Priceline Hotel: 4* Los Angeles (Beverly Hills-West Hollywood) InterContinental

[dharmainitiative]

Hello all. I'm travelling to LA for a little vacation. Headed up highway one on 8/22-8/25 and staying in LA 8/25-8/27. If anyone has any ideas for the highway one portion of my trip, I'd greatly appreciate it. But, for this post I'm concentrating on my LA stay. Looking to stay on a budget. But, with this site that is pretty easy to do :) I'm looking to stay around $75 a night, no more than $100 a night. Anyway, I would like to stay in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills-West Hollywood, or Hollywood areas. 2 1/2 star and above only. I've done a lot of research on this site. I see people have gotten the Residence Inn in Beverly Hills for this price. Am I right that the Lawndale area has nothing above a 2 star hotel? I checked that area yesterday and nothing came back except for a 2 star possibility. Am I doing something wrong? Am I right in thinking that using Lawndale as a free retry is my only way to get a 2 1/2 star or above hotel in my preferred areas of town? Any other plans would be greatly appreciated.

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous Hotwire Louisville thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay... then bump this thread and we'll have a look at the above.

[dharmainitiative]

bump

[Colfax]

I'm looking to stay around $75 a night, no more than $100 a night.

$75 is probably enough for a 2.5* but not for a 3* or 4*. $100 could be enough for 3* or 4*.

So what do you want to try for...a 2.5* under $75 or a 4*/3* under $100?

Keep in mind that hotels in this zone charge for parking, which isn't included in your Priceline bid.

You're correct that Lawndale is your only free rebid zone for 2.5* or 3* in LA.

[dharmainitiative]

Colfax. Thanks for the reply. My girlfriend and I are trying to balance being near the things we want to do (beach one day, hollywood/west hollywood/melrose ave one day, universal studios one day) vs. keeping the costs down and not fighting traffic for an hour each way where we want to go. And any semblance of a neighborhood would also be nice.

I know the big deals seem to be near the airport and to a lesser extent downtown. Am I right to assume most 2 1/2 and up hotels around LA are going to charge for parking? I think I read some hotels around the airport do not charge. But, I can't necessarily be gauranteed that through priceline or hotwire. Do most of the LAX hotels offer free parking, or is a 50/50 split? Trying to stay around $75/ a night with the idea I'm looking at another $20 to park the car. Which still keeps me around our $100 a night budget. But, $75 a night with a good probability of free parking might make me consider staying around the airport.

Am I safe at trying to secure a 2 1/2 star and up hotel in either Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, or Hollywood for around $65-$75 and using Lawndale (don't want to stay in Lawndale at all) as a free rebid? Or should I go about it some other way?

[thereuare]

To confirm: a 2.5* hotel in the Beverly Hills, Hollywood, or Santa Monica zone for under $75

You could try as follows:

Select 2.5* Beverly Hills...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Hollywood...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Santa Monica...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Beverly Hills and Hollywood...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Beverly Hills and Santa Monica...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Beverly Hills and Hollywood and Santa Monica...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

PS- please add the price to your previous Louisville thread as well

[dharmainitiative]

Sorry. Quick question. When you say "if rejected, add re-bid zone", do you mean, in this example, add the Lawndale zone?

[Colfax]

Yes.

[dharmainitiative]

I tried the above bidding strategies the past two days up to $75 with no luck. Any suggestions?

[dharmainitiative]

Hey. I'm actually trying to priceline a hotel on the north side of the airport. But, I thought if that doesn't work out this hotwire hotel near the airport might be a good fall back if still available. Can you help with identifying it? Thanks.

Dates: 8/24-8/27

3.5 Star Hotel in LAX area

Came up as Customer favorite

$63/ a night

Amenities: Shuttle, Pool, Business Center, High Speed Internet, Fitness Center, Restaurant, Laundry Facilities

Thank you.

[Colfax]

Just to be sure....did you fail at $75 for 2.5* in all three zones?

I just noticed that Universal Studios is one of the places you're visiting. What about trying for a 3* or 2.5* in the Burbank-Universal City-Glenwood zone? Depending on rates (I haven't checked them) you can sometimes win a 3* in that zone in the $50's or $60's.

If that option interests you I suggest bidding $55 for a 3* in B-U-G zone. Then add your one free rebid (Studio City, which only goes to 2.5*) and try $60.

[dharmainitiative]

Just to be sure....did you fail at $75 for 2.5* in all three zones?

Yes. Up to $75 in all three zones (Santa Monica, BH-WH, and Hollywood) using Lawndale as a free rebid zone.

I just noticed that Universal Studios is one of the places you're visiting. What about trying for a 3* or 2.5* in the Burbank-Universal City-Glenwood zone? Depending on rates (I haven't checked them) you can sometimes win a 3* in that zone in the $50's or $60's.

If that option interests you I suggest bidding $55 for a 3* in B-U-G zone. Then add your one free rebid (Studio City, which only goes to 2.5*) and try $60.

That's a good idea. And we are flying in/out of Burbank. I'm just wondering if the B-U-G zone is as convenient to the touristy stuff as opposed to opening up to the possibility of staying downtown? Perhaps a 3* downtown for around $60-75 + $20 to park?

I've been using the savingsbarn.com link.

[Colfax]

Since your trip is still a couple weeks away and you've got time to try a couple of lowball bids I'm going to revise my previous post and suggest:

$45 for a 3* in BUG. Add free rebid (Studio City) at $50.

If rejected wait 24 hours and try $55/60.

(This presumes you're willing to stay in BUG zone, of course. Otherwise we can look at LAX zone or Hotwire.)

[Colfax]

I'm just wondering if the B-U-G zone is as convenient to the touristy stuff as opposed to opening up to the possibility of staying downtown? Perhaps a 3* downtown for around $60-75 + $20 to park?

The sites you're planning to visit are scattered around the area, so whichever zone you choose you'll be doing some driving.

The 3* Miyako in the Downtown zone gets a lot of unfavorable reviews. It's possible that $75 will be enough for a 4* Downtown.

[dharmainitiative]

Yeah. No luck up to $75 for the last couple of days. I guess I'll have to bring other areas into play.

[dharmainitiative]

Ended up stretching our budget and was upgraded from a 2.5 star to the 4 star Inter Continental hotel in Beverly Hills/ Century City for $100 a night. I think the location of the hotel is a good balance for us. Right off Santa Monica Blvd. Short drive west to Santa Monica. Short drive east to Beverly Hills/ West Hollywood. The only disappointment is the $30 valet only parking charge per night shown on the hotel's website. I expected 15, 20, but not $30 and valet only!!! Any overnight parking alternatives in that area? Thanks for all the help. I used the priceline savingsbarn link.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Glad to see you received an upgrade on your $100 bid... $100 for a 2.5* may not have been a very good value.

I can't comment on the parking options in the area but hopefully somebody else will be able to chime in with some info.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.