Priceline Hotel: NYC help...somewhat urgent

[blahblah65]

Hi, We're trying to book a last minute trip from 12/29 - 1/5. I've tried 4 Star in MTE from 120 - 165 and nothing has been accepted....

I dont know the areas of NYC other than MTE. Can anyone provide some help on how to get a 4* in a "nice" area for less than 200 total after taxes/fees?

thanks

[blahblah65]

Also, I just tired MTW up to 140 like someone else on this board and still got nothing =\. Any help appreciated....thank you

[AaronJB]

Welcome to the site. :)

One problem is NYE, and the other issue may be the fact that you're trying to bid for 7 days straight (one of which is NYE), which has traditionally caused some problems with the varying rates in NYC. The hotels in Midtown are expensive for the dates leading up to NYE because everyone wants to be near Times Square for NYE. The hotels to the South of Midtown are somewhat more reasonable. While you have bid for Midtown East, you could also try Midtown West, Central Park South, the Empire State Building area and the Times Square/Theatre District areas. I think the chances of $165 being accepted for a 4* in any of those areas for 12/29-1/5 straight being accepted are slim, but I've certainly been surprised before by Priceline. All of those areas are perfectly fine.

The Downtown - SoHo - Financial District area is also a nice area to stay, but those hotels are pretty far South, and while that would be fine if you were on business, if you are a tourist, it would be a trek to explore the rest of NYC (in other words, to get to Midtown) from there.

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Quikbook.com has the Thompson Lower East Side - a newer boutique property - for $149 average for your dates (5 of your dates are $99 there, 1 is $349 and 1 is $199 - averaging out to $149 per night.) While this property is to the South of Midtown, it's not as far South as the Priceline properties in the Downtown/Financial District/Soho area - especially the most common one: the Millennium Hilton.

Otherwise, are you willing to break this stay up? While breaking it up would likely average out to a similar price as staying at the Thompson LES for all 7 nights, you would at least have 4 nights in Midtown to explore Midtown and 3 nights to explore the lower half of Manhattan. You would also change up the hotel experience.

For example, you could stay at Thompson LES for $182 for the first 3 nights ($99/$99/$349) and then either:

A. Bid for less than you were on Priceline for 1/1-1/5 for the midtown zones; you could start at $125 for a 4*.

B. HOTWIRE has a 3.5* Boutique for $139 in the Empire State Building area, and what appears to be the Roommate Grace hotel (a 3* in the Times Square area with the amenity list: Boutique, Complimentary Breakfast, Pool, Business, Spa) for $123.

C. I can find the Flatotel w/breakfast for about $136.75 with breakfast on Orbitz. (It's $152 and change, but use the coupon code FABSAVE10 for 10% off each night.)

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So, unfortunately, your options are limited in terms of staying all 12/29-1/5 in the same hotel (due to NYE being in the middle of your stay), but if you are willing to break up your stay, then there are a lot more options, but unfortunately it requires you to move hotels.

If you do decide to book any of these suggestions, please use the site's links to PRICELINE, HOTWIRE, Orbitz.com or Quikbook.com, as doing so helps support the site.

Let us know what sounds appealing and then we can go from there in terms of researching/offering more suggestions. Please ask if you have any questions prior to booking.

[blahblah65]

Wow thanks so much for that info. I hadn't thought of breaking up the stay. To break up the stay would you suggest doing the lower hotel first because it would be a trek to times square on NYE so theoretically it should be cheaper?

My main concern is safety and cleanliness of hotel. I don't plan to be walking around at night all that much but if we want to go to dinner I'd like a somewhat safer area for that.

[AaronJB]

The hotels South of Midtown appear to be cheaper than the hotels in Midtown for 12/29-1/1, so that is why I would suggest Thompson LES. However, at least with the Thompson LES you are not as far South as some common downtown properties (such as the Millennium Hilton.) The Thompson LES is not too far from NYU (half a mile) or the very nice Union Square area (about 0.8-0.9MI away), as well as Washington Square Park. I enjoyed this area when I walked through it when I last visited.

From there, you could head to a Midtown Hotel for the other 4 nights, to experience both a different hotel and different area. If you are visiting as a tourist, you could use the Thompson LES as a starting point to visit the South half of Manhattan and move to to Midtown for the last four nights and use those four nights to explore Midtown - just tossing out an idea.