LoneStar

I returned to this Westin for $80 again. Not much has changed -- although the fee to park your car is up to $15, + a new 6 or 7% tax! Avis rent-a-cars still park for $5 (+ tax), so it's a real incentive to rent from Avis if you'll be spending a few days here. Just settle your parking charges at the booth in the garage and not at the front desk.

The pool area is still quite nice, but they seem to have taken away the cushions on the loungers. Oh, well.

I actually had 2 stays at this property -- 3 nights, then a visit to Vieques, and then 1 night. It was interesting because my first stay was before Thanksgiving, and my second visit was during the Turkey Day weekend. Very different atmosphere: the hotel is almost sleepy during off-peak (few activities, closed restaurants), but busy during the peak days (extra activities, but the resort feels somewhat crowded). I don't know which is better -- I guess it's individual preference. It was nice to get free rum punches in the lobby and bonfire by the beach (no smores) during the peak season -- and my kids enjoyed the bouncehouse and "dive-in" movies by the pool -- but I'm not sure it's worth the crowds.

For my off-peak check-in, my Starwood Gold card got be a great oceanfront room this time. The lady said she'd block me a nice room for my return visit, but when I got there at 4 pm it wasn't ready. I didn't want to wait an hour, so I got a bad room overlooking the parking lot. For a night it was fine, but had I been staying longer, I would try to angle for a room with at least some view.

My previous "to do" recommendations still stand: if you have a car, try to find Sandy's in Luquillo for an authentic lobster asopao soup (now $6 for lunch, including salad and a pepsi). I tried the nearby Antojitos this time: while not my favorite Puerto Rican restaurant, it's worth a visit, and the red snapper filet was tasty and affordable. Metropol on Rt. 3 in Fajardo is a great Cuban-Puerto Rican restaurant; try the chocolate tierretas for dessert. The Isamar Bakery on Rt. 3 at the turnoff to the hotel has great inexpensive desserts. Both my wife and I thought they had the best flan we've ever tasted. They're almost always open (breakfast sandwiches on cuban bread, pizza available in the evenings), so it's quite convenient for a snack or take out.

Food at the hotel looks expensive, but not outrageous. And they do have an affordable kids menu. With all the nearby dining options, I didn't try any of the restaurants (the breakfast buffet looked vastly inferior to the Caribe Hilton's, at the same $19.50 per person price, with kids paying half), but if I didn't have a car, I think we could have survived.

Before going to the rain forest (15 minutes away) look at the mountain; if it isn't in clouds, it's a great time to go because it won't be raining. The El Portal visitor center is missable; but at $3 (kids are free), you could stop in.

I took my rent-a-car to Vieques (nobody seems to know if it's allowed, but they won't stop you). You'll need advance reservations (multiple phone calls necessary to reach the agent) to take a car, but it's only $26 roundtrip. A very different experience from the Westin, but very worthwhile. Great beaches, and the bioluminesent bay there was amazing on a moonless night (the previous poster noted her trip to the Fajardo bay; that could be a viable and easier alternative). Without a car, you could probably get transporation from the Westin to the ferry dock and rent-a-car on Vieques. If you don't need constant luxury, Vieques makes a great add-on to a trip to the Westin.

I was extremely satisfied by my $65 stay at this property. It was light years better than my previous experience at the Intercontinental. I can't imagine wanting to stay anywhere else in San Juan.

The best thing about the Caribe is that it has beautiful, private grounds -- a true enclave in the city (with a great swimming beach accessible only to hotel guests). At some resorts in Puerto Rico (like the Westin Rio Mar) you don't really see the ocean when you're down at the pool or eating at a restaurant. At the Caribe, the ocean is EVERYWHERE, and it's stunning. They've spent zillions on landscaping and it shows.

Check-in procedures seem to have changed a bit. Hilton Honors members now check-in at the main desk (there's a special area for them). As a blue card member, I didn't get any free cocktails or breakfast (I asked!!). I was a little apprehensive when I was shuttled off to the "garden wing," but my room was very large and well-appointed. On the 4th floor, I had a nice view of a lavish oceanfront garden with a sliver of ocean behind it.

The hotel seemed to be trying to offer value for money -- especially for those, like me, travelling with kids. There were several free kids activities available where they could be both entertained and earn prizes like T-shirts, hats and frizbees. They set up games and a bounce house by the pool, too. The fish feeding from their private pier (they give you the hotel's stale rolls to throw to the fish) was a big hit. As was swimming out to their floating "island" in the ocean where there was a slide into the water. Kids get breakfast free, too, which made their lavish (and expensive) breakfast buffet affordable. Definitely worth a try. Everyone should also try the free (virgin) pina coladas they offer at 1 pm at the pool bar.

On weekends, the place is quite lively in the evening as the San Juan elite shows up in their finest for weddings and such. They look like great parties, and I even stopped to listen to one of the bands. It ads a nice vibe to the atmosphere of the hotel.

There is a useful Subway sandwich shop a block from the hotel if you want a casual meal at an affordable price (before ordering, look at the placards for the current specials, like discounted pizza in the evening or the sandwich of the day). There was also a hole-in-the-wall Puerto Rican "cafeteria" which I didn't get to try, but might be a decent alternative. Otherwise, there's not much in the immediate vicinity. Parking is now $15/day, and if you're just sticking to San Juan, I would advise against a car. Old San Juan is less than a mile away and should be an affordable cab ride (you might be able to walk in daytime). Thereuare recommended the Casita Blanca to me and it's a terrific casual Puerto Rican restaurant in a somewhat dubious-looking barrio. I drove my car there for dinner and was lucky to get a parking space next to the restaurant (I wouldn't want to have walked far to my car at night). But it's probably only a mile and a half from the hotel, so cab fare shouldn't be too bad.

No resort fee, but at check-out I was hit with an additional $5/per adult, per day San Juan room tax. It's apparently a new tax that's gone into effect this month -- along with a nasty new 7% or so sales tax that you'll have to pay on pretty much everything. I protested, but they insisted on charging me (I'll probably call priceline to complain, too, but I doubt that will get me anywhere!).

Bottomline, though, if you can get this place for under $100 on priceline, take it! An excellent travel value.

I received the same price for December 9. $40 was not accepted. Rates in Williamsburg that time of year are not high (under $100), but this is still a significant savings over non-opaque rates. Looks like a decent, but not exceptional, hotel. For winter travellers, the indoor pool is a plus.

For the reasons stated above, I think it's worth about $35/night more to stay at a Disney Value Resort compared to a 2.5 star priceline hotel IF you're primarily going to Disney while in Orlando. There are sometimes special offers (usually at off-peak times) that can make staying "on site" significantly cheaper than staying off-site (the recent free disney dining program is a classic example). FWIW, I've heard rumors that a new Disney lodging offer will be released to the public on Nov. 2 for off-peak days this winter (it won't include free dining, however).

If you're looking for a resort experience, priceline probably offers the better deal because Disney resorts are so outrageously expensive (and their discounts barely help). I don't think a resort is worthwhile, however, if you will be hitting the parks each day -- since you'll spend very little time at the resort.

Well, as usual, when encountering someone who wants to bid this high for a non-cancellable, non-changable Hawaiian hotel room several months in advance, I say DON'T DO IT. These properties are simply not worth that kind of money, and there are ALWAYS alternatives.

One option that might be particularly useful to this poster is the Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO) promo. It's very inexpensive and, last I looked, was still available for Eastertime. You MIGHT be bothered to attend an optional timeshare presentation, but given the savings involved, it would be more than worth it for most folks. All the details are explained here in this (and other) flyertalk links.

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?...age=1&pp=15

You need to be sponsored by an SVO member, but one of the good folks at flyertalk would be more than happy to help you (they can earn bonuses for referrals). If you're interested and have any problem getting a referral, let me know since I think I know a member who could help.

There are other tricks you can do to add nights. For instance, have yourself and your wife each get a free Starwood credit card. That should be worth an additional 2 free nights.

Good luck and enjoy.

This deal has quickly disappeared but, amazingly, the $36-$37 rate at the Extended Stay Deluxe remains.

I looked at July 10-12, but I think it's available for the entire month of July and probably beyond.

I'm kind of presenting it as an FYI alternative to the Extended Stay Deluxe, which is downtown (this one is close to the airport). Since I don't know of a "nice" 3.5 star hotel in the ANC airport zone, I'm a little afraid to book this. While it's counterintuitive, my hunch is the 2.5 star property is nicer than the 3.5 star property is this case -- and $12 cheaper!

I booked several different days in July and August for $36 on multi-night stays and $37 for single night stays. Every day I checked those months was available. The only trick is that your stay can't be more than 6 nights in one reservation (strange for an "extended stay" property!).

Airport shuttle, fitness center, restaurant, business center, laundry.

Now available for many days next summer for the astonishing price of $49.

There just aren't many (any?) hotels in the airport zone that could be 3 stars. My strong guess (if Hotwire hasn't mislabeled it) is that it's the Alaskan Millenium Hotel.

If this is the case, the even cheaper Extended Stay Deluxe property downtown may be the better deal. While the Millenium has a pleasant location on the lake and a nice "Alaskan" lobby, the property gets generally poor reviews (it's apparently run down).

That said, it's amazing to me that there are now 2 great summer deals in Anchorage.

I put this bid in for some friends at the last minute. Given how poor the deals have been at PHL lately, I was very surprised to have my first bid of $50 hit. This is undoubtedly the best PHL airport hotel (connected to the terminal), and rates tend to be very expensive. I haven't seen them participate much in priceline, and there was no sign of this opportunity on hotwire for that night. It was a Sunday night, last minute. I suspect both those factors contributed to the success.

Price now showing at $37 for next July (can the previous poster get a refund for the difference from Hotwire?). A super almost unbelievable deal, given how much Alaska hotels generally go for.

This used to be the Aspen Hotel Anchorage, at which time Frommers raved about it, but the trip advisor reviews are mixed.

Received on first bid -- used previous wins as guidance (thanks!).

Very strange pricing in PHL that week. Published rates are sky-high -- mid $40s for midsize, even economy cars are are in the $40s. When I saw hotwire had $18.95 for a compact, I "knew" something was out there.

I wonder if this is a new trend -- opaque car rentals being very discounted from published rates -- or just a strange one-off experience.

In addition to the excellent recommendations above, I'd suggest the Waikiki aquarium as a "must see" with kids. Affordable, too. The nearby zoo is OK (I like the talking mina bird), but the aquarium is better.

Kids should enjoy shopping at the Aloha Stadium flea market (you can afford to buy them stuff there), although there is some walking involved.

Since you have enough time, have you considered visiting a neighbor island? I'd highly recommend it, and interisland fares are quite cheap these days thanks to a brutal fare war. Five nights on Oahu are more than enough (even 4 would be OK).

Well, the first question is what size car you want. If you'll take anything, it's usually quite possible to get compact size cars at the San Juan Airport for about $30/day + tax. I'm not familiar with the bidding history for cars at SJU, but I would say that it's not worthwhile to pay much more than the low $20s for such a car, given that you'll also have to pay priceline's fee. Also keep in mind that, while most car rental reservations are extremely flexible, with priceline you're SOL if you need to change it.

Given how much time you have, I'd take the best published rate (minus the readily available discounts, see the car rental pages on flyertalk.com), and then slowly bid up from $15 to $20 for a priceline car. If you don't get hit at $20, wait a couple months and try again. In the meantime, you can keep checking Orbitz or kayak for the lowest published car rental rates, and try to improve the price you're holding.

But it's important to hold something just in case the published prices go up!

Yup, I'd agree with KohalaSunset that a couple nights on Waikiki are a good addition to a Hawaii vacation.

On Kauai, I'm a big fan of the Waimea Plantation Cottages, but they're not for every one. You get an "Old Hawaii" experience in your own cottage on a former sugar plantation. But you have to read the trip advisor reviews to see if it's "for you." Great Entertainment Card 50% off discount usually available, so even large 3-bedroom "deluxe" cottages go for $200 or less. Worth paying a little more for a "deluxe" cottage here, too.

There are a lot of fans of Poipu out there, and I'm also fond of the north shore. I've never found a good value place up by Princeville. However, I'm sure they're out there -- and some might find it worthwhile to spend a couple days on the south shore with a couple days on the north.

Folks have had only limited success with priceline resort bidding on Kauai of late.

Given the current interisland trips, it can certainly make sense to island-hop. Although the vast majority of visitors to the Big Island go to the Kona side, I don't really see the point of that other than to stay at a 5-star resort. If you don't want to do that, or it would be merely repetitive of your Maui experience (or if the price is "wrong" because there's no availability on priceline), you could skip the Big Island OR just fly into Hilo for a couple of days and see the Volcano and east side sights, and then spend 5 days on Kauai. The best stuff to SEE on the Big Island is on the east side. I personally think Kona is missable.

But I'm sure SOMEBODY disagrees! :)

This is the old Baymont hotel on I-283 north of the airport. The location (near the Wyndhams) is excellent for Hershey, about 10 minutes away. For $35, it was a good deal for a night. That said, the hotel isn't great, and is properly classified as a 2-star.

If you're used to staying at La Quintas out West, you know that most of their motels are in good shape and represent an excellent "mid-priced" lodging value. Every once in a while, though, you hit an old La Quinta that needs a remodel. This property certainly falls into the "needs a remodel" category. The property is just worn and fraying around the edges.

Example: my in-room mini-fridge was unplugged. I went to plug it in and found a big puddle of water in the back. Whoops! I did without a fridge for the night.

Since I was travelling with my family and was going to arrive late, I called the night before to arrange a 2-bed non-smoking room. "No problem," the desk clerk said. Sure, enough, when I arrived at 10 pm, my 2-bedded room was given away. "Why?," I asked, unhappily. "Well, we ran out of 2-bedded rooms, so I changed yours back to a 1-bed room. I thought that's what you would have wanted." Of course, this made me more unhappy (although not surprised, since my bed-type requests usually get lost on priceline stays), but the manager was nearby and put us in a "king suite" room that has a pull-out twin bed. These are supposedly the most expensive and largest rooms in the hotel, but the difference is small, and the room was only OK (not a suite by any definition I know). The king bed was OK, an obvious step-down from the beds you usually get in 3-star hotels these days. Like the rest of the hotel, the room decor was overdue for a remodel.

The free extended continental breakfast is probably the best thing about staying here, and breakfast was decent. The fresh waffles are the high-point. My son was disappointed by the lack of bagels, which are a promised La Quinta breakfast item. "The shipment didn't come in," was the explanation I got when I asked. Otherwise, plenty of danish, cereal and toast, with the "fruit" consisting of a basket of apples.

Bottomline is that I'd bid 2-star in this east Harrisburg zone only if I valued the free breakfast or didn't mind a slightly worse hotel than the 2.5 star Wyndham Garden (which often goes for about $35, too). Both are good for the price. Neither is worth paying much more for!

The $160 rate at the Renaissance is very good -- you won't get a resort for less on Maui these days. While this hotel is not my personal favorite, it is still quite nice, and Wailea is more convenient for sightseeing on Maui than Kaanapali.

In deciding whether to choose the Big Island or Kauai for your other week, you might want to bid FIRST, and then buy your inter-island airline tickets (which are quite cheap these days due to a brusing fare war). Kauai and the Big Island are very different. I think the vast majority of Hawaii visitors will agree with me that, based on overall atmosphere and beauty, Kauai beats the Big Island. On the other hand, the Big Island arguably has better resorts and has the spectacular volcano. Personally, if I had to choose, I wouldn't seriously consider the Big Island UNLESS I could get an over-the-top resort at a good price, like the Hilton Waikoloa. Even then, I'd still probably pick Kauai. But everyone is different.

If you do the Big Island, and want to see the Volcano, it's smart to spend at least one or two nights on the east side of the island (away from the resorts). As the name implies, the Big Island is, well, big.

It is certainly an interesting strategy to use priceline IF you're picky. This is normally a recipe for disaster, of course, given that you MIGHT get anything through priceline. It is true that, at least recently, we have seen only 3 resorts in the Kaaanapali zone.

I am glad it worked out to your satisfaction. I would urge anyone else thinking of bidding this high to consider the many other possible options first.

Well, I know that not everyone wants to hear it, but I think bidding this kind of money for a priceline stay is silly. Thank god they gave you a decent hotel (god forbid you'd been first to get the Whaler!), but why?

At this price point, you could certainly have bought a room conventionally. So why leave it to chance -- yet alone give up the "perks" (room upgrades, frequent stay points, package amenities) that you get by booking direct.

For example, in 3 minutes of looking (I'm sure if I looked for an hour, I could find even better deals), for about what you paid ($300/night, when you include priceline's fee), you could stay at the Sheraton (generally considered better than the Westin) or (ahem) the Ritz Carlton.

And I don't want to even get into the situation where something horrible (or not so horrible) happens and you no longer want to use your extremely expensive non-refundable Hawaiian hotel reservation.

I still believe the general rule of thumb is that if you can't save at least a third off what you could book a comparable hotel for, there's no reason to consider priceline bidding. I think this is a classic example of that.

This is the former Baymont. It will be a new experience for me, because I've always gotten the nearby 2.5 star Wyndham Garden Inn for about this price (struck out at $45 for a 3 star and $40 for a 2.5 star this time). Frankly, I think this will be a BETTER deal than the Wyndham Garden because it comes with La Quinta's free extended continental breakfast, and La Quinta's rooms are always decent. And the Wyndham Garden isn't a particularly good 2.5 star hotel.

Since I didn't have much time to rebid, my first 2 star offer was $35, so somebody could try it lower. Non opaque room rates here start in the high $60s.

If you don't get all your days at $180, you could try to bid for some of them. If you read past posts, you'll see how you can "play around" with the days on hotwire and priceline vacations to try to guess if you have a "problem day" when the rates are significantly higher. Take that problem day out, and try for the remaining days.

Additionally, I would say it's silly to not bid for Kaanapali because there's a "bad" hotel there that COULD be included. If no one has gotten it, the odds are excellent you won't be first. If you're not comfortable "playing the odds" and absolutely won't tolerate a "surprise," you shouldn't be using priceline -- especially in Hawaii, where you'll be paying a lot of money whereever you stay. Just like it's theoretically possible the Whaler could show in Kaanapali, it's theoretically possible that Priceline could add an unknown, lesser property in Wailea.

Another strategy you could use is to bid for only a couple of days at whichever destination you prefer, and then try to use the "add days" function. This way if you get a dog of a property, you're not locked in for the whole trip. The downside is the extra days might not be available, and that you'll pay a few extra dollars in priceline fees.

Life -- and priceline bidding -- is full of tradeoffs and risks. :)

Ah, yes, the magic of "codeshares." So Southwest could technically sell you a seat to Dallas/Ft. Worth, but you'd be flying ATA from Chicago.

Of course, it would be nonsensical to choose this routing unless it were signficantly cheaper. Right now, it does not appear to be.

A little "price creep" at this property (hey, hotels are getting more expensive). They wouldn't take $60. Interestingly, I suspected something "was out there" because Hotwire had a Wilmington property at $78. The only thing was that it didn't have the "Suite" icon next to it. So I kind of expected to get the downtown Doubletree (formerly Wyndham). The only other known Priceline property, the "old" Doubletree on Rt. 202, was sold out.

It shows you never know for sure!

Not surprised that a major hotel project is planned for Waikiki. It couldn't come at a better time, as the hotel scene there has been in somewhat of a time warp. Of course, with Oahu now hip again, it's hardly surprising that there's money willing to be invested.

Does anyone know of any other Waikiki hotel projects. Might somebody be (gasp) building a brand new hotel?

That said, rates are still lower on Waikiki than the neighboring islands, so I'd guess those places will take priority. You'd sure think that Maui was ripe for lodging investment given the current obscene room rates.