I've also had good luck with Hotwire. When we had our HM in NYC, we stayed at a place called the Buckingham, really close to Central Park and Carnegie hall. It is closed for up to another year for renovations, but the place was very charming with beautiful parquet floors. We had what was basically a 1-BR apartment with a small kitchen, so we could do heat leftovers and store snacks. It was wonderful since we felt like we lived like NY'ers for a week. Le Parker Meridien is across the street.

There is a range of resturant selections in the French Quarter, on Burbon St, and just off Burbon St. Be sure to take walk or drive on residential streets in the French Quarter to see antebellum houses. Most are 2 and 3 story houses on smallish lots. The architecture is beautiful. Strike up conversations with the locals. Maybe they will tell you about local customs, for example, 1) a Civil War statute of a Confederate hero mounted on a horse - the horse's rear end point north; and 2) burial practices. There is big bruial problem in New Orleans becasue of the high water table. And oh, the Battle of New Orleans lead by Andrew Jackson was totally unnecessary. That battle was fought after the war had been declared over and the treaty signed. Trouble was, slow communications. The treaty was negotiated in Europe and it took some time (by sailing ship) for the word to reach the front. And while you are there, find out exactly was is "Mock Turtle Soup", that is, find out the meat ingredient of true mock turtle soup. It is a dish that was concocted by the chefs while New Orleans was under seige and food supplies were short. Watch out for the coffee. Many business establishments have 2 coffee pots: One is regular coffee and the other one contains chicory, a bitter brew.

Tourist mistakes: pretending to be drunk. Showing lots of money. Taking the bet "I bet you I can tell you where you got dem shoes" (Ans. on your feet in the French Quarter. Not taking a cab late at night...choosing to walk. Putting up any kind of resistance when money, cell phones, I-pads are demanded. When you walk down the steet, purse goes on your side closer to the buildings. Never have irreplaceable papers, photos, etc. in your purse. Know where you are going and try like heck not to look lost. Assume guns are loaded and knives are sharp and both have been used before. Don't go for random walks and stay the heck out of the housing projects and Cemetery #1 (this means don't visit Marie LeVeaux's grave. Stay smart.

My husband and I just went through the "best bang for your buck" search for Manhattan hotel rooms in September . My criteria is different than yours though as I wanted to be near but not north of the Mount Sinai hospital as my husband will need to be compfy after his heart operation while we wait for the okay to fly home. I searched on Trip Advisor and when I found the best rate I signed up on that site. You sometimes get an additional discount. The best deal I could find was at the Marmara hotel on the upper east side. I have never stayed here ( going in a few days) so can't recommend although the reviews were not bad. For a special deal of $361 we got an 816 sf suite with a small kitchen/dining area, balcony, separate bedroom, one and a half bathrooms, mini washer and dryer and living room. They do have many different options , lower price & higher price points but I'm not sure if the sale is still on. I know they did have a deal on the 600sf 1 bedroom suite in your price range. There is a catch though, make sure you ask for a room way up as there was construction on the new subway connection next door-ish and I don't think it's done yet. The word is that they are underground now and you can't hear a thing. A month and more ago there was work on the facade and it was loud. So, get high just in case. This may be to far out of the middle of it all for you though.