[lcf76]

Bid $70 each time on the following combos:

Napa 4*
Napa + Sonoma 4*
Napa + Sonoma 3.5*
Napa + Sonoma 3*

I see Expedia has the Doubletree and Hilton Sonoma for $111/$112 respectively.

HOTWIRE has Santa Rosa/Petaluma 4* for $99 and a 3* for $46. Hotwire's cheapest Napa is $115/3*

I can't be that far off.

Any thoughts?
I'd like the least expensive 3* or better in the Napa or Sonoma territory.

[thereuare]

Did you only make four bids above or are you uisng your re-bid zones?

Are the Santa Rosa or Petaluma zones an option for you?

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

[Gallus50]

Santa Rosa/Petaluma and Fairfield/Napa are always cheaper than Sonoma, Napa, Upper Napa Valley and Calistoga.

This question would be easier to answer if we knew your days/dates. Weekends are always more expensive and harder to book. On weekdays, you're more likely to get a deal. Summer and Sept/Oct can be tough, though. Please give more info and zones you might like. (Upper Valley? Calistoga? Healdsburg?)

[lcf76]

Yes, I did leave off some info, didn't I?

I'll be staying in Sonoma County Sept 29, Sept 30, checking out Oct 1.

I know the other spots are a bit cheaper but we would prefer to stay in Sonoma or in Napa (even this isn't perfect when you look at the boundaries for each of these zones on PL).

I bid last week just as I described and did not use the re-bid zones because I'm not sure that I'll use PL if I need to go much higher that $70. I think I can find a better deal on another website if the PL bid is more than $70 (when you consider the fees).

Unless someone has a better strategy, I'm going to keep bidding at $70 every few days and hope that I get lucky.

-Laura

[Gallus50]

On those dates (Sept is very popular), my gut is telling me you will need to go higher. They are weekdays, but rates still look pricey. I'd love to be proven wrong though, so hang in there and keep bidding while you check out all other possibilities.

[lcf76]

Thanks for the tips.

Hey--I have some general questions about Sonoma Co. I've never been down there and don't know the options that I might want to pursue. It seems the wine made napa & sonoma famous but there are a lot of other communities in the county that are big on wine. My partner and I do want to do wine tasting although neither of us our connoisseurs of wine and I'm a bit of a cheapskate so I probably want to stick with affordable wine venues (the $20 wine tasting fee does not appeal). Further, we are renting a car but I am very uncomfortable driving around much for this activity. I think I could safely go to one wine tasting and drive but that would be the end of it. So, I was sort of hoping that I could find a place to stay that was near wineries so I could walk or was near tasting rooms/wine bars that we could walk to that do tastings.

All of the Sonoma & Napa hotels that I'm finding online seem to be a bit out of town (or right in town and $400/night) and Priceline is such a toss-up for location, it is anyone's bet. So, my question is: Is there a community up in Sonoma County that might have less expensive but nice accomodations and might have these accomodations near all of the wine action?

-Laura

[thereuare]

Where and how much is your back-up?

While you lose some of the freedom of making your own schedule, you may want to look and see if there is a 'local tour company' which does a 'shuttle circuit' of the local wineries.