Romelle

FYI - you can now bid every two hours. Romelle

I'm a member, not a moderator, but I've read through the discussion here and this is what I think I'd do at your age and budget. Up above is "Bidding.Helper". I'd click in there. Then split my stay into two 3-night stays. For the first 7/21-7/24 it is mid-week so things are less expensive. Right now I can actually see a Hot.wire 4* on the strip at your budget. I'd grab it. Live it up. Then I'd move on to the more expensive 7/24-7/27. Here I'd either pick the best Hot.wire deal within budget I could see, or the best PRICELINE EXPRESS I could see that was within budget (including that discount you have). I'd have to drop down in star level, and maybe do the "near strip" areas, but it still is Las Vegas and it would let me explore another area. For that matter, you could actually just book the first three nights, then after you are there and better know the area you could book the other three. I might have done that more risky approach at your age. To help you see the geography and your options better, it really would be worth your time to try that MAPS and HOTELS.com. There are links in several of your responses, or you can find it up in the Tool Box in the header. Enter Las Vegas and the desired dates, but change the "radius" to just one mile. Then zoom in on the map that appears. And use the little slider bar on the left to move down to a comfortable budget range and uncluttered things. The rates are higher than you will be able to do with Hot.wire and PRICELINE EXPRESS as they are direct purchase of a specific hotel (no taking a chance as to which one you'll get), but it is a great tool for an overview. Try your full range of dates, and then take a look at just the first three to see how the rates are much lower. Romelle

If you do go with Hotwire today, don't miss that $10 off noted in the heading and in Moderator signatures. Romelle

Have you checked what is available via HOTWIRE and PRICELINE EXPRESS? PRICELINE bidding tends to do a little better for one, but not necessarily a whole lot. Romelle

My grandson and I made THIS ONE work. I think it might be a Hot.wire offer for your dates at $80. The hotel provides 24/7 shuttle to/from SEA airport and also the Tukwila light rail station. From there we rode the light rail into Seattle and back. The shuttle insists it is 9 minutes from the airport. The light rail run is 38" from the airport (and 34" from Tukwila) to the last station downtown Seattle - Westlake. We even took in a Mariners/KC evening game. Returned to the hotel via light rail to the Tukwila station and hotel shuttle from there. IIRC, the 24/7 translates into hourly to/from the Tukwila station and every 1/2 hour to/from the airport. It just takes a little planning and communication with the front desk to make arrangements. The free breakfast is billed as "continental", but includes waffles/eggs/sausage and lots of other items, plus a generous time from of from 6am to 10am. Nice large well-equipped clean rooms. Maybe a 20 minute walk to a huge shopping mall where my grandson could finally get a Chipotle's fix. Romelle

Raza, Besides remarkable NYC insights from thereuare (a resident), you might also appreciate the Hotel Review areas at the very end of this web site. Lots of members have been kind enough to post there, and they have the unique perspective of people getting the especially good rates from Priceline/Hotwire. For lots more reviews from the general populace, www.tripadvisor.com is amazing. But don't waste too much time looking up reviews after you've spotted what appears to be a good deal. Both Hotwire and Priceline Express deals can pop on and off rather quickly. On the other hand, if you liked one and missed it, maybe just keep checking and it will come back? Romelle

If you look in the Hotel Lists (up in the header) you can see all the hotels members have reported getting via Price.line, PRICELINE EXPRESS and Hot.wire. It is organized first by state, then by city, then zone within city, and finally star level. Romelle

I looked at a few sources, and found the Hotel Hershey rated 4* and 4.5*. The highest Price.line bidding star level currently is 3*. Same for PRICELINE EXPRESS and Hot.wire. That rules out currently getting the Hotel Hershey via these sources.. I also did a history search on this site and I don't see anyone ever having won the Hotel Hershey (or any other Hershey 4*+ hotel). While lots of 4*, 4.5* and 5* hotels participate on Priceline and Hotwire in other cities, it is probable the Hotel Hershey has never participated. Romelle

Have you found the "Need Help" area on the top right corner of the board? It works really well for answering lots of questions. Or, if you look in the Hotel Lists up in the header, you can see all hotels members have reported getting via Price.line bidding, PRICELINE EXPRESS and Hot.wire. The lists are by zone. Or just search on "elara", using the white search box top right, setting the search to "Forums". You'll get quite a few sites just mentioning Elara, but you will also get the reported wins and these will say the zone. You might find interesting the Hotel Reviews at the very end of this site. Lots of betterbidding members have kindly taken the time to report back how they liked the hotels they have. Or you can go to www.tripadvisor.com for hotel reviews from a more general population. Romelle

With Priceline bidding, when they specify amenities all hotels in that group have the amenity. The absence of an amenity doesn't mean you won't get it, but on the other hand there is no guarantee you will get it. Also, Hotwire tends to be a little more generous with stars than Priceline. Maybe a 1/2 star. So a 2 1/2* in Hotwire might be a 2* on Priceline. The difference isn't consistent. There are examples of hotels having the same rating from both, and also examples of hotels having a full star difference. Plus, there can be hotels offered by Hotwire not offered by Priceline, and vice versa. Romelle

Even if one bids at a certain level, there is always the possibility of Priceline "up-grading" you. So your 2* bid could win a 2.5* or higher hotel. FYI. Yes, Priceline has changed from 24 hours to 2 hours. Good luck to you too. Romelle PS - I hope you also have a Plan B as SheveinPhilly1 does?

This question comes up occasionally. To the best of my knowledge, at that star level a US Hotwire hotel will have an ensuite bathroom. But I'd suggest you email Hotwire and pose the question to them. That way, you personally have it in writing from them if there ever where to be an issue. Romelle

Yes, you have the correct rebid zone at the 3* level. And your logic is correct. BUT - always check again just before a bidding session. Changes on PRICELINE are always a possibility. Good luck! Romelle

CLICK HERE for all sorts of good information on PATH. It is an easy about 20 minute ride. AND CLICK HERE for a nice write-up on Hoboken. You will find it totally different from NYC. Romelle

I've seen that described as a "city tax". It seems pretty common for European hotels. This reference indicates it will be 6 Euro, rather than $6. Romelle

I'm glad to see you have a clearly defined back-up plan. I'm big on those also. Good luck. Romelle

You might consider making a cancelable back-up reservation. Then you can try the lower bids right up to the last minute without getting nervous. If you click on the blue "Priceline Bid Rejected" just above, it will take you to an explanation of cancelable rates. But be sure to really read the fine print as to the cancellation terms. Romelle

You can now bid every 2 hours. Romelle

FYI I'm a member, not a board official. But you need to know that the Priceline Express offers change regularly and rapidly. If you see something workable, best to nail it down as soon as you decide. On the other hand, if it is already gone, keep checking back. Offers can pop up again. I personally think San Francisco a magic city. Worth spending a bit to properly enjoy it. Romelle

Just in case - you say "...today" above. You do know you now can bid every two hours? I'm not one of them, but there are people on here with nerves of steel comfortably bidding up until the actual day of arrival. You've still got quite a bit of time. Do have a "Plan B" though - cancelable back-up reservations. They are amazingly comforting. Click through on that blue Priceline Bid Rejected" link up above to see a good source of cancelable possibilities. Romelle

I'm trying to see which subway line goes to the most tourist sites and get a hotel near that one. Any recommendations? I haven't done New York City this way, but for other places I've visited I sometimes have started with a simple search "cityname top 10 tourist attractions". Many of the sites derived from this include maps with the attractions marked, so it is easy to see where things are clustered. You can also leave out the "10" and just ask for top tourist attractions. www.tripadvisor.com usually shows up with its useful lists. The Lonely Planet maps generally have both the tourist attractions and the metro stops on their maps. You might consider staying in two different locations - 3 nights in one and 4 in the other. That way you could experience a couple different neighborhoods and check out the nearby tourist sites of each. When you are searching on Hotwire for a 7 night stay, a hotel has to have availability all 7 of those nights to show up. If you split the stay you might see some different properties. Moving is a bit of a pain, but sometimes worth it. It can let you stay in slightly lower star levels when the rates for those dates are high, then live it up in higher star levels when the rates for those dates are low. Romelle

I'm fond of just telling a younger member of my group it is their task to figure out the subway thing. Kids love the empowerment, and rather quickly will be comfortably leading the adults around. She could start with a web search for some how-to's. Print out a map or buy a map. Figure the route from airport to hotel, hotel to your various sights, etc. ahead of time for practice. Even 12-year old grandkids can get the hang of it promptly. The pass in wonderful, since when one makes the occasional mistake, it doesn't cost another fare to correct. It also saves the continual fumbling for correct change and purchasing new tickets. Click here for a good start on instructions. And while I'm at it, do you have some good guide books? If not, your local library usually has a full array. I favor the Lonely Planet series, but there are lots of other good ones. If you decide to purchase so you can take with you, Amazon usually has the best rates. Romelle

You'll have to research the cost, but this article has lots of other interesting information about the tall buildings of Chicago. Your kids might enjoy it also. Romelle

The bidding zone map defines what you could receive. The flaw in the above logic is that there could be some other 5* hotel within the zone not on the Priceline retail listing. As thereuare mentioned, "...the 'retail' side of Priceline and the 'bidding' side of Priceline each use a different universe of hotels". I've been bidding for years for various locations and have a few times received entirely new hotels not on any previous reporting or listings. Pleasant surprises, but surprises nonetheless. Romelle

If you check your dates via PRICELINE EXPRESS and Hot.wire, you can get a good idea as to the price range for different areas and star levels. Then when you've decided upon your target areas and star level you can post back here for some bidding strategy. You already mentioned a max budget of about $200. The strategy will take that into consideration. As yellowdog mentioned, $200 looks doable. When bidding Price.line, the bid rate doesn't include taxes, but they are shown on the last page before actually submitting the bid. The resort fees are not included. Hot.wire almost always shows them though. In the header above is "Hotel Lists". There you can see all hotels members have reported here as receiving via Priceline, Priceline Express and Hotwire. It is updated continually as reports come in. Usually one can do a bit better price-wise via Priceline bidding, but it is always good to know just what is possible via Priceline Express and Hotwire so one doesn't bid over that. Romelle