Romelle

HGV on I-Drive is showing as a 3.5* on Price.line's retail area. $98 for your dates. If it is offered as a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal it should be the same star level. You can see it if you click through via the PRICELINE link top right. Then click "List View" and search on hotel name. Romelle

There are now three different products on Price.line - the bidding you found challenging/annoying/?, PRICELINE EXPRESS, and retail (where you see the hotel before you purchase). PRICELINE EXPRESS is relatively new. It is very much like Hot.wire. For a given city there can be offers at the various star levels. For larger cities the offers can be area-specific also. Amenities are shown. The price is given. All you have to do is click on one and accept it. You can also check here for an educated guess as to which hotel the offer might be. While you are on the road, you might not have time to wait for a response. Instead, you could check the hotel lists to see if other members have reported getting Priceline Express deals in your destination city. You might be able to match up amenities and make your own educated guess. Even if not, you can select for the amenities you want while traveling - WiFi, Free Breakfast, Free Parking, ... ?? Bidding might yield a slightly better rate, but the speed/simplicity of Hot.wire and Price.line Express may be worth the difference. And having that guess as to which hotel also has some value. Romelle

For an idea of what you might get via bidding, the Hotel Lists (a general link up in the header or a New York direct link down toward the bottom of the page if you are already in this Priceline - New York area). These are all the hotels members have reported as receiving via bidding. The PRICELINE EXPRESS deals aren't necessarily included in those offered for bidding, and vice-versa. Might be, but might not be. Same for the Hot.wire deals. Romelle

Using http://matrix.itasoftware.com, any NYC airport, and your dates, I'm seeing a low fare of $368 on USAIR. For just EWR, the low is $447. DL and American have non-stops from JFK for $485. You might want to use this tool to explore. Then do your bidding below the low you find acceptable. One can't actually purchase on the web site, and occasionally fares will show that no longer can be purchased, so it would be best to also check out availability on either the airline site or one of the more general ones. Under Airfare, on the Support Page up above, there are a bunch of links to general ones . Romelle

You could probably turn it into a 15 minute process if you just did the last 3 bids at each level - $128, 133 and 138 (or any similar series). Romelle

For the zone names, just enter 'new york city, ny' in the blue and white Priceline QuickQuote box just above on the right side. Click GO. You don't need to even enter the dates for this. You want to list the zones by name rather than using the numbers, since the numbers can change when a new zone is added or one taken away. Abbreviations of initials are often used, like MSG for Madison Square Garden and MTE for MidTown East. Romelle

I wasn't able to find actual room dimensions on the web, but there are lots of pictures. Many reviews on www.tripadvisor.com. It looks like maybe 3' on each side of the bed. More at the foot. No extra room in the bathroom, but I did see tubs. The rooms have attractive dark paneling. Romelle

Probably the easiest way to answer your question is to do a search. When you are in this forum just enter 'central columbia' in the white search box (top right hand corner). Or if you want to see the results in all the Columbia zones, just enter 'columbia'. Generally speaking, people aren't on this site unless they are working on their own trip or reporting results. Your request might happen to catch somebody, but the odds aren't great. Think of it more like an electronic library with lots of good tools. Romelle PS - There are also the Hotel Lists and the CalendarofWins up in the header. PPS - If you want to get alerts when new posts are made, the Win Alerts will do that for you.

Yup - has happened to me several times. Some hotel simply may have never been reported yet. One might just decide to start participating in PL. One from a slightly lower or higher star level might get changed. There might be a change in the zone boundaries and that hooks in a new hotel. New construction. New owner and new name. Probably some other reasons. And existing hotels can change their lists of amenities. Romelle

If you scroll to the very end of this site, you will find Hotel Reviews. Hopefully the hotels you list will be there. www.tripadvisor.com is also a great source of reviews, but the ones here have the unique perspective of having been gotten at a great price. As to which hotels participate in NYOP and Priceline Express, you can click on Hotel Lists up in the header. You will be taken to lists of all the hotels members have reported as receiving. Of course it is always possible to get a hotel not yet reported (I speak from personal experience). When bidding, you don't have any way of selecting a specific hotel. Within the boundaries of the Priceline zone map, you have to be willing to accept any hotel at or above the star level you are bidding. With Priceline Express (and Hotwire) it is often possible to get an educated guess as to which hotel you might receive. Romelle

Have you looked at other bidder's reported results in this area? To save a lot of scrolling, you can do a Search on "las" in the white box up above (right hand side). That might help answer some of your concerns. You can get a general idea of the price/size differences by looking on the retail (direct purchase) area of Priceline. When bidding, the differences might be a little bit less, since all the numbers are lower. I can't shed any light on the 2/4 door issue. Romelle

The only way to answer your question for sure is to bid up to your limit. There is a $127 Long Island 2* on Hotwire with free breakfast and 60% recommended. That suggests a bid of $120 might be successful. There is no set difference between bidding and the semi-opaque deals of Priceline Express and Hotwire. There are instances of no savings, but generally there is some. 5% ... 10% ... ? The three Priceline reported Long Island City 2* hotels are the Comfort Inn, the Quality Inn and the Sleep Inn. Only one is reviewed here and the reviewer was OK with it. I looked at the three on Tripadvisor. One got a 3 1/2 and the other two got 4s for reviews. Fairly positive. The thing is that one can always receive an as yet unreported hotel, and the 2* level can be dicey. FYI, I'm a member, not a board official, so keep that in mind in what I have to say. Technically for bidding Long Island at the 2* level, you would only get one bid a day and you don't have a lot of time. But you can have more bids if you simply add in those zones you know are most likely too expensive but you'd be OK with if you happened to get them. You mentioned 4 besides Long Island. So you could do something like start LI at $108, then add in the other 4 one at a time while bidding 111, 114, 117 and 120. Or you can accept the $127 Hotwire deal, valuing that free breakfast and the decent recommendations at $7. You might wait to see what thereuare or one of the other administrators has to add. Often my ideas get refined a bit for the better. Romelle

I've never seen a list anywhere, but those abbreviations actually are pretty easy - just the three initial letters of the New York City Priceline zones . The first one on your list is "Central Park Square". If you are in Price.line where you would be bidding for something in NYC (New York City), you can see the list of zones If you haven't gotten into Priceline yet, the easiest way is to use the blue QUICK QUOTE box up above in the right corner or thru the BiddingHelper.com. Just put in your city and click. For just looking at the zones, you don't even need to add your dates. Romelle

You might look at some of those trolley tours. The step-on step off variety. There are several different companies with slightly different routes. If you found one that passed most of the points in which your parents were interested, that might help minimize the "pottering". Romelle

PRICELINE doesn't show resort fees, whether or not they might be charged. HOTWIRE usually does though, so sometimes can be used as an indicator. I looked at the nine 2*-3.5* Universal area hotels offered on Ho.twire. Two of the 3.5* hotels had resort fees - $11 and $15 a night. The other 3.5* hotel and all the remaining ones did not show anything. Resort fees are very common in Florida, but not always on the lower star levels. FYI - I'm a member, not a board official. So just my personal opinion and comments. Romelle

The rebid zones only need to be 3.5* or less, not 3* or less. In Thereuare's last post, right at the beginning is a link to an explanation of how to determine rebid zones. Essentially, when on Priceline, you want to determine those zones that have nothing offered at the level you are bidding (4*) or higher. It is really important to learn how to determine them yourself, because they change regularly and you have to check them just before each bidding session. Otherwise, if things have changed, a zone you thought was safe might now not be and you could end up way out someplace you didn't want to be. Romelle

One of the web sites I use quite a bit - rome2rio.com - says a taxi from Port of Long Beach to Port of Los Angeles (San Pedro) is about $19. Like any site with general information, I don't completely rely on it but it usually gives me a good general idea. If the deal in the Port of Long Beach were within maybe at least $30 less, that might be an option for you? Romelle

Rates can be very date specific, and the night before cruises tends to be especially popular. On Priceline's retail side the 3.5* Crowne Plaza is $189 for your date. There weren't any San Pedro Priceline Express offers at any star level. You've used the only correct free re-bid zone properly. You could book a cancelable back-up and keep bidding at your current level to see if a last minute deal occurs. Other than that, your only options are to raise your bid at the 3.5* level or consider a lower star level. Romelle

Did you select a 3.5* in Hotwire? Or did they give you an upgrade? I'm assuming Hotwire since this is posted in the Hotwire area, but perhaps you were actually bidding with Priceline? Romelle

For bluean9el's dates - Oct 17-21, 2014 - the Hilton Carib on their web site is $214. They do have a special lower rate for AARP, seniors, government and probably some other categories - $189. Romelle

When the Woodbridge Residence Inn was reported here as a Priceline win, it was a 2*. Romelle

Yes, there is public bus service between Isla Verde and Old San Juan. It is about 6 miles. Three different lines T5, 21 and 53 and $.75 (last time I was there). The bus stops are not necessarily well marked, but the hotels in the immediate area are prepared to help. For that matter, the buses are not necessarily well marked. The street the buses mostly run along is fairly close to the beach. Once you get into the Condado area, there is also the free green trolley to/from Old San Juan. By all means, ride the trolley - all three routes are interesting, and some vistas of the water absolutely spectacular. The ferry ride to Baccardi is interesting and the free tour fun. It does also take a very short taxi or shuttle ride from the ferry stop to the actual factory. I tried for a long time to find an actual current bus map or current schedules to carry with me. I don't think they exist. There is an out-of-date and incomplete one on the web. There is a big one posted on the wall of the bus terminal in Old San Juan. Some of the drivers have quite a bit of English, but don't count on it. However, the other riders will kindly and cheerfully help. The Isla Verde area is very near the airport, so the taxi ride there will be less expensive and quicker than your other zone options. Taxis are quite regulated at the San Juan airport. A big sign shows rates to the various areas. A managed line so one gets their turn without having to be aggressive. Other rides can be more interesting. Ask first, and maybe check with the hotel to get a general idea of what is likely. Romelle

Admittedly the Sheraton is relatively far from the touristy things. But it is a lovely hotel and there is a public bus ($.75) running to Old San Juan and to various beach areas. Romelle PS - I did walk it once, and wouldn't recommend that technique. Not counting the time I was lost, I'd estimate it at about 45 minutes.

Are you familiar with free re-bidding? You only mention single bids, yet at both the 4* and 3.5* levels there are four additional zones that could be used for re-bidding. If you aren't familiar with the concept, it is described in the Tips and Tricks - Priceline area (or here is a direct link: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained) Romelle

You might consider picking up a Miami guide book. Your local library, local bookstore, or Amazon.com (a link on the Support Page above). My personal favorite for directions and maps and good basic how-to information is Lonely Planet, but there are lots of other good ones. Miami Beach is one really long beach. You can walk along a boardwalk, for I think, miles. Seemed that far anyway. But fun. Parking is possible, but you'll hunt for it. There aren't that many bridges over to it, and the traffic can get backed up. It definitely is worth doing a little research on the better ways to get there and to find parking. I don't really know Miami, but with your situation I think I'd try for the MIA airport zone, Coral Gables and Miami Downtown (it is between the airport, Coral Gables and the beach. Maybe somebody here with more specific knowledge will post. You might also look at the Hotel Reviews area at the very end of this site, and the Hotel Lists (link in the header above) to see what hotels other bidders have received. Romelle