New York Hotels

My wife and friend are flying to New York 3rd to 8th Nov - I guess shopping and sightseeing will be the order of the day. Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced hotel in a fairly central location. Have no idea of prices or geography so any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thanks Ian

I'm not sure if "fairly central" and "reasonably priced" are compatible terms, . I'm certainly not an expert on NYC hotels, but the few times I've stayed there they have been quite expensive. You might want to see how you do bidding on Priceline. Check out biddingfortravel.com before you actually bid.

to give you an idea, the Park Central, which is an OK hotel in a good location adjacent to the Manhattan Club, is charging $400/night for your dates... Got any Marriott/Hilton Honors/Starwood points?

On our only trip to NYC, we stayed in mid-town at the Grand Hyatt on a great price from Priceline. For all the how-to Info., go to www.biddingfortravel.com I would only bid on Midtown EAST and WEST, and only 4 star to be on the safe side. Just taking a quick peek at the BFT NYC board- http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelineandexpediabiddingnewyorkcitynonewjersey I see 4 Star hotels going for $110 - $200. Be sure you read the hotel list and reviews at the top of the page too.

We got the 2 or 3 day Grayline hop-on/hop-off double decker bus pass for touring Manhattan - http://www.coachusa.com/newyorksightseeing/
and also did a Circle Line (boat) tour of the island - http://www.circleline42.com/ and enjoyed both tremendously.

It seems as though $300/night is very reasonable (and not easy to find) for a Manhattan hotel right now. The cheapest route would indeed be to try Priceline, but they will only guarantee a room for 2 people/1 bed so your wife & friend may end up sharing. Good advice to bid only on 4* but I would also include Central Park South area. Recent reports of wins for multiple nights are >$200 for this time period.

Quickbook is easy to use and lists most hotel's website prices without requiring upfront payment like hotels.com or expedia. Travelzoo has some specials for NY but most don't start until mid-Nov.

Just to give you an idea, I made a "backup" reservation for $280/night in the summer for our trip in just over a week. I've never seen a better deal, although I'll continue to look until the day before we leave!

Good luck.

Manhattan Club

Try Redweek.com for Manhattan Club. It is centrally located and the 1br or studio unit usually is bigger than most of the hotel rooms in the city.

JoyC

Concur on the MH. Nice location.

Also:
http://radiocityapartments.com/

Studio is 185/nt, but no current availability. Check for cancellations or split the stay.

Second opinion on Gray Line tour. We did the uptown and downtown loops a week ago and had a blast. Didn't have time for the night tour.

If you like Italian, try Patsy's....
http://www.patsys.com/

We sat next to Nancy Sinatra and had a great meal to boot. Not cheap (though not expensive by NYC standards), but worth every bite The owners and patrons both treated us great.

If you stay in the high 40's between 5th and 8th, you're in the theater district and Central Park is easy walking distance. Lots of subway stops in this area too, so everything is easy to get to.

Enjoy!

Pat

Wow- for whatever reason the prices in NYC that weekend are SKY high. Hotels which can normally be gotten for $200ish are over $400. For example, I just booked a one bedroom suite at one of our fav hotels, the Salisbury, for 5 nights over July 4 2007 for $179 a night. The same suite is over $500 for the nights you requested. Good luck. Remember- Priceline only guarantees one bed. I think trying redweek for a Manhattan club unit will be your best bet!

Many thanks for all the info.
They will be flying into Newark from Dublin. I presume train would be the best way to get into the city from Newark.

Have only ever spent a few hours in NY so am fairly unfamiliar with the actual geography but I presume the areas mentioned would be the most suitable.
Yes, Luanne , I rather thought putting "fairly central" and "reasonably priced" in the same sentence was pushing it.
I do have 100,000 Marriott points. Has anyone any idea how far that might take me in New York and which Marriott would be most appropriate.

Thanks again. Ian.

I think the nyc marathon is that weekend

The cheapest NYC hotels are actually in New Jersey.

Check out Jersey City (waterfront) as well as Secaucus in NJ. Both are a 15 minute bus or train ride to NYC and probably 1/2 the price of staying in NYC.

Please reply if there are specific properties you are considering, I've lived in the NY and now NJ my entire life.

johnmfaeth said:

The cheapest NYC hotels are actually in New Jersey.

Click to expand...

But it's just not the same.

http://www.nycmarathon.org/home/index.php

I wouldn't bother looking in Manhattan, given that reality. Better to base across the river and take the PATH in, IMO.

Pat

I just can't imagine coming into the city and not staying in the city. I live 20 miles east of the city and I still scramble to get some Manhattan Club time.

I checked the Marriott Rewards site for you, the best deal for your dates is 130,000 points that will cover 11/3-11/8 at the Marriott Eastside. The other two (Marquis at Times Square) and Courtyard, are charging a 50% premium to use points for your dates, so they both will cost more. If you need some extra points, I could be persuaded to trade some for some good FF miles (is that allowed?). I think Marriott also lets you buy extra points up to a certain percentage to cover your stay.

Ot, but I can't believe Marriott has increased the Marquis and the Eastside to Category 7...