Was very happy to get the Swissotel Stamford in Priceline, as I heared only good comments about that hotel before. And it was right, I had a nice stay here.
I emailed the hotel before to get an upgrade to a "Grand Room" (1.5 times larger than standard room) - for 40SG$++ surcharge -, but upon check-in they had a smoking Grand Room only on the 28th floor available (there's only one per floor). As I wanted to stay higher, they offered me an upgrade to an Executive Floor Room at 50$+++ extra per night (including the benefits for two) which I took (they even offered me a suite for 160SG$++ extra which I denied). Check-in was smooth though it took some time because we discussed a lot about the room types and upgrades offered. The hotel employee was very nice and took a lot of time for us. There is a waiting line installed, similar to the airport check-in desks, which seems necessary regarding the size of the hotel. However we didn't have to wait for check-in as there were 5 desks operating.
The room was on the 57th floor and had a nice view over the city center of Singapore (not Marina Bay, unfortunately). Size was ok, about 35sqm (same as Deluxe and Harbour View Rooms), and the decoration was very nice. Furniture quite new, and a small balcony. The bed was very comfortable, the TV a flatscreen (CRT) Philips with the usual international channels.
I especially liked the espresso machine which was provided (I assume only in Executive Floor rooms), a lot of different coffee "tabs" to put inside were provided (even decoffeinated ones). The bath room was very nice too though there was no separate shower cubicle, fitted with nice bath amenities and nicely designed.
The lounge on the 60th floor offered a nice view towards Marina Bay, but nothing really special. Drinks and snacks offered during the happy hours, but not really a lot of food.
The location is ok as there's a MRT station just below the hotel and the Raffles City shopping center next to the hotel (connected).
Allover, a very nice stay. I enjoyed it much more than the stay at the Marriott (which is a 5 star in PL).
For photos, have a look at: Photos Swissotel Stamford
Stayed here 1 night before moving to the Stamford. The location is very nice for shopping in Orchard road, very central, just below the hotel is a subway station. Front desk a bit hidden within the large lobby hall, and maybe a bit too small if many people are checking in and out... however I was lucky and not very crowded at check-in time. Check-in smooth and quite friendly, but nothing special.
Was a bit disappointed from the room which was a bit on the smaller side. Apparently, only parts of the furniture (the bed) have been refurnished, the photo of the rooms in the website (marriott.com) looks much better. Bathroom is nice with separate shower cubicle and on Marriott standard. View from the room is nothing special, maybe depending on the floor and the side you're getting a room. The windows are large and give a little bit the impression of a corner room for every room. Central unit for the lights and "do not disturb"/"clean" near the bed. TV ok, international channels, minibar well stocked, usual hotel price level. We got a smoking room (on request), but there were no ashtrays provided in the room.
There is a pool, but I didn't check it out.
Allover, more an average Marriott hotel, nothing special about it, except for the location if you're into shopping. I'd rate it more a 4-star hotel than a 5-star (as Priceline does).
View:
There are still customs checkpoints between France and Geneva, but they usually just let you pass by, so it's not a big story ... won't usually cost you a lot of time to pass the border.
Was rejected in Priceline US with 115$ bid, but in Priceline SG with a bid of 190SG$ (115.242 US$) it was accepted... probably only a currency conversion topic... probably 116US$ would have been a hit too...
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel Tower
Tsim Sha Tsui
20 Nathan Road
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
852-23691111
Check-In Date: Thursday, December 29, 2005
Check-Out Date: Friday, December 30, 2005
Your Offer Price: SG$190
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: SG$190
Taxes: SG$24.48
Processing Fee: SG$16.50 (per offer)
Total Lodging Charges: SG$230.98
Yeah!! Apparently, without actually knowing it, I was lucky, I think, because the Sheraton is sold out already for the nights after the 1st of January according to starwood.com. Nights before (between Christmas and New Year) are still available at the same rate (HK$1150++), tried to add one and two nights before (28-30/12) but was rejected in Priceline US up to 115US$... strange! Thought the New Year's night would be much harder to get!
ps.: first time I used the savings barn-link successfully!
Wow, my God! I thought it was almost impossible to get a 5star in HK over New Year for a good price.... so I just wanted to try... expecting nothing.... started with 95$ for TST, rejected... upped to 110$, adding West Hong Kong Island... .-> got the Sheraton TST.... Cool! What a surprise.... - maybe I was even too high as I increased the bid by 15$ at once .. but still it looks to me as a great deal...
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel Tower
Tsim Sha Tsui
20 Nathan Road
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
852-23691111
Check-In Date: Friday, December 30, 2005
Check-Out Date: Sunday, January 1, 2006
Your Offer Price: $110.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 2
Subtotal: $220.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $39.44
Total Charges: $259.44
Well, but starwood.com says 1150 HK$++ per night (~150US$++) so might have gotten it cheaper... should have checked starwood before..
Just wanted a place for around 9 hours after the check-out of the Westin to put my bags, have a shower and some rest before taking my 2.35 am flight. So I ended up in the Regency Park which was near to the Westin, but all over not a great deal, and not a 3-star hotel in my eyes.
We checked in at 2.30 pm, and the room was not yet ready (though we said the bed size doesn't matter). 30 Minutes later (no welcome drink served, though there were welcome drink vouchers behind the counter) we got a non-smoking room (wanted a smoking room) which should have been turned to a smoking room ("We will bring you ashtrayes later.." - which never arrived) on the first floor. Check-in personnel made a light remark towards "priceline", but was not really unfriendly.
The room was a twin bed room, and looked really run-down. Very dark (window towards a near wall, no view at all) and the funiture dated back to the 80s. There was still a third bed in the room (apparently from the customer before) which unnecessarily took space. Otherwise, all the usual stuff was there, TV, desk, chairs, table, minibar, but no in-room safe. Coffee-/tea facilities were available, but the tea/coffee packs seemed to be counted (2 of each per day). The bath room had seen better days as well, but was ok. Bath amenities were sparse (only one shampoo and one soap). The beds were really unformatable, old old mattresses, luckily I didn't have to sleep there all night.
Room-service is availabe, but after 10pm only a reduced menu (around 5 dishes), at quite high prices (not much below the level of Westin/Marriott in Bangkok), food is ok, but nothing special.
The nice highlight of the hotel is the interior atrium with a lots of plants and some water. No wonder, this photo is displayed everywhere in the official sites of the hotel (or the sites of travel agents), it's the nicest place of this hotel.
There seems to be a rigid joiner's fee policy in this hotel, as there was a large security desk in front of the main entrance to the rooms part of the hotel. After around 8pm there was a security guy present who seemed to feel very important, unable to go to the room without passing him. Luckily the staff at the front desk (which is in sight of the security guy) recognized us when coming back in the evening, but however my Thai friend was looked at as a prostitute by the security guy which is not a nice thing. There are no keycards available, only the old keys which should be returned to the front desk when leaving the hotel. Upon getting the key back, they ask your name and check it in the computer before handing the key... I don't understand why this hotel tries to be a high security zone - where 5star hotels in Bangkok don't seem to care about that.
There's a sort of karaoke bar in the front part of the hotel (direct access from the hotel lobby), with hostesses... so the anti-guest policy of the hotel really seems to be only a sort of making money, not to be a sort of "family-friendliness".
I wonder why Mercure didn't invest something in this hotel after taking the management some years ago... well.. at least a good deal for the owner of the hotel, which should bring him a lot of European guests using the Accor chain...
The location is okay, in Sukhumvit Soi 22, around 5-10 minutes walk to Emporium and "Phrom Phong" Skytrain station, but nothing special. The hotel from outside is not very recognizable.
The 5star in Tpe East "should" be the Westin. The 4 stars will probably include the Lai Lai Sheraton and the Crowne Plaza (or Holiday Inn).
Just needed a place for around 8 hours, as my plane will leave at 2am, so I started with 2star for all zones, 30SG$, heading up in 5$ steps.. till I got the Regency Park (upgraded to 3star), which is fine for me as I am now staying at the Westin which is in Sukhumvit too.
Hotel Name: Regency Park Bangkok
12 3 Sukhumvit 22
Bangkok, 10110
Thailand
66-2-2597420
Zone: Sukhumvit
Check-In: Monday, 16 May 2005
Check-Out: Tuesday, 17 May 2005
Your Offer Price: SG$55 (~ 33 US$)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: SG$55
Taxes: SG$8.94
Processing Fee: SG$16.50 (per offer)
Total Lodging Charges: SG$80.44
oops... I needed some time to find the "cironflex" (^) on the keyboard for the o.. but you took it out again :)
Thanks for the new hotel... however this might have been an overbid, as you added a zone and raised your bid in the same time..
Moevenpick should be a nice hotel, maybe you can write a review later.
Well, I had booked two nights at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa regularly (~130 US$/night), but as they said thunderstorms for next weekend, I change to city center... Didn't want another night at Orchard Road (1 night before in the Marriott via PL), so I tried my best for Marina Bay... regular prices for PanPac/Swissotel Stamford were much above 100 Euros/night.. so I went high in Priceline for 4-star Marina Bay, and very happy finally with the Stamford... what I wanted... after I had been at the Pan Pacific before (which is not bad at all, too).
Swissotel The Stamford
2 Stamford Road
Singapore, 178882
Singapore
65-63388585
Zone: Marina Bay
Your Offer Price: SG$150
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 2
Subtotal: SG$300
Taxes: SG$49.66
Processing Fee: SG$16.50 (per offer)
Total Lodging Charges: SG$366.16
Started with 85SG$... heading my way up in 5SG$-steps....
Starwood has a new policy that SPG (status) privileges don't apply anymore to Priceline stays - though in future it might still depend on the individual hotels's behaviour in this concern.
A friend is travelling to NY between May 18th and 21th, he asked me to help him on Priceline, but we were unsuccesful with bids up to 140$ for 3star, Midtown East (what he prefers), was rejected. Next time we added Midtown West and have been rejected with an offer of 155$...
Any hints? He doesn't really want to change a lot in zones or dates.. So seems hotels are quite full for that period in New York.
Thanks.
Indeed, I do have the impression that THIS board has grown enourmously since around half year ago when I joined it... (at least I think I can say that for the "other countries" chapter... don't check the US pages a lot), and it seems to me that the entries in TOBB get less frequent as half a year ago....
Yeah, indeed.... I was just curious which hotel I would be getting after passing the 85-90 US$ border... didn't really expect the JW as I was bidding for all zones... and the Shangri-La, Banyan Tree and the SGS were showing availability for "standard rooms" too.... but well, I can live with the JW... at least, they usually credit the nights (at least the stays) to my MR account.
Wow, quite a high price for JW.... started with 103SG$, heading up by 5-$-steps to 168SG$, bid for 5star, all zones, got the JW... (Marriott.com says 145US$+Tax); still cheaper (PL) than booking conventionally one more night at the Westin (139$+Tax), so I went quite high. Have to change hotels after that night, but the Westin is not far, so no prob.
Marriott Jw In Bangkok
4 Sukhumvit Soi 2
Bangkok, 10110
Thailand
66-2-6567700
Check-In: Thursday, 5 May 2005
Check-Out: Friday, 6 May 2005
Your Offer Price: SG$168
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: SG$168
Taxes: SG$29.74
Processing Fee: SG$16.50 (per offer)
Total Lodging Charges: SG$214.24
(Didn't know I needed one night more - otherwise I would have probably taken the special offers at spg.com for the Westin, stay 2 get 1)
Yeah, bids on PL HK site are charged in HK$, on SG site in SG$ and on TW site in NT$. Depending on your card issuer, you will be charged a fee for that.
The Westin Grande Sukhumvit
259 Sukhumvit Road
Bangkok, Thailand
662-651-1000
Check-In: Saturday,14 May 2005
Check-Out: Monday, 16 May 2005
Your Offer Price: SG$115 (~70 US$)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 2
Subtotal: SG$230
Taxes: SG$40.72
Processing Fee: SG$16.50 (per offer)
Total Lodging Charges: SG$287.22
----------
First bid of 110SG$ has been rejected. Tried for all zones.
Was playing around without really wanting a 4star in Sukhumvit... (which could be an expensive game..), for 1 night May14-15, 4star Sukhumvit area only, offer 40$, rejected with counteroffer of 12$... didn't go further, but maybe of interest for someone... might get a deal for 45-48US$ offer... but I assume this will be the Novotel (thought before of the new Holiday Inn - ex Le Meridien President - but that one should be in Siam).
Just had a look at my former PL bookings, and saw that the Renaissance Prague has apparently been downgraded from 5-star to 4-star level in PL UK (so PL US probably too), while the Marriott is still 5-star.
Which hotel did you get? Can you post it as new topic please?
685 HK$ really seemed to be the cheapest price.... I tried again for the second night (ok, a night of Mon/Tue, so not weekend - but the rates at Marriott.com are the same for Sun-Mon and Mon-Tue).. went as high as 675 HK$.. all rejected (then run out free rebids).
Hard to get a 5star for Singapore... tried seeeeveral times on US-site, SG-site (Marina Bay & Orchard)... and finally got lucky with HK-Site... bids rejected up to 650HK$, added Quayside, decreased by 1 night, increased to 685 HK$ -> got the Marriott... - Has been seen cheaper several times here... but ok...
Marriott Singapore
320 Orchard Road
Singapore, 238865
Singapore
65-67355800
Zone: Orchard Road
Your Offer Price: HK$685 (~ 88US$)
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: HK$685
Taxes: HK$103.24
Processing Fee: HK$75 (per offer)
Total Lodging Charges: HK$863.24
Marriott.com says 280SG$ per night +taxes, so still a good deal.
3* Bangkok (Sukhumvit) Regency Park
in Priceline Hotels - Other Countries
Posted
Yes I know, it is cheaper to get nowadays... and tried the best price guarantee, but didn't get any answer from PL SG (probably because the 48hrs limit had been passed already). The Regency Park is not a new member of Priceline... it came up already years ago.