I want to thank all of you who turned me on to Priceline! I was wary, as others have written, but after tons of reading and research, I went for it! I got a few nights in beginning of July at The Stanhope/ Hyatt for 79/nite. Anyone stayed here? Looks like I got a great rate (compared to expedia) now if I could only get a line on a cheap car for a week! Thank you again, you all were sooo helpful and encouraging!
Christine

Hi Chiristine,
I think you'll be happy with the Stanhope. It's an older ("older" in a good way!!) classy, NYC hotel. You got an excellent rate! Ok, now, . . can anyone help Christine with the rental car?

Renting a car in NYC? No thanks. That's nuts. Public transportation is much cheaper and a lot more convenient. Good luck with parking if you do end up renting a car.

No need to rent a car unless you're leaving the city. Even if hate public transportation, better off with cabs then. And because of stupid NY liability laws (in addition to regular NY cost of living) renting a car in NY is always ridiculous.

Expect to pay $35-$40 per day for an economy car at the best rates available. Another $20-$540 for 24 hour parking. That's a lot of $$ and you probably wont even use your car much either.

Fantastic Christine!! I stayed there last year you are going to LOVE IT. Unfortunately my husband and I splurged and I was over $300.00 a night. It is a very chic hotel and the clientele is upscale. Service was great. You are across the street from the Metropolitan. That is a fabulous rate!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy your trip! I would not rent a car in NYC you really do not need one. Plus parking is $$$$$. Unless of course, you are driving outside of the city, then that is another matter. Sorry I cannot help you with car rental...

Thanks for all of the replies! We will be coming from a graduation on Long Island, and after the city, going back to Long Island. We'll need a car for almost 2 weeks to get around before and after the city...basically a necessary expense.Ugh!
Does anyone know of a nice hotel around $100-150/nite out by Selden, New York??? (On Long Island,by Centereach/Coram/Holbrook) Priceline has nothing out there. Any help is appreciated!!!Thank you!
Christine

Can't help you with the LI hotel, but i would suggest not having access to a rental car while in NYC.

Return the car, take the LIRR into NYC, then rent another car after you leave NYC (taking the LIRR back out to a rental car location)

This will save you money on parking in NYC, and will also allow you to use a second coupon/promo on your rental because it'll be treated as a second rental.

I agree that you absolutely must not have a car in Manhattan, but if you need one to go other places, I highly recommend Enterprise. I rented a compact car from them right outside of LaGuardia Airport for $28 per day when everyone else was quoting $50 per day. In addition, I could return it to any of their NY locations. I was extremely pleased with the car and the operation!

Not only that but the hotel will charge you close to $50.00 a day to garage your car.

If you need a rental car anywhere from a week before July 4 to a week after July 4, you really need to reserve it now. Not kidding. A lot of people go away at that time and the majority of NY'ers do not have cars. Rentals are in short supply over the summer months. And many NY'ers also wait until they are outside of the city to pick up the car as it is cheaper. As for a deal, not so easy over the holidays.

Christine -- If you do choose to rent a car, you might check out Hotwire AFTER you've got quotes in hand from other companies. I've used HOTWIRE for car rentals in Florida fairly often and always get a better deal from them. But you should have other quotes first because, when you start an inquiry w/HOTWIRE, you have a limited time (maybe an hour?) to commit after they give you the quote or you stand to lose the rate AND you can't get a quote again on the same rental parameters for something like three days.

I used Priceline for my trip this past weekend with my daughter -- we had NY Hilton & Towers (near Rockefeller Center) for $340, including tax, for 3 nts, which is apparently less than half their normal rate. The room was small but was okay other than that. But next time will go back to staying on Upper West Side since I much prefer that part of the city . . . We used the bus more than other transportation; this was my daughter's first trip to NYC, so the bus gave her an opportunity to sit and see the city go by.