Priceline Hotel: Help with NYC 5/9-11

rmsmith · February 21, 2008

Never used priceline before, I've been reading this forum for about a month and i believe i get how it works in regards to rebidding and adding free zones. But now it's time for a trip.

Want 4* MTE, MTW, Times Square, MTS, and Downtown Soho FD are the areas i wish to stay in.

Will be travelling with my wife and my daughter will be 10 months at the time of travel.

Any recommendations pertaining to hotel, price and bidding would be greatly appreciated since I have not seen any posts for stays near these dates.

prefer around 200 absolute max 250 (including tax, fees, etc.)

thereuare · February 22, 2008

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Want 4* MTE, MTW, Times Square, MTS, and Downtown Soho FD are the areas i wish to stay in.

Are you familar with NYC and/or have any need to stay in the Downtown zone? It's often a bit less expensive than midtown, but it's not as convenient either. It's certainly do-able, but if you plan on doing mostly 'touristy' things, i think midtown would be a much better location, especially with a 10 month old.

Let us know if you want to include this area or not and we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

rmsmith · February 22, 2008

My wife and i spent a weekend in NYC in 2006 (middle of December ,stayed at the San Carlos) so we are vaguely familiar with NYC. We usually use mass transit on vacation(even though we are from Atlanta and mass transit is abysmal here) so i don't think downtown would be any problem for us.

I do have one question about that though. How long is the subway ride from downtown to central park? Just curious.

thereuare · February 22, 2008

How long is the subway ride from downtown to central park?

From where most of the Downtown hotels are i would guess about 25 minutes... but keep in mind that most NYC subways don't have elevators (some do) and the steps can get to be a hassle after a few trips (not sure if you intend to 'bjorn' or take a stroller)

While taking the subway is inevitable, midtown may be easier as you should be able to walk to many things that you may likely do... but it's your stay/vacation so only you can decide what is best for your needs.

rmsmith · February 22, 2008

oh yes i remember that now. Baby Bjorn if she'll stay in it, I think a stroller in NYC might get a little crowded. plus i work for an airline and flying standby so who knows what flight we will be able to catch so i don't want the stroller going around the carousel at LGA with us still in ATL.

thereuare · February 22, 2008

Personally i think you'll want a stroller in NYC since there's so much walking, we use ours all the time (and i prefer it to the bjorn, which i'm not a fan of).

Anyway, decide which zones you want to include and we'll take it from there. (i assume you'll be able at least determine the day you fly standby or are willing to risk losing the hotel stay if you can't get on a flight?)

rmsmith · February 23, 2008

Yeah the Bjorn does dig into my back after a few hours. might look into a good umbrella stroller. So I think we are looking at MTE, MTW, TS, MTS and also Upper midtown/CP south.

Oh and yes, we can actually pick the flight we standby for, if we don't make it then we get rolled over to the next, but since there are flights from ATL to LGA every 30 min(i guess it is obvious which one i work for?) and I can also view seat availability for every flight so will be able to make a good judgment on what flight to try for.

thereuare · February 23, 2008

At the 4* level you have 2 re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* MTW...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...