My Hotel List

The last time my wife and I were in New York, to entertain ourselves during the tasting menu at Craft. (Yes I know I didn’t write a trip report, but things have changed at work and it has cut into my spare time. And yes, after 17 years of marriage we need to find ways to entertain ourselves during dinner. I actually said to the waitress “How long will this tasting menu take, we have been married too long for a three hour meal”)

Anyway – during dinner we entertained ourselves by trying to list all the different hotels we have stayed at in NYC. To the best of our knowledge since 2002 we have stayed in 14 different hotels. I’m missing one, it was a Sheraton property on Park Avenue that is no longer a Sheraton property, it was person’s name but I can’t remember. Here is the list. Can anyone beat it?

Westin Times Square

Sheraton Hotel and Towers

W Tuscany

W New York

W Court

W Union Square

Marriott Marquis

Marriott Brooklyn Bridge

Marriott Eastside

Barclay Intercontinental

Millennium Hilton (55 Church Street)

Hilton (6th Avenue)

Grand Hyatt

Hotel Mela

My Hotel List

I can%26#39;t beat it but can tell you the Sheraton on Park ave. was the Sheraton Russell, a small gem. ;)

My Hotel List

As someone who has stayed in so many NY hotels, can you share your strategy for finding good rates? Do you typically bid on Priceline, or check travelzoo, or are you millionaires so my question is moot?

I can%26#39;t beat that list, but here is mine:

Chambers

Sofitel

On The Avenue

San Carlos

Affinia 50

Affinia Manhattan

Hotel QT

Holiday Inn Express Madison Square Garden

Hotel Pennsylvania

I feel compelled to explain staying at the Pennsylvania: that trip was in January of 2002, mere months after 9/11. I paid $49.00 a night, and I figured if I had an unacceptable room, I would just keep requesting a replacement. It turned out there was hardly anyone in the hotel, so I had thousands of rooms to choose from. And I survived!

kateoz, my reply to your question would be to try all different methods. Start looking months in advance, and check lots of different sites. I use them all. When I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, I found a rate of $94 a night through Hotwire (this was last January). I%26#39;ll be visiting NYC in a few weeks and got a rate at the Hudson of $160 a night through Priceline. I%26#39;ve used hotels.com, travelzoo.com, cheaptickets.com; you name it, I%26#39;ve probably used it.

Another strategy is to make a reservation when you find a good rate. Make sure you can cancel it, of course, so if you find something better later you can back out of the first reservation with no penalty. With everything being online, it%26#39;s very easy to make a reservation, and very easy to cancel.

Having said that, if you know of a place at which you really want to stay but they don%26#39;t show availability on the website, call them. When I stayed at the Chambers, I really wanted a type of room that didn%26#39;t show up on the website, so I called. Not only did they have that room, I got it for the rate of the lesser room. In other words, I got a free upgrade for the trouble of calling them directly. Calling can also work if you find a great rate on another site. Ask the hotel directly if they will match the rate; often times, they will. That way you have still made the reservation directly with the hotel (good for loyalty programs, etc.), but you have also booked at the better rate you originally found on the discount site.

The main thing is to take your time and be willing to search, search, search. And do research on the hotels, too; don%26#39;t just look for price. As great as TA is regarding reviews, when I am interested in a place that is unfamiliar to me, I just google the name of the hotel. You%26#39;d be amazed at the things you can learn!

Sorry TPXB, I think I%26#39;ve got you beat, although mine dates back to around 2000.

Omni Berkshire

The New York Palace

The Benjamin

The Plaza

Westin Times Square

Hilton Times Square

Iroquois

Shelburne Murray Hill

Millenium Hilton

Grand Hyatt

The Muse

Marriott Marquis

Michelangelo

Greenwich Village Home

Essex House

Le Parker Meridien

Ritz Carlton Battery Park

Park South Hotel (this June)

Fran I%26#39;m impressed, and its a quality list.

Kate - I agree with everything Rocco said. I book refundable rates early and then work the websites he listed to find better rates. Most of my rooms are booked through Priceline. I have never paid more than $160 through Priceline, but many of those rooms were more than that. I was a Starwood kick for awhile and accumulated points, but that wasn%26#39;t economical.