Lucky7

I bid on PRICELINE (using the links above) for a 3* hotel in the Blue Ash or Kings Island areas, for $40, one night (Aug. 19-20), and it was accepted for the Holiday Inn Cincinnati I-275 North. I stayed here last year for the same event (also got the hotel on Priceline), and it was a pleasant surprise. I was given a large, quiet, clean and comfy room. Very happy with this hotel for this rate. The only thing is, I wouldn't consider this hotel in either the Blue Ash or Kings Island areas. It's not far, but I was surprised that it came up given the areas I specified. Do I need to post this separately with a subject line giving the hotel name and price and such?

The closure - I ended up booking directly with the Embassy Suites Lakefront for $250/night (6 people occupancy) because precise location, pool/hot tub, and suite accommodations were the highest priority in the end. We were disappointed with the hotel, though. Full review on Trip Advisor, titled "Ran Us Out of Town." Don't book this place for the pool, hot tub, or peace and quiet. Good service and free breakfast, though. Clean rooms, though not as spacious as Hilton Suites and Omni. The atrium design is a nightmare - creates a din in every room. Thin walls, too. If you stay here, beg for a room on a high floor. Thanks for all of the help on this board. I feel a little guilty for not using HOTWIRE in the end, because of all of the help I received. I'm booking a different trip with HOTWIRE in a few days, though. Will definitely use your links and report back.

Thanks! Can I bother you for more advice? I know I need a room for Aug. 19, and I'm ready to book the above hotel. I might need to add Aug. 20, and I'll know pretty soon. Can I add a night to my stay, or just make a separate reservation? (When I book it, I'll use your HOTWIRE links. I must admit, sometimes I forget and go directly to the site.) I'll follow up on the Chicago posting. I ended up booking with the hotel. Bad choice.

Thanks, Corey. I'm using HOTWIRE. Can I crossreference Priceline and Trip Advisor to guess the ID of a HOTWIRE hotel? Or are you suggesting I used PRICELINE instead? I want to add that on HOTWIRE, this hotel has a 4-star Trip Advisor rating. Hyatt Place matches that. The other potentials from BB's HOTWIRE list do not.

Can you help me ID this place? Searched HOTWIRE for 8/19-21, one room, one adult (the real occupancy), and found: 3* Blue Ash Area - $68/night Smoke-Free, Comp. Breakfast, Fitness, Pool, Business Center, High-Speed Internet, and Golf Seems to be Hyatt Place. The other 3* properties in Blue Ash on your master list include laundry, and this one doesn't. Is it likely that it's one of the other properties with laundry omitted? Thanks!

Aaron, I can't find the Swissotel's $159/night rate on Orbitz. It's $199, which appers to not reflect the 20% off sale. Can you tell me how you found this rate? Thanks!

Thanks, Jillio and Aaron. i'll look at the Swisshotel and keep the Hilton on the option list, if I can find it. I'm really surprised that HOTWIRE results can vary so much depending on how many rooms you want. Good to know. Jillio, what were your dates for this win? I'm not getting a hotel with this profile when I run the same search on July 10.

Thanks so much, AaronJB. Great insight. We want a little more than a place to sleep - we want the hotel to be somewhat of a treat. A pool and a hot tub are pretty important. The promise of a hot tub helps us make it through those last 5 miles of the bike ride at 5 am! Sounds like we want to avoid the Hyatt (location, no hot tub) and the Sheraton. This has helped a lot. I will report my "win" if I decide to use HOTWIRE.

Oh, wait - does the Tripadvisor rating refer to the Hotel Class on Trip Advisor (shown as stars) or the Trip Advisor Traveler Rating (shown as dots)?

Thanks again. Yes on your list of icons and 4.0/5.0 Trip advisor rating for the Museum Campus-McCormick Place hotel, but the Hyatt McCormick Place only has 3.5/5.0 rating on Trip Advisor. Is it sometimes inconsistent? I've recently found this listing for 7/9-7/11 (we could stay two nights), 2 rooms/4 adults/4 kids: 3* in Mag Mile-Streeterville, $99/night, amenities are fitness center, pool, restaurant, business, laundry, and Internet, Trip Advisor rating 4.0/5.0. Based on your list, this could be either Four Points or Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, but neither have 4.0/5.0 ratings on Trip Advisor. Any guesses here? Thanks!

Thanks for the reply! Here's the answer to your question. I only searched for one room/one adult, which is my default initial search. Later, I searched for two rooms with 4 adults. The results differed a little, but didn't give me additional options with a pool. Just now, I searched HOTWIRE (through BB's links!) for 3 rooms/5 adults/4 kids and received the same 4* Museum Campus hotel w/pool for $79 (changing to $82 and $84 when I tweak the search by room number and occupancy). I also received another good option that hadn't come up on searches for 1 or 2 rooms - 4* Mag Mile/Steeterville hotel for $155, with non-smoking, pool, fitness center, restaurant, business center, and Internet. Looking forward to hearing from AaronJB, if possible. Thanks!

Hi! First-time poster, instant devotee! Great board - thanks for all of those who help us cross-eyed bidders. My circumstances are a little strange - would you like a challenge? I'm an experienced DIY traveler, but I have used HOTWIRE and PRICELINE only a few times. Would love your input for this odd circumstance. Going to Chicago for one night, July 10. Our budget is $150 per night before taxes, though of course we'd love to get something under $100. The group is 5 adults (incl. 2 couples) and 4 kids (ages 5-16). Some of us will be doing an all-night bike ride, an annual event in Chicago, so we won't really be sleeping, which means our needs are flexible. We prefer two rooms in a suite hotel, like Embassy Suites, with either king or double beds and a pull-out. We love the Hilton Suites by the John Hancock Tower (NMA-Gold Coast area), but they don't have availability. We are also open to three standard rooms at $100 or so each. And in a pinch, we could get by with 2 standard rooms with 2 beds each, if we take a chance on bidding. We really want a pool and a hot tub. We prefer Mag Mile-Streeterville or NMA-Gold Coast. Third choice is Museum Campus-McCormick Place. Regarding location, owe bike from Millennium Park to the hotel after the ride, around 5 or 6 a.m. There's low traffic that hour, so most streets are bikeable. We just need a safe area, and obviously can't get on a highway. I'm not as familiar with the area south of the park as I am north and west, so I'm a little hesitant about risking a hotel south of the park. We could easily ride as far north as the Gold Coast. My options on HOTWIRE include only 1 hotel with a pool - 4* in Museum Campus-McC Place, $79, Trip Advisor rating 4/5. Seems to be the Hilton, which matches the TA rating. Your list only includes two 4* hotels in this area, and the other is Hyatt McCormick Place, which has a 3.5/5 rating on Trip Advisor. Do you think it's the Hilton? However, according to your brilliant Calendar of Wins, several people scored the Embassy Suites Lakefront on and around July 10 for under $90. It's the most-frequently "won" hotel in that time period. I don't know when that hotel was "won" - I suppose it could have been weeks ago. This hotel would be ideal. The hotel reports no availability (I realize one of the sites could be holding rooms). I'm tempted to bid on Priceline for $90, 3.5* or 4* hotel, with the hope of getting the Embassy Suites Lakefront. I realize this is a big risk, but I'm wondering how big. What's your take? Thanks a bunch! Lucky7