[Twin Mom]

I'm so glad I found this forum. My previous Priceline experiences have left me less than satisfied so I haven't used it in quite a while. Now, I'm trying to plan a trip to Disneyland with my little boys and am on a tight budget! I've been considering using Priceline again hoping I could get a better quality hotel for the same money as booking on another site or through the hotel directly. Sorry if my questions seem dumb, but I really want to learn how to do this well to avoid future disappointment.

1. Our trip is planned for 9/28/10 - 10/3/10. Is there any advantage to booking this far in advance or are better prices awarded closer to your travel date?

2. Is there a section on this board that tells me what my beginning bid should be based on area, day of week etc.? I will be sure to read the section on re-bidding too.

3. Maybe I should be using Hotwire instead as I really need a property with a refrigerator for boys' milk. I can work around everything else (location, laundry, internet, pool etc.). Is it possible to specify something like this on Priceline? I'd like to avoid hidden fees like parking too. Does Priceline reveal these charges before accepting bids?

Any tips you all can give me are greatly appreciated. I'm sure I'll come up with more dumb questions as I work through this so be patient with me .

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding

You're doing the right thing to ask before you bid

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1. Our trip is planned for 9/28/10 - 10/3/10. Is there any advantage to booking this far in advance or are better prices awarded closer to your travel date?

Sorry to say that there's no general answer to your question. Plese read this link: Should i Bid Early or Close to Arrival Date
Also take a look at this link: BetterBidding Priceline FAQ

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2. Is there a section on this board that tells me what my beginning bid should be based on area, day of week etc.? I will be sure to read the section on re-bidding too.

No, we have personal service When we know your preferred zone, star rating for the hotel and max bid/night can we help you with a bidding starategy.

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3. Maybe I should be using Hotwire instead as I really need a property with a refrigerator for boys' milk. I can work around everything else (location, laundry, internet, pool etc.). Is it possible to specify something like this on Priceline? I'd like to avoid hidden fees like parking too. Does Priceline reveal these charges before accepting bids?

PRICELINE don't reveal any additional fee's like parking or resort fee before you bid. Nor do HOTWIRE in most cases for this area. We can only speculate about the hotels you might get when using PRICELINE. And no, you can't choose specific amenities for PRICELINE. Please read this link: I've never used Priceline or Hotwire
If you're trying to target a specific property then HOTWIRE can often be a better option if you're successfully able to identify it based upon the star rating and amenities shown before your purchase... the trade-off is that HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, so you need to decide what is most important to you for a given stay, the lowest possible price OR the ability to take an educated guess as to the property you may receive.

Let us know how we can help you further.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Yellowdog.

[thereuare]

I'll add one more point to the information above...

PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, where as HOTWIRE will allow you to search for up to quad occupancy. You mention "...my little boys..." so i'm guessing you may be seeking more than double occupancy OR searching for more than one room. This area is used to catering to families and therefore has a high percent of rooms with more than one bed, so the risk of landing a room in this area with only one bed is somewhat lower then in many other areas of the country (such as large cities with notoriously small room such as NYC), it's still a calculated risk you'll need to accept should you choose to go with PRICELINE.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Twin Mom]

Peronal service. Nice!

Here's what we'd like:
1. 3* (or higher)
2. walking distance to Disney (walking distance to us is up to a mile or so)
3. up to $50/nt.

Here's what we can live with:
1. driving distance to Disney (we'll have our car with us)
2. up to $60/nt.

The double occupancy thing is something we can work around even if we're stuck in one king bed. That's what we have at home and I can't count the number of nights we've all been in it . I suppose I can make a cooler in the room work for a refrigerator too. So, all this to say, I am willing to make these "sacrafices" for a CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP room. Like I said before, we're on a pretty tight budget so if we can stay someplace a little nicer for the same money as booking on another sight, we'll be happy.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[yellowdog]

Twin Mom

Can you please post the zone(s) you're willing to stay in.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Yellowdog.

[Twin Mom]

Prefer Disneyland North or Disneyland South/Garden Grove. If Brea/Fullerton is within 4-5 miles or so of the park, I'm open to that as well.

[thereuare]

The Southern part of the Fullerton-Brea zone is within 4-5 miles of Disneyland, but the northern part of the zone is not, and since you can't choose which part of the zone you'll end up with, i'll leave this out of the bidding for now. If you decide you want to include this anyway then don't bid as follows, just post back and we'll revise... you can always try the following first and then, if rejected, decide to try again while including Fullerton-Brea.

Unfortunately at the 3* level you have no re-bid zones, so i'd simply bid as follows:

Select 3* Disneyland North...
Bid $35, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE
Select 3* Disneyland South...
Bid $35, if rejected add Disneyland North zone...
Bid $38

Repeat every 24 hours using the following price pairs:
$40/$43
$45/$48
$50/$53
$55/$58

In 4-5 days you'll have reached your limit and hopefully successfully.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (and please use the links there to start each bid... not any emails PRICELINE may send informing you that you're eligible to bid again)

Few last notes...
Even a King bed is not guarnateed... you could receive a room with only one bed and smaller then a King.

HOTWIRE does have a 3* suite hotel in the Disneyland North zone for $59/nite when searching for quad occupancy (same price whether double or quad occupancy) and includes a complimentary breakast... i'm guessing this is the Peacock Suites with a new Internet icon and doesn't appear to be too far from Disneyland. Just keep this option in mind if/when your bidding starts to get higher as it may be worth the few extra dollars for the extra space of a suite, as well as knowing that complimentary breakfast is included.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Keep us udpated as to your decisions and/or progress.

[Twin Mom]

Thank you!!! Love the idea of possibly getting a room for under $40. What would your stradegy be for bidding on 3.5* properties, same areas? I notice others have posted wins at Marriott Suites in Garden Grove at pretty reasonable rates. Being a suite property, we may get lucky with a fridge and maybe more space. Your thoughts?

[Twin Mom]

Well, the $35/$38 combo didn't work, but it was good bidding practice. Right? Will try again tomorrow as suggested.

[808geek]

Looks like the price went down a few bucks on HOTWIRE for the same hotel Peacock Suites, that's if I have my amentities correct.

Searched 9/28-10/3 quad occupants (2 adults, 2 children)

It came up with this,

Ananheim Disneyland North $55.00 per night

Suite, complimentary breakfast, fitness center, pool, laundry facilities & high-speed internet access.

Looks like parking is $8.00 per day though.

But the upside is all rooms come with a fridge and microwave. Found this info on Hotels.com

Personally doesn't sound like a bad deal. Especially with the fridge and microwave, you could save quite a bit on food by making use of those two things.

[Twin Mom]

This is a 2.5 star property on Hotwire for $49. Amenities: breakfast, fitness, pool, laundry, internet. It says "we are still gathering reviews for this property". Any idea which hotel this could be?

[Twin Mom]

$40/$43 combo... Nope!

[AaronJB]

Please keep all posts in this thread; is the above 2.5* HOTWIRE listing still for 9/28-10/3?

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

AaronJB, on Aug 25 2010, 11:48 AM, said:

Please keep all posts in this thread; is the above 2.5* HOTWIRE listing still for 9/28-10/3?

... and in which zone? Are you searching for 2adults/2children?

[Twin Mom]

Sorry, I meant to post the question about the 2.5* Hotwire in the "Orange County Hotwire" section of this board. No wonder I didn't see it when I looked for it afterwards . I wondered why it had been deleted .

Yes, it was for 9/28 - 10/3 as well. Quad occupancy. Disneyland South area.

[AaronJB]

This could be a possible match for the Ramada Convention Center or Holiday Inn Express Garden Grove

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Twin Mom]

Success! $44 was accepted this morning at the Holiday Inn Resort 9/28-10/3. Not bad, you think?

[Twin Mom]

After bidding $35, $38, $40 and $43, $44 was finally successful. Have you stayed here before? Tell me what you know about this hotel and whether this is a fair price. Any nice amenities? Distance from Disney? BTW, thanks for the bidding advice!

[yellowdog]

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Looks like a good deal for you.

Enjoy your stay.

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Any nice amenities? Distance from Disney?

I think this information can be found on the hotels site.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[Twin Mom]

I'm getting a little nervous about having won this hotel on Priceline this morning after reading reviews on Tripadvisor, Expedia, etc. Especially those where guests felt like they got an undesirable room because it was a Priceline booking. I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to regret it. Have you stayed here? What is your experience with this hotel? Thanks in advance.

[Twin Mom]

Why do new posts get moved to old threads? Nobody will see them at the dead-end of another thread = no replies!

[PrisonBull]

Wlecome to the forum! There are many members on this site more than happy to assist you in saving money.

Not exactly sure which property you won but in any case all Holiday Inns are a fair walking distance from the Disneyland gates. There are many threads about the Disneyland area and ways to save money. Spend the time to read the reviews and you find lots of tips.

[thereuare]

Twin Mom, on Aug 27 2010, 09:49 AM, said:

Why do new posts get moved to old threads? Nobody will see them at the dead-end of another thread = no replies!

All posts for the same stay go in the same thread... and a new reply 'bumps' the thread back to the top of active threads.

Reviews of this property are mixed but if you receive a room that is not satisfactory (ie-something tangible, like dirt which you can point to, not 'it feels dirty' or 'the furnishings are outdated') try to follow the hierarchy... first see if an employee can fix the situation, if not then bring it to management, and if still not ask PRICELINE to speak to the hotel on your behalf.

[mrskippy]

The Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort is not a bad property, but IMHO, a little overrated at 3*. Per Priceline, 3* is supposed to include premium channels on the in-room TV. There are no premium channels. FWIW, the property DOES NOT even have The Disney Channel. Weird for Anaheim. The hotel claims to have a business center, but it's just an overpriced kiosk in the lobby. The free Internet is extremely slow. The restaurant is open only for breakfast and dinner, not lunch. Food is alright.

Room was OK. Comfy pillows and mattress. They gave me a substandard room at first, but after I complained, they moved me. First room was across from elevators and despite being non-smoking, it reeked of smoke. Second room smelled a little musty, but not too horrific. The AC was not the best. It's a window/wall unit, controlled by a thermostat. Kinda noisy and not the most effective.

The staff is somewhat pleasant. Just insist that being a Priceline guest should not mean getting a lesser room. Be pushy enough. FWIW, hotel gave me a one-night's refund, but I have to wait for Priceline to issue it back to me.

Word of warning, hotel is tricky to get to/from. It's on a one-way frontage road. You have to access it from Katella and that is it. My advice, if driving to the parks, use the Toy Story lot on Harbor. You can turn right from the hotel onto Manchester, right onto Orangewood, right onto Harbor. When you leave the lot, right onto Harbor, right onto Katella, right onto Manchester. The Mickey & Friends lot is easy to reach, but you have to do some double backing and such to get back onto Katella.

[lostboy516]

Twin Mom, on Aug 26 2010, 03:20 PM, said:

I'm getting a little nervous about having won this hotel on Priceline this morning after reading reviews on Tripadvisor, <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-1492259-10515014" target="_blank">Expedia</a>, etc. Especially those where guests felt like they got an undesirable room because it was a Priceline booking. I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to regret it. Have you stayed here? What is your experience with this hotel? Thanks in advance.

I used your bidding strategy and will be staying here 9/25/10 - 9/26/10.

The MAIN reason to love the Holiday Inn Anaheim is that it does not charge the dreaded Anaheim "resort" fee, which is NOT included in Hotwire and Priceline totals. AND it has free parking, another "surprise" Hotwire and Priceline uses occasionally get assaulted with.

Did you find out if they have a fridge?