adhoc

Had started bidding for a 5* at a low price ($60 I think). Rather foolishly I just added 4* to whatever zones I had already selected! Warning to newbies (to priceline, or even if you're bidding for a new place you're not familiar with) - read ALL the good advice here about bidding before attempting to use NYOP through Priceline!

Hi, After much to-ing and fro-ing I decided not to bid through Priceline or Hotwire for our stay in Paris. I used lastminute.com (UK) to book the Hotel Magenta. As much as I would have loved to book a 4*, this hotel is within our budget, good metro links/near(ish) to Gare du Nord and gets decent TA reviews. On a separate note, I didn't bother to post separately about Amsterdam. This is because after my first post here I decided to try bidding through NYOP. Rather recklessly I moved from bidding on 5* to adding 4* without following the guidance on re-bidding. I regretted it right away when I saw my offer was accepted. It turned out to be the NH Carlton - 3 rooms at $75 per night for 3 nights. On balance the total cost was within my budget, but after that scare I asked for help on this board about bidding for Paris! Would you like me to list the 'win' as a separate thread for others? Once again thanks for all the advice.

Thank you. I have looked at trivago too (and did again just now! and others that I haven't listed). The problem is that the trivago searches are based on a double room for 2, as are the expanded results. When I check further for other types of rooms, the deals are still for double occupancy only.

HOTWIRE prices today for a 4* using 3+2 for preferred (central) areas are above my budget and I don't wish to chance an iffy 3*. (Besides I found an Ibis styles triple + double through the Accor for less, that includes breakfast). I may risk one night (3 rooms) at the 3* advertised on priceline .express for a 3* hotel located near Gare du Nord (we arrive at 8pm so would prefer not to lug bags around and taxi for 5 may be expensive). Will let you know how I get on. I may then continue to look for a more central hotel for the remainder of the visit. Our departure from Paris is on an evening Eurostar, so will need to ensure late checkout is allowed. Once again thanks for your very helpful advice.

Hello thank you for those PRICELINE suggestions - I'm off to check them out now! One question about the ratings - the 7/10 would be based solely on priceline user reviews right? In your experience how do they compare to eg. tripadvisor or booking.com reviews (even ratings between these two vary wildly!). With HOTWIRE, whenever I add in children (well 1 child), the results only ever turn up for the (4) adults? I'm worried about the child place not being included in the booking. I'll try the 3+2 combo and see what that yields. Do you think I would be able to find (3) rooms using NYOP, within my budget for 4* hotels for the zones mentioned in my last post? Incidentally, I first learned of your website/advice through MSE and posts by one of the travel board mods there (blindman), who recommends you highly!

Hello I'm back! I have been busy trying alternatives while dipping occasionally into this forum and priceline/hotwire. I am not interested in Hotwire - whne I search by 4 adults (teens are aged 17 and 19) + 1 child, searches always throw up rooms for 4 adults only - I don't want the risk of a paid for booking I am unable to cancel where a child can only be added at extra cost. I am wondering whether its worth simply bidding on 3 rooms and then asking any hotel I 'win' to perhaps gives us a larger room instead of 2 of the doubles? The reason I say this is because I have been looking at various hotel booking sites inc. Accor, booking.com. Expedia, hotels.com, laterooms, lastminute.com, travel republic, agoda.com etc. (you see I have been busy trying the known hotels!). I ahve even looked at booking apartments to rent. For six nights I am easily heading into $2000+ for a triple+double, or an apartment in a desirable area for 5. What are your thoughts on being able to stay within a total of $370 (inc. taxes and fees) per night for 3 rooms, within the following priceline zones: Le Marais Opera West Opera East Gare du Nord (I know, nothing above 3* here) Latin Quarter I am trying to find somewhere in the inner arrondissements (preferably 1-5, possibly 10) yet with easy access to metro and to Paris du Nord (ie. minimal line cahnges as we are arriving quite late). Using priceline is it possible to get 4* rooms within my budget? Through priceline express deals I found today a 3* at Gare du Nord area for $82 per room for 3 rooms, with wifi and breakfast. This is well within my budget (breakfast added bonus!) but from what I have read about the priceline star ratings I am reluctant to book without knowing it was definitlely a 3*. From your list the only 3* in this area is the Holiday Inn at Gare du L'Est. As always your advice is much appreciated. Many thanks!

Many thanks to you both for the helpful suggestions. Apologies for the late reply. This is a first trip to all these cities: Ams, Par, Col. I had been looking at Amsterdam as this is where our trip begins so hadn't looked into where we might stay in Paris as yet. I've been looking at the Tripadvisor forums for info on these cities. A quick look for Paris suggests 1st - 8th arrondissements might be ok for somewhere fairly central? Essentially we would prefer to be within short bus/metro rides to the main sights to see. I'd appreciate suggestions for zones I should therefore consider? We will be in Paris 1 - 8 Aug. I would prefer value for money/bargains through eg. Hotwire, than budget hotels so 3*+ ? Is this do-able on our budget? In the meantime I'll continue to explore your website for advice, tips and details on recent wins. Thanks again.

Hello, Having just booked travel within Europe over the last weekend for 28 Jul - 7 Aug, I am now looking for the best way to book hotel rooms. I recently learned about how Priceline and Hotwire work and am interested in trying one of these methods. We are a family of 5 - 2 adults, teens aged 19 and 17, and a 9 year old. We will be booking 2 rooms. Cities we are staying in are: Amsterdam (3 nights), Cologne (1 night) and Paris (6 nights), in that order. Trying to stay within a budget of £150-200 total on rooms per night. We usually try to stay quite centrally to avoid travelling in and out of the city and being able to pop back into rooms during day to freshen up etc. Although a short ride by bus or metro (provided stops stations are nearby) is fine. At this point I would welcome any advice on the best way to book suitable rooms in these cities. I would love to try Priceline but all my searches show that only a room for 2 is guaranteed with maybe one bed to share. This is actually not a problem for us with respect to the kids sharing a bed, as all three are girls - my concerns are: 1) size of bed; 2) whether hotel policy will allow it; 3) how much additional charges might be for eg. extra person or upgrade to bigger (2nd) room. Hope the above makes sense. I'd appreciate your thoughts and experiences on booking rooms in Europe - another thing I've read is that rooms tend to be small in European hotels. When booking hotels in the normal way in eg. Barcelona we always found double and triple sized rooms (3* and 4*) to be well sized. Looking forward to tips and advice. Thanks!