Houtx79

I'm ok with paying a bit higher for a hotel that I can identify. So, Hotwire is fine. If you know of any hotels that have won on Priceline in the past, I would be interested in learning their names, however. I could not find any on the list. Thank you.

I replied to the Rome thread. Thanks. The timing was so close on that trip that when I didn't get any bidding advice I went ahead and booked my backup reservation. Sorry to have forgotten to followup.

I tried to bid up to $120 for a centrally located 4* but no luck that weekend. Ended up staying at the hotel where I made my backup reservation, the Grand Hotel Tiberio, which wasn't centrally located but very accessible to the train line and bus lines. It was a very nice 4* hotel with a very good included breakfast and I was lucky enough to get a good discounted rate of around $100 a night because I stumbled across some internet special. It looks like the prices since have gone up.

Cambridge area Hotel 4* Fitness Center, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet $89/night for a August 1 to August 6 stay. Cambridge area Hotel 3.5* Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, High Speed Internet, Spa $69/night August 1 to August 6 Cambridge area Hotel 3* Breakfast, Internet Access $89/night August 1 to August 6 I would be interested in bidding on PRICELINE as well if that yields better results. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

1st Bid accepted at 43/room/night for 2 nights, Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10. $86 plus $18.99 taxes and fees, total of $104.99. Used this site's PRICELINE link to place the bid.

Please disregard the question. Ended up bidding on Priceline and got the Hyatt Regency for $43/night. I've read that it's not as nice as the Marquette but the offer doesn't seem to be available any more so I decided to go ahead and bid.

The dates are this Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10. Thanks!!!

Hi, I'd appreciate any help in identifying this 4* hotel in Downtown Minneapolis. It's $56 per room per night. Ammenities include: Fitness, Restaurants, Business Center, and High Speed Internet Access. Since it doesn't have golf, it appears to be the Marquette? Also, are the Marquette and the Downtown Hilton the same hotel? Thanks for your help!

The actual dates are July 26 to July 28 (this Saturday to Monday). Not really. I'd prefer to be close to the historic district unless the savings were good enough to off set having to commute 35+ minutes or more to get to the Central area. If I could get an idea of the hotels I might get, I'd be better able to determine if it's worth trying to bid.

Hi, I'm trying to identify these hotels available via Hotwire this weekend. Any help would be appreciated: 4 * Rome West Hotwire Limited Rate $95 Amenities: Fitness Center Restaurant Pool Business Center High-speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Trip Advisor rating 4 out of 5; 120+ reviews latest in July 2009 3 1/2 * Rome West Hotwire Limited Rate $82 Amenities: pool, restaurant, business center Trip Advisor Rating 3 out of 5; 60+ reviews lastest March 08 3* Rome Northwest $103 Amenities: Breakfast; high speed internet access Rating 4 out of 5; 80+ reviews latest June 08 3* Rome Central $113 Amenity: Breakfast No trip advisor info. Is it worth it to try to bid on PRICELINE or go through HOTWIRE for hotels in Rome? Thanks!

I'm really sorry for the late response again and that the link wasn't working. It really wasn't bad, it's just the Champlain isn't really geared towards American tourists. It seems to me to be more a European business hotel. As far as 3* in Europe go it was pretty decent b/c it's new. It's not a bad walk from the train station (about three to four blocks) but it's a darker, more quiet street a few blocks from charming in the evening. I didn't feel unsafe but then I was always with someone. The Champlain was clean, the furniture is nice and the bathrooms are new. It's small enough that the service was personal and after a day the staff knew you by sight. The front staff including Mr. Arnaud and Nicolas and other members of the staff were very nice and accomodating. Mr. Arnaud Seguin speaks good English and was very helpful. You may want to mention a former guest referred you and that will speed up the getting to know you process. Also, at checkout you may want to make sure they don't charge you for breakfast (they were very accomodating about removing it from my bill) we never ate it at the hotel b/c it's too expensive. Also, when I booked through laterooms the price was inclusive of tax (except a 1 euro city tax.) Honestly, I would bid an extra $20 a night for 4* accomodations closer to the tourist sites if I was planning a stay longer than 4 days. But, the Champlain isn't a bad hotel at all and is probably nicer than many 3* in the city. Do try to visit the Parc Monceau if that's your thing, it's a really lovely spot. Bon voyage! P.S. In all the excitement, I don't remember if I used the PRICELINE link. :) However, I'm about to bid on another hotel stay and will certainly use the link. :)

Sorry to take so long to respond. I was away. :) So, I ended up bidding on a hotel in the middle of our stay. The Champlain was a reasonable 3 star hotel -- clean, newly renovated including bathrooms and accommodating staff (especially, after they get to know you) although they were working out some newly reopened hotel bugs (phone call transfers from the US were hit or miss). Cons: tiny elevator, distance and, most importantly to me, no view. The view of our room was of the much graffitied train rail line and not a charming French neighborhood (if you look very closely at the pictures on their website you can see the creative angling and the graffiti). The Rome Metro is about three blocks away and isn't on a direct line to the major sites and so we had to transfer or walk a ways, which isn't a big deal but got tiring after a couple days considering how much you walk in Paris. In addition to the generally accomodating staff, one thing nice about the Champlain was its proximity to the Parc Monceau and this great little street Rue de Levis where they had food shops and bakeries perfect for compiling a picnic. So, after a few days we ended up bidding at an internet cafe (I know, security, security!) and got the Concorde Lafayette for $152/night for May 25-27. With the exchange rate, it was a better deal. On our first night, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and seeing the Lafayette, I realized it wasn't as far as I feared so I went to the hotel before bidding just to check it out. Considering the exchange rate, it gave me some peace of mind to pay in dollars and to have the hotel pre-paid. The Concorde is directly connected to a shopping center (with a gourmet grocery store on the bottom floor if you want to eat in or get picnic food -- we saved a lot of money by getting food and wine from food shops instead of restaurants) and the metro. The Arc de Triomphe was walkable but by the time we relocated, our feet were begging us to save the walking for absolutely necessary. The Concorde is on the same train line as the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, etc so it was so much more convenient for getting around. The beds were softer (although they only provided comforters versus light blankets). In addition, considering the Champlain's new renovation, the bathroom was more dated (however, the provided toiletries were much nicer). In checking in, we requested a room with a view and got one of the Eiffel Tower. The area around the hotel is a business center and the hotel was very busy b/c it seems to constantly host conferences. Honestly, it's not 4* by American standards, but it was more comfortable than what is considered 3* in Paris. I would call it an American 3 to 3.5*. They fudge a little with the standards, the top floors, which I don't think get sold to Priceline, are 4* with perks like gym access. The floors below the 25th floor don't have the extra 4* perks. However, if you're still interested in the Hotel Champlain, here's the link: http://www.hotelchamplainparis.com/fr/offres/ for the special rate. It looks like it's now 95 Euro a night. I didn't book directly with the hotel for the 110/euro per night rate I paid. And, when I tried to get the 85 Euro rate they advertised, it was only available on certain days -- not necessarily every day of my stay. I went through a website called Laterooms.com, which was hit and miss as far as rates, but seemed to beat the Champlain's web rates by at least a couple Euro. Hope you have a lovely time!

I did as suggested and, as predicted, no luck. Luckily, I'm getting a decent deal at the Hotel Champlain because of its grand renovation special. If anyone is interested in booking there I would suggest going to the Design Hotel Paris Offres Speciales link which, although in French, is offering, at 85 Euro per night, an even better rate than I have reserved. Thanks so much for all the help and suggestions! I'm glad to have tried.

Thanks very much. I really appreciate all the help. I'll let you know how it goes.

The least expensive 4* in either zone. Thank you.

I'd like to bid in OQE and St. Germaine - Latin Quarter.

I'm sorry. I'm sure I'm driving you nuts with my desire to have my cake and eat it too. Well, perhaps appropriate considering I'm going to the land of Marie Antoinette. I would say zone and quality is more important that the savings. I think I've resigned myself to the fact that the $155 cap at this late date won't give me many choices so I don't expect to hit on something that will go for $125 and yet be 4* worthy. My preferance would be for any of the 4* in OQE - Les Halles (by the way, I've seen postings that Hotel Ambassador is now one of the offerings) (I've been looking at the reservation offerings on each of the identified hotels' websites and they are pretty booked for the time frame and beyond the price range so it may be that this would be a free rebid rather than a realistic option for me even with splitting the stay with another hotel) any 4* American chain hotel in any of the aforementioned zones, particulary the Marriott Rive Gauche or the Hilton Suffren. But, if you don't think I could get either of those two without either going beyond the $155 cap or would get put in an offering not as nice as those two hotels then I'll just avoid bidding for this trip. I think I'll refrain from bidding on Champs Elysees - OQW because all the winning bids in my price range seem to be for the Concord Lafayette, unless you think there's a good chance of getting a different hotel. Perhaps the Concord Lafayette isn't as bad as I think but the latest reviews on it indicate that it's overpriced and farther away than the hotel where I have made a reservation. Thanks so much.

I'd want to bid on a 4* first.

Thanks so much. I am willing to split my bid (even on the possibility of having to move to another hotel.) I am hoping to get a better deal than the hotel I reserved so my maximum nightly bid before taxes and fees would be below $155 (as I'm supposed to pay approximately $170/night at the hotel I reserved.) I'm hoping for Zones 3 (Champs Elysees), 6 (Opera Quarter East - Les Halles), 4 (Eiffel Tower), or 7 (St. Germain) (in that order). I am looking for the least expensive 3* or better in these locations but preferably a 4* in these locations but even if it's the same distance as my current hotel. Thanks for your help.

Hi, I'm a new user. Thanks very much for this board! I'm planning a spur of the moment trip for May 21-27 and have a back up hotel reservation of around $170/night at the Hotel Champlain in the 17th, which has just been renovated and looks lovely but I understand that's not exactly in easy walking distance of the usual favorite sites. I'd like to beat the $170 price (taxes and fees are included) if that's possible but get closer to the tourist sites. So, I would very much appreciate any advice on bidding for a 3* to 4* hotel room within closer walking distance to the tourist sites, St. Germain or the Opera district have been recommended to me but I'm open, and/or whether I should just stick with my reservation. Thanks so much!!!