Priceline Hotel: 4* NYC (Times Square-Theater District) Westin

[Angelnot]

Mainly because I'm forgetful, I'm planning a last minute trip to NYC around a graduation. While I much prefer Priceline, because I'm traveling with kids and must have 2 beds I'm trying Hotwire. Two rooms would be best but because of cost I'm going for one room this trip. I'm totally unfamiliar with NYC, can get lost on a dime, and will be out with young kids late at night. I really want to be within walking distance or a short cab hop to our events. Based on the zone post this means Times Square-Theater District, Midtown east, west or south. Looking at various hotel web sites, I've found limited room availability (is something big going on) and what was available was $450 a night and up.

We are planning on taking Amtrak from D. C. late Sunday evening arriving around midnight or early Monday morning arriving around 9 a.m. We will either train it back to DC after the theater or leave early Wednesday morning depending on what I find for hotel. Either way we have to be back in DC by 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14. We will spend way too much time at American Girl Place at 609 5th Ave with side trips to the Statute of Liberty, Empire State Bldg. etc. If tickets are available we will see the Little Mermaid or Wicked Tuesday evening.

When I enter 2 adults, 3 kids on Hotwire nothing comes up. I've found nothing on the hotel list that mentions suites but here's what keeps popping up when I enter 2 adults, 2 kids:

3.5* Times Square-Theater District 0.2-0.7 miles from 609 5th Ave., $249 per room, per night

Suite, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Hi-Speed internet, Business Center

Trip Advisor Rating 4*

3* Midtown East 0.0-0.7 miles from 609 5th Ave., $279 per room, per night

Suite, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Hi-Speed internet, Kitchenette

No Trip Advisor Rating

Any ideas which hotels these could be? I'm also open to suggestions. This trip I can be a tiny bit flexible. We have to be in DC to celebrate Mother's Day and back on Wednesday for the graduation but those are my only time constraints. We fly back to Denver on Thursday. I don't have a budget per say but less is better even if this is NYC. I would like to stay well below $300 a night in a 3 or 4 star hotel.

P.S. Even when I just browsing, I try to use the appropriate links.

[thereuare]

Are you going to be a total of 5 people in the room for this trip?

[Angelnot]

Yes there will be 5. The kids can be in one queen bed or a double and a roll away for a night or two without being too uncomfortable. Two doubles and a pullout sofa would also work. I really cannot do $1,000 a night for 2 rooms and do not want to spend $500 a night. The bigger issue is I can't risk having the kids in a separate room. They are not quite mature enough yet. We have split the kids up, one adult to each room but they have issues with that and will likely end up in the same bed or room anyway.

I've found no hotel, whether booked direct or not, that will guarantee adjoining rooms. If I use Priceline we may not even get rooms on the same floor. I've taken the risk and always been able to get the beds or room arrangements we needed after a Priceline bid in the past but that seems too risky in a town with smaller rooms where hotels cater more to business travelers than families.

Any ideas which hotels the Hotwire ones might be. We visit the grands so often in DC I'd like a different experience and a New York run sounds like fun. This little trip is not a must do, and at the prices I'm finding it may well be a can't do.

Are you going to be a total of 5 people in the room for this trip?

[LaurRne14]

In case you are interested in saving any money on the transportation, you might consider taking the Vamoose Bus from DC to NYC (http://www.vamoosebus.com/). Tickets are $25 each way and their website says if you've bought four tickets you'll get a free fare so you might be able to get one person for free if you call. They pick up from either the Rosslyn, VA metro station or Bethesda, MD metro station and drop you off right by Penn Station in NYC. I've taken this three or four times in the past and it's pretty convenient and I always found it to be the cheapest option. Just something to consider!

[thereuare]

The 3.5* hotel is no longer showing on a current HOTWIRE search (at least it didn't appear for me when i just searched 2adults/2children) for your dates.

The 3* in the MTE zone is a match for the Beekamner Tower so that would be our best guess for that one.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

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

[Angelnot]

It does not come up for 5/11 but it is still there for the 12-13. The only additional information it gives is:

Rate per night: $249.00Subtotal:TaxesAndFees:$46.90 TotalPriceWithAddOns:$295.90 Total. Travel information: 6.0 miles to La Guardia Airport (LGA), 10.6 miles to Newark Intl. (EWR), 13.6 miles to New York John F Kennedy Intl. (JFK)

Our 3.5-star hotel suppliers include: Hilton, Millennium, Crowne Plaza, plus other

(4.0 out of 5) What's this? Based on:400+ customer reviewsLast Reviewed:March 2008

I'm going to guess the Doubletree Guest Suites because it has a TripAdvisor 4* and 403 reviews.

The hotels that also came close on TripAdvisor:

Hilton Garden Inn 4* 321 reviews

Hilton Times Square 4* 383 reviews

[thereuare]

It does not come up for 5/11 but it is still there for the 12-13

Are you willing to split your bid and stay at different hotels for the nite of the 11th vs. the other two nites?

[Angelnot]

Are you willing to split your bid and stay at different hotels for the nite of the 11th vs. the other two nites?

No, I would not split our stay at the relatively high prices I'm finding. Since we we would not be arriving until after midnight, I would stay in DC for another evening and hop the train or bus on Monday, morning.

LauRne14: I did explore the bus options. Both Vamoose at $25 and Bolt Bus $20 one way are very affordable and easy to access options. Now if Megabus was on line at $1 each way as it will be in June we'd definitely be on the bus. Our girls (9 - 12 yrs) have never been on a train and the opportunities for a train trip are few and far between. This seems like the perfect opportunity because the trip is not so long they will go stir crazy.

[thereuare]

The Times Square property has not yet been identified, but it is currently only available for a one nite stay, which doesn't seem as if it fits with your needs... let us know if it re-apears for a multi-nite stay and becomes an option for you and we'll have another look at that time.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[Angelnot]

I'm going to keep checking Hotwire but prices have not come down so I am now starting to also bid Priceline for 2 rooms for a stay May 12-14 I decided booking a room for an arrival after midnight on Mother's Day will be too expensive. I have a backup reservation at the Marriott Marquis-Times Square at $469 + taxes a night.

The lightbulb finally came on about rebidding on Priceline. Using each of my desired zones TS-TD, MTW and last MTE and closing my browser after each round of bidding I'm thinking I have about 18 bids. I actually bid 13 times this morning. It rather boggles the mind. I've bid 4* up to $161 x 2 ($384 after fees for 2 rooms). My Priceline budget is $200 a room a night with all fees. I'm guessing my top bid will then be about $175 a room.

I figure I'll keep trying with HOTWIRE and PRICELINE to see if I can get something affordable right up to the day before our trip. I will add bids for 3* in Times Square and Midtown West. Will Priceline let me do that after multiple unsuccessful bids for a 4* on the same day?

[thereuare]

Yes, you can lower your star rating and bid for a 3* after being rejected for a 4* (but not always the other way around... but we won't get too technical right now unless it's necessary for your bidding)

However, note that you can't UNcheck any zones when you lower your star rating from 4* to 3*, so you'll need to close your browser, use our link to re-access PRICELINE, and start with a 'clean slate'.

Also, don't forget that your re-bid zones differ for 3* and 4* properties os be sure to keep them straight and be aware of what you're bidding on so as to not end up in the wrong area.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[Angelnot]

Thanks for the 3* bid advice. Using the PRICELINE links and rebids for each of the 3 zones, bidding each in order of preference (TS-TD, MTW and MTE) using all my rebids I placed 15 bids up to my maximum of $168 plus fees = 400.28. All rejected. I then tried my maximum bid for 1 night only on 5/13 without luck. I'm kid and work free tonight so I have time to kill. I'm off to try 3*s and figure out the rebid zones.

[thereuare]

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of any help.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE links :)

[Angelnot]

Partial victory. Posted 1 night win on Priceline side. Still checking Hotwire and Priceline for second night of stay.

[Angelnot]

I've been bidding every day for about two weeks using the maximum number of rebid combinations (17) from $140 to $200 dollars per room per night. Before work early this morning I bid for my full stay of May-12 checking out on May-14. This morning every bid for the 2 night stay was rejected as usual. My evening routine is to bid each night separately.

Partial victory this evening bidding on the first night only. Heavenly bed here we come! :) I started my single night bid at $155. I got this screen:

We searched hundreds of options to find your hotel room, however we can't accept your offer of $155 per room, per night... If you are willing to raise your price by $25, you can try the same request again right now.

I declined this generous offer and increased my bid by a measly $5 to $160. Just when it looked like we'd be making a day trip, bid accepted! Yeee Haw!!!

Westin New York Times Square - Theatre District, 270 West 43rd Street, New York, New York 10036

Check-In Date: Mon, May 12, 2008 / After 03:00 PM; Check-Out Date: Tue, May 13, 2008 / 12:00 PM

Cost per room, per night $160 X 2 after taxes and fees $387. The least expensive room on the Westin website $489.00 + charges & taxes = USD $557.83

The extend your stay screen came up. I tried but my request to extend 1 night, 5-13 to 5-14 was denied. Darn. Priceline states you only get one try but the extend you stay screen came up on my itinerary after I was rejected. Do I still get to try and extend? About 5 minutes later I tried to bid Times Square for the 13-14 and was told it was a duplicate request.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

Your original thread showed your dates as 5/11-5/14... have they now changed to only 5/12-5/14? Is starting the stay on 5/11 a possibility?

Please start a NEW TOPIC for the balance of your stay.

... hopefully you remember to use our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.

[Angelnot]

I gave up bidding on a late night arrival on May 11 days ago. It was just too expensive. We will be content with a one or two night stay. Our back up reservation was $500 a night per room including taxes. If Priceline had let me down, I'd decided on a day trip. It would have been a hard, long day but more affordable. Thank goodness for Priceline. I know it is New York City but gee whiz, $500 a room just about stopped my penny pinching heart. I'm going to keep trying using the links for a second night's stay.

[thereuare]

I gave up bidding on a late night arrival on May 11 days ago. It was just too expensive.

On HOTWIRE there is a 4* offered in the Time Square zone for 5/11 for $175/nite... a match for the Westin (Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa) so that would be our best guess. (ie- i search HOTWIRE for 2rooms/4adults)

This is just a little more than you paid thru PRICELINE, would add an extra nite on to your trip, and assuming we're correct, not have you change hotels during the stay.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

If you'd like to continue the discussion for this stay please start a NEW TOPIC.

PS- i forgot above... you only get one chance at the "add a nite" feature thru PRICELINE

[Angelnot]

To officially close this thread, our stay at the Westin went well. I made no special requests for the stay. When I called to confirm the reservation I noted we were traveling with 3 young children and needed rooms next door to each other. I was actually assigned adjoining rooms on the 15th floor, exactly what we wanted. The standard Westin-Times Square (a bit confusing because Westin-New York is on hotel signs) room has 2 double beds so this worked great for us. Room size seemed normal, the bathroom had a pocket door with an itty bitty sink but was as spacious as most hotel bathrooms with excellent water pressure. The room was clean and all rooms were non smoking. There was a safe, iron, IPOD dock and coffee maker in the room but no high priced snacks. We heard the occasional siren during the night but no other city noise. I'm not one for decor but I think modern best describes the rooms. Not exactly my cup of tea but black, orangy gold and stainless steel were what stuck with me along with the all white heavenly beds.

When I called to confirm, at check in and when we checked out no mention was made of Priceline. All that was noted was that the room was prepaid. I was asked for a photo ID at check in and a credit card for incidentals. Westin staff were all cordial and helpful. I saw no children other than ours at the hotel during our stay. Our girls accompanied by their American Girl dolls were treated very well. The staff seemed happy to welcome the kids. One even got our shyest to volunteer this was a late birthday trip for her. A complimentary bedtime snack of milk, cookies and fruit was sent up for the kids. Each bathroom had one adult sized robe. Three kids, two robes, a potential issue. An extra robe arrived without me asking. I'm not sure who figured that out. I could not find the ice machine and asked a staff person who happened by. Rather than just telling us where the room was she stopped and led us to the ice room. There was no possibility of her getting a tip either because all I had with me was an ice bucket and 2 kids young enough to think going to get ice was an adventure. The Westin staff made the stay for three young girls extra special. All this on a Priceline stay at a sold out New York hotel.

During our stay I walked pass most of the hotels won on Priceline. The Times Square crowds were not too bad during the day but at night the sidewalks were so crowded it was difficult to walk. On a positive note this made me feel quite safe with kids out late after taking in a couple of Broadway shows. We saw Phantom at the Majestic Theater less than a block from the Westin. The Westin was a 5-7 minute walk to the Marriott Marquis where the TKTS discount theater booth is temporarily located. In fact we stopped and purchased tickets for our first night before checking into the Westin. I did not like waiting until the last minute to secure a room but my tired, aching feet were happy our Priceline bid landed us in Times Square.