Priceline Hotel: Newbie looking for help

[honeymoonman]

hi,

i am looking to go to NYC for my honeymoon but realised that the hotel prices are absoultey crazy. :) any advice on a strategy for bidding on priceline? my original budget is $150/night but cna go to $200 if really pushed..

Date: 10/28/2008 - 11/2/2008.

i hope i dont get a really bad hotel with shared bathrooms.. which will definately spoil the entire mood..

Appricaite any help and advice. thanks!

[honeymoonman]

Is it even too early to start bidding now??

[AaronJB]

11/2 is the NYC marathon, which means a *LOT* of people are going to be filling rooms on 11/1 and possibly even 10/31.

The main issue is that I think it's going to be very difficult to get a deal on your dates. If you could somehow move to 10/25-30 or 10/24-29, I think you *may* have better luck. Prices are better (still NYC-style expensive, but better) if you back up your dates a few days to the ones suggested.

It's never too early to start bidding, but it may take some persistence and time.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

This is an expensive time of year in NYC, only compounded by the marathon.

I would immediately book a cancellable back-up as you continue to try PRICELINE and HOTWIRE.

The closest thing 'good' i'm able to find near your budget is the Desmond Tutu Center for $252/nite thru Quickbook. The hotel is a little "out of the way" in that it's a good 10 minute walk to the subway, but the reviews thus far have been very good.

If you'd prefer a bit "nicer" and willing to extend your budget, you could book 6 Columbus Circle for $332/nite for a small room. This has more style than the Desmond Tutu, but i'd sooner save the $80/nite to spend enjoying the city. This too is available thru Quickbook (please use our link if you go with either of the above) and cancellable up until a couple of days before your stay (always doublecheck policies yourself).

I think the $252 at the Desmond Tutu Center is going to prove to be a good deal for these dates, but if you reserve it you at least know exactly what you're trying to beat thru PRICELINE and HOTWIRE.

The Marathon typically causes most hotels in the area to sell out, and hopefully rates will go down between now and your stay, but i wouldn't count on it (in fact, i woudln't be surprised if they went higher... which is why i strongly suggest you book a cancellable back-up now and urge you not to 'watch' something to see what happens)

Let us know if the above will work for you while you continue to try other options.

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

[honeymoonman]

thanks for the information.

i might try to reschedule the trip later and head off to Orlando first which will hopefully free up some rooms after the marathon.. might also want to try bidding for New Jersey Secaucus and cross the bridge into NYC as i heard the rooms there are much lower..

[mosie]

You might consider Jersey City. I just stayed for three nights at the Candlewood Suites there because nothing worked on PL despite 20+ separate attempts. We had a very nice room about 5 minutes from the PATH station that is 4 minutes from the World Trade Center (or, in the other direction, ~20 minutes from 34th Street and 6th Ave). They are $220/night during the time you are travelling (I paid $180).

Would I have preferred to be in Manhattan? Yes, but with the $150+/night we saved (compared to comparable Manhattan hotels), we were able to have a lot of fun. And the views are incredible.

[thereuare]

might also want to try bidding for New Jersey Secaucus and cross the bridge into NYC as i heard the rooms there are much lower

While the above is true... this is your honeymoon, so don't stay in NJ :)

[honeymoonman]

hi,

Seems that my pocket has won over my heart.. Can anyone help me guess which hotel this is?

3.5-star hotel in Secaucus - Meadowlands @$119/night

Hotel Amenities:

> Fitness Center

> Restaurant(s)

> High-speed Internet Access

> Pool(s)

> Business Center

does anyone have any good hotels to recommend that i can stay to get into New York easily? thanks alot!!

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

The property above has not yet been indentified, but if i coudl make a suggestion... if you need to watch your budget, split your stay between an outlying area such as this and Manhattan itself. Seems is if you went with Desmond Tutu above for 2-3 nites of your stay and an NJ suburb such as the above for the other 2-3 nites of your stay that you could still come within your origial budget of $200/nite and i think would be a much better trip and better memories of your honeymoon.... but you know your budget better than i do and how flexible you're able to be.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll try to seek out your best options.

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

[AaronJB]

While I understand the desire to go to NYC, I thought I'd suggest places that are showing on HOTWIRE in your budget range (and some choices well under it) for these dates:

1. San Diego

2. Miami

3. Las Vegas

4. Lake Tahoe

5. Seattle

6. San Francisco

There are others, as well (Los Angeles, etc.)

Again, I understand your desire to stay in NYC for your honeymoon, but with these places you'd get more (or a lot more, depending) hotel for your money and be much better located. Lake Tahoe might be a pretty choice.

Just throwing out other options.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, I do agree with thereuare's suggestion to at least split part of your time in the city if you *do* still want NYC.

However, I think some of the choices on my list will provide a good experience and more for the money than you will be able to find on these expensive dates in NYC. And at least at the above places you'd be able to find a much nicer hotel for the money in a more central location.

[honeymoonman]

hi Guys,

Appriciate all the help and advice. i cant change the location of the honeymoon as the tickets are already bought.

nevertheless i might take up the idea of having 2 hotel places instead of 1.

i found another offer on HOTWIRE which i suspect is the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel and Conference Center

Details for your 3.5-star hotel in Secaucus - Meadowlands

Fitness Center

Restaurant(s)

High-speed Internet Access

Pool(s)

Business Center

Golf Nearby

Can anyone give me a better idea or confirmation so that i can try to wrap things up asap. thanks again..

P.S: i also kinda looking forward to visiting NJ after getting all the help..

[AaronJB]

Also, how about:

10/28-30:

Grand Union Hotel via Expedia.com for $175 a night non-refundable. This would be in Midtown near the Empire State Building.

10/30-11/2:

There is a 3.5* in the Downtown-Soho area on Hotwire for these dates for $233, with the amenities: fitness, business, internet. If you look on the detail page, the tripadvisor rating for this property is 4.5 out of 5! Definitely sounds like a VERY promising hotel for your honeymoon! :)

So, for $209 per night average you could stay in the city. If you do decide to book this trip, please use the site's links to Expedia.com and HOTWIRE

$209 is a bit more than you wanted to spend, but keep in mind that there is cost - both literally and in terms of time - coming in from outside the city. Plus, while downtown is a trip from Midtown, at least there are some sights in that area - Wall Street, South Street SeaPort, Chinatown, Battery Park, etc. - and the 3.5* Hotwire property with a 4.5/5 tripadvisor rating sounds VERY promising!

[AaronJB]

The 3.5* Downtown hotel on Hotwire has not yet been idenitified, but the 4.5/5 tripadvisor rating certainly makes it seem extremely promising. What's remarkable is that this is available for the last three days of your trip, which are the more expensive.

[thereuare]

The 3.5* is a match for the Sheraton, which while a nice hotel (perhaps one of the nicer ones in the area), is not that convenient without a car in terms of getting to teh city since the hotel offers a shuttle to the bus stop (while some of the other hotels in the area are within walking distance to a bus stop).

While i think NJ gets a 'bad rap' (jokes of the smell, toxicity, etc) and is a good place to live, i'll re-iterate my thoughts that for your honeymoon i think you should really try to stay in the city. If you could get one of the Jersey City hotels by the PATH train it would be a different story, but you don't really want to be commuting via NJ Transit bus to the Port Authority daily (and waiting there to return back at the end of the day).

I'm going to guess that the 3.5* Downtown HOTWIRE property is Gild Hall, which if correct, would be a great hotel for part of your honeymoon. Even if not this property (although it certainly seems to fit) i think you'd be pretty 'safe' based upon the TA rating.

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

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

[AaronJB]

Gild Hall looks VERY nice. *IF* the HOTWIRE listing is Gild Hall, lets just say that the retail price per night on the hotel website for these dates is a whole lot more than the HOTWIRE price. I'm excited that the original poster can potentially get a really nice/upscale hotel like this (even if it's not the Gild Hall - although that *seems* certainly like a potential match, the 4.5/5 tripadvisor rating certainly sounds great) on dates that seem otherwise quite expensive due to the Marathon.