Anyone Use Priceline?

I%26#39;ve been looking around for hotels in the Manhattan area, and I%26#39;ve found some that are under $120/night. The only thing, is that I don%26#39;t know if they are a %26#39;roach%26#39; hotel or not.

I was thinking of trying priceline.com, but without knowing what hotel I%26#39;m bidding on, I guess I%26#39;m kind of scared.

For a 3 star hotel, in the main Manhattan area, bidding would start out around $100. That just doesn%26#39;t seem right. I would hate for them to place me further outside the area.

Has anyone had any experience using priceline.com for NYC hotels?

Thanks!

Trina

Anyone Use Priceline?

First, the way to find out whether a hotel is any good is to read the reviews on this website. They%26#39;re usually very accurate. If you%26#39;re finding places under $120 though, there%26#39;s probably something wrong since prices have gotten very high. It would be unusal to find anything that low that had a private bathroom and was decent right now.

Loads of people use Priceline. Unfortunately as hotel occupancy goes up in NYC it%26#39;s becoming more difficult to ';win'; bids on Priceline in NYC. You should read either biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com Both websites have a list of the hotels Priceline uses, show what some people have paid and will even provide bidding assistance.

The only hotels I see being ';won'; occasionally for $120-140 are the Hilton New York or the Hilton Times Square and it%26#39;s often just for 1 night. Both are 4* in the midtown west area. It just depends on the dates you need. I see people paying well over $200 for 3* hotels. Also know if you%26#39;re more than 2 in a room Priceline will not work for you. In NYC they will only guarantee a room with 1 bed for 2 people. Hope this helps.

Anyone Use Priceline?

Like outrageous gasoline prices, NYC hotel prices are about supply and demand. This year hotel prices are very high, so depending on when you are coming will dictate the prices.

For help with pricleline/hotwire bidding check out the New york board on betterbidding.com. It will give you a good idea what things are going for these days. The host on that site has a good feel for the market and if you post your dates of travel he%26#39;ll let you know if your price range is realistic.

Good luck.

I used priceline last year and got a single room at the Waldorf Astoria for $100 a night. I tried this year though and couldn%26#39;t get anything good for a low price. It%26#39;s worth a try. You can specify which area(s) you want to stay in and if you will only accept higher-rated hotels there%26#39;s not much chance of ending up in a flophouse. But with prices as high as they are this year don%26#39;t count on getting any bargains.

I have used PL three times in Manhattan, always far ahead of my needed dates since I go to the city every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I have always gotten the Hyatt at Grand Central and paid 150/nt or under, an absolute bargain. www.biddingfortravel.com is a great resource for the hotels they use.

This year my trip is last minute and even 225 will not get me a 4 star anywhere I want to be.

I use PL in Europe as well and have really never had a bad experience.

vb