nico_suave

Based upon the past posts on this site, (A couple of years ago, some had won this property at $45 when the HolidayInn.com had the price of $89.95. Today the price on Holidayinn.com was one dollar higher at $90.95, so I bid one dollar higher.) This board suggests (but does at all not guarantee, I know) that the Holiday Inn Historic Gateway would be the property I'd win with a successful 3* bid in this zone. Tripadvisor says its the #1 rated hotel in Williamsburg, so I am happy with my last-minute purchase. I used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link. Thanks!

Holiday Inn Hotel And Suites Williamsburg - Historic Gateway

Williamsburg Center - Outlets

515 Bypass Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185

757-229-9990

Check-In: Sun, Nov 27, 2011 / After 04:00 PM

Check-Out: Mon, Nov 28, 2011 / 11:00 AM

Rooms: 1 room / 1 night

Offer Price: avg. per room, per night

$46.00

Rooms: 1

Nights: 1 + Add nights for the same rate!

Room Subtotal: $46.00

Taxes & Fees: $14.15

Total Charged to Card: $60.15

Oh, I didn't know a Hotwire hotel's "% Recommended" fluctuated even without new reviews coming in. You're saying its very possible that all 3 times I searched (90%, then 95%, then "still gathering reviews") it was the Omni that came up?

When the % recommended is low (below 75%), I stay away. And when its 100% or 95% for something in my desired area & price range, my interest is piqued.

I expect that, within the fluctuations of each hotel, the "% recommended" never fluctuates higher than the actual percentage (except maybe through rounding). Is that what you understand to be the case? And do you know how much fluctuation can happen with a single property? (5%? 10%?)

Thanks for educating me about this.

I was eyeing a rental car out of LaGuardia for several weeks.

Usually, if we can't get a car cheap enough at a LaGuardia, I put together a plan to take public transportation up to Westchester or Connecticut and then rent from there, with a NYC drop-off for when we visit our city friends at the end of our trip. This involves taking the M60 bus from LGA to the Harlem/125th Metro North Station and then catching a train from there. It's a pair of pretty reliable services, and being on the train is actually quite pleasant, outside of rush hour. But this kind of travelling with a 4-year-old, and now another infant, gets increasingly more difficult and less inexpensive. And these non-airport car rental places often close at around 6pm, which is tricky if we're flying in from the Western US that same day.

I got a bonus cash coupon in my email this morning, which expires today, and decided to give it a try (using this site's PRICELINE link). I knew that I'd only get one bid for a 'standard car' with this coupon. (the coupon was for a standard-or-higher car), so I didn't start as low as I might have otherwise. Hotwire's best standard rate for my dates was $34.95/day. Based on the postings on this board I decided to bid $30 ($26+$4 bonus cash), and I got it. I feel like I might've been able to bid a couple bucks less and still get the car, but I can't be sure.

It's still a more expensive rental car than the one-way intermediate I had arranged over a month ago from Fairfield, CT to Manhattan (a week at $187.51, after all taxes, plus there'd be $30 for bus and train fare), but the LGA rental has a substantially lower hassle factor.

Offer Price Summary

Bonus Cash Per Day: $4.00 (USD) (per day)

Your Offer Price Per Day: $26.00 (USD) (per day)

Total Offer Price with Bonus: $30.00 (USD) (per day)

Total Charges

Your Offer Price: $26.00 (per day)

Total Rental Days: 7 days

Subtotal: $182.00

Taxes and Fees: $76.99

Total Charges: $258.99

Lowest Published Price: $635.31 (USD)

Total Savings:* $376.32 (USD) (You saved 59%)

Trip details

Omni Interlocken Resort

Amenities - Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-Speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby

Recommended by 95% of Hotwire users.

Rate per night: $91.00

Nights: 1

Rooms: 1

Tax recovery charges & fees: $19.66

Subtotal: $110.67

Trip total: $110.67

Date booked: Sun, Jul 10, 2011 (same-day booking)

Based upon Betterbidding's Hotwire list, I basically understood that this 4 star property, in this zone, with these 6 amenities, could be either the Westin Westminster or the Omni. I wanted the Omni because I wanted to spend the day at the swimming pool with my little girl. On the Hotel's own website's I could see both hotel's pools, and it seemed clear that the Omni's was nicer. I also like the vibe of these off-on-their-own Omni properties.

The first time I checked Hotwire, It came up with a 4-star in the Westminster-Broomfield zone with this identical list of 6 amenities, but it had "only" been recommended by 90% of Hotwire travelers. After that session expired, I redid the same search (using this site's HOTWIRE link) and came up with what looked like the exact same Westminster-Broomfield 4-star property, with an identical list of 6 amenities,... but this time it had been recommended by 95% of Hotwire travelers. Based upon the avg. guest ratings at Hotels.com (where the Westin scores a 4.4 and the Omni a 4.7), I suspected that change from 90% to 95% might signal a change from the Westin to the Omni, so I booked it. And I was correct this time. It was the Omni. And my family loved it. We had a fabulous, relaxing time. It really felt like a vacation for the 24 hours we were there.

(NOTE: right now, when I check the Westminster-Broomfield hotwire hotels for next Sunday night, I get the exact same 6 amenities again, but this time it says the are "Still gathering reviews on this property." I don't know what that could mean, regarding the Westin or Omni)

I need help identifying a 3* Orlando Hotwire Hotel

I am looking to stay from 5/9/09-5/12/09.

The following hotel sounds promising at $29/night, but I'd like to try to know more about it before I book.

This amenity list does not perfectly match any of the 3*'s on this site's corresponding Hotwire Hotel List.

3-star hotel in Disney Main Gate - Celebration Area

This hotel features the following amenities:

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Laundry Facilities

Note: Though there is no "R" (for resort) icon among the square amenity buttons on the Hotwire search results page, after I click on the "Continue" button there is a "Know before you go" note at the bottom of the following page that says: "This hotel typically charges all guests a resort fee regardless of how the room is booked. The fee is about 5% of your room rate, and they collect it directly from you, so it won't show in your Hotwire