Hotwire Hotel: 3* Newark (Secaucus-Meadowlands) Sheraton Meadowlands

[sweetparadise23]

Hello! This is my first time visiting and posting so I apologize in advance if I'm not doing something properly...

I'm looking for a hotel in the Secaucus area for just one night - July 27th, 2008. My boyfriend and I are driving in from Montreal to see the Bruce Springsteen concert that night at the Giants Stadium, so we'd prefer to be near the area. I have never used Hotwire before, and when I did a search I came across a 2.5 star hotel in Secaucus Meadowlands for $69 a night. The amenities listed are complimentary breakfast, swimming pool, laundry facilities, and high speed internet. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? The total with taxes is $85.22. I was looking over the PRICELINE website and it said that the average rate per night in that area is around $200, so I think I'm better off using HOTWIRE...If anyone has any tips or any hotel suggestions I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!

[dahammer]

Welcome!

These amenities are a match for the LaQuinta Hotel and Suites in Clifton according to the BetterBidding Hotwire Hotel List- New Jersey

The PRICELINE average rate is often not meaningful and should not be used as a bidding guide.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

If you can somehow get the Sheraton to appear you would actually be able to walk to the concert.

As dahammer points out you should ignore the 'suggested retail price' of PRICELINE. The zone isn't that large, so i think you'll end up pretty close to the stadium if you wanted to try to bidding for this stay.

If you want to go the PRICELINE route let us know the minimum star rating you're willing to accept and your maximum bid and we'll advise suggest a stratety for you to follow.

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

[sweetparadise23]

Thanks for the quick replies!

The La Quinta actually looks quite nice for the price, and according to the site is only 4 miles away from the stadium.

As for the Sheraton Meadowlands, on the Sheraton website the price for that night is $300, which is way out of my price range...The tickets to the concert cost me a near fortune, so I'm really trying to save on the hotel! How much better of a rate could I get on this?

As for using Priceline, how exactly does it work? Do I bid on a specific hotel, or do I just offer a bid on a hotel in an area? Now that I know I can stay at La Quinta for $85 a night, I would say that's the maximum I'd be willing to spend. Do you think I could get something better if I used Priceline? (Not less than 2.5 stars)

Also, a travel agent offered me a deal on the HoJo in Newark ($45 for the night) but I've heard it's a rather sketchy and dangerous area. As I've never visted the area myself, I can't really judge, so I'd appreciate some input. Personally, I think I'm better off staying in Secaucus and paying the extra money and NOT having our car get broken into in the dead of the night.

Finally, there remains one small issue...I'm 20 years old, turning 21 in September. My boyfriend is 23. I've noticed a lot of hotels say that the minimum check in age is 21. As this entire trip is a birthday surprise, would it be a problem if I booked the hotel on my credit card, but put the hotel under his name? (Is that even possible?) Technically I could borrow his credit card to make the reservation, but I wouldn't want him to see the bill and guess what I have planned.

[thereuare]

The La Quinta is "ok" and close to your venue... but as noted above, most hotels in this area are close.

No problem with your age, just put the room in the name of your boyfriend. Rooms are sometimes given as 'gifts' so there is no issue paying with your credit card but putting the room in his name. When you make your purhase they will ask for the credit card information and separately ask for the name of the person whose name you want to put the room in.

Don't stay in Newark. It's not that far of a ride from the Meadowlands, but given the location being less convenient, and the surrounding area, it's just not worth it.

If you choose to go with PRICELINE you select the minimum star rating, zone(s) you're willing to accept, and the bid amount... PRICELINE then sees if there are any hotels which meet your critera. If so, they purchase the hotel and you 'own' it. For further info see: I've Never Used Priceline or Hotiwre.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and/or how it goes or if we can be of further help.

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

[sweetparadise23]

Oh perfect, the credit card thing was really worrying me!

I'm pretty sure I'll go ahead and use your link to make the HOTWIRE purchase. Unless, however, you think I would get a better deal if I offered the same price for a 3 star hotel on PRICELINE. What are the winning bids usually like for that area?

[thereuare]

Rates are date specific... we have seen successful 3* bids at $85 and under... we have also seen it take more that that.

I would try bidding on PRICELINE up to $85 for a 3* hotel... then if not successful you can take the 2.5* on HOTWIRE or try for a 2.5* thru PRICELINE in hopes of a better price for a similarly rated hotel. If you want to go this route let us know if you're willing to bid both the (Meadowlands - Rutherford) zone as well as the (Secaucus - North Bergen) zone... i'd consider both of them to be acceptable/convenient for your needs, or if only one of them is acceptable. We'll then be able to suggest a bidding strategy for you to follow.

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

[sweetparadise23]

Hey again,

I saw a lot of winning bids for the Hyatt Place in Secaucus for a very decent rate. It looks like a very nice hotel and I'd love to stay there. I'm a little confused though, as the hotel is listed as a 3 star on some sites (HOTWIRE) yet as a 2.5 star on PRICELINE? If I'd like to increase my chances of staying at this hotel and use Priceline, I should choose the Secaucus-North Bergen area and 2.5 stars? Also, Priceline says "Please note: Secaucus, New Jersey is located within the Newark, NJ - Meadowlands area" when I choose Secaucus-North Bergen, so I just want to make sure I won't end up actually staying in the centre of the ghetto of Newark.

[thereuare]

Newark is the Region which contains the (Secaucus-North Bergen) Zone. If you only select the Secaucus/North Bergen zone you won't end up in Newark.

If I'd like to increase my chances of staying at this hotel and use Priceline...

You can't increase your chances of receiving a specific hotel via PRICELINE, you're subject to every property in the zone at that star level. If you're trying to target a specific property HOTWIRE is often a better option. With this noted, you would want to bid PRICELINE at the 2.5* level in the Secaucus/North Bergen zone.

I'm a little confused though, as the hotel is listed as a 3 star on some sites (HOTWIRE) yet as a 2.5 star on PRICELINE?

Ratings are subjective, and each service uses their own criteria, evaluations, and feedback to determine the star rating for each hotel thru their service.

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.

[sweetparadise23]

Thanks for all the help! I decided to stay for 2 nights and a hotel that I was pretty sure was the Sheraton Meadowlands popped up, so I used your HOTWIRE link to book it, and voila! :)

Hotel - NoOfRooms:1 room , NoOfNights:2 nights

HotelName:Sheraton-Meadowlands Hotel See details

2 Meadowlands Plaza

East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073

(201) 896-0500

Hotel

NoOfRooms:1 room(s) @ HotPricePerNight:$85.00 per night x HotNoOfNights:2 night(s)

HotSubTotal:$170.00

Tax recovery charge and fees

HotTaxesAndFees:$30.67

Hotel subtotal

HotTotalPriceBeforeSavingsAndAddOns:$200.67

Total

Some hotels may apply additional charges for incidental fees such as parking. Prices are in $USD.

HotTotalPriceWithAddOnsAndSavings:$200.67

I also took the extra trip protection for $8.03.

I'm really happy with my purchase because now we can walk to the show instead of worrying about parking! I decided to stay the extra night so we could see some of NYC. Any tips on how to get into the city?

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear you received this property as it's one of the nicest in the area, and given your needs, should work very well for concert needs (but please, use caution and use the overpass to cross the highway and don't try running across... very dangerous... i'm sure there will be others using the overpass so follow the crowd or ask the hotel for the safest way to walk it)

Two things:

-can you list the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view these by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page

-what are your check-in/check-out dates (on which side of the date above did you add the additional nite).. this, depending upon weeknite or weekend date, may effect the advice for getting into the city

Thanks for sharing and for using our our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Enjoy your stay (and the concert... i've been to about 12 shows)

[sweetparadise23]

The amenities listed for the Sheraton Meadowlands were Fitness center, Restaurant, Internet access, Pool, Business center, and Golf nearby. We will be staying there from Sunday July 27th till Tuesday the 29th. As the concert is Sunday night, I decided it would be fun to spend Monday and Tuesday in NYC. I don't think we'll do anything too fancy, probably just some shopping, a visit to the statue of liberty, the empire state building, etc. The only thing I'm worried about is what we'll do with the car Tuesday morning when we check out. However, if there's a public transportation station nearby that'll bring us into the city, I'm guessing we could pay a fee and leave the car there for the day? I know that parking prices are ridiculous in the city so I'd definitely want to leave the car behind.

[thereuare]

The Sheraton offers shuttle service to a nearby bus stop, but it also (i believe) goes according to a limited schedule for the pick-up return so you need to watch the schdule and time your return appropriately (although this is very convenient if you intend to drink while in the city as you then dont' have to worry about driving home from the bus stop after the city)

Another option is the Park N Ride, which is commented on by dahammer in this Sheraton Meadowlands post:

I prefer to drive to the North Bergen Park and Ride and take the NJ Transit 320 bus to the Port Authoritty Bus Terminal, parking and one round trip bus fare is $8.50 and additional adult tickets are $5.20 round trip. The bus service is frequent.

The Park N Ride is maybe a 5 minute drive from the hotel.