Priceline Hotel: Help selecting best zones for Universal Studios trip

[smoothd317]

I need some help selecting the best zones for a Universal trip. I'm hoping the drive to/from the hotel to Universal is no longer than 20minutes.

 

Looking for a 3 1/2* or better rating. Traveling from 09/07 to 09/09.  Price wise, hoping for somewhere between $80 - $100.

 

Also, is it better to try bidding further or closer to the travel date?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE have a 'Universal Studios - Studio City' zone which would be the closest to Universal Studios.  If nothing in that zone is appealing and offered within your desired budget, then you can start to look at the neighboring zones (and once again repeat looking at the offers in this adjacent zones to see if there is anything appealing and within your budget).  Traffic in this area can be tough so don't assume that 20 miles away is necessarily 20 minutes away.

 

As far as when to purchase, nobody can say if rates will come down or move even higher between now and your trip, but this being summer months, i would expect rates to remain somewhat high since kids are off from school and many take family vacations this time of year.  Best is to 'know' what a good rate is for hotels in the zone of the same star rating that you're looking at (use our "IS THIS A GOOD PRICE" feature of our BiddingHelper.com tool) and if you like a hotel and it is a good discount to prevailing rates, then take it while you can.  If you want to wait you should book a refundable back-up using our sister site RefundableRates.com.

 

If you see anything that meets your parameters (star raitng, budget, locations, etc) let us know the details and we will try to take a guess as to the hotel 'behind the curtain'.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.