HiFiGuy

My dad just booked a room for November 4-6 and offered $39 a night, which was accepted. (The same area on Hotwire was running $44). Total in the mid-$90s for two nights; "retail" is $99/night. Really worked out for him; he's going to a bridge tournament there and this is the host hotel.

Amenities: Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center Turns out, we got the Crowne Plaza Newton. Poised directly over the Mass Pike and an MBTA line, this hotel got a 1.7 on Expedia. We feared the worst, but it turned out well, especially considering I paid less for this stay than one at a Motel 6 outside of Buffalo. Parking is paid and $15 extra, though "go figure" when the attendant guy actually is in the booth. (If he's not, you can enter/exit at will.) You can, though, park your car overnight on the street. (Regulations are in effect after 7 am, and special snow emergency regulations apply to overnight parking between mid-November and mid-April.) TripAdvisor.com should be posting my review shortly. (I apologize for not clicking through here; this last minute trip was booked Friday for Sunday by another family member.)

I was bidding on Amherst. I first bid $50 for a 3.5 star, then $51 and added the airport area, then $52 for a 3 star and added downtown. That bid was accepted. Taxes added $14.74 for a total of $66.74. Parking is $6/night with no in/out privileges (or $14 if you want to do that). I've stayed at this hotel twice before, and my experience has been "meh" (2 out of 5, forgot when) and "decent" (3.5 out of 5, January 2007), fortunately the more decent stay has been more recent. Try to stay away from the elevator/ice maker area. Two days ago, I saw $69 for HOTWIRE 3.5* in Amherst; I should've jumped on that. Oh well. Good luck.

Hotwire was showing $88 for (really probably) this property. I first bid $65 in Convention Center, then added this area and raised my bid $5 (ok, so that might not've been the optimal bidding strategy, but it is 4 am. Perhaps my purpose in life is to let people know of my mistakes.) I did run over to the Omni Hotels website to sign up for their Select Guest program, but they say that "You will receive your card and welcome package 3 weeks after your first stay." Hmm. (And $24-ish charge for parking? Typical for the area, but... aaah!)