Manhattan Hotels via Priceline/Hotwire? (Hudson, Philadelphia: apartments, rentals, neighborhood)

[Ashburnite]

I'm looking for some advice about booking hotels in Manhattan using Priceline or Hotwire. I know that star ratings and hotel quality can vary greatly in people's estimation. I also know that reviews for hotels can be very different. So since Priceline and Hotwire specialize in letting users book hotels in specific zones and not by hotel name I wouldn't know what hotel I'm booking until after I'm committed to it. I've used Priceline and Hotwire that way before but Manhattan hotels are pretty diverse so I'm wondering about the odds of getting a good place or a crappy place (in terms of reviews on websites like TripAdvisor) when using those methods. Should I bother using Priceline if I'm very concerned about getting a hotel with terrible reviews or are the odds pretty good that if I put in a bid I'll get a good one?

I'm probably way overthinking this but I did some research on the Bidding for Travel website to get an idea of what hotels people are coming up with in their bids and am nervous about the diversity in quality of hotels.

Any advice on getting a good deal this way or otherwise? The budget is around $150/night. Straight up reservation or hope for a heckuva deal on Priceline? I'm hoping for the upper west side or somewhere around Broadway above the 40s. Thanks.

[tpk-nyc]

It's off season right now and rates are down again. If you shop around you might get a deal without the risk of Priceline. I like quikbook.com and kayak.com.

Here's a tip: The theater district is generally more expensive because the tourists all want to stay in Times Square. Midtown East has a lot of hotels for business travelers (because of offices in that neighborhood). Business travel is down due to the recession. You'd probably get a better deal, or at least a nicer room, in Midtown East than Midtown West. If you get something near Grand Central, it's a quick and easy subway ride to Times Square.

[Statz2k10]

I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Midtown. I was very happy with the hotel and the price was not that bad.

[Ashburnite]

Thanks. I'm thinking of Midtown West because we're taking our 6 year old and want to visit the Natural History museum, planetarium, and the zoo. I'm not finding that the rates in other parts of Manhattan are any lower elsewhere so since the prices are about the same I figured we could stay close to where we plan to visit. We've been to NYC before and stayed in Times Square (Edison Hotel) several years ago so we're generally familiar with the area. We're also coming from the DC area so we're familiar with riding subways. I just imagine it would be very convenient to be right there.

TripAdvisor and other websites give excellent reviews to Hotel Newton, The Lucerne, The Belvedere, and On the Ave so I'm considering those as some top choices. The Belvedere gives a rate in mid-March of $120/night so that sounds pretty good. That one is in the Theatre District so it's slightly further away than just stepping out the door and walking a few blocks but it sounds like a good deal. Is there something else on the East side that's good and about the same price range (up to $175/night)? I'm certainly open to suggestions and will research that area a little more.

We plan to take Amtrak so parking is not an issue for us. Thanks again for any advice in my obsessive research.

[danameless]

Here's a trick that worked for a couple of my friends, but might depend on the hotel.

You can call the hotel you want to stay at, regardless of the nightly rate, and ask them if they are a priceline hotel and explain that you want to stay at their hotel and see if they would give you a priceline rate. This guarantees them a reservation for a rate they would've agreed to anyway if selected by priceline. I had one friend try this at the Hudson Hotel in Columbus Circle, which would be convenient for you, and got a rate of $129/night while their website quoted $279/night. Another friend of mine tried this at the Omni hotel in Philadelphia and also worked, so might be worth giving a shot?

[chdv]

I'd really like to know what your friends thought about their stay at the Hudson. I just got it for $165/night on Priceline, and I'm a bit a apprehensive about it, as the reviews on Tripadvisor are not very positive.

[30STM]

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