that some people has gotten good deals of them, but after more researching I've noticed that it won't happen that easily. And I didn't take into account that it's peak time then.

I think I'll just book some random hostel in NYC through local travel agency, it's a safe ja cheap choice.

Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

If you want a hostel you can try searching LastMinuteTravel and sort the search results by price... you'll see a whole bunch of hostels/shared bath situations as the first listings. Just make sure they're listed as 'available' as opposed to 'on request', you can see our PRICELINE FAQ for an explanation of the difference.