erinys

Unless the Sheraton Suites star rating has changed, the 4* that now appears in Wilmington South Epress Deals is very likely the newish Westin, which is about a year old. Only other possibility could be the independent Hotel DuPont, which seems improbable with the price and zone. Not sure you'd want to mention in the list, but wanted to make you aware.

Thank you for the info. A local told me about $35 from the airport to near the Hotel Royal at 1006 Royal St. I appreciate the firm info. My flight doesn't get in until 8:30pm so I doubt the shuttle is running.

A lot. Check out the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar oF Wins search above. Search for dates something like 11/19-12/3, see what's been won and at what price. Check Hotwire for your dates and see what they are charging. Actually, the Hotwire rates for some areas don't seem tooo ridiculous. If you are new to the process, you might consider looking up here what those hotels MIGHT actually be, and then buy one using the HOTWIRE link here. Otherwise, check some of the General Tips on bidding here to determine the best way to bid. Make sure you use the links here so that the site gets a little income to stay in business. Post your result so everyone else knows what they may be looking at.

Used the PRICELINE link here. Was initially hoping for the Renaissance in the White House area, but it didn't matter. Last minute, didn't start bidding until 2pm on 10/24, the night before the Marathon. Bids: 4* $76 White House area $81 added rebid zone $86 added rebid zone $91 added Dupont Circle (knowing it had 4*, just needed a room) $111 with taxes and fees. Perhaps it could have had for less, but didn't have the time to play around. Wasn't my thing, and not thrilled with the bed. It seems to have a reputation for giving small rooms to Priceline customers, but who can complain for a decent hotel in DC at that price? And we found free parking around the corner.

I know there is NEVER a guarantee of the hotel likely to be won. In the past 6 months or longer, the Tampa Grand Hyatt seems to be the most commonly won hotel won for 4* in TPA Westshore. That seems to have ceased recently, with many wins at the Intercontinental. There seem to be no Grand Hyatt wins in the past month. I anticipate a stay either 10/8-10/11 or 10/9-10/12. Of course, I'm asking because I like the Grand Hyatt (I have 2 free IHG nights to use if PRICELINE is unlikely). I suspect the lack of winning bids may be due to the completion of the road construction at the exit for the Grand Hyatt. Does anyone have any thoughts, advice or more information?

Sorry for delay in reply. Spouse found a deal on that Brooklyn Holiday Inn Express through Travelzoo for an average of $89/night - can't turn that down. Not sure if this site links to Travelzoo or if the code could have been used by going through here to get to Holiday Inn, but of course he didn't since he doesn't pay attention to what I'm looking into :)

This is Gay Pride Week in NYC, and the 40th anniversary of Stonewall so there's been a lot of overseas marketing. Only 1 person has succeeded in getting a Priceline room for Wed 6/24, and it was booked well in advance. We have a cancellable reservation at the 2.5* Holiday Inn Express Brooklyn Downtown which works out to a Priceline equivalent bid of about $142.50 (sorry, husband made the reservation so it wasn't through your link). We could Hotwire the same hotel for a little less, but Intercontinental hotels has a direct-buy special Buy 2, Get 1 Night Free promotion until July 3 (of course, they aren't saying which hotels are available to use the free night). This hotel is adequate for our needs. Our destinations include the Lower East Side (Orchard St between Houston and Delancey), the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, perhaps Coney Island, perhaps 5th Ave in the northern Park Slope area, perhaps Williamsburg. It remains to be seen whether we would want to be in Manhattan, but should we want to, I'd like to get an idea if it even sounds possible. Thanks for any thoughts!

Thanks for the heads up on street parking - we'd been able to do that at the Union St. Holiday Inn Express, but didn't recall it being possible at this one.

Others might want to be aware that this hotel could have been direct booked through Holiday Inn Express (which looks like it's a partner here with a direct link on the support page Tab) at a nonrefundable rate for only a few dollars more than what it is when HOTWIRE fees are figured in, which would allow more flexiblility in selecting non-smoking or smoking rooms, and possibly other amentities. We've stayed here through PRICELINE before, and they definitely put us in the smallest, although still completely adequate, room.

Sorry, I'm an idiot. 6/12-14/09. Can we delete this thread, or move it to the Hotwire forum? Through Hotwire, I selected a 2.5* in Brooklyn with Breakfast and High Speed Internet as amenities for $93/night. Received Holiday Inn Express Downtown Brooklyn 279 Butler Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11217 I don't like this one as much as the hotel on Union St (this is a few blocks further away from a favorite bar and paid parking was a necessity), but it'll do the job just fine. Used the HOTWIRE link here. Hope this helps resolve the dilemma of what the 2.5* Hotwire hotel in Brooklyn is.

We're trying to get the Union Street Holiday Inn Express or Butler St Comfort Inn Brooklyn Bridge. Husband's bid rejected at $55, mine rejected at $80. I'm not sure how to rebid this due to the low star level available in any zone. Any suggestions? Thanks, Erin

Grand Hyatt was great as other reviewers wrote, but one little detail is necessary to add. I did not perceive any Priceline discrimination (maybe from one room service person), but the staff knows what you paid. Or more precisely, think they know. I was told by two staff members I got friendly with that some people get the hotel for $25/night. I don't know how one gets it cheaper than the usual minimum Priceline rate of $46 (as of this date). I suspect the records they see are what the hotel gets after Priceline fees are taken out, or what the hotel's profit is over the basic expense of just having the room sit empty. They also mentioned that a few Priceline or Hotwire or other discount system customers are among the most demanding they have, among those who most commonly want something for nothing. That might just be perception. But be a good guest & make sure you tip. Even though room service already charges a 22% server fee, throw a couple bucks cash their way (they don't get it all, everyone's 22% is actually averaged & divvied out equally over a weekly basis and the phone order-takers and possibly bartender have to be tipped out). The $3 room service fee is all the hotel's.

I'm an idiot. I've been staying at the Grand Hyatt Tampa for $51/night for a week, through 2 different PRICELINE purchases. Didn't have the option to "extend my stay," possibly because I did once already. Used the PRICELINE link here for this purchase, too. I needed another day. Assumed like a moron that I would get Hyatt, since that is the one usually won in this zone. There was even a Priceline warning that due to same-day purchase not all hotels in the area may be available. I bid starting at $51, finally got a hotel at $69. Probably should have stopped bidding based on the unusual price increase. Hyatt showed vacancy, but $50 more than their usual weekday rates. Intercontinental Tampa. I forgot there were even other hotels in this zone. Dumb. It's not worth moving, paying the extra day on the car and paying for a new one-way ticket back. Leaving. All my own stupidity, but at least others will know that Intercontinental came up recently, on a same-day booking, and plan accordingly.

Things changed, and I needed to extend my stay at the Grand Hyatt for 2 more days, so add the nights of the 20th and 21st., still at $51. Not sure it does BB.com any good on an extending an existing stay, but I went to PRICELINE through the site's link.

I did use the PRICELINE link. Did something not work?

$51 was first bid. $297.39 total. Internet is extra, but even then still saving me $30/night off a well-reviewed Wingate.

It's very well reviewed. Breakfast, pool, business, internet, fitness Hotel rate:$73.00 NoOfNights:3 SubTotal:$219.00 TaxesAndFees:$28.92 TotalPrice:$247.92

Try HOTWIRE. Looks like what should be the Omni for $86/night on your dates. It is missing the Tennis icon, but there don't seem to be any other reported 4.5* hotels in that zone. HOTWIRE's booking fees have seemed to me to be lower than PRICELINE, so an $80 Priceline bid COULD cost as much as an $86 HOTWIRE room. Just my impression and estimates.

I stayed here in April in Building 1 on the ground floor. I'd recommend asking for one of the newer buildings - they seemed to be numbered higher. If you get building 1, definitely ask for another room. The newer buildings looked nice, but my room was no more than a 2*, probably a 1.5, with a scary bathroom, scars on the walls, damage from leaks, and mildewy smells. The grounds are attractive and the pool bar was pretty good though.

I forgot to use the HOTWIRE link here, but hope I made up for it with my 3 times more expensive direct booking with choice hotels through the support page link). This seems to be a first appearance: Doubletree Charlotte Airport 3*, amenities listed as Airport Shuttle Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) High-speed Internet Access 49.00 per night Tax recovery charge and fees $14.32 (almost 30%) Total:$63.32 Lowest Expedia, etc. and direct book non-refundable rates with taxes come to $160, so it's a good savings.

I was very disappointed by my stay at the Radisson. I have to first say that part of the issue was that I smoke, but it may have simply been a problem with a new employee whose first language was not english, and a lazy or busy manager. Perhaps as a Priceline customer I shouldn't expect a clean or mold-free room at a 3* hotel, but I do. The girl seemed sweet but stupid and had to check with her manager three times rather than think it through and use common sense. Her lack of common sense suggested she was new. I wanted a Smoking room - know it's not guaranteed, but except at non-Smoking facilities it's usually available and they don't repeatedly throw the Penalty for Smoking in your face. That area/wing was 'under renovation' after she checked in the back with her manager, I told her I'd take a room in that section because workmen noise wouldn't bother me, she checked again in the back with her manager, said he had refused to give it to me because he said I "wouldn't enjoy my stay." She couldn't figure out what an alternative would be, so she went in back again to talk to the manager, and came back suggesting a first floor room near an exterior door. Guess I have to give her credit for trying to find something that would be somewhat acceptable. Somewhere in there she claimed or was told that the hotel was booked full, although I'd gotten a priceline room with less than a week's notice. Ok, sure, fine, whatever. I didn't get a their advertised Sleep Number bed, but that's an extra charge even for direct booking customers. I got in the room, and while the lamp shades had been changed, from the smell, ashes/burns on wall and headboard and burns on the carpet, it was obviously a former smoking room. But as I'd been told repeatedly there was something like a $250 fee for smoking in a non-smoking room. I immediately called the front desk and said it had been a smoking room and I better not be charged for the smell or burns when I checked out. Offered to let them send someone to come and confirm that it smelled and had indications of smoking so that I could not have been responsible for in the 5 minutes I was in the room before calling. No, no one needed to come - I haven't seen what is on the credit card bill, so we shall see. It is as difficult for a smoker to be in a smoking room that they can't smoke in as it is for a non-smoker to be in a smoking room and disgusted. But I went outside to smoke and talk to the ducks in the ponds. After a long day traveling, I needed to relax and tried to take a bubble bath in the shallow tub. Once that low, I saw that the rim under the sink was completely solid black with mold. After seeing that, I looked more closely at the tile, toilet, and air conditioner - there was mold everywhere, probably dead but never cleaned off. I took photos for proof. The room next to mine was quietly and for certain empty, even though the hotel was 'full.' I was deeply frustrated and tired of dealing with Ms. Dumb at the front desk with the Hidden Manager. I pricelined again aiming for the 4* Peabody, ended up paying $108/night (plus numerous valet and resort fees) more for two nights. I told the more experienced young lady at the front desk that I was leaving for 3 days because it was awful, but had to return for the 5th day scheduled and I BETTER have a smoking room in that 'under reservation' wing, and I didn't care about anything except smoking, a bed, a bathroom, and no mold. I already knew I'd be leaving the Radisson for a night at a Best Western (which I forgot to look for an affiliate link for here) in the sticks. Even though I was leaving for a night, I had wanted and paid for a night I wouldn't be there to have the consistency of one hotel and a place to keep my stuff so I wouldn't be hauling 50 lbs of girl stuff and a huge laptop across the state. I lost that, and with the schedule only up staying more than one night in Tampa, the Peabody (when I was paying for two nights at two hotels), and at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (left me broke but a great experience). Packing and hauling big heavy stuff for 12 days was no fun, especially since I was losing valuable time packing and hauling constantly. The last day of my scheduled stay I returned to the Radisson and was immediately given a room in the 'under renovation' wing. The 'under renovation' wing was so much 'under renovation' that there were plants missing and pictures off the walls of the hallway. I saw workman once, they were walking elsewhere, and there was no work noise. I got a nice room with a sleep number bed. It was fine, roomier and probably nicer than the initial room. They were so 'booked full' that there was one other couple on the entire floor in my wing. When I checked out, i was billed the resort fee for all 5 nights, when I only used one of their rooms for two nights and they knew it. I just wanted out, and paid it. The moral of this story is they have a lot of international employees who may not understand English well, and must have rapid turnover. If there's a problem and the clerk keeps running to the back for instructions, just demand to see the manager directly before you're so frustrated you go elsewhere. Given enought time and vehement insistence someone can/will/should fix it. After the first night, perhaps during the first night, I should have persistently requested what I wanted, at minimum, a non-stinky, non-moldy room, but I was so frustrated by Ms. Dumb Non-English comprehender (I am less troubled by people whose first language is other than English than most Americans, and am very good at understanding what is being said - this hotel employee didn't understand my discussion of basic hotel issues) and Mr Hiding Manager that I couldn't bear to deal with the front desk again. If you have NO special requests, can handle mold, and don't mind being in an interiorly 2.5* hotel that's rated a 3* due to lovely grounds (which means a longer walk to your car), you'll probably be very happy here. It's probably great for families with young children who can't handle a full day at parks but will enjoy the pools here. Otherwise, RUN to another bidding zone or star level to avoid the chance of this place. For my next trip 5 weeks after this, I aimed for the I-Drive area for safety, and got a 3* room there for half the price through Hotwire (although most Hotwire 3* are more like 2.5* in Priceline terms).

Got Clarion as anticipated. Pool, Restaurant, Hi-speed, $38 It's disappeared for my dates, but for 4/27-5/1 any idea what a Universal Area 2.5* with: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Laundry AND Business for $49 would be? Decided to go with the likelihood of Clarion although fantasized of Best Western Movieland at 2.5*, but Business isn't on the HOTWIRE Hotel listing amenities (which of course may change and there are no guarantees). On their page, the BWM says conference, meeting facilities, photocopy, fax, and public dataports, so it seems reasonable they might add Business services. (4/27 date is up in the air, may extend a Wyndham stay, may stay with a friend, may look around some more)

First bid. Not great reviews, but it'll do for one night. Wyndham Orlando International Drive Universal Studios - Sea World 8001 International Drive Orlando, Florida 32819 407-351-2420 See Hotel Website View Map and Directions Check-In Date: Sat, Apr 26, 2008 / After 04:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Apr 27, 2008 / 11:00 AM Amenities: business, restaurant, boring stuff like hair dryer, doesn't mention internet Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $40.00 Subtotal: $40.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.48 Total Charges*: $52.48

Please change the subject. Don't know why it worked, but I put in same name, same billing address, same phone numbers, same email address but different credit card number and it let me bid on an Economy. Got it for $17/day from Alamo. Total price with taxes was $96.91, whereas Hotwire Compact ($2/day more than Economy, but I didn't bother to get a total) came to $134.xx. Says I only saved 16%, but I couldn't find that lower rate anywhere. Perhaps should have gone for subcompact at that price, but I'm impatient and thought it would only say "nope, you've bid on that option already" and only give me the few, undesirable options I hadn't bid on before. I may have had it clicked before that I'd be paying with a debit card, although it wasn't. Who knows, maybe I thought I'd bid on economy and hadn't. Guess we'll see if I get a nastygram, but assuming I don't, I'm happy - got a car for 4 days at $38 (or $30 w/ the compact price difference) less than hotwire, and considerably less than the direct rates I'd found. If only we could bid on the GPS unit. . . .

Went up to $15 (starting at a lower price with bigger cars) on a compact, $14 on economy, didn't get warning of price too low on either, both rejected. Is it 72 hours before I can bid again, or 24? Should I start at Full-size and increase my rate and lower my size from there? Compacts seem to be starting at $30 for those dates. Is part of my problem my early drop off time - 5am? Perhaps the less expensive options aren't open yet? My goal is a compact. I could use a friend for pick up and driving, but seems like an unnecessary pain that is difficult to coordinate. Getting my own car effects whether I can Priceline or Hotwire one night in Orlando (since he may or may not go at the same time).