freecia

Mini-Review Well, the Crowne Plaza wasn't horrid for the money, but there were several dissapointments and a few surprises. Read on for the mini-review. We arrived fairly late at night and had to be let into the garage across the street by the valet. Ok. We didn't mind that since it was more spacious than the famously tiny spots they have in their own garage. Parking was $8. Check-in hit a few bumps since we were looking for a non-smoking double and they were all out of those. Decided to try a smoking double and fall back to a non-smoking queen if we had to. We went up and the hallway smelled like smoke but the room was surprisingly fresh. The front desk trainee even called up to make sure the room was okay. At this point, we were ready to give the Crowne Plaza two thumbs up... but the night wasn't over yet. The stain on the floor and water stains on the curtains in rm. #612 didn't bother us too much, hotels get wear and tear. The beds were comfortable. Then it was time to take a shower, which is where the Crowne Plaza really showed their true nature. We called for an extra set of towels. The phone buttons were a bit non-responsive and we could only hit the front desk option. I took the first of three showers and the water was warm enough to shower in and steam the bathroom but by no means hot. I also noticed that there was some sort of pinkish orange mold growing in the shower on the shower curtain where you scrunch it up when it is folded back. Ew. Came out and was told the extra set of towels had not arrived and they'd called twice now. 2nd person took a shower. Now, it's been more than an hour for a simple towel delivery. They had to go down to the front desk and ask for an extra set in person. There was no apology or even acknowledgement that there was anything wrong from housekeeping or the front desk. The next morning, I look for a closeby Starbucks in the phonebook. Well. Guess what. I guess I found a Starbucks free town :) They do exist! That's totally fine. We decide to head on the road for Hershey so we check out and go to our car. Drive up to the gate. Can't figure out how to get out. Turns out that getting out also involves a key. I jump out of the car, run across the street, and ask the valet to let us out. We get out of the lot and follow the printed instructions provided by the hotel to Hershey. The instructions were plain written down instructions without a map so we missed the first left turn. Not a big deal except the correction involves 2 lefts - 1 illegal (oops) but it would have meant we'd go over the bridge instead and have to find a u-turn on the other side. Didn't seem likely. So- the ultimate verdict was that the hardware was there, but the details weren't taken care of at all. There should be a clean shower curtain in any 3* hotel. Towels should come in an hour or less (half an hour or less really). It would be "nice" if the water was hot at 11pm. Leaving a locked lot should have been watched by the valet/bellman but there was only one on duty it seemed, so that can be forgiven. Most of the stuff was trivial really, but it did make us glad we'd only paid $50 for it. The beds were nice, the air was clean, the room was fairly quiet even though it was near a vending machine. Decent basic stay. Just be sure to get whatever you need front the front desk yourself if you want it to come and maybe turn that shower curtain inside out. We ate at Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant and had an enjoyable meal. I especially liked the ham loaf and the sweet waitress (probably near college age) who was very friendly and attentive. We had an entire table for ourselves. coupon Great if you want a bit less than a buffet style smorgasboard and the food was not greasy or oily (I'm from California). And oh, unless you want a cupcake or some such sweet for breakfast, make a breakfast stop before you hit Hershey Chocolate World.

Thanks for all the help and advice. Here's what it came down to: $65 at the Marriott West in Norristown Suburb for ONE Sat. night 9/10-9/11 After much trial and error on Priceline for downtown up to $100 for 4* (rejected using free rebid zones) and up to $85 for 3* (rejected for the two free rebid zones of Stadium and Deptford - Runnemede) all Rejected. At this point, I figured I'd probably need to go to $90+ for a 3*, in which case easyclicktravel would have been a better bet @106 for the Crowne Plaza but we have 3 people and the rooms are small. Plus, I wouldn't have been too happy paying $106 when most people are merely "satisfied" paying less than $75/night. Decided that I'd rather just save the money and take the commute in. Bid $55 for 3* in Norristown Suburb since there have been good reviews rejected Added the free rebid zone Horsham - Willow Grove Bid $65 since there was only 1 free rebid zone. ACCEPTED :) from this threadAll in all, I think we were able to get a good deal. There must be high occupancy this weekend downtown and I just didn't feel it was worth the $100+ and possible valet parking fees (what are they averaging now, $25-35?!) to avoid a 20/30 minute drive. Additionally, nothing on hotwire and Expedia seemed to indicate a good chance of getting a 3*/4* downtown centrally located hotel for less than $130+. If I need to drive, I might as well drive 10 more minutes and save $30. Lastly, if there is high occupancy, we're a 3 person priceline party, which we know is the first to get "no, sorry, priceline only guarantees 1 bed for 2 people" when a hotel fills up. Thanks to this board, I was able to get a good hotel at a price I don't mind paying with full knowledge of all the tradeoffs. I would have felt so lost without the kind advice. Used the savingsbarn link. Also, if you're wondering what we did about Friday night, we decided to take a small road-trip detour to Harrisburg, $50 Harrisburg Crowne Plaza Win for some sightseeing. Or rather, we're going for Amish food :) Our trip may be hurried but our wallets and tummies will be happy in the City of Brotherly Love. And yes, we do have a car.

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Harrisburg 23 South Second Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101 United States 717-234 5021 Check-In Date: Friday, September 9, 2005 Check-Out Date: Saturday, September 10, 2005 Won on first bid for $50. Used savingsbarn link.

Thanks for all your work and suggestions. I really appreciate it. Right now I'm wondering if I should just take a suburb and which one. Are they far commutes on a weekend? I recall reading a thread about a suburb which had a marriott which was quite nice. Also, would I have a better chance of getting a 3*/4* downtown for Fri night or Sat night only? Maybe I can alter my plans a bit to save some cash. Again, thanks.

I've updated the other thread. We are going for a weekend of basic tourist stuff. Are there any other zones that would also work well as a home base?

I went with a backup reservation which was $140 a night. We stayed at the Olympia Lodge in Pacific Grove which was nice and about as much as the winning bids on priceline.

Please advise: Dates: Fri 9/9/2005- Sun 9/11/2005 Starting Bid: 4* $60- downtown, rejected Added University Area, upped bid to $65, rejected. Signed out. Second bid: bid for Downtown 3* at $50 Rejected Added Stadium Area and upped bid to $55 Rejected Rack Rates for stay: Marriott Downtown : 199/night Crowne Plaza: 159.95/night Average rate on Expedia for 4* seems to be about $200 and it doesn't show any hotels being "sold out" at this time. What gives? Please advise. Bid at 12:38 am on Sunday, is this a horrid time to bid? I'm willing to go up to $60 but considering others have been able to get weekend stays for $50 recently, and there's no shortage of rooms I'm aware of, do I really need to up my bid?

Bid today starting at $85 for Monterey- Pacific Grove. Rejected Free rebid by adding Monterey- Carmel Valley. Upped bid to $97. Rejected Free rebid by adding Monterey- Seaside. Upped bid to $107. Rejected Can't say I'm too surprised as Hyatt Regency Monterey - $199.00 Hilton Monterey - $209.00 Marriott Monterey - Sold Out No Special Events this weekend, just the summer season. Any suggestions?