happytrailstoyou

We want a room in Manhattan for two weeks in September or October. We need two beds or a king--one queen won't do. What are our chances of finding something descent for $150 a night or less?

Better yet would be a studio with a refrigerator.

HTTY

bethke14

The problem with NYC and priceline, is that many hotels come with one queen or one full bed, and there simply aren't different options available. Or, a king bed or two doubles is considered an upgrade, and you aren't likely to get it with a priceline win. So, if you have bed specifications, I would avoid priceline altogether. You definitely cannot guarantee a studio with a fridge.

Additionally, priceline doesn't work well with stays for more than about 5 days. To get a room for the whole two weeks, you'd have to bid separately for different 4-5 day incrememnts of your trip, which would also mean you may well have to move to different hotels.

Unfortunately, $150/night is very low for NYC, especially with a room with a king or two beds. The fall is much more expensive than either, say, July or February.

You might want to check out Radio City Apartments, as well as hotels in the Affinia group. I think Affinia hotels do weekly rates--I'd try calling.

I love priceline for NYC and have stayed at some great hotels through it, but it seems unlikely to work for your trip. I'd check travelzoo and hotwire.

djkbooks

If you're that particular about beds, Priceline probably isn't for you, especially if you're hoping for a refrigerator and/or a studio, and probably not with a budget of $150.

You could check the pinned hotel lists and recent winning bids, particularly those near your dates, on Betterbidding or BiddingforTravel, to try to narrow the possibilities down to hotels that offer only two queens or one king.

easytraveler

Radio City Apartments - i believe that's the one Doug the Editor recommended last year. Unfortunately, they didn't have vacancy during the period when I needed a hotel in New York, but the tripadvisor reviews are very good.

If this is the same place, when I checked last year the rates were very reasonable - somewhere around $150 a night.

live42day

We are going in September and tried to book 9 days on priceline and didnt work.
We decided to break it up and book 5 days in Time Square which we got for $160 and then we are going to Washington DC for a night and then back to NYC. COuld not get Time square for the second part but Madison Square Garden area, again for $160.

paula1470

I just booked rooms at the Radio City Apartments for the second week of October. The rate for 2 double beds was $233 a night plus tax and I will tell you that's a deal. I go to New York frequently and am familiar with hotels and their prices. Sept/Oct is high. Many of the places that were running $150-$175 in August were $300 and up for Sept and Oct. I would book something now that you can cancel if you get a better deal. The Radio City Apartments are about the best rate you can get unless you want a hotel with a shared bathroom. I booked directly through the hotel but quikbooks.com may have a slightly better price. I am going to check that out tomorrow morning.

Eastgate Towers which is run by Affinia was close in price to Radio City but it was higher particularly for rooms with 2 beds. I stayed at Eastgate Tower last Christmas and the rates for Oct are more than what I payed for Christmas.

Several times I have used Priceline successfully for New York hotels but it was always when I knew that I needed only one bed and it always a queen.

happytrailstoyou

Thanks for this great information. Up until this year I had a friends living in Manhattan who invited me to stay in their apartment when I visited the city, but they have retired and moved to Spain.

I'm going to check out these apartment alternatives and try breaking my hotel reservation requests into shorter stays.

mclaurie

Your chances are NIL. Priceline is only good in NYC for short stays and for people who can manage with 1 bed. Even if you break up your stay, Priceline STILL only guarantees you a room with ONE bed for 2 people. You can check on Hotwire.com for 3 people and see, but $150 is just too low these days for NYC, ESPECIALLY for Sept/Oct. If your budget is that tight, your best bet is to stay just outside Manhattan a train ride away. The Country Inn & Suites in Long Island City is a good option if you're flying into JFK or LGA. If you're using Newark, one of the hotels in Jersey City near a PATH train is another idea.

sf7307

I've done Priceline in Manhattan in October. I only bid 4* (won't go lower than that in a big city, what you might get is too iffy). I got the Westin on Lexington Avenue, which we really liked (hotel and location) but it was $300 a night ON PRICELINE.

mclaurie

There is no Westin on Lexington ave.? It's on 8th ave.

sf7307

Sorry, it was the W on Lexington Avenue. I think that's the W New York.

Froderick

There's a good chance you'll win a room with a queen bed with a foot and a half of clearance on either side and 2 feet to the door.

MFNYC

Also check Affinia hotels (there are several) for room with fridge and 1 King or 2 beds.

Priceline bidding can't guarantee bed config or fridge so I won't bother with that.

Margo_Chester

The Staybridge Suites also have rooms with small kitchenettes, maybe that would be an option? And don't forget, sometimes you have to call the hotel directly to get a discounted rate for AAA etc. http://www.staytimessquare.com

I’ve never had good luck with Priceline in September or October, since the hotels are usually close to capacity they don’t need to “dump” rooms on PriceLine to fill the hotel. Also, as others have already said if you want a specific bedding configuration I would not use PriceLine as there are no guarantees.