First of all, I should preface this by saying that age does not always bring wisdom. Aer John is always telling me this and on this occasion I think he is right! [:0]
Anyone who has studied the musings of honey lamb will know that I am a great fan of Priceline when it comes to bidding for hotel stays, especially if it is an overnight stay or I don't have a particular hotel in mind. I have had some spectacular results, especially if I have used it with the Bidding for Travel website which can indicate where the successful bids are and the prices to bid. Priceline are great in following it up with a survey for you to complete and hotels have been known to have their star level downgraded if there are sufficient negative reports.
The difficulty with Priceline is that occasionally throws you a curved ball since you do not know the hotel until your bid has been accepted. I had one when the hotel I scored in Seattle was certainly not worthy of its grading and a 2* hotel round the corner was far superior. Aer John and I breakfasted there every day.
The Sheraton New York and Towers was such an hotel. I had bid $150 for a 4* in Midtown West zone and immediately scored the Sheraton Hotel and Towers - brilliant when you consider that the rack rate is some $200 more. However I should have been suspicious when this was coming up consistently on Priceline - this was the only way they could sell their rooms!
OK, it was a Sheraton. It was just off Times Square. I was only going to be there for one night and it was a 4* hotel so I couldn't go far wrong, could I? Oh yes, I could!
My first mistake was made on the train to Penn Station and couldn't really be ascribed to the hotel - merely to my stupidity. I had seen that the address was on 7th Ave, and having realised that Penn Station was just off 7th Ave I decided it was walkable! So there am I around 34th St or thereabouts in the middle of the afternoon, in scorching heat, on Labor Day weekend attempting to walk via Times Square trundling my new Samsonite baby to the hotel which, at Times Square, I discover is on 52nd St. (I wouldn't mind so much but I later realise I have to walk back to 34/35th St to a golf shop to buy Aer John the golf balls I promised him as they are seriously cheaper over there but it being Sunday I can also go to church at the Franciscan church where Fr Mychael Judge, the first victim of the 9/11 attacks, was based)
The lobby is teeming. There is a queue for check-in even though there are machines everywhere. However I check in quickly and efficiently and head to my room on the 10th floor. There are two banks of lifts - those to the 20th floor and those upwards of that. When I exit the lift the first thing that strikes me is the gloomy surroundings. Everything is navy blue, dark wood and a dark mustard colour. In the lift lobby there are maintenance doors for the lifts above floor 20 which whoosh by and given the high level of air conditioning there, it's like a force 9 gale!
The corridor is equally gloomy and I make my way to my room. There is a king size bed with a maroon quilt cover but the room is spacious enough but dark. I look out of the window and I am looking straight into the offices of a banking company across the street. There are no screens, no net curtains and if they were working and my curtains were not closed they would have a field day!! [:0] The lighting is dim enough and there is a notice stating that they are using lower wattage bulbs for energy conservation. To be able to read in bed I have to turn on all the lights!!
When I repair to the bar at then end of the evening, my request is modest - a G&T. I couldn't have ordered anything else if I had wanted to. It was too dark! I had trouble reading the bill - and no doubt the barman had trouble reading my tip!!
The next day I breakfasted in Lindy's across the street at a fraction of which it would have cost me in the hotel. However when I checked out I found that this hotel charges for each item of luggage stored during the day of a rate of $3.25 per item. [V]
OK, it was convenient to Times Square and Broadway and not too distant from Central Park but I'm not sure I would want to stay there again.
Anyone who has studied the musings of honey lamb will know that I am a great fan of Priceline when it comes to bidding for hotel stays, especially if it is an overnight stay or I don't have a particular hotel in mind. I have had some spectacular results, especially if I have used it with the Bidding for Travel website which can indicate where the successful bids are and the prices to bid. Priceline are great in following it up with a survey for you to complete and hotels have been known to have their star level downgraded if there are sufficient negative reports.
The difficulty with Priceline is that occasionally throws you a curved ball since you do not know the hotel until your bid has been accepted. I had one when the hotel I scored in Seattle was certainly not worthy of its grading and a 2* hotel round the corner was far superior. Aer John and I breakfasted there every day.
The Sheraton New York and Towers was such an hotel. I had bid $150 for a 4* in Midtown West zone and immediately scored the Sheraton Hotel and Towers - brilliant when you consider that the rack rate is some $200 more. However I should have been suspicious when this was coming up consistently on Priceline - this was the only way they could sell their rooms!
OK, it was a Sheraton. It was just off Times Square. I was only going to be there for one night and it was a 4* hotel so I couldn't go far wrong, could I? Oh yes, I could!
My first mistake was made on the train to Penn Station and couldn't really be ascribed to the hotel - merely to my stupidity. I had seen that the address was on 7th Ave, and having realised that Penn Station was just off 7th Ave I decided it was walkable! So there am I around 34th St or thereabouts in the middle of the afternoon, in scorching heat, on Labor Day weekend attempting to walk via Times Square trundling my new Samsonite baby to the hotel which, at Times Square, I discover is on 52nd St. (I wouldn't mind so much but I later realise I have to walk back to 34/35th St to a golf shop to buy Aer John the golf balls I promised him as they are seriously cheaper over there but it being Sunday I can also go to church at the Franciscan church where Fr Mychael Judge, the first victim of the 9/11 attacks, was based)
The lobby is teeming. There is a queue for check-in even though there are machines everywhere. However I check in quickly and efficiently and head to my room on the 10th floor. There are two banks of lifts - those to the 20th floor and those upwards of that. When I exit the lift the first thing that strikes me is the gloomy surroundings. Everything is navy blue, dark wood and a dark mustard colour. In the lift lobby there are maintenance doors for the lifts above floor 20 which whoosh by and given the high level of air conditioning there, it's like a force 9 gale!
The corridor is equally gloomy and I make my way to my room. There is a king size bed with a maroon quilt cover but the room is spacious enough but dark. I look out of the window and I am looking straight into the offices of a banking company across the street. There are no screens, no net curtains and if they were working and my curtains were not closed they would have a field day!! [:0] The lighting is dim enough and there is a notice stating that they are using lower wattage bulbs for energy conservation. To be able to read in bed I have to turn on all the lights!!
When I repair to the bar at then end of the evening, my request is modest - a G&T. I couldn't have ordered anything else if I had wanted to. It was too dark! I had trouble reading the bill - and no doubt the barman had trouble reading my tip!!
The next day I breakfasted in Lindy's across the street at a fraction of which it would have cost me in the hotel. However when I checked out I found that this hotel charges for each item of luggage stored during the day of a rate of $3.25 per item. [V]
OK, it was convenient to Times Square and Broadway and not too distant from Central Park but I'm not sure I would want to stay there again.
