New York, and Manhattan in particular, is an expensive city and hotel accommodations are no exception. With the high price of real estate, it is very difficult to find a basic hotel under $200 per night. This is one of the many reasons travellers turn to opaque bidding sites like Hotwire or Priceline when booking their hotels.
Unlike regular online travel sites, when you book a hotel on Hotwire or Priceline, the name of the hotel is kept a secret until you pay. The customer only knows hotel attributes such as the location, hotel class, and (in the case of Hotwire) the hotel amenities. Opaque booking sites like Hotwire and Priceline create a win-win for both the traveller and the hotel. While the hotel does not want to dilute its brand by offering low prices, they also do not want hotel rooms to sit vacant. Hotwire and Priceline offer a perfect solution. Sell off excess rooms at low prices without revealing the name of the hotel to the public. As a result, they are able to offer very low prices.
In Manhattan, this is an excellent choice for getting rooms at a great discount. I recently purchased a 3-star hotel in the “Midtown Central” zone and received the Salisbury Hotel. I paid just $107 per night, which is an incredible deal compared to normal rates of over $200/night.
Location
Perhaps one of the best things about the Salisbury hotel is its location. It is located on W 57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. This makes is an ideal location for visiting both Central Park (2 blocks away) and Times Square (10-15 minute walk). The hotel is very close to several subway lines, making it convenient to get anywhere in New York City. Although the hotel is located within the core of Midtown, it is also very quiet compared to the craziness of Times Square just a few blocks away.
I was told by several staff that none of the rooms at the hotel have great views. The hotel is relatively small (just 15 stories). Rather than having a street-facing room, we asked for a room facing away from the street. While the view was not spectacular, we did not hear sirens or other noises throughout the night.
The location of the Salisbury Hotel is ideal, just a couple blocks south of Central Park and about 10 minutes walk to Times Square.
Amenities & Room
The hotel was 3-stars, which means it was fairly basic. The hotel had a 24-hour front desk (we checked in at 1:00 a.m.) and even has concierge service. The overall decor of the hotel lobby, elevator, hallways and room were consistent with what you would expect of a 3-star hotel: old and tired. However, the rooms and hotel were clean and well maintained.
One unfortunate aspect of the hotel is that they charge for internet access. The cost is around $10 per day per device. While they do offer free use of their computers in the business center, we often used the free wifi at Starbucks around the corner from the hotel.
We were fortunate enough to be upgraded to a 1-bedroom suite. The suite had a small kitchenette, living room and separate dining room. The room was basic but met our needs easily.
Service
Service at the Salisbury hotel was first rate. Every one of the staff we encountered offered nothing but exceptional service. This included the front desk clerk, concierge, bell boy, and housekeeping staff. They were always willing to listen to our questions, address concerns, and offer their assistance.
Hotwire for New York Hotels
When I booked a hotel on Hotwire in Midtown Central, I did not know for sure which hotel I would get. However, thanks to this list of known Hotwire hotels in New York, I was able to narrow down which hotel I was most likely to get. I was also able to ask questions in the Hotwire forum and get help from fellow travellers about what hotel I was likely to get. Based on this, I knew that I was likely to receive the Salisbury. While there was no guarantee this is the hotel I would get, I was fairly confident that I would get this hotel or another hotel very similar. Since I was not particular about which hotel, using Hotwire allowed me to save several hundreds of dollars on my trip to New York.
Overall, I am extremely happy with this hotel and for using Hotwire to save roughly 50% on my stay in New York City.
This is the view from our hotel room at the Salisbury Hotel in New York. We paid just $106 per night on Hotwire.
This subway station in Manhattan is located just a half block away from the Salisbury Hotel on 57th Street.