Priceline Hotel: 3* NYC (MTE) Roosevelt Hotel

[summ3r]

hi there,

I'm going to be taking my elderly mum and aunt, plus 3 teenagers to NYC for the labour day weekend at the end of August. We're going to be arriving Aug 29 and leaving Monday, Sept. 1. The kids and I have all been to New York before and we're comfortable with getting around both above & below ground. My mum & aunt on the other hand, can't walk too much and my mum is anxious about taking the subway. I was looking into taking rooms in the Times Square area because for their first and only trip to New York City the ladies want to be right in the middle of everything even if (as I've warned them) it may be noisy and very busy.

I'm looking at getting two rooms, one with one queen for the ladies to share, and one with two queens for myself and the kids. Since you can't put more than two adults in a room that you get through the Priceline Name Your Own Price system, I'm thinking of bidding on a one queen bed room, and then when I have a bid accepted, calling up the hotel and taking a room with two queens getting the best rate I can, either through the Priceline reg reservation, AAA rate or whatever.

I've read the rebidding strategies for the 4* & 3* rooms but my concern is making sure that my bid gets accepted by a hotel that has a two queen option or at least some configuration that will let the kids and I share a room. I'm looking at spending up to $200, though cheaper would be better since I have to still pay for the second room. We really don't need a 4* but I don't want to put my mum and aunt in a grotty hotel either.

Is this a good plan? What's the best way of bidding? Suggestions?

[thereuare]

Is this a good plan?

My concern would be of receiving a hotel that is just prohibitively expensive for a room with 2 queen beds... what if the room at this property is $300-$400/nite?

Why not search on HOTWIRE for 2rooms/6adults? Does doing so return and hotels within your budget, zone, and minimum star rating?

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

[summ3r]

I checked HOTWIRE as you suggested, 2 rooms for 6 adults which gave me: MS for $233 & $273, TS for $283 & $276, MC $235

The Midtown Central at $235 is of interest. Any idea what hotel I might be looking at? And is there any concern that I might end up with two rooms but with only one bed in each?

[thereuare]

The Midtown Central at $235 is of interest. Any idea what hotel I might be looking at?

What is the star rating and the amenities that HOTWIRE associates with this property?

If you search for 2rooms/6people it will have enough sleeping accomodations to accomodate everyone in your group included on your search (in some rare sitautions this could include a pullout couch or a rollaway bed put into the room... but this is more the exception than the rule)

[summ3r]

thanks for your quick reply! :)

The hotel is Midtown Central, 3*, "retails" at $267, offered at $235.

Amenities include Complimentary Breakfast, Business Center, High-speed Internet Access, with TripAdvisor rating of 4 out of 5, last reviewed March 08.

[thereuare]

The HOTWIRE hotel above is a match for the Holiday Inn Express on Fifth Avenue so that would be our best guess.

I'll also point out there is also a 3* in the MTS zone (Restaurant, Fitness, Breakfast, Hi-Speed Internet, Business) believe to be the Wingate Inn which gets pretty good reviews. (not in Times Square, but pretty close and near Madison Square Garden)

Also, not sure if this is an option, but are the teens responsible enough to be in their own room? (not sure if they're 13 or 19) but you may also be able to get 3 rooms for double occupancy each for a similar amount (although may be a good location while not directly in Times Square itself).. although to go this route you wouldn't be able to put the room in either of the teen's names (but you have enough adults to make it work)

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

Let us know your thougths and/or how it goes.

[summ3r]

shoot, I just checked the Holiday Inn Express and all the rooms are double beds. yikes. Those are going to be too small for my mum & aunt to share.

The kids are 13, 15 & 17 and the two eldest are certainly responsible enough to have their own room. I'll do as you suggest and check to see if dbl occupancy will get me any better rooms!

and btw, I *always* use the PRICELINE/HOTWIRE links!

:)

[summ3r]

I checked on 3 rooms, 6 adults as you suggested and here's what I came up with:

3.5-star hotel in Midtown East

PriceShown:$149.00

Hotel Amenities

Fitness Center

Business Center

Restaurant(s)

High-speed Internet Access

This hotel is about $70 cheaper in total than the other option and with 3 rooms I'm hoping we'll each get our own bed. Is it possible that we might end up with a single double in each room though? (Tell me it ain't so!) Any idea which hotel this is?

[summ3r]

Reading around the site I found a post by zbenye from 2003: "Check out the hotels listed in the vacation packages for the city, then go to the hotel booking screen and match the star level and amenity icons to what you saw in packages!"

What a great idea! So I did it, matched the Hotwire star ratings, the Tripadvisor star ratings and the amenities and discovered that the Roosevelt (Madison Ave at 45th St) seems a likely candidate. And while there are some notable exceptions, the reviews on Tripadvisor are generally positive.

It could also be the Crowne Plaza Manhattan... nicht so gut ... but ok. It seems they are in the middle of a reno and some guests are suffering from the fallout. otoh, hopefully by August, if it is the Crowne Plaza, the reno will be over with and we'll get a nice room!

if it all didn't cost so much this might be fun, detectiving around!

[summ3r]

Right. I keep replying to myself on this thread because this is a process and it might help someone else trying to work through the same thing.

:)

I did it.

I went through the HOTWIRE link, requested New York, my dates, 3 rooms, 3 nights and came up with the same offers as before.

I took the 3.5* offer and it turned out to be the Roosevelt as I had thought.

is ok! Happy customer! The Tripadvisor reviews are generally good so we're happy.

btw: Price through the Roosevelt's hotel web site is $245 for a queen, hotels.ca etc. are offering prices from $201 to $249.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear it worked out well for you and that your'e happy with the results. Since minimum age to check-in is usually 21, you'll likely need to put each room (if asked) in the name of each of the adults and just have to do the 'moving around' yourselves. For me, when travling in a large group like this, the extra room is worth it as it makes getting ready in the morning much faster with the extra bathroom/shower.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and for using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Couple of suggestions in the are:

For breakfast one morning Ess-A-Bagel is a short walk from your hotel (on Third Ave at 51st St) and has one of the best bagels in the city. Make for a good, inexpensive, breakfast among the locals of the city

Since you're with "kids", a great burger place (chairs can be uncomfortable and the service hit or miss) is Jackson Hole Wymoming on Third Ave at 35th St... HUGE burgers which are excellent! (stick with the burgers... try not to decide to 'go healthy' at the last moment and get a chicken sandwich... you go here for the burgers)

Havea great time in NYC!

[summ3r]

Without your help I wouldn't have been able to figure out all the options and find the best deal for us.

And, I've made a note of your suggestions and we'll be looking for them!

thanks ever so much!!

:)