My husband and I will be taking a weekend trip to NYC from June 13-15.

First, I'm going to bid on a hotel room on Priceline... in which order should I bid on the zones for a 4* hotel? We won't have a car. We've never stayed anywhere nice, so I'm looking for a "wow" hotel.

And, what kind of itinerary would you suggest for all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday morning? I'm really overwhelmed by the choices. I was thinking of trying to get standby tickets for Conan, but are there any other good shows to go to? That seems like a cheap/fun idea.

We're in our mid-20s.

Before we can offer any meaningful advice, it would help to know your interests--theater? museums? interesting neighborhoods? tourist sites? what?

I'd say tourist sites, activities, general sightseeing, museums, shopping. Nothing too expensive (I assume the theater will be too expensive) because I think we'll be spending most of our budget on the hotel.

Maybe one good restaurant recommendation for lunch and one for dinner? Vegetarian/seafood preferred.

I really have no idea what neighborhood to stay in, either.

Thank you!

kkt, I am not trying to be ugly but the first thing I would do is to buy a good guidebook such as Dummies Guide to NYC. These books have 'worksheet' type things to find out what things you want to see and which areas and hotels would fit your needs best.

Keep in mind, none of the 4 Star hotels on Priceline are what I would consider wow-ish. The New York Hilton and the Grand Hyatt are the two that come up most often as they are in Midtown East and Midtown West.

Don't worry about not having a car. You do not need one and hotel parking is very expensive and often do not have in/out.

fyi, we just got the Hilton for $95 a night. Please read thru www.biddingfortravel.com before bidding on PL.

Most TV shows taped in NYC that offer free tickets (like Conan) are taped on weekdays only. Letterman tapes his Friday show on Thursday. Your best bet for a free TV experience might be to visit the TODAY show in Rockefeller Center. They are live there on Saturday morning.

Several thoughts

I think the New York Hilton is one of the most boring hotels in the world, so unless size is a big deal, it's not a "wow" hotel.

Two of my favorites are the Marriott Marquis, in Times Square. There's a theatre inside, it's big and flashy and in an action packed neighborhood.

And the Hotel Wales, which is small and sophisticated and worldly. It's far up the upper east side, at the north end of pretty much anything you'd want to see, so the location is not perfect, but can be solved by spending ten bucks on a cab to get you further south. Or take the subway.

Don't give up on the theatre, There are half price tickets for sale several places, including -- assuming it is still there -- at a booth in Times Square.

The Metropolitan Museum is a wondeful place, and it is open on Friday evenings. Because you are not in New York all that long, you need to be careful with your time. Often early Friday evening is a dead zone for a tourist, so this is a great place to make full use of those hours. Every time I've been there, it's been buzzing with real New Yorkers (whatever that means)

To me, visitors should see the Statue of Liberty, and the easiest, cheapest, fastest, most fun, and "good enough" way to do this is to take the Staten Island ferry to Staten Island and then just come back. And that puts you near South Street Seaport, which itself is interesting and has good semi-fst food at reasonable prices, so can save you money compared to regular restaurants.

And then you can get a feel for Wall Street, and for the lower east side, while in that part of NY.

To me, Saturday afternoon in Soho, visiting art galleries, small shops, small restaurants, etc. is interesting, fun, reasonably priced (the galleries are free and you may even come across the opening of a show and get a free glass of wine)and hard to beat for getting a feel for New York.

I feel Sunday morning is not as action-filled as I'd like. Someone may be able to post opening hours for the Museum of Modern Art, which I think is 1/worth a visit, and 2/ open fairly early on Sunday.

My other hint is to think about your hobbies and interests, and then track down New York locations that cater to these interests. I once took a kid to magic shops, becausue magic was her hobby. I go see photo exhibits because I'm a photographer. One friend likes to get a drink at the Algonquin, because she's in book publishing.

BAK

Review www.biddingfortravel.com to see if which zones have 4* hotels that are "wow" to you. Of course, you could get any four star in the zone(s) you bid.

Hi kkt,
My husband and I visited NYC for the first time in March and absolutely loved it! We were only there for 3 days, so we could not see and do everything. Our first evening, we just walked around various areas in the city, kind of taking it all in. On a Sunday morning, we went to the Met--it's great! We got there early and had to wait in line to get in, but it was worth it and the line moved fast. We did see a Broadway show while there (Hairspray--FANTASTIC!), so that took up some of our afternoon.

We walked around Times Square, the Wall Street area, Ground Zero, and took the subway to Brooklyn, then walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge. Great views of Manhatten this way! We also went to Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue (only to look), Grand Central Station, Madison Avenue, Park Avenue, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park. Basically, we did a lot of walking (take comfortable shoes) and saw many sights that we'd always heard about or had seen on TV/movies. Since we were there for a short time, we agreed to kind of have a cursory look at things we were interested in and hope to go back one day when we'll have even more time to explore.

The only nice part of the Grand Hyatt is the lobby. If you want Times Square area, try the Michelangelo. Rene Pujol or Remi are restaurants nearby and quite reasonable.

HI If you are looking for a wow hotel, then I suggest one of the staples of NY city hotels..the Waldorf, the Plaza, etc... We stayed at the waldorf last summer on Hilton points and had a small but comfortable room. The ambience of the hotel gave us the NY feeling. I would also recommend that you buy the half price tickets from the 42nd street ticket booth.(It's right in the middle of the street.) There are many great shows to see and most have availability last minute. I would also recommend going down to Little Italy to have dinner one night. You could ask for recommendations at your hotel or walk around the streets in Little Italy and pick one. Hope this helps. Have fun!

A carriage ride from in front of the Plaza hotel! Strolling up and down 5th Ave. Little Italy food! Stroll Brooklyn Heights. Pier 17.

Get a pass on the double decker sight seeing bus. Worth the $. 2-3 day pass takes you to all areas with a narrated tour. You can get on and off at all the numerous stops (buses run every 15-30 minutes). Got the info and tickets at the travel center on Broadway. We saw everything from Midtown to Ellis Island and Central Park. It provided good opportunity for pictures, because the bus was on the street and elevated. We never had to take a cab or the subway. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza at Times Square. Many good hotels in this location, and close to everything in Midtown.

Similiar itinerary to lee4 in previous posting. We also saw all the neighborhoods (Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, Grenwich Village, etc.) and the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue shopping, Central Park, Empire State Building, and the Museum of Art, and many other sights. TAKE THE BUS SIGHT-SEEING TOUR, and you can see it all in 2-3 days. The tour of Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty took us half a day, so you may only want to ferry to it, and then return without taking the tour. See everything South of Times Square 1 day, and everything North on the 2nd day (start early)!

i live in new york city. i love visiting the fine hotels. if you want a "wow" 4* hotel, this is the order i recommend bidding for the zones on Priceline. this is what i would do.
read biddingfortravel.com before you bid

1) try for Upper Midtown - Central park south- all of these 4* hotels are absolutely lovely.

2)if that does not work try Upper East Side - the only hotel you would get is the Stanhope Park Hyatt which is also fabulous.

3) then if that does not work try Midtown East or Midtown West. The 4* hotels are very nice in these zones, some are much better than others though. that is why i think these zones are riskier.

if you want the Best deal posible for your money you would be safer trying for Upper Midtown and Upper East Side because all the hotels offered on Pricline for these zones are extrememly desirable.

Since you're still relatively young, I am going to suggest that you stay in one of the more hipper hotels than say the Plaza or the Marriott. Some ideas are:

The W on Lex or in Union Square
Soho Grand - Soho
Tribeca Grand - Tribeca
Paramount - Theater District
The Maritime Hotel - Chelsea (opening on June 9 - maybe you can get a good deal)
Hudson Hotel - Upperish West Side

Each of these hotels has their advantages and disadvantages in terms of room size and location, etc, but I think they're infinitely more interesting to people of your age than some of the others suggested above.

Start with 5* midtown east for the Waldorf Towers.

then add 4* upper midtown (all pretty good although the Parker Meridien has gotten some recent negatives)
4* upper east side (Stanhope)
4* lower midtown (Morgans)

If these 4 options fail, I'd personally go to Quikbook.com & pick a hotel of your choice. The Grand Hyatt & W in midtown east are not good options for your needs. I'm not a fan of the midtwon west hotels they offer. The W on Lexington has TINY rooms. The W in Union Square is better I hear.