When To Book NY Hotel?
 

Me and my girlfriend have booked flights for Feb 15th to 19th to celebrate her 21st birthday. We are looking for a 4/5* hotel with a good location for the sites we like quite contemporary hotels and any sort of view would be excellent. When would you suggest is the best time to find the good deals for Feb.

We are budgeting for about $180 a night but could stretch.

Thank You

You won't get a 4 or 5 star for $180 a night that's more like $500 a night.

I would suggest checking Priceline for deals and www.hotels.com for more suggestions. Feb is not one of the highest occupancy times in the city, but hotels here are just never cheap and certainly not at the level you are looking.

You might check all the travel sites, orbitz, travelocity are two good ones.

Have a great time while you are here.

In February, you *might* be able to find a 5* for $500... think $750 and up.

For $180 per night to get a 4* hotel you will need to use Priceline. It will be 4* but you don't get to pick the hotel - they tell you which one it is after you pay. (Check out biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com to see how it works).

Otherwise 4* hotels will be in the region of $300 plus 18% tax and 5* will be $500 and up.

If you want to pick the type of hotel and get a specific view you're loking at more than that.

(Jan/Feb is low season in NYC - but it hasn;t been that cheap in about 25 years. In high season a 5* with special view would be at least $1000 per night.)

Keep in mind that NYC has a 21% hotel tax, thus a 1/2* $180 room will be about $220 with tax.

You really won't have to pay $500 for a 4* hotel on most February dates, maybe 5*, but not 4*. There appear to be plenty of options in the 4* category between $200 and $300 before tax (some are higher). Travelzoo is probably the best option (but you'll need to book something cancellable now) outside of priceline/hotwire if you aren't comfortable with those.

And everything I've seen looking at hotels works out to about 15% tax, not 21%. I'm not sure where the 21% number comes from, but many sites show both pre-tax and post-tax rates, from which I've always calculated roughly 15%.

Wrong.

Those dates are President's Week which will be pricey in Manhattan.

$180 will get you a Courtyard by Marriott.

February isn't off season in Manhattan any longer.

Valentine's Day falls smack in the middle of the week in '07. If you have a specific restaurant in mind to celebrate your GF's 21st BD, I would book early because V Day celebrations are generally held off for the weekend.

If you find a hotel you can afford, book it. But the other posters are correct in that you will not find a 4- or 5-star hotel for your price range. I don't think even on Priceline. You could stay in the Comfort Inn in Long Island City for that price, but you give up a Manhattan location, though the Comfort Inn there is convenient. Please avoid the New Yorker Ramada, Milford Plaza, and Hotel Pennsylvania; they're all pretty awful. You're more likely to have to pay something like $230 a night without taxes. If you are actually coming from the UK, you might be able to get a better deal from a travel agent there.

Check out the Chelsea Savoy. It's usually among the cheaper hotels and it's near the best nightlife in town. There's no way you'll get a view for your price point.

Doug, I had an excellent experience off a priceline room at the Milford Plaza. Does it really get that bad of reviews?

We have been offered the Millenium UN Plaza for £499 for the four nights what do you reckon.

I think that price for the Millennium is very good. It's a bit far east for my taste (it's on 1st Avenue across from the United Nations), but it's a good hotel and you might actually get a decent view there if you are in a high floor.

Regarding the Milford Plaza, it's nowhere close to being as dismal and awful as the Hotel Pennsylvania (which ranks as one of the worst hotels I've ever stayed in). If you can get a cheap room there, though, the Milford Plaza's location is excellent. And if you had a good stay, then I certainly won't argue with that. I've heard of people having decent experiences at the New Yorker Ramada as well, though it's also not one of my favorites.

GoTravel - Doesn't matter to me what week it is, I searched rates at several hotels and found them to be in the $200-$300 range. Some were higher, but there are definitely 4* options in that price range (unless we disagree on what constitutes 4* - I was going by the priceline list posted at bidding4travel).

But a $250 hotel with the tax (which is 18%) is actually $295 - more than $100 a night over what the OP wants to pay.

I haven;t looked at what Priceline calls 4* - but I know they take the hotels info on this - which may be correct and may not. I have heard that some of their 3* are absolutleyl dismal.

If you can get the Millenium grab it - it;'s a little trek west to anything you want to see - except the UN if you want to do that - but it's much nicer than anything else I saw for that price range.

Have any of you visited the Hyatt since the renovations some of the reviews say it is dated but wondered if this has changed.

nytraveler - I was responding specifically to the claim that they would cost $400-$500 for a 4*, not that they would be in the budget (unless the stretch mentioned went that far). Also, both applecorehotels.com and flatotel.com show the rate with and without taxes and fees. I checked one room for a single date and found the taxes and fees amounted to about 14.6% at applecore and 14.1% at flatotel. The reason the % is constant is that there is a tax (%) and a per-night fee, which is a higher percentage of lower cost rooms. Still, neither was closer to 18% or 21%. Unless they're outright lying on their reservation pages, the taxes are lower than that.

I don;t know how those specific web sites list the various taxes. But niether applecore nor flathotel are 5* or 4* - more like 2.5*. So not really what the OP is looking for.

jlm, what four and five star hotels are you finding for $200?

The flatotel is a three at best.

I've looked on quikbook.com and see the Metro hotel for $185/night (plus tax) and the Affinia 50 for $189 plus tax. Both I think are considered 3* hotels. They're both very nice and both slightly more central and convenient than the Millenium UN Plaza. The Mill. UN Plaza does have a rooftop enclosed swimming pool (very nice). It's listed on quikbook at $219/night plus tax for those dates or $878 plus tax. All these prices are book now pay later, meaning they're all cancellable and no prepayment is required. I'd say the $878 plus tax is about the same as the 499 GBP you were offered, assuming it inlcudes tax. Perhaps your offer is a bit better, but if it requires prepayment, that's something to think about this far in advance. I personally would prefer booking one of the quikbook options which allows you to keep on eye on specials that might appear closer to your travel dates on travelzoo.com

Please note that I said "between $200 and $300".

I see the Millennium Hilton as cheap as $212 prepaid, $249 cancellable.

70 Park Avenue for $295

Westin Times Square $279

Hilton New York $299

Waldorf Astoria $269

The Muse $279

Those are all from the hotels' own websites. There may be others available on quikbook, and certainly are other hotels in the city that are 4* that I haven't checked rates at. As well, travelzoo may have deals starting around december for february.

Again, I'm not saying these will work for ukmatt, as it is beyond their stated budget. They will have to choose to stretch, or go for a hotel more like 3*. This is just addressing the $400-$500 stated previously. And, if you disagree that these are 4* hotels, that's fine. ukmatt didn't state what 4* meant to him, so I'm going by my own point of reference.