Northshorecowboy

Hi. I'm about to bid for a hotel in the Park Central area and am wondering, are you sure the Wyndham Suites was a 4-Star and not a 3.5 star? The Priceline Hotel list shows it as 3.5, and I've stayed here previous years also landing it with a 3.5 star choice. Important for to know for everyone if Priceline has updated The Wyndham Suites to 4 star. The only other 4 star in that area is the Westin Park Central, which charges $30 a day for parking on top of the hotel cost. Both are good hotels, but the difference in cost is always significant. Thanks! *** UPDATE: Just learned that the Westin Hotel now offers a free, unprotected parking lot, you just have to walk a little ways. But, still important to know if the Wyndham Suites is now listed as 4 star.

Very good deal on a very good hotel, BUT all signs pointed to the Colonnade Hotel, or possibly the Lenox, Eliot or Copley Square. So, please take note of these things... The hotel was listed on Hotwire as a 4 Star hotel. The Betterbidding Hotel list shows the Westin Copley as a 4.5 star hotel. Most hotel sites (Expedia, etc) list it as a 4.5 star. Trip Advisor has an average of 4 star ratings. The hotel was listed in the main heading as Copley Square - Back Bay Notable 4-star BOUTIQUE Hotel. The Westin IS NOT a Boutique Hotel. It is lovely, and it is an A+ location, but the Westin is a large, major chain hotel. It has 800 rooms. If you are truly looking for a small boutique hotel, beware of the offer. Again, awesome hotel, but Hotwire messed up tagging this as a Boutique Hotel. Confusion: The actual Boutique Hotels in Copley are the Copley Square, Lennox, Eliot and Colonnade. Only the Colonnade has a pool. The Copley Square is a frequent deal on Hotwire. Full description on Hotwire: Notable 4-star Boutique Hotel, 95% Recommended. Amazing! Business Center, Restaurant(s), Spa Services, Smoke-Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool(s) HAPPY BIDDING!

Amending my posting. I have looked closer at the location of the Omni hotel and it is quite disappointing. It is not located in North Dallas or Addison. The Omni is literally 5-6 miles down the highway from Addision and the true North Dallas area. The hotel is actually closer to Las Colinas, Irving and Valley Ranch. It is outside of the I-635 / I-35 loop around Dallas. It is located on the very furtherst west edge of the Hotwire defined region. Buyer beware.

The Omni is currently listed as a 4* on the Hotel List. Looks to be a very nice hotel and gets excellent reviews. Not the hotel I was aiming for -- really wanted the Galleria Westin or Le Meridian -- but it will do. Mainly wanted the others because they are closer to where I'll be visiting friends and family, and the others are right by the Galleria, whereas the Omni is another mile down the highway. Still, $77 for a 4.5* that appears to earn its rating isn't bad. Also, the Omni has FREE parking. So do the Westin and Le Meridian. This makes a huge difference. Parking adds another $12-16 per day with some hotels in the area. Note that the Omni appears on the Hotwire Pinned Hotel list as a 4* in the North Dallas-Addison area along with other hotels labeled as "near the Galleria", but shows up on the actual Hotwire hotel list as a 4.5*. The other 4.5* Galleria hotels are put into the Galleria-Park Central category. 85% Recommended. (I think the Westin shows as 95% Recommended, which is another clue) Free Parking Pool(s) Pet Friendly Business Center Internet Access (not sure if it is free) Restaurants

Wanted to share this "win" because it wasn't really one I'd deem successful. Wanted to stay in the Camden area of London and found a 4 Star hotel on Hotwire's Secret Hot Rates, Regent Park - Baker Street - Camden Market, for US $106 + taxes & fees (only ammentties listed were Free Internet). Examples included Westin, Hyatt, Sheraton, Omni, Kimpton... I looked at the Pinned Hotel list and saw that 2 4 Star hotels listed - the Holiday Inn Camden Locks and the Melia White House. Also saw that most all Wins posted in the past year were for the Holiday Inn. I also checked Priceline Express deals and again, the Holiday Inn was the only 4 Star listed and the main hotel won. Of course, there are always other possibilities... ...I made my purchase and learned I had gotten a room at the Tulip Apartments. This is a small, 28 room Condo Building. The rooms vary, with some being Studios and others suites. All have a kitchen. The photos make it look nice, and the location is good if you want to be in Camden, BUT this is definitely NOT a 4 Star hotel. No restaurant, room service, concierge, fitness center, daily room cleaning... Reviews on Trip Advisor were 3 star to 1 star, no raves. SO, Buyer Beware. It isn't a terrible place, and in different circumstances, I love having an apartment style place, but when you are purchasing a 4 Star Hotel, and there is no mention of Apartment / Suite possibilities, it is a shock to end up with the Tulip Apartments. Aftermath: I contacted Hotwire immediately. Worked my way up to a Manager and she helped me out somewhat. She would only give me a refund as long as I made another booking right then and there though. So, I ended up getting the Holiday Inn at Standard Rate of $179. This is actually not as bad as it would seem. This price included all taxes and fees, so the real difference was $38 a day. And, I am now at a hotel I know will meet my needs.

Was seeing a 4* French Quarter / Canal Street hotel on the Priceline Express offerings for $82 (then went up to 85). Was pretty sure it was the Crown Plaza (Astor) Hotel. Stayed there before and found it decent. Not a Higher-End 4*, but certainly good, and in a decent location - right on the Trolley, right on the edge of the Quarter where many good restaurants are, etc. Bid $70 and was not accepted. Waited a day and bid $75 and won. Sure enough, it was the Crown Plaza. UPDATE: Original trip was for Sunday to Thursday during Mardi Gras, the week before Fat Tuesday. $75 a night for a 4* is excellent! Decided to arrive a day earlier, so I used the "extend your priceline stay" feature for Saturday 2/22. Priceline said it could not do it, not for the $75 anyway. It offered me standard rates of $363! I then looked at the Express list of offerings and the hotel (assume it is the same) was listed at $236 for the Saturday I need. I then checked the dates I had booked and the $82 rate was available. SO, Saturday 2/22 is simply a High-Rate, High-Occupancy date. Working on a new solution.

Wanted to get this up for others. Great hotel overall -- location, quality, service. Started bidding at $80 with one of the other downton areas 4-star. Went to a second area at $90 with 3.5 star added as well. Then added Fisherman's Wharf at $100 and hit.

Sorry about that. The Amenities are listed below, and we actually did use the HOTWIRE link on this site to purchase our hotel. The hotel we selected showed Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center and High-Speed Internet Access. It was also a Customer Favorite. Based on these amenities, we were pretty sure it would be the Inter-Continental. The only other hotel that has the same set is the Sheraton Downtown New Orleans, and that hotel in Jazzfest Headquarters, so we were pretty sure it was not what we'd get. We were right.

This hotel is beautifully designed and the rooms are super plush. It is only 1 year old. We didn't try the restaurants, but they looked great. I think there are 2-3 to choose from. Lucky's lounge is a 10 min walk. Great place to hang. The pool and whirlpool were excellent and I got in a nice workout on decent equipment. Staff was ultra nice. Starbucks in the lobby. We found a spot to park right across the street for free. The garage is pricy at $40 a night. We felt that we got a true deal for $100. I just won the hotel again for $80!!! NOTE: These prices are surely due to the weekend. This hotel is right next to the Boston Convention Center and the World Trade Center. I imagine they do not let the rooms go for such a deal on a Weekday.

Got Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel in the Waterfront - Convention Center area for $80. The pinned list says this is a Priceline 3* (and I think our last stay was rated 3*), but PRICELINE has now upgraded to 3.5*. We won it for $100 a while back during a busy Boston weekend, and found the hotel to be awesome. More of a 4* than 3 or 3.5*. Location is not the very best being out in the Waterfront area, but its easy enough to get where you want, and on a Saturday night, you can find FREE parking. This time, I hit a grand-slam. I wanted this hotel and there are not many out in that area, most are 4*, so I bid $80 on a 3* and WON with PRICELINE upgrading me to 3.5*. This hotel is beautifully designed and the rooms are super plush. It is only 1 year old. We didn't try the restaurants last time, but they looked great. I think there are 2-3 to choose from. Lucky's lounge is a 10 min walk. Great place to hang. The pool and whirlpool were excellent and I got in a nice workout on decent equipment. Staff was ultra nice. Starbucks in the lobby. We found a spot to park right across the street for free. The garage is pricy at $40 a night.

Heading to Jazzfest and after looking at all the possible wins via Priceleine and Hotwire, we decided the $69 Hotwire 4* Downtown offering was the safest option in terms of quality and location and price. It seemed a sure bet that it would be the Intercontinental at 444 St. Charles Avenue, and it was. Just outside the Quarter, it is easily $40-50 less than other 3* and 4* offerings in the area. We did try Priceline, going for 3 & 4* up to $100, and received no success. At that point, there are listed places for $100 or so, but they are 2-3* and seedy or poor location. Considering we have a nice place right on the trolley that runs to the Jazzfest fairgrounds, and only 3 blocks to the Quarter, this is a good deal. Besides, we don't stay in the room much on a trip like this. We explore NOLA day and night!

Just stayed at the Renaissance Waterfront as well (10/18/08) and had a great experience. First, I have no idea why Priceline calls this a 3* since it is at minimum a 3.5*. Some other sites have it as a 4*, and I'd agree with them. Beautiful place, excellent service, room and facilities. Previous poster is very accurate in describing the parking, and I'll add that there is an MBTA lot right across the street that costs $5.00 for the entire day, except you have to get out by 3am. I guess you could leave the car there in the morning and move it after 8pm if you want to save the $$. Waterfront area is still kind of remote from the heart of Boston, but the Silver line is right there and it takes about 15 minutes to walk into the main downtown area. There are some restaurants and bars scattered around though. I'm sure the concierge can help direct you. I live in the area and can recommend Lucky's Lounge as a great place for food and nightlife. Anthony's Pier 4 is a classic old-school restaurant and there is also the No-Name and a few others in the same locale. P.S. Despite the hotel's claim of waterfront views, the check-in assistant told us that only 20 or so rooms out of 471 actually have the premo views. Our room looked out on a lower roof and other buildings, but the room was so nice, we didn't care.

Got Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel in the Waterfront - Convention Center area for $100. Tough weekend for Boston -- Charles Regatta, other events -- but results are decent. Wanted to be in the City Center, but this is a brand new fully loaded hotel and still has decent access to the city. Priceline calls the Renaissance a 3*, but most other sites rate it a 3.5* or 4*. I'll leave a review after my stay. Bid $75 Copley 4* Bid $85 Copley / Downtown 4* (thought this might land the Hyatt, which usually goes in this range) Bid $80 Copley / Downtown 3* (thought this would land the Doubletree as I usually get for $60-80) Bid $95 Copley / Downtown / Brookline 3* Bid $90 Copley / Downtown / Brookline 2.5* (going for the 2-3 decent hotels in city center) Bid $100 Copley / Downtown / Brookline /waterfront 2.5* (same thing - no 2.5* in waterfront). Surprise -- $100 accepted and upgraded to 3* Waterfront. Used PRICELINE link from here to bid.

Just a follow-up on the room. King bed and pillows/linens were excellent. Space decent. View was okay, but a room directly on the Charles River would have been much better. Make the request! Shower was so-so, could stand for more pressure or a better spray head. Desk for PC faces a wall. The TV is on the opposite wall so you have your back to it! Bad planning for business travelers. They like to work and watch. No mini-bar for what that's worth (late night nip, bad munchies). Great, but expensive restaurants in the hotel with amazing views of Boston. No retaurants within walking distance, just a Trader Joes grocery. Extra costs: Internet cost $10 per day, so factor that in if you need to surf. Parking garage is $33-35 per day. I arrived at 11:30pm, left at 9:00am (8.5 hours) and received no break, even though the sign said 8-12 hours is $30. Said overnights are full charge regardless. If you arrive late and leave early, you might find a street spot, but there are not many. My $60 room cost me $118 -- taxes $15, parking $33, internet $10.

Took a little work, but satisfied with the hotel for my purposes. The hyatt is very nice, full facilities, awesome views of the city, access to the river parks, just does not have great pub trans access. If you like to walk, you can reach Harvard Sq, Central Square or Copley 20-30 min time. Note: Parking garage at hotel, for a fee. Some local parking avail on street, but most is metered, so if you park in the evening and leave early AM, you can avoid the charge. See if I can remember: Bid Downtown-Charlestown 3* 50 rejected added Cambridge $55 rejected Added 2.5* $55 rejected Added 2* $50 rejected. Added Waterfront-Convention Center (only shows 4* hotels) $60 Accepted (and upgraded to 3*) Room $60 Taxes $15.23 Total: $75.23 Linked in to PL via savingsbarn.com

Initially tried for Saturday night, 6/9/07, but various bidding strategies for 4* and 3* rooms in MTE or UM/CPS did not yield a room under $150, nor a 4* in MTW for $140 or less. I saw postings that others had scored rooms in this range just the day before, but they must have dried up by the time I started bidding. I was bidding on short notice -- just 2-3 days in advance. Waited a day and changed my stay date to Friday, 6/8/07. Chose UM/CPS, the preferred location, and bid $140 for a 4*. BINGO. Received a room at Le Parker Meridian the first try. For what it's worth, I did use savingsbarn.com for accessing Priceline. NOTES: Fridays seem to be more available than Saturdays. Guess that makes sense. Chose UM/CPS for several reasons -- First, it is a prime spot for the museums and Central Park. Second, it is less "touristy" than Times Square and the restaurants are better. Third, this is a very small zone compared to the others, and there are only a handful of hotels in the zone, all of them 3* and 4* hotels. This makes it easier to know where you'll end up and what will be around you. For me, I wanted to be very close to MoMA and Central Park. Le Parker Meridian was perfect. The Hotel: Le Parker Meridian is a nice place. Especially loved the rooftop pool and sundeck with views of the entire city from 44 floors up! Did not eat at the hotel restaurants so no comment on them. Tried to upgrade our room to one with a Park view, but they wanted $$ to do it. The room we landed was much like someone else described as a "Priceline" room there. Near the elevator, decent space, a view that is nothing spectacular. Room was clean and 4* like with comfy king bed and 40" TV, but the bathroom was just okay. Sink drained slowly, but shower was very good spray/pressure. Overall, I'd go again in a heartbeat.

Bid $60 4* Cambridge - rejected Bid $65 4* Cambridge + Copley - rejected Bid $65 3* Cambridge + Copley - Accepted Good deal form me. Nice hotel with full amenities, Scullers Jazz Club in the lobby, near where I need to be. Not the closest to the heart of Boston or Cambridge, but close enough to get out and enjoy. Right on the Charles River too.

This site rocks. I was somewhat sure which hotel Hotwire had listed, and checking the posts and maps on BB assured me even more so. The Hilton Waldorf is a 4.5* hotel just outside Covent Garden, walking distance to virtually everything in Central London. The hotel actually has much more than the features listed by Hotwire. They show symbols for restaurant, fitness center and business center, but leave off some of the ones they include on other hotels -- Check the website and you'll find you get access to the LA Fitness Club with full spa (pool, jaccuzzi, steamroom...), high-speed internet in all the rooms, an executive's lounge with wireless wi-fi, and other luxury perks. :)