Faron had a post about NYC earlier this summer and if you do a search for NYC on the bottom of the page listing the topics, more will come up. Here's Faron's.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/con060109485449.html

I've never used Priceline or the other sites but I know others who have and stayed in nice hotels. Will they let you narrow your search to a specific area of Manhattan? If the sites list star ratings for the hotels, I guess you go by that. That's probably the busiest time of year in NYC, so I don't know how good the deals will be.

Not too much experience using any of the travel sites, but I have heard that you need to read the fine print very carefully. Unlike booking through a hotel - where you can cancel a day ahead with no penalty incurred, travel sites often have a "no refund" policy.

I use quikbook.com for NYC all the time. In July DH and I stayed at the Affinia Shelburne, a great little hotel in Murray Hill, for $135 a night. I have also stayed at another small boutique hotel using that site for only $106 a night. I've had good luck but that's also because I sign up for their email alerts and when the prices go I plan my sched around it. I have also seen good deals on travelzoo.com for NYC. Again, in both cases the best deals are had when they run sales and you plan around that, not when you set the date and try to find the hotel to suit your sched. One last thing, if you're using priceline I recommend biddingfortravel.com for strategies to winning on priceline. Go to the NYC forum to find out what hotels Priceline is using and what people are currently paying for NY rooms before bidding.

pammyfay,
My 15 year old daughter and I were in NY for a week at the end of July. We stayed at the Chelsea Pines Inn after reading about it on Tripadvisor. We LOVED it! It was the first time I've stayed in a smaller hotel, and the level of service and cleanliness was many notches above what I was used to. The breakfast every morning is fabulous (free too!), and includes blueberry tea cake, fresh and dried fruit, sliced meats and cheese, etc. All served in a wonderful little greenhouse-roofed room at the back. Beyond that is a back garden where you can also take your breakfast. I was introduced to a "Nespresso" machine, and made my own latte every morning. We had the Paul Newman room, which was incredibly spaciousl I'm sorry to make this sound like an ad for the place, but we just loved it. Also convenient -it is 1/2 a block from a subway station. I think we paid about $199/night, which again, included the breakfast.

We always stay at The Hudson Hotel on W. 58th. Love it, a convenient location as well as the fact that the accomodations are immaculate. The food in the "Hall" is wonderful. Don't know if you are traveling with children, but if so, your children will be hard pressed to balk at any menu in the Hall. Of course, you want to hit some of the great restaurants in the city, but you can get a great meal in the hotel if you choose. We usually always eat breakfast in the Hall, and have eaten dinner when we've been out shopping all day, or arrive late and without reservations for dinner outside of the hotel.

The Hudson is across the street from the Time Warner Center which houses lots of shopping on the first and second floors. A short walk from Central Park as well.

Not a bargain hotel for sure, but you are going to pay more $$ for any hotel in the city at the time of year you are traveling. A don't miss is the unveiling of the large department store holiday windows. They are usually revealed around Thanksgiving.

Not on the bed bug list!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Hudson

Many years ago I used Priceline to book a hotel room in NYC. We were staying just one night. First the hotel was running behind in cleaning, and we were told that the higher priced rooms were cleaned first. It was hours past check-in time before we could get the room key. Then, while Priceline gets you into a good hotel, you get the worst room in the hotel. Bottom line: it was a bad choice for us.