My husband and I will be in Manhattan at the end of October or possibly early November.
Normally when we are in the city we stay with friends, but this time we would like to stay at the Plaza, or something equivalent, as our anniversary will be around the same time as our trip. I was a little unprepared for the price, however. Can anyone give me a suggestion for getting a good deal? Is it unrealistic to hope for around $200-250 per night? I have called the hotel direct, and the least expensive room was still in the $500 range.

Monica:

Do a text search here for priceline.com or biddingfortravel.com. There have been tons of threads where people have bid and gotten rooms at the Plaza or Waldorf for next to nothing (in comparison to the actual room rates).

Good luck.

Try www.quikbook.com. You can definitely find a hotel for less than $500 (hotels always quote higher prices, try the internet). You can try the bargain sites and just try the Fairmont website (the Plaza) and you may be able to find deals. Starwood has several nice properties (Essex House).

Regarding the Plaza, it's a great old hotel, but a bit tired. If you do stay there, make sure that you get a nice sized room (I've had palatial rooms and I've had postage stamp sized rooms as with any old hotel).

Other suggestions in that area...the Essex House and St. Regis (Starwood). The Shoreham and Michelangelo are other boutique hotels that are charming and less expensive. Enjoy

While I have seen the Waldorf=Astoria on Priceline, I have never seen the Plaza come up. As far as the end of October, early November, that is one of the busiest times in Manhattan. If you are going to be there the same weekend as the Marathon, book now because it brings 100,000 people into the city and hotel rooms will be scarce. I beleive the marathon is November 3rd.

Thank you to all who have replied. Your comments have been helpful.

Do NOT pay big bucks for the Plaza.
The hotel rides on reputation, not current quality.

You can do much better, and for $500 you can stay anywhere in town.
The Plaza is not one of the 15 best hotels in town.

Mike: What are the 15 Best Hotels in NYC?

Four Seasons
St. Regis
Ritz Carlton CP
Peninsula
Plaza Athenee
Ritz Carlton BP
Pierre
Park Hyatt
Trump Int'l
Carlyle
Regent
Lowell
(OK, maybe it's in the top 15 but not the top 10).

I stayed at the Omni Berkshire Place and the Plaza last month. The Omni was a far more enjoyable experience! Better rooms, better service and much cheaper to boot.

Hey Mike, I'd add the Palace, Mark, and Essex House to your list, along with the Plaza and Waldorf as sentimental favorits.

I no longer use Quikbook. Lately, their rates are not favorable. For example, they had rooms at the Hotel Pennsylvania for $185/night in October, when through every other online booking source the same rooms were $109. Now, I would never, ever, stay at the Hotel Pennsylvania, but provide this as an example. I've had terrific luck with 4-1/2 star hotels with Priceline and Hotwire. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in June for $119/night with Hotwire.