# Manhattan



## Glynda (Jan 4, 2014)

Other than Manhattan Club, has anyone rented a vacation apartment midtown Manhattan?  I'm taking my daughter and 12 year old granddaughter in late March during spring break for a week and have been checking out HomeAway.com.  It's so confusing because I'm not familiar with too many locations and am concerned for three females to be out walking home at night.  Would like to be close to Times Square but when I read the descriptions on Home Away they are often vague or unknown to me and some show photos that look great but when you read the reviews you find out that the owner owns numerous apartments and that may not be the one you get. Experiences anyone?


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## Mike&Edie (Jan 4, 2014)

Glynda, we just booked a six night stay in Queens, New York. I had a request in with both RCI and II for New York City but nothing was coming in so I did lots of research and booked with Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott.  It has what looks like a nice breakfast buffet, free parking, and a nice room with a view of Manhatten.  The cost will be $708 (plus tax) for a double room.  I had looked everywhere (AirBnB, Homeaway, Priceline, Expedia, etc., etc.). They also offer a free shuttle to the subway, and a pickup from there.  They said it was about a 20 minute ride into downtown.  We got in Feb. (15-22).  We'll let you know what it's like if you want.

Edie
www.fulltimetimeshare.com


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## Glynda (Jan 4, 2014)

*Queens*

Thanks Edie!  The price is fantastic but I really want to be midtown.  Do let me know how your trip goes though, its highlights, good restaurants, etc.  

Glynda


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## SMHarman (Jan 4, 2014)

There is very little residential in midtown. It is offices and hotels. 
Most of NYC is safe to walk pretty much all of the time. 
I like here so what area are you wondering where it is?  

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk


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## ronparise (Jan 4, 2014)

Wyndham has a timeshare property in Manhattan now, that you might consider.


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## rhonda (Jan 4, 2014)

ResorTime.com rents both Radio City Apartments as well as Manhattan Club.


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## Beaglemom3 (Jan 4, 2014)

rhonda said:


> ResorTime.com rents both Radio City Apartments as well as Manhattan Club.



I have heard good things about the Radio City Apts. from a lawyer friend who stays in NYC frequently. Good, basic accommodations in a great location.

I stayed here  http://deals.elementhotels.com/Elem..._Google_Exact_element_hotel_nyc_030911_NAD_FM   when it first opened and got a great SPG rate. The rate has gone up,  though. If you're an SPG member, you could use pts. or get a decent rate.

The rooms are small, but have a d/w, refrigerator, coffee maker in the room. They used to have free breakfasts in the reception/arrival area. Not sure if that's still being offered.


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## mike130 (Jan 4, 2014)

Mike&Edie said:


> Glynda, we just booked a six night stay in Queens, New York. I had a request in with both RCI and II for New York City but nothing was coming in so I did lots of research and booked with Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott.  It has what looks like a nice breakfast buffet, free parking, and a nice room with a view of Manhatten.  The cost will be $708 (plus tax) for a double room.  I had looked everywhere (AirBnB, Homeaway, Priceline, Expedia, etc., etc.). They also offer a free shuttle to the subway, and a pickup from there.  They said it was about a 20 minute ride into downtown.  We got in Feb. (15-22).  We'll let you know what it's like if you want.
> 
> Edie
> www.fulltimetimeshare.com



Hi Edie, curious as to which one you booked.  Van Dam Street or 40th Road.  I used to live in the area.


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## Mike&Edie (Jan 4, 2014)

Mike130,
It's the one on Van Dam.  Do you know anythng about the area? Safe?  How far into Times Square?  Would appreciate any help.  I sure tried to do my research but it gets overwhelming after awhile with where to go and I refuse to pay $60.00 a day for parking in addition to the room.

Edie
www.fulltimetimeshare.com


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## mike130 (Jan 4, 2014)

I pretty much an industrial area about 75 percent and about 25 percent residential its safe but take advantage of the shuttle to and from the subway as it’s not that close and you won’t see many people on the streets at night. The train station (#7 train) is about a five minute shuttle ride from the hotel and the train ride is about ten to fifteen minutes to Times Sq.
There is almost nothing in the area but if you at the hotel and are looking for something to eat there is an Irish pub called Bantry Bay Publick House on Greenpoint Ave, small menu but the food is good.  I didn’t live near this Fairfield but the other one on 40th Rd but I’m very familiar with this area.


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## Mike&Edie (Jan 4, 2014)

Mike130,
Thanks for all the great info.  I thought the price for this Fairfield was really good for what they offer.  The only other time I've been in NYC, we stayed at the Wellington in the upper East side (I believe).  It was $170 a night in 2009.) We didn't have a car then.  Never been on the subway and we're looking forward to the adventure.

Edie
www.fulltimetimeshare.com


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## Glynda (Jan 4, 2014)

*Element*



Beaglemom3 said:


> I have heard good things about the Radio City Apts. from a lawyer friend who stays in NYC frequently. Good, basic accommodations in a great location.
> 
> I stayed here  http://deals.elementhotels.com/Elem..._Google_Exact_element_hotel_nyc_030911_NAD_FM   when it first opened and got a great SPG rate. The rate has gone up,  though. If you're an SPG member, you could use pts. or get a decent rate.
> 
> The rooms are small, but have a d/w, refrigerator, coffee maker in the room. They used to have free breakfasts in the reception/arrival area. Not sure if that's still being offered.



Very nice but for our date and two beds, the rate is $489. per night!  It does include breakfast and wifi.  Thanks!


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## Glynda (Jan 4, 2014)

*Radio City*



rhonda said:


> ResorTime.com rents both Radio City Apartments as well as Manhattan Club.



The site is a little confusing but I'm going to look into it further.  Thanks!


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## Glynda (Jan 4, 2014)

*Area*



SMHarman said:


> There is very little residential in midtown. It is offices and hotels.
> Most of NYC is safe to walk pretty much all of the time.
> I like here so what area are you wondering where it is?
> 
> Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk



That's just it.  The ad just says "mid town," shows one apartment's photos but when you read the review you clearly can tell that they are about different apartments and then you see that it does say that the owner owns numerous apartments and that this is just a representative. Truthfully, between that and the reviews being all so good and the wording so similar that I suspect a set-up so am not really interested in them anyway.

I am wondering about mid town west between 10th and 11th in the low to mid 40's.


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## Miss Marty (Jan 5, 2014)

*Did you look at google maps to see the hotel & neighborhood*



Mike&Edie said:


> I did lots of research and booked with Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott.  It has what looks like a nice breakfast buffet, free parking, and a nice room with a view of Manhatten.  The cost will be $708 (plus tax) for a double room




https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF...101&ei=g3LJUvDjL7jNsQSgr4DIDQ&ved=0CCoQxB0wAA


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## Beaglemom3 (Jan 6, 2014)

Glynda,

  Cupcake walking tour.

  This may be of interest and a fun thing to do(not hotel info):

http://www.groupon.com/deals/the-ce...deal-page&utm_campaign=the-celebrity-planet-3


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## SMHarman (Jan 6, 2014)

Glynda said:


> I am wondering about mid town west between 10th and 11th in the low to mid 40's.


Auto dealers, gas stations, some new high end residential near the tunnel mouth like MiMa
http://www.related.com/apartment-rentals/new-york-city/midtown/mima
a very mixed bag of a neighbourhood.
Close to the 9th Avenue Restaurant Row.


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## alwysonvac (Jan 19, 2014)

There have been several TUG threads on the Affinia hotels - http://www.affinia.com/Hotels.aspx?city=New-York-City

You can rent them directly. Search the Eastern Forum using the word "Affinia" to see TUG reviews/comments.
Also check-out their reviews on Tripadvisor and Yelp.


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## Glynda (Jan 19, 2014)

*Affinia*

Thanks.  My husband used to stay at The Dumont Plaza, East Gate and a couple of other small apartment hotels that it appears are now under the Affinia name.He really liked them. 

However, he gave in to daughter's wish of a hotel choice.  The W in Times Square.  She's excited.  I just wish we had a refrigerator and microwave as she and granddaughter are really good about taking home left-overs and actually eating them again!  Would like to have saved on some meals.


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## twinmommy19 (Jan 19, 2014)

In NYC, Hotwire and Priceline are probably your best bet IMO.   You can check out better bidding  website which will show you a history of what has come through in the past.  You can usually get an idea of what you will get.  You can specify Times Square area, 3 star hotel or better on Priceline and make an offer. On Hotwire it will show you the amenities of a hotel, the area it's located in, the star rating and the price offered.  Worth a try...


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## alwysonvac (Jan 19, 2014)

bonk2boy said:


> In NYC, Hotwire and Priceline are probably your best bet IMO.   You can check out better bidding  website which will show you a history of what has come through in the past.  You can usually get an idea of what you will get.  You can specify Times Square area, 3 star hotel or better on Priceline and make an offer. On Hotwire it will show you the amenities of a hotel, the area it's located in, the star rating and the price offered.  Worth a try...



Just be careful with Hotwire hotel bookings. Hotwire makes up their own hotel rating (which conflicts with every other travel website that rates the same hotel). I found out the hard way 10 years ago and never used them again for anything 

Based on a 2013 NY Times article, I see they're still doing this  - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/y...ost-in-the-stars-of-a-hotels-rating.html?_r=0


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## twinmommy19 (Jan 19, 2014)

> Just be careful with Hotwire hotel bookings. Hotwire makes up their own hotel rating (which conflicts with every other travel website that rates the same hotel). I found out the hard way 10 years ago and never used them again for anything



With Hotwire - you can almost always narrow down which hotel you are going to get (or narrow it down to 2-3 max) by checking better bidding hotel forum section for the city you are looking. Hotwire also now gives you the Trip Advisor rating which they can't lie about.

Priceline is a little trickier with that since you don't have the list of amenities to compare with "previous hits".  In any event - I've used both sites and based on my experience, I believe 3 star or better always gets you a decent place.  I have never tried anything less than 3 stars.  

I check hotwire for the last week of March (out of curiosity).  There is a 3.5 star hotel in the MSG / Hells Kitchen area being offered for $129 per night that includes full breakfast.  According to better bidding, it was identified to most likely be - Element New York Times Square West.   

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=191170

Hope this helps!


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## twinmommy19 (Jan 19, 2014)

In an effort to not confuse those who aren't familiar with better bidding - I should have explained better.  In their forum, people post and request an identification for a hotel in a particular area of a city for a specified number of stars using either Priceline or Hotwire.   People respond based on their past experience and the website serves as a running log of "historic hits" using the two travel sites.  It's a really great site.  

With Hotwire - you can tell pretty what will match based on the list of disclosed amenities.  That's hot I identified what this hotel is likely to be.  If the OP doesn't like this one, there are several others, and you can browse through better bidding and get an idea of what a likely match will be.


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## alwysonvac (Jan 19, 2014)

*Just be aware of their game*



bonk2boy said:


> With Hotwire - you can almost always narrow down which hotel you are going to get (or narrow it down to 2-3 max) by checking better bidding hotel forum section for the city you are looking. Hotwire also now gives you the Trip Advisor rating which they can't lie about.
> 
> Priceline is a little trickier with that since you don't have the list of amenities to compare with "previous hits".  In any event - I've used both sites and based on my experience, I believe 3 star or better always gets you a decent place.  I have never tried anything less than 3 stars.
> 
> ...



When it happened years ago, I had checked Better Bidding and the resort Hotwire gave me wasn't one of the ones mentioned. I was ok with that because there are no guarantees even using Better Bidding but the hotel I  was given wasn't in the star category I requested. :annoyed: 

Hotwire refused to give me a refund so I booked someplace else for my stay and lost that money. Thank goodness it was just a single night stay before my cruise out of Miami.


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## twinmommy19 (Jan 19, 2014)

> When it happened years ago, I had checked Better Bidding and the resort Hotwire gave me wasn't one of the ones mentioned. I was ok with that because there are no guarantees even using Better Bidding but the hotel I was given wasn't in the star category I requested.



That stinks that you got unlucky with Better Bidding.  Historically - I've found it pretty accurate in identifying the hotel.  The star ratings are, IMO inconsistent across a lot of sites. Having a Trip Advisor rating available is a lot more helpful.  With Hotwire - if you are looking for only a "true" 4 star luxury hotel there is a pretty big risk these sites won't work for you.  Some of these sites consider certain Courtyard Marriotts in prime locations (as an example) to be 4 star caliber which many people would disagree with.  Yet a couple years ago, I got Hilton Times Square for a 3 star bid on Priceline.  Very arbitrary distinctions in star classes.  

However - if your objective is simply to pay a reasonable price for a hotel chain (or comparable) with a decent reputation in NYC and know the amenities you will have in advance, I am pretty confident that you will be more than okay taking a chance on a 3 star place from Hotwire that gets a good Trip Advisor rating.  You will certainly NOT get a Motel 6 or Econo Lodge type brand for 3+ stars - I'd be willing to bet my mortgage that would never happen.


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## alwysonvac (Jan 19, 2014)

*Buyer Beware....*



bonk2boy said:


> That stinks that you got unlucky with Better Bidding.  Historically - I've found it pretty accurate in identifying the hotel.  The star ratings are, IMO inconsistent across a lot of sites. Having a Trip Advisor rating available is a lot more helpful.  With Hotwire - if you are looking for only a "true" 4 star luxury hotel there is a pretty big risk these sites won't work for you.  Some of these sites consider certain Courtyard Marriotts in prime locations (as an example) to be 4 star caliber which many people would disagree with.  Yet a couple years ago, I got Hilton Times Square for a 3 star bid on Priceline.  Very arbitrary distinctions in star classes.
> 
> However - if your objective is simply to pay a reasonable price for a hotel chain (or comparable) with a decent reputation in NYC and know the amenities you will have in advance, I am pretty confident that you will be more than okay taking a chance on a 3 star place from Hotwire that gets a good Trip Advisor rating.  You will certainly NOT get a Motel 6 or Econo Lodge type brand for 3+ stars - I'd be willing to bet my mortgage that would never happen.



My last post on this topic... 

Folks can do an internet search and review the Hotwire complaints for themselves. 

Here are some example:
2005 - Proposed lawsuit accuses Hotwire.com of overrating hotels
2008 - Hotwire Facing Possible Class Action Lawsuit For Selling 2-Star Rooms As 3-Star
2009 - Hotwire - 2-star hotels. 4-star prices
2010 - Is Hotwire’s new advertising slogan, “2 1/2-star hotels. 3-star prices.”?
2010 - Two-star hotel sparks a five-alarm complaint
2011 - A two-star hotel at three-star prices. How I Got a Hotwire Refund


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## twinmommy19 (Jan 20, 2014)

Yes - in line with what I said.  You may well end up with a Holiday Inn labeled as 3 stars in NYC.  No doubt about it.  If a Holiday Inn gets 4 out of 5 rating on Trip  advisor though, in Manhattan, $128 is still a darn good price at that time of year.  You could also get a Hilton or a Double Tree or a Crown Plaza.  Ive used the service many times in NYC. 4 stars can pull the W or the Courtyard.  It's very arbitrary, but not to the point where you will ever get a certifiable dump aka Motel 6, Super 8, Econo, etc. as long as you go for 3 star minimum.  So if the price is reasonable, it's worth the chance IMO.  Especially if the alternative is a Fairfield Inn in Queens. I'd bet my mortgage that a 3 star bid on Priceline or Hotwire pulls a significantly more upscale hotel line plus your right in the heart of town.  Of course - when you are traveling with kids, this may not be an option as these discount sites cannot guarantee you two beds in the room.  That, IMO is their biggest limitation.


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## Beaglemom3 (Jan 20, 2014)

Glynda,

I was on Redweek last night and saw some listings for NYC in March.


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## Glynda (Jan 20, 2014)

*Thanks everyone!*

Thanks everyone!  I've learned from this!

As I posted yesterday, daughter wanted to stay at the W in Times Square and her dad said OK so that's where we are booked.


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## Davey54321 (Jan 21, 2014)

*Dont forget about vrbo - you never know!*

Heres a link to try browsing for midtown:
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/new-york/new-york-city/manhattan/midtown

Good luck and enjoy the Big Apple, Glynda!

Vicki


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## abbekit (Jan 22, 2014)

*Affinia Manhattan*

We stayed here twice, once on a great deal via Travel Zoo, once on an RCI trade (Platinum) and loved it. But it never shows up in RCI now. But you can book it directly, about half the rooms are apartment sized, half are regular hotel rooms. Both times we stayed we had lone BR apartments, second trip it was very large. Tiny kitchens and tiny bathrooms. Great midtown location, a few blocks south of Macy's. My reviews are in the TUG review pages and photos are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vinolover78


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## hvsteve1 (Jan 22, 2014)

I've had good luck bidding on Priceline with The Bidding Traveler www.biddingtraveler.com . They seem to do a good job of letting you know what hotels Priceline is appearing to offer and showing recent winning bids.  The site uses a bot to bid for you and suggests low and high bids so you don't over bid.  The bot also seems to be able to get around some of the difficulties of bidding directly on Priceline, such as having to change your parameters if you are unsuccessful. 

The OP seemed to be looking for a short term stay at a NY apartment in midtown. I know many people had apartments which they rented out by the night or week, but I seem to recall a news story a year or so ago where the city was cracking down on folks who were renting out short term space and not licensed as hotels or paying the hotel tax.  I don't know where they are at with that now but, be aware, what seems like a great, prepaid deal may fall through at the last minute if the renter gets in trouble with the city or their condo or coop board (most apartments in the area you're seeking are going to be in condos or coops.


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## Mike&Edie (Jan 29, 2014)

After much thought and search, we decided not to stay in the Long Island City (Queens) Fairfield Inn and Suites, even though it was a good deal and the price dropped even more.  We've booked a two bed room at the Hilton Garden Inn New York - Central Park South.  Apparently it's a brand new hotel in the area we wanted.  Cost for six nights was $903.57.  No parking or breakfast included but it's in the area and we'll do discount parking somewhere.  We booked it through Skyauction.  

Hope your trip is wonderful!

Edie (Mike & Edie)
www.fulltimetimeshare.com


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## MarcoMar (Feb 16, 2014)

So how was your stay? I think I'm going to book there, because http://new-york.hotelscheap.org/ have a some sort of promotion with them at the moment. Would you recommend it?


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## MULTIZ321 (Feb 16, 2014)

Mike&Edie said:


> ... No parking or breakfast included but it's in the area and we'll do discount parking somewhere...
> 
> Hope your trip is wonderful!
> 
> ...



Hi Mike & Edie,

If you're not familiar with http://www.bestparking.com/  - check out their website, plug in the city of interest (for this example - New York City), plug in the other parameters that apply and you will find the lowest parking rates for your location.

It's a great site and one that I've use to save money in NYC and other cities too.


Richard


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## Mike&Edie (Feb 16, 2014)

We are loving New York City, and loving the Hilton Garden Inn.  We found out, after we booked through Skyauction (buy it now), that we were booked two rooms (not one with two beds) - so that's even better for the $903 for six nights.  It's a lovely brand-new hotel and the employees are awesome.  It's so close to everything and lots of fun.  Rooms are smallish but nice and modern.  

Also, we found parking for $20 a day - so not too bad for Manhattan.

Would highly recommend NYC to anyone.

Edie (Mike&Edie)
www.fulltimetimeshare.com


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