Priceline Hotel: Help out a Brit!

[butterfly]

Hi, I'm just starting to plan a ten day trip to New York, probably in March to coincide with St Patrick's day. Ideally I'd be after a 4 or 5 star property in a central location. What's a good way to try and get a room? What sort of bid should I be looking at? Am I thinking about this too soon? Should I split the bids up into different sections? Is a ten day stay totally out of the question using Priceline? Sorry, that's probably too many questions! Priceline isn't very popular over in the UK so any advice/help would be much appreciated!

[thereuare]

As far as location, the MTE, MTW, and UM/CPS zones are the most popular.

Only one 5* hotel has come up and that is the Waldorf Towers in the MTE zone, but it rarely comes up and when it does it is usually very close to check-in. Keep in mind that the star ratings of UK vs. US hotels, i'd guess that a 4* hotel (US) would be more than adequate if you're accustomed to average UK properties.

It's not too early to bid this, especially since all those people that march and come to see the parade will need a place to sleep too. A 10 nite stay is not out of the question, but splitting the bid will almost certainly increase your chances of success.

Let us know if the above zones are 'ok with you (you can read this thread for some insight: PRICELINE NYC ZONE DESCRIPTIONS) as well as what your maximum bid is and we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

If you're new to Priceline you'll also want to read and understand RE-BIDDING on PRICELINE.

Feel free to ask any questions regarding any of the above.

[butterfly]

Thanks for your speedy response, it's much appreciated!

The three locations you have suggested seem perfect for touring the city and it seems to me that perhaps a UK 5* = a US 4* so I guess I'd be happy with either a 3*, 3.5* or 4*!

As for budget, well it's a bit tight! I've found cheap(ish) flights which leaves me with about $165 per night to spend on a room, based on today's exchange rate. Is this realistic for the standard of hotel I'm after or do I need to do a bit more saving?

[thereuare]

Do you already have plane tickets? If so, what are the exact dates of your stay?

I chose 10 dates at random and found a hotel that would work within your budget, but that may or may not be relevant to the actual dates of your stay.

PS- when we mention prices on the board they're before taxes and fees, don't know if you're $165 was 'all-in' or not, but if not, don't forget to keep that in mind. Taxes on a NYC hotel are approximately just under 14%.

[butterfly]

I haven't booked the plane tickets yet but I'm currently looking at check in on Thursday 10th March and check out on Sunday 20th March, as these dates are still cheap with British Airways (and even cheaper with United!)

Ah the differences between the US and the UK! My figure of $165 was 'all-in', us Brits like to see exactly what we have to pay - what's the point in advertising something for $165 when it'll actually cost you $188 :)

So this budget of $145 excluding tax may well affect the hotels available to me, I'd be interested to see what I can actually expect to get for my money though...

[thereuare]

For your dates Hotwire shows a 3.5* hotel in MTS for $115/nite (not including fees and taxes) and i think this is a very good deal. I can't be 100% certain but i suspect that this hotel is the Sheraton Russel. The MTS zone is quite large, but the northern boundary of the zone (and the Sheraton Russel) is about 3-4 blocks from Grand Central Station (the southern boundry is 30 blocks from Grand Central)... a customer comment about this property indicates that the hotel was 'very close to Grand Central station'. If we're correct on identifying this property, the REVIEWS seem quite favorable as well.

As rates of other 3* and 4* hotels (on Hotwire) are somewhat/significantly higher, i'm not sure how long this rate will be available so you may want to think hard about finalizing your plans. As well, rates at the hotel's website (again, this assumes that the above is the Sheraton Russel) are $217/nite.

Although i think the above rate is very good, i would still try to beat it on Priceline (we'll suggest a strategy if/when you are ready to bid) and then if unsuccessful, grab this. Since the reviews are favorable, i might only consider bidding 4* via Priceline... but it's up to you how you want to play it. As well, if you weren't keen on the idea of splitting your bid, this gives you a continuous stay at the same hotel.

Let us know and we'll advise accordingly.