AEmgee

Forgot to mention that parking is free but local calls are 75 cents each.

Hotel Review posted!

I'm writing this review from this hotel as I complete my one-night stay. My winning bid was $38. This hotel is conveniently located in Lake Oswego just seconds from the I-5 and down the block from the Crowne Plaza Lake Oswego which can be easily seen on the highway. Nearby there is an Applebees, Olive Garden, and a restaurant recommended by the front desk - Stanfords. Washington Square Mall is just a few exits away on highway 217. I had never been to Lake Oswego before and noticed that there must be at least 2 dozen churches in Lake Oswego and everybody seemed very friendly. I arrived at about 5:00pm and had no problems at check-in. I had called in advance and requested a non-smoking room and I was given room 1814, which fit the bill. There was no mention of Priceline. The front desk staff was extremely friendly - to the point of being a bit strange. She gave me a chocolate cookie with Reeses Pieces - absolutely delicious! In the lobby there is coffee, tea, and juices (choice of apple, orange, or cranberry) available 24 hours a day. The room had the typical Residence Inn full kitchen, sleeper sofa, fireplace (with free log), queen bed, small work desk with free wired Internet, and a large selection of television channels. The bathroom had a clean tub and toilet with the sink outside of the bathroom. There was shampoo by Physique and a hair dryer. In the morning, there was a full breakfast in the lobby. The only minor glitches with my stay were 1) the walls and ceiling were paper thin, as I could hear the family upstairs showering, walking, talking etc. 2) the hotel is pet friendly, so a few small dogs were yapping in the early morning, and 3) I got to the breakfast buffet at 8:30am (it is advertised to run until 9:00am) and there were no eggs or breakfast sausages where they were supposed to be. I asked the attendant responsible for the breakfast if there would be more food put out and she rudely said "no". I then had to go to the front desk and ask if they had any more breakfast, to which yet another friendly (to the point of odd) front desk staff said "yes". I then saw the attendant begrudgingly make some more eggs while cursing under her breath. I would gladly stay again.

Hi WAVTAM, I've seen you on CruiseCritic. Definitely looking forward to the Diamond on the 8th. :) Glad I was able to help you with the bid. AEmgee

Forgot to mention that the best rate on the Doubletree website was $99 for a government rate.

Thereuare, the hotel list for Hotwire has this property as 3.5*... it's now a 4*.

I ended going with Hotwire after all: Hotwire purchase.

4* Hilton Santa Clara (Upscale) 4949 Great America Parkway Santa Clara, California 95054 (408) 330-0001 Amenities: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Golf Nearby, Business Center Check-in: Thu, Sep 22, 2005 Check-out: Sat, Sep 24, 2005 Adults: 2 Children: 0 1 room(s) @ $64.00 per night x 2 night(s):$128.00 Taxes and fees: $20.95 Hotel Subtotal:$148.95 Total Price:$148.95 I tried really hard to get this hotel through Priceline. I really only wanted one night (September 22) and I bid up to $65 on Priceline for that day but kept getting denied. I thought that perhaps Priceline required a Friday night stay, so I bid for September 22-24 up to $60/night and still no success. So I decided to just book through Hotwire. The reason I got two nights on Hotwire (price would have been $64 for September 22 alone) is to use the Entertainment $30 rebate. Hopefully if that comes (I know people have been having problems with it lately), it will be total $118.95 + stamp = $59.66/night. Best rate I could find on the Hilton website was $111.00 for September 22 (government employee rate) and $89.10 for September 23 (AARP rate).

Congratulations, you got your price of $46 for a 3-star hotel room. Doubletree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country Santa Rosa - Rohnert Park - Petaluma One Doubletree Drive Rohnert Park, CA 94928 707-584-5466 Check-In Date: Wed, Sep 21, 2005 Check-Out Date: Thu, Sep 22, 2005 Your Offer Price: $46.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $46.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.32 Total Charges: $59.32 Initially I had wanted to stay in the vicinity of San Jose but had all sorts of trouble bidding in Santa Clara and Milpitas, so decided to reverse the itinerary a bit and head north first. My first bid was for $45 and I received a counteroffer of $52 (surprised to see an actual counteroffer amount, as opposed to the familiar "add $XX more"). Anyhow, I ignored that, added Fairfield as a free rebid zone, and won at $46. Very positive reviews for this property. Their website mentions a self-serve business center but I'm not sure if that includes a computer with Internet access (hope so!). As usual, will write a review upon my return.

Great price... I've been trying for September 22 up to $60 with no luck. It's very surprising considering that Hotwire has availability for this hotel (4* Santa Clara: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Golf Nearby, Business Center) at $64. I wonder if there are different stay requirements for Priceline?

#1: Anchorage is not in Canada, so you posted in the wrong forum. #2: There is no 4* hotels for Anchorage on Priceline, so did you mean 3*? #3: What are your dates?

That's from Marriott.com --> government rate (I don't qualify). The best publicly available rate is AU$309 (US$230).

Congratulations, you got your price of $134 for a 5-star hotel room. Marriott Sydney Harbour City Centre 30 Pitt Street Sydney, Australia 61-2-92597000 Check-In Date: Thursday, January 5, 2006 Check-Out Date: Sunday, January 8, 2006 Your Offer Price: $134.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $402.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $55.74 Total Charges: $457.74 After I saw this bid for $140 in October, I figured there was no point in waiting for "prices to drop" for my dates, since it seems that $130+ is the entry point for Sydney 5* now. 3 days ago I bid $133 and got no counteroffer. Today I won with $134. Best rate I could find was AU$200 (US$148).

Thanks for the tip thereuare! Any street parking nearby? Any business center with computers/Internet?

Yes, $38 was rejected. Thereuare knows me too well :) Best rate online is $67/night (government rate). As usual, will write a review upon my return.

Congratulations, you got your price of $46 for a 3-star hotel room. Doubletree Hotel Bellevue Bellevue - Redmond 300 112th Ave S E Bellevue, Washington 98004 425-455-1300 Check-In Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Your Offer Price: $46.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $46.00 Taxes & Service Fees:$13.77 Total Charges: $59.77 Started bidding at $45. Used Bothell as a free rebid zone and to my surprise, got the Doubletree. Lowest price on the Doubletree website is $143/night (government rate). I've never stayed at this property but the $11 weekday parking charge is extremely annoying, as is the $9.95 charge for Internet. Those cookies don't make up for either of these... :)

No, I didn't.

I needed another night in the Portland area, so bid again. See previous winning priceline bid. Congratulations, you got your price of $39 for a hotel room, and we've upgraded your hotel quality level to a 3-star hotel! Crowne Plaza Portland Lake Oswego Tigard 14811 Kruse Oaks Boulevard Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 503-624-8400 Check-In Date: Monday, September 12, 2005 Check-Out Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Your Offer Price: $39.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $39.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.17 Total Charges $51.17 I really wish I hadn't gotten upgraded. The Residence Inn has free full breakfast and free Internet, whereas the Crowne Plaza has neither! :) These reviewers from Tripadvisor are extremely worrisome as well: When I called the hotel to confirm my reservation I was informed that Priceline reservations are for smoking rooms only. I was told to "read the small print" that they had "run of the house" and they "assigned all Priceline rooms to smoking". If I wanted non-smoking I had to pay an additional $20 per room (I had 2) for them. Never before was I ever charged extra for using Priceline, nor has any hotel ever tried to force me into a smoking room, especially considering it would subject children to the toxins in the room. and It was a Saturday night so the hotel was quite full with tour buses and weddings. We had to accept a smoking room with a balcony.

You have lots of time... try $135 before $140!

Note that this property is in Priceline's TIGARD zone.

This property used to be won for $75 :) Lowest prices on Marriott.com for your dates is AU$250 (US$190) with a government rate. Before thereuare gets a chance to ask, what as your highest bid prior to the win? I've been trying for January 5-8 up to $132, but holding off because I was hoping the prices would drop as I still have a good 4+ months. However, it may be that ~$135-140 is the entry point for this particular Marriott now.

Well, before the thread was deleted, she posted a reply asking if PL flagged my bid as a duplicate bid. I replied that I bid Zone A, then started a new bid for Zone B, then started a new bid with Zone A+B (all on one account), and PL let each bid go through. Shortly after that, I was banned.

Well, you can add me to the banned list too. Right after I made this post: Priceline Post Asked for an explanation as my bid was fully legitimate and I did not break any PL or TOBB rules...

Congratulations, you got your price of $38 for a 2

Not sure if this helps anyone, but I made a booking on June 9, sent in the rebate on June 25 and received the approval confirmation email on August 11. This was with the original coupon from a "virgin" Entertainment Book.