123slb

I really appreciate the "guess," advice and tips. Grandma called this a.m. and won't be able to come south, :) so our trip is off for now. Perhaps we'll try again in May. This board is so wonderful! Many, many thanks.

I figured as much. Anybody from around that area have any likely possibilities? Maybe I just don't know the websites to check, but I'm having trouble uncovering condo properties in Titusville, Canaveral or Cocoa.

Not sure why, but this win shows up daily on the calendar of wins all the way into March and April, and perhaps beyond . . .

2.5-star hotel in Cocoa Beach - Cape Canaveral for March 29 through April 4, 2009 This hotel features the following amenities: Beachfront 2-Bedroom Suite Fully-equipped Kitchen Smoke Free Rooms Pool(s) 24-hour Front Desk Laundry Facilities Kitchenette Condo Thanks!

Apparently, it's not just ANYone. I use Hotwire at least once a year but no emails or letters for me. Maybe they are trying it out regionally?

Priceline guarantees double occupancy. That may not be two beds, but it most certainly does not allow for only a single, or "twin" bed. Are you upset because you can't both sleep in one bed, or because the bed is not a double (or larger) bed?

First bid accepted. Alamo Rent a Car Full-Size Car (Unlimited Mileage) Your Offer Price: $20.00 (per day) Total Rental Days: 1 days Subtotal: $20.00 Taxes and Fees: $14.79 Total Charges: $34.79 Used PRICELINE support link.

Topic dates are wrong. The stay is 2/26 not 3/26. If you spend any time at the hotel, you'll like this stay. Their pool is the absolute best.

Don't know if it's applicable, but sorta the same thing happened with me when I tried to pay for a flight using Paypal once. Paypal showed my Delta airlines ticket as "pending," but there was no flight information and no confirmation. Well, of course, I needed to have an actual e-ticket and confirmation, but Delta said that only Paypal could cancel the charge to my credit card. Naturally, speaking with a "live" person at Paypal was nearly impossible. I was concerned that if I rebooked the flight with Delta, I'd be charged twice since the reservations were non-refundable and I was in limbo . . . pending. Long story short: I chanced it and rebooked paying Delta directly with my credit card and then spent the next few hours wading through the Byzantine structure of Paypal until I reached a human being. After about 45 minutes of explanations, insistance and "let me speak to your supervisor", I was finally given notice that the status was no longer pending and I would not be charged for the original reservation. A huge headache, to be sure! A semi-credible explanation I received was that the charge on my credit card didn't go through electronically (the Paypal guy said it was a computer hiccup - very convincing terminology) at the time of Paypal's request, so the reservation didn't go through with Delta, it just stayed "pending." Best of luck to you.

So when was Hotwire going to tell you about being bumped? If you had not called the Wynn on your own, would you simply have found out at check-in? Jeez! They better give you a refund, if that's what you want!

Used the PRICELINE link. I bid Lake Mary 3.5* for $65, and was prompted to add $17 to try again immediately without a change. Instead, I added Deland and bid $70. Denied. Closed browser, opened again and bid Lake Mary and Deltona for $73, and got a prompt to add $22 to bid again immediately without a change. Instead I added Deland to the other two and bid $77. More work, but it saved at least $10 from the Priceline suggestion in the end! Lowest available rate I could find was $129 elsewhere. Marriott Orlando Lake Mary Check-In Date: Thu, Jan 15, 2009 Check-Out Date: Sat, Jan 17, 2009 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $77.00 Subtotal: $154.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $27.07 Total Charges*: $181.07 Cancelled the La Quinta reservation and am now looking forward to the Marriott. Thanks for all your support!

Good suggestion :) ! I used the link to book the $59 La Quinta (which gets mostly very nice comments on Trip Advisor). Not too keen to stay there (pets again!) but I can cancel up to the day of check-in, so now I'll keep working PRICELINE right to the bitter end and cross my fingers that the Marriott releases rooms within my budget. Thanks so much -- will keep you posted.

Nothing good on Hotwire; 2.5* is the highest available in Lake Mary/Heathrow and I need to be there. Found the 3* Hilton Garden Inn Lake Mary with a nonrefundable $79 or a refundable $99, but they accept pets and I'm not too fond of that. My dates seem to be popular! My last two bid attempts were unsuccessful up to $65 and I'm running out of money for this star class -- before I find a bargain! :) Appreciate all suggestions and will keep trying and posting.

:) I've walked a mile in your shoes! Bottom line: you'll never know if Priceline had other resorts with inventory that would have "hit" at a higher figure. Best option is to continue to lobby Priceline to change the resort rating for this Hilton, which I certainly did through survey and email. Still, it's a nice enough property at a savings, and you should have a comfortable stay, especially if you're enjoying the Disney World experience.

My first two lowball attempts have been unsuccessful up to $58 for 1/15 thru 1/17 bidding 3.5* with three rebids each session. I'm considering splitting the bid or lowering the star level. I've still got some time before Jan. 15 rolls around, but I guess it's past time to book some sort of Plan B . . . . :)

Thanks again! I'll start bidding (thru the PRICELINE links) and post any results. I was stumbling around on Expedia and saw a bunch of new properties since the last time I stayed in the area.

Thanks. What other 3* hotels are in the running for this zone? I couldn't figure any.

runNgun listed a May '08 win for the Homewood Suites Lake Mary at 2.5* but searching Priceline hotels (not name your own price) shows it as a 3* (and the Marriott Lake Mary as a 3.5* which used to be 3*). Does anyone know if this is because of the new 3.5* category? If I want this hotel to be in the running for a 1/15/09 stay, should I bid 2.5* like runNgun or 3* instead? Also, can anyone name what other properties are 3* and up in that zone now? Thanks!

Pretty sure this is the Hyatt Regency Riverfront; it's on the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville.

Hi. I've stayed at both the JW Grande Lakes and the Renaissance. There's no shuttle to SW from the Ritz or JW, just Town Cars that cost a lot. From the Renaissance, you can walk to SW, and if it were me, I'd walk to Aquatica, too, but it's far (definitely not for toddlers, unless you can carry 40 pounds 3/4 mile). The JW is amazing with it's lazy river pool. People talk about how great the Omni is, but for my money, the JW Marriott is a ten times better pool. The river really is lazy and wide and the 5 pools are spectacular. Everything is expensive, OMG breakfast is a fortune, but if you win it on PRICELINE, who cares?

Lucky You. What a deal. For my dates, 4/15 to 4/22, it's $269 a night for the same property on Hotwire!

If price were the only thing one cared about when staying at a hotel, it would be a no-brainer that a Priceline or Hotwire purchase is the superior booking. But it is definitely the case that you don't get the good rooms. Recent stays in Orlando illustrate this, because when occupancy is high, one gets the view of blacktop and/or the floor that has the mildew odor, if you booked through these discounters. Even at the (sorta) lowly gold level with Marriott, they give you upgrades and deferential treatment whenever they can, and I don't ever remember getting a blacktop view! Everything is relative, and right now, saving money is more important to my family (sadly). When I hit the lottery, it's back to the best views and top service! In my humble experience, the quality of the stay is affected using PRICELINE and HOTWIRE, but not nearly enough to make me stop taking advantage of the savings.

--runNgun-- The individual hotel or the chain with the most business year-to-date? And can one research that statistic?

Hotel - 1 room, 3 nights Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate Hotel rate per night: $94.00 Nights: 3 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $282.00 Tax recovery charges & fees: $41.22 Total price: $323.22 This Hotel features the following amenities: Resort Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities High-speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Spa Services Had hoped to save $$ thru PRICELINE, but bid Resort for 7/31/08 and got Hilton (separate post). Wanted Omni, so used HOTWIRE for 8/1 - 8/4/08 (through board link on both). I think Omni has resort fee and parking charges so it'll probably cost approx. extra $30 a night.

Accepted 1st bid at $76 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $76.00 Subtotal: $76.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $17.68 Total Charges*: $93.68 Lowest available price $119 on Hilton website. I hear it doesn't have a resort fee or parking fee.