If you are considering a trip to New York City, it may be worth checking the Hotwire hotels in Manhattan, New York. It is well known that hotels with excess inventory sell of their unsold rooms to booking engines like Hotwire and Priceline. These booking sites do not reveal the name of the hotel until after you place your non-refundable purchase. Hotels love this since it gives them a chance to sell off otherwise vacant hotels, and travellers who are not picky about the hotel chain they receive can save a lot of money.
This article covers Hotwire hotels in Manhattan, New York. It is intended to help travellers reveal their hotel before you bid and provide some guidance on how to save money on your next stay in NYC.
Introducing the Manhattan NYC Hotel Lists
It’s tough to keep a secret on the internet, but that is exactly what Hotwire wants you to do. When you book, the idea is to find out your hotel after you have already paid. However, thanks to the Hotwire discussion forum, thousands of travellers (and Hotwire customers) are sharing their actual hotel purchases with other travellers. This feeds into a curated list of hotels known to be available on Hotwire – the Hotwire hotel list for New York City. The list contains enough information to give you a pretty good idea of what hotel you will likely get. Although not fool proof, its a great tool to use before blindly booking your Hotwire hotel in Manhattan. This list is an absolute must for anyone booking a Manhattan hotel via Hotwire.
Alternatively, if you are thinking about using Priceline’s Name Your Own Price bidding system, here is a list of Priceline hotels in New York City.
Manhattan Hotels Known to Be on Hotwire
Hotwire divides Manhattan into 8 areas. When you book your hotel, you need to specify which area(s) you want to stay. Here’ is a general overview of each zone. To find out what hotels are located in each zone, check out the Hotwire hotel list – Manhattan.
Time Square & Theatre District: This is the most popular area for Hotwire hotels in Manhattan, and for good reason: its in the heart of the action. Right in the heart of Times Square and Broadway, this zone features favorite hotels such as W New York, Westin and InterContinental (my favorite in New York City).
Madison Square Garden and Hell’s Kitchen: Not a bad area, this zone can sometimes feature good deals for 3 1/2 star or less. A good zone close to the action but not too expensive.
Empire State Building: This area is just so-so. Its close to the Empire State Building which is cool, as well as Koreatown and Union Square. Like MSG area, this is good if you are on a budget and wanting to cast a wide net (which is the best way to get a cheap deal).
Midtown Central and Midtown East: Generally, I prefer Midtown Central but both areas offer some great hotels that can be picked up at a good price. Midtown Central offers Sofitel, Sheraton New York, and the Plaza Hotel. Midtown East features the famed Waldorf Astoria and another W hotel. Lots of high end hotels in these two zones.
Upper East and West Sides: The Upper East and Upper West Side are east and west of Central Park. These areas of Manhattan are absolutely lovely, and I highly recommend them for anyone who wants a great neighbourhood without all the noise, lights, and glam of central Manhattan. Hotels are not often booked on Hotwire in these zones.
Downtown – SoHo – Financial District: Hotwire really needs to break this zone up into multiple areas, because quite frankly it is too vast and too varied for a single zone. From the southern tip of Manhattan to 14thStreet, this area covers Soho, Tribeca, Little Italy and Chinatown. There is a variety of affordable hotels in this area. You just never know where you are going to end up.
New York Airport Hotels & Other Non-Manhattan Accommodations
Many travellers often consider staying outside of Manhattan during their visit to New York City. Staying outside usually just means a subway ride, which you usually take to get to your hotel anyway. If you just need a place to crash after a long day of sightseeing, its worth considering.
Long Island City: East of Manhattan, Long Island City offers some hotels. I’m not a huge fan of this zone, and I recommend doing some additional research before booking here.
Newark, New Jersey: West of Manhattan, Newark is a good choice. There is a good selection of hotels west of NYC in Jersey City, Meadowland, Rutherford, and Newark, including EWR Airport. Check out the Newark Hotwire hotels list before booking to help reveal your hotel.
JFK and LGA Airports: In addition to EWR Airport in New Jersey, New York’s two airports are JFK and LGA. Hotwire is perfect for booking an airport hotel because, unlike Priceline, Hotwire shows you the hotel amenities so you can be assured your hotel will have an airport shuttle or other must-have amenities.
The decision to book your Manhattan hotel on Hotwire really comes down to two things: price savings, and flexibility. If Hotwire is offering good savings (and its worth researching), and you are flexible on your hotel brand and location, it might be worth giving Hotwire a try. However, I always recommend not using Hotwire if the savings are not too significant because of the risk involved in using a non-refundable booking engine without knowing what hotel you will get.
The hotel lists reference in this article are created by fellow travellers who were willing to post their Hotwire purchase details. Big thanks to all those who contributed to making the lists useful for travellers.