wliwlCindy

Congratulations on the new baby!!! ENJOY. It goes by sooooo fast. (Just sent my baby off to college - what the heck???)

Stayed at this hotel on 8/18/07 with a Priceline bid of $70 each for two rooms. (Pretty expensive, but I was desperate.) Both rooms had 2 double beds. Somehow, double beds seem so old-fashioned in hotels now a days, however it was what I requested. This hotel is just OK. It lacks the upscale feeling of Marriott bedding, and the rooms in general are dated. The TV didn't work (remote control broken, picture fuzzy). Bathroom had the mandatory mold in the shower (why don't hotels know about bleach?!). Carpet was OK. Sheets were tired, but at least it had a fitted sheet on the beds (one of my pet peeves). Hotel was quiet, in spite of several weddings going on. The pool in this hotel is fairly amazing, and looked like fun, although we did not use it. This hotel is on a strip with every conceivable chain store and restaurant. We did not use any of the facilities there, except to buy a cup of coffee in the gift shop. (No free coffee unless you want to make it in your room.) For 3* the Marriott on Wolf Rd is a better property by far. I'm probably not the first person to come to this conclusion, but really, bidding on 2 1/2* seems to bring up much better properties than the 3* these days. You usually get much newer hotels, and free breakfast.

Finally won a bid: 8/18/07 2 rooms Bid $55 3* Airport rejected $65 3* Airport + SUNY rejected $70 3* Airport + SUNY + Latham won Won Holiday Inn Turf on Wolf Rd., Airport zone, 3*. This was the highest bid I've placed. $140.00 $28.78 tax $168.78 total On line rate $99.95/room Thanks everybody!

Well, for starters, you can not choose a 2 room suite on Priceline. You get whatever room they give you, including bed configurations. If you can do two rooms with one double bed in each (the minimum) then go ahead and try Priceline, bidding on two rooms. It's tough with a family. I might start with a $125 bid, in your preferred neighborhood and then add in zones to up the price, but I am not an expert on NYC by any means.

Evidently there is still no availability for "normal" Priceline prices outside Albany downtown. On 8/16/07 I bid for two rooms for Saturday, 8/18: $55 3* Airport $60 3* Airport + SUNY $65 Airport + SUNY + Latham And then a new bid: $55 2 1/2* Airport $60 2 1/2* Airport + SUNY $65 2 1/2* Airport + SUNY + Latham I have fall back full-price reservations in Worcester, but would much prefer to find cheap but decent (not the Best Western!) rooms outside Albany downtown. I'll probably try tomorrow too.

One thing I forgot about recently (and the moderator on here was nice enough to remind me of) is that Priceline can bump you up to a star higher than you've bid (for instance, you bid a 2 1/2* which doesn't exist downtown, but it could give you a 3* there). So, if you don't have a problem with staying downtown it doesn't really matter, but it's just something to keep in mind. I can't think of anything going on in Rochester that weekend. Good luck!

OMG! Good point about the "upgrade" to 3*!" I forgot about that! And it happened to me recently for Worcester and I was not happy. Thanks everybody for your help. This forum is so great. I'll keep you posted if I decide to bid again.

Hi Mike, Well to further complicate matters I need two rooms because there will be 4 of us (including 2 adults and 2 BIG semi-adults haha). Last night I tried the following re-bids in Albany area: $65 3* Alb Airport $65 2 1/2* Alb Airport $70 3* Alb Airport + Schenectady (no 3*) $70 2 1/2* Alb Airport + Schenectady (no 2 1/2*) + Albany DT (no 2 1/2*) $70 2 1/2* Alb Airport + Schenectady (no 2 1/2*) + Albany DT (no 2 1/2*) + Latham All rejected. I'm wondering if it doesn't matter at this point how much I bid, perhaps they just aren't doing Priceline for the weekend. Thanks again.

Very interesting!!! I couldn't imagine why it was hard to get a hotel room in Albany on a Saturday night! LOL We will have all my son's belongings in the car (he's moving to college in Worcester, MA) and I am hesitant to leave it in a downtown lot or garage overnight. We are leaving from Rochester very late Saturday due to other commitments and I don't want to drive straight through, but maybe we'll have to. Thanks!!!

After trying to get a 3* (previous post) we bid $45 on a 2 1/2*, rejected. Added SUNY zone and upped bid to $50, rejected. I'll wait a couple days and try again.

Started 3* Albany airport (in the past we've always gotten the Marriott on Wolf Rd) at $50, rejected. Added SUNY zone and upped bid to $55 rejected. Added Latham and bid $60 rejected. Darn.

We stayed at the 3* Worcester Crowne Plaza recently with a Priceline bid of around $50. It is just an OK hotel. Actually, it's pretty frayed around the edges. (Maybe I'm spoiled by staying in too many brand new Hampton Inns, etc.) The lobby looks pretty good, but worn; door handles are broken, the elevator is scratched and dented, the parking garage roof is caving in. The pool is quite large, and is one of those pools where you can swim from inside to outside, but it is chipped and generally worn out looking. (Same with the whirlpool.) Our room was pretty sad. It had a king bed (not as comfy as Marriott's) with a duvet that looked like it was not especially clean. The furniture was just one small stuffed chair - no end tables or anything, and a small desk with an uncomfortable dining-room-like chair. The bathroom was small and stinky. The door had a big hole in it and it didn't shut. A little mold in the bathtub. This really sounds worse than it was, but there you have it. And for $50, well, it was a good deal. In the past, we've gotten the Residence Inn for $50 (a 2 1/2* hotel) and it is WONDERFUL. Way better! Had an awesome pizza at The Corner Grille. Check it out. SUPER thin. Yum.

I guess I didn't know Priceline would do this... I wanted a 2 1/2* hotel (in this particular city you always get the same place), but when I bid it gave me a 3* hotel. Is this a new thing, or something I just never noticed before? Thanks for thoughts.

Bid for 2.5* Worcester area only at $45. Rejected Added on Auburn at $48. Rejected Added on Sturbridge at $50. Accepted (Bid 2.5* and got 3*).

Bid $45 for a 2* in Terre Haute, Indiana for one night, March 30, 2007. Rarely, the Fairfield comes up for that area, but I've never seen any other hotel listed. Bid rejected. No other zones to add. Called Fairfield - they're booked. Reserved an expensive ($103) mini-suite room at a Best Western. Thank you.

Bid and won $38 for a one night stopover in Springfield Ohio on 3/29/07 at the Marriott Courtyard. Room $38 Taxes and fees $12.23 Total $50.33 Good deal! (You might want to add this to the Ohio Hotel List.)

Bid 3* Albany airport for $50 and was rejected. Added Latham (no 3* hotels) and rebid for $55. Won. Got Marriott on Wolf Rd. We've stayed there before and it is a wonderful hotel! We are visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the second time. Last time we got a large room with a king bed and full size pull out sofa - perfect for family of 3. I see a lot of bids coming up at Albany airport for the Holiday Inn Turf on Wolf Rd in the mid $60 range. I'm glad we didn't get that hotel. I don't like Holiday Inns. Room $55 Taxes and fees $15.30 Total $70.30

I'm thrilled! Won first bid of $45 for April 12, 2007 (one night). Room $45 Tax and fees $12.82 Total $57.82 We've stayed at this hotel before and it is wonderful. Brand new, huge rooms, great beds. We are visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the second time. With a family of 3 this type of room is the best! I was within a hair of reserving the room through their web site for $159 ($178 with taxes). A great deal. Thanks for this site.

This is a pretty standard Marriott Courtyard, although not very new. It is convenient if you are visiting Denison University. The staff was good about honoring our request for connecting rooms. The entire hotel is non-smoking. No free breakfast. We had two rooms with king beds and pull out sofas. No refrigerator or microwave. No duvet covers, but bed was triple sheeted. Furniture slightly worn. Large bathroom. Did not use the pool. Well worth $50/room!!! :)

Newark shows a 2* and a 2.5*. I know the only hotels in Newark that could be 2.5* are the Marriott and a Hampton Inn. We are actually visiting Granville, which has no hotels. I bid for 2 rooms, $50 each. Won. Regular room rate is $99. Total bid $100 Taxes and fees $18.94 Total cost for both rooms $118.94

This hotel was just great and they were so kind. Never batted an eyelash about us being from Priceline. They arranged for us to have connecting rooms. Beds were comfy, rooms nice and quiet. Great location - especially for visiting Univ Pittsbugh and Carnegie Mellon. Lots of casual, student-type eateries in the neighborhood. Note - the valet parking is $16 for your entire stay - not per day.

Can we post mini-reviews on here? This hotel was just great and they were so kind. Never batted an eyelash about us being from Priceline. They arranged for us to have connecting rooms. Beds were comfy, rooms nice and quiet. Great location - especially for visiting Univ Pittsbugh and Carnegie Mellon. Lots of casual, student-type eateries in the neighborhood. Note - the valet parking is $16 for your entire stay - not per day.

"If you have to bid again you might have to change hotels." Oooh -- good point, I hadn't thought of that! So I rebid from my link and it went through. It's worth some money to not risk having to move! Thanks.

I'm thinking about adding a room onto this stay. Would it be wise to use the link on the confirmation to add the night, or should I re-bid and try to get it cheaper? THANKS!

On 9/14/06 I bid $50 each for 2 rooms at a 3* in the Pittsburgh University Center. Won that bid. With tax it comes to $122.38. I believe parking is $16/day. I was sort of hoping to get the Holiday Inn, which is what people seem to usually get. Also, you might want to check what category this site has the Wyndham listed under -- I believe it is listed as a 2.5*, which apparently it is not. Thanks for being a better site than you-know-who.