MichiganMommy

I completed this Hotwire purchase back in March for a stay from 4/25 - 4/30. The amenities were: Resort, Beach front, casino, restaurants, airport shuttle, pool, fitness center, golf nearby, business center, spa services, tennis. We just returned. The property was beautiful. The beach was really nice. The sandy area was large giving plenty of room for everyone. There were lots of lounge chairs, tiki huts, and umbrellas. The grounds were very lush and well cared for. The rooms were nice also, tile floors, Westin heavenly beds, bathroom with granite. We had a king room and there was plenty of space. The only disappointment was the maid service. They did an ok job of cleaning our room, but they consistently forgot to leave coffee packets, clean cups, and enough towels (I'm only asking for one towel of each size per person here, should be basic). They were also extremely slow to pick up dishes in the hall from room service. We didn't eat at any of the more formal restaurants, but the casual restaurants were good. Prices were what you would expect at a resort, muffins for $3, large coffee for $3, hamburger at the beach for $13. Overall it was an excellent deal for $128. I would stay again for that price. The Westin website listed the rooms for $255 for the nights we stayed. I'd have been more upset about the service if I paid that price.

We finally did get Venetian on PL 2 days before leaving. The prices never dropped very much. We ended up splitting our bid. For Thursday 9/30 we bid from $200 to $340 and were accepted at $340. For Friday and Saturday together (10/1 and 10/2) we bid from $200 up to $299 and were accepted at $299. We used Hotwire to determine how to split the bid. We were able to beat Hotwire by about $60 for Thursday night, and by about $50/night for the Fri/Sat combination. Venetian.com posted the rates at $429. I'm still not sure why this was such an expensive weekend. We saw them setting up for the prize fight at Caesar's on Saturday. The ring was set up outdoors. They must have had about 10 rows of portable chairs, followed by some portable bleacher seats - about 10 rows? There is also a big gaming convention that starts on Tuesday, with the festivities starting on Monday night. Maybe there were some early arrivals for that convention on the weekend. We really enjoyed the Venetian. The suites were really nice and the bathroom was huge! I did get the impression that we were definitely paying for the size of the room, not other amenties. The bedding/towel quality was similar to other 4* hotels. Sheets and pillows were ok, but not high thread count. Towels were nice, but not super plush spa quality towels. The complimentary shampoo was unlabeled, and the conditioner was the same as I got at the Hampton Inn the last time I stayed there. We used the complimentary copier/fax machine in the room to make some copies and that was really handy. The pool area was nice, but not greater than other Vegas hotels I've stayed in. We were bummed that they closed the pool bars at 5 pm, and the whole pool area including Jacuzzis closed at 7 pm. This appears to be a Vegas thing, and happens at a lot of strip hotels. I guess they want everyone in the Casino! We had a great dinner at the Emeril's Delmontico Steakhouse. The food was really good and the service was excellent! We haven't had service that great in a long, long time. I'm glad we stayed there because we really wanted to see what it was like. That said, I wouldn't pay this much to stay there again. When traveling without kids, we don't really need the extra space. We also enjoy walking from casino to casino up and down the strip, and it was a really long walk down to the other end. Taxis are ok, but we enjoy usually enjoy walking, just not that far!

Oh man, I don't follow boxing, so I had no idea. I'll keep trying, but I'm glad I have my backup plans. I'll let you know if I have success. Thanks!

I'm getting nervous. I am hoping to get a 5* (most probably Venetian) for a 3 night stay, 9/30 - 10/3. I am now two weeks out and the prices are still sky-high. The V's website is still listing the rate as $449 per night. Hotwire is listing the 5* in the $400s (varies every hour it seems). I am seeing people posting that they've gotten November dates already for less than $150/night. Any ideas what is going on? There are no big conferences that I've found over that weekend. The next week is a huge gaming convention (35000 people) that starts on Tuesday. Could this be affecting the weekend inventory? What is wierd is that Saturday night is the cheapest night of the Thurs, Fri, Sat trip. When I plug the individual nights into Hotwire, I get the cheapest rate for Saturday night. Has anyone seen the prices this high 2 weeks out, and then drop? I might be using my backup ressie at the MGM, which would be ok. But Venetian would be awesome!!

Where do you look to find out what conventions are in Vegas on certain dates? We are considering going in May and are a little flexible on dates. Thanks! p.s. Thereuare - I agree with the other poster's comments about how friendly your forum is. I've recommended it to many friends.

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort

La Quinta Chandler/Phoenix

Hotwire: LaQuinta, $37, Chandler area, 2*, pool, free breakfast, laundry My parents drove around and looked at several hotels for me. Based on their comments, I took a risk and went for a 2* on Hotwire for $37/night. Based on this and other bidding help websites, I was guessing it would be the LaQuinta and it was. My parents said this hotel was virtually new, and very nice for what we needed (we won't be spending much daytime there, just a place to sleep). I took your advice, and to minimize my risk, I first bid for only one night until Hotwire revealed the hotel name. Once I knew which Hotel it was, I went and reserved the other nights I needed. The Hotwire amenities were: pool, free breakfast, laundry. The LaQuinta website says they have a business center and a fitness center also, but these icons were not displayed on Hotwire. Go figure... Thanks for your advice.

I took the plunge on Hotwire (sorry - I realize I originally posted this on the Priceline board)... anyhow I got the following for the Tucson foothills area.... Hotwire listed a 4.5* for $118 per night for 2/17/04 and 2/18/04. Amenities listed were Resort, restuarant, pool, fitness center, golf course nearby, tennis nearby, and spa services. The resort was the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. The Loew's website is listing rooms starting at $255 for the same period of time. Thereuare - thanks for your advice on the Chandler area. I might do as you suggested, but I'll have to wait until January until my parents are back in Az.

Thanks for all your help! Where do you look to check what hotels exist in a zone? Most of the sites I use (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity) mix in Phoenix hotels as well, so it takes longer to find the Chandler hotels. Should I be worried about a 2* for $34? We only need a place to sleep in Chandler as all our time will be spent with relatives. But I do want somewhere safe, clean and quiet. I could handle staying in a Fairfield or La Quinta and saving my money to splurge on a nicer place in Tucson. Do we have any alternatives if we get there and it's unacceptable (dirty, 2 feet from the highway...)? We can always sleep in the guest room at my parents' house (in fact they would prefer it).

I checked Hotwire this evening and found a 2* in the Chandler area for $34. The amenities were: pool, complimentary breakfast, and laundry. Any idea on what hotel this might be? Since this question is a long shot, I'll ask this... what brand names are typically 2* hotels? I poked around some different states, and I didn't see any 2* hits listed. Our dates for Chandler are 2/14-2/17 (check out on 17th).

We want to stay in Tucson Feb 17, 18, and 19 (check out on 20th). The 4.5* is in the Foothills reigon and costs $172 on Hotwire. The icons are: Resort, restuarant, pool, fitness center, golf course nearby, tennis nearby, spa services. I'm thinking it might be Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort. Expedia is listing Loew's for $229. The 2.5* suite hotel is in the Tucson International Airport area. The icons are: suite, pool, fitness center, complimentary breakfast, business center. I read about the Embassy Suites near the airport on Fodors.com and it got horrible reviews (old, rundown, musty smelling....). Maybe that's why its 2.5 stars. I'll think I'll avoid this one. Thanks for the advice!

We are planning to go to Arizona during President's week (Feb 14-21). We are planning 3 nights in Tucson. I'm not sure if it's better to try now, or wait until our trip is closer. If I waited, I'd make reservations somewhere I liked, and then cancel if I got a better deal. We'd like a pretty nice hotel here, maybe a suite. Right now Hotwire is showing a 2.5* suite hotel near the airport for $146. There is an Embassy Suites near the airport, and their website is lisiting rooms for $169. Is this a good deal or should I hold out for something better. Also, the 2.5* has me worried. Is this place in a bad part of town, or is it dumpy? Hotwire also has a 4.5* resort in the Foothills for $177. Any idea what this might be? Also, we might be interested in a hotel in Phoenix (instead of staying with relatives). In this case, we would want to be close to Chander. Any advice on this would also be appreciated. We wouldn't be spending much time at this hotel, just be a place to sleep. Thanks!

We are back from our stay at the Doubletree Suites. It was a really nice hotel. We had a 2 room suite with 2 double beds in the bedroom. The living room had a sleeper sofa, easy chair and table with 4 chairs. The bathroom had two doors so it could be entered from either room. Both rooms had TVs. This hotel's website says that they have a refrigerator in the room. This is the minibar refrigerator. We turned down the key to the minibar, and thus did not have a refrigerator. This wasn't a problem for us. Thereuare, thanks for the advice. I successfully used rebid zones for a Miami stay earlier this year, so I know that I probably could have rebid on this stay using that strategy. You were right about the time issues. I just didn't have time to figure out which zones I could add that didn't have any 4 star hotels. $70 was what we were prepared to pay for a Hampton Inn in Porter Indiana, so I was willing to pay that to stay downtown. The parking ($32) was a killer, but I knew it would be high. Oh well. It was worth it! GO BLUE to you too!

Hello, I bid for this hotel on 11/17/03 (1 week prior to arrival). 1st bid $55 for a 4*. I included 2 downtown zones (North Mich Ave and Loop?). This bid was rejected, but PRICELINE offered responded with a message that I could submit the same bid immediately if I upped my bid to $70. I did and it was accepted. To summarize: DoubleTree Guest Suites $70 11/24/03 (bid 1 week prior to arrival) 4* North Michigan Ave. Compared to what I saw offered on Hotwire, this was a good deal. Thanks everyone for posting! I really like reading the posts on this board before I bid.