joe3721

Here is a list of the hotel ameneties: Fitness Center Pool Restaurant Business Center High-speed Internet Access The Restaurant has enjoyed almost legend status in Texas for many years under its former Chef Dean Fearing. They have brought in a number of Chefs to try and replace him. The restaurant is very good, but not sure if it is as highly rated as it was under Dean. The Manison is also on Turtle Creek, adjacent and close to many parks, hiking, running, and walking pathways through the Turtle Creek area. Also not far from the Katy Trail. Highly recommend staying there. My visit was flawless.

Last minute purchase and got the Manison on Turtle Creek

4* $120 10/28-29 $120 10/28-29 Tried 75, 80, 85, 90, 100, 120

When we request early check-in, it is about noon-1 when we ask to check in. We always call ahead to see if the hotel was booked the night before. If the hotel was reasonably full the night before, we understand the 3 p.m. check in. However, when we are told the hotel is near empty the night before - as often is the case - then delaying our check in until after 3 p.m. "just because we are Priceline customers" is just plain rude - and not a very good business ploy. The Shearton Suites across the street always extends ALL benefits to us when we stay there, even if we are not part of the frequent flyer program. They also let us check in as early as we want - and have checked in as early as 8 a.m. with no problems or extra cost. BTW, that is where we stay if we can't get suitable Priceline reservations. When it comes to spending non Priceline monies, we spend it with the hotels who make us feel like one of their own. You are right, we should post in the Hotel Review section - was just unaware of it. There policies towards Priceline Customers seem to be driven by their management - so we felt explaining ourselves on a consumer board like this is probably a more effective use of our expressions. At least it makes us feel better reaching other customers directly....

Called favorite hotel in the Galleria area (Renaissance North - but they changed their name to DoubleTree), but they were full for the weekend. So that meant I should raise my bid a few dollars right off the bat. Not sure what other 3* hotels there are in the Galleria area. Priceline said no to $35, but allowed me to immediately rebid +$9, so I declined, selected a 2* area, bid 3* and raised my bid to $40. Got the Marriott Hotel at Beltline and the Tollway in Addison. Good location... hated to spend an extra $10 for my 2 night stay (vs. $35 at the DoubleTree), but did not want to bid the Market-Love Field area and take a chance on getting the Wyndam Market Center - they have sever attitude problems with Priceline customers. They refuse to let you check in before 3 p.m., and always give you the smallest (and I mean the smallest rooms) available. Called Marriott and explained I wanted a King Size non smoking, check in at 10 a.m. and they said no problem. Looking forward to this stay :) Check-In Date: Sat, Apr 3, 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Apr 5, 2004 Your Offer Price: $40.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $80.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $18.43 Total Charges: $98.43

:) Tried to bid $35 for 3* at: - Galleria - Dallas North - Market Center - DAL Love Field $36 got us the Wyndham Hotel Market Center on Market Center near I35. Not to be confused with the Wyndham Anatole which is two door down the street. OK... why am I unhappy with these folks. I have stayed at this property about 6 times - always in the $32-$36 price range. The property is very nice, with very small rooms - but nice. The problem is the attitude of the hotel staff towards Priceline customers. Generally I do arrive early in the DFW area - and always call ahead to reserve a King size non smoking room. EVERY hotel in the DFW area lets me select my room and permits early check in - no questions asked. These people are very nice when you first call, but as they attempt to make your room selection they see your reservation appear from a Priceline terminal. In EVERY case they then proceed to tell you they will not permit you to select your room in advance, nor do they allow advance check in. This puts me at a major disadvantage as I then have to go to some nice coffee shops or a great gelato cafe (Talenti's on Knox street) for free Internet access (T-1 BTW), and get some of my work done. They have signs in the lobby advising of free local and long distance phone calls, free Internet service, lots of free amenities. But NONE of these are available for Priceline Customers. I could live without the local and long distance phone calls as I have a cell phone, but the cell phone reception is completly dead at this hotel. Even standing by the windows. This is a very whinney post - not my most upbeat post... but.... well.... darn... I am just venting. Hope this wasn't a waste of your time reading this post. Just to be a little well balanced and give some positive advice for staying in the DFW area - the BEST value for breakfast is at the Park Cities Hilton near the Tollway and NW Hwy. They open at 7 a.m. during the week - and serve until 1 or 2 p.m. on the weekends. For $12.95 you cannot beat the variety and quality offered. The Apple Smoked Bacon is very good! Not sure if it is on the Akiens or SBD - but hey, its a great breakfast value. Parking Hint at the Hilton: Arrive early and park in the office building parking lot on the East side of the Hilton for free - just 20 steps from the entrance of the Hilton. Otherwise they only have valet parking and you can wait sometime for them to retrive your car (especially if it isn't a Beamer or Bently ~laughter~) Hmmm, OK, if you don't want to travel a few miles to the Hilton, try the Market Center Cafe at Market Center & Harry Hines - just a few blocks away. Reasonably good food, nice service and local folks too.... OK, since this post is rambling on, the other great REALLY great breakfast place is the Mecca at Harry Hines and Lombardy (just north of NW Hwy). They open at 5-6 a.m., close at 1-2 p.m. - and they have meeting rooms if you need to have an early morning meeting with others. They serve breakfast family style in the meeting rooms, which hold 6-12 people. You can reserve the rooms (upstairs) in advance, and there is no charge in using the rooms. Great for early morning relationship building... my clients are always impressed that I invite them to a working meeting at 7 a.m. The Mecca is a well known insitution in Dallas that everyone appreciates. From a whinney post to advertising ... sheech :) Check-In Date: Sun, Mar 14, 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Mar 15, 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $36.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $36.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $11.41 Total Charges: $47.41

On 3/15/04 the Dallas Renaissance North will become a DoubleTree Hotel

Whew! Convention in town, really had a tough time getting a room. Normally can stay in this zone for $31-32, but I wanted to stay at the Sheraton Suites, so I opened with $35... NADA! Surprised and offended! Was offered a counter bid of +$9, so I offered $37 - NADA, and a little concerned! It was 2 p.m. and I needed to have same day reservations and meet other half at 3 p.m. ........ gotta remember to plan ahead. So I thought we'd stay at the Dallas (Galleria-North) Renaissance North, bid $38 (always get that one for $31-33) - NADA again! Two more bids and was surprised to get this one at $40. Was starting to run out of 2* zones for counter bids! GREAT location right at the Tollway and NWHwy. Just a few blocks from all the wonderful restraunts at Preston and NWHwy. Easy access to anywhere (North and South) in the city - have to travel NWHwy to either I35 or 75 if you have any east or west destinations. Very nice hotel, exact same floor plan as the Renaissance North - but the walls aren't as thin. Although there is a lot of noise from the hallway. OK, the extras! Parking $13 for mandatory valet parking - only choice, nothing in reasonable walking distance High Speed Internet Access for $10/day for dynamic IP address or $13/day for static IP/VPN address (seems to be a 24 hour period, although they didn't spell it out). You need to bring your own RJ-45 cable, they do not provide the cable. Worked with the technican at Ze-Net as we could not find my Outlook outgoing email server - they upgraded me to the static IP address for free - but that did not work either. Found some secure sites I could not access. Very comfortable bed, lots of channels on the TV, very pleased with the hotel, but unhappy we paid more than $31 (OK, maybe $35) for the room - really disapointed about the parking situation. Would have walked a block for free parking...... Oh yes, when checking in, they don't care that the room has been prepaid - they want another credit card for a deposit. They assured me they wouldn't charge the card - but did anyway. When I advised the front desk about my problems with charge expenses at the Hyatt Regency Reunion-Downtown (and that was the reason I didn't want to give them my card), the front desk clerk said he has had several new customers who have move to the Hilton because they too had encountered the same problems at the Hyatt Regency Reunion. Check-In Date: Tue, Feb 10, 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Wed, Feb 11, 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $40.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $40.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $12.06 Total Charges: $52.06

How much did you pay for your stay?

They just gave me an upgrade at the front desk. When I checked in I engaged in some good banter with the front desk clerk - told him how happy I was with the new beds they have. Seems like they are just starting to install the beds at this hotel - so the new beds are on the club floor. He upgraded me - but then at the cost of no hot water in the shower :)

OK! Update to my staying there - thought I had already entered this in, but looks like I didn't. Stayed there again and the staff are very nice. They did upgrade me to the club floor, which was nicer than the regular floors. BUT no hot water for the shower. Didn't discover this until late the afternoon of the second day - stayed out all night and got up late. Toughed out the cold shower - kept reminding myself of all those cold showers on Isle Royale and the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali Coast of Kauai (http://www.travelnotes.de/hawaii/kauai/kalalau.htm)...... reported it to Hotel Engineering and thought they would have it fixed after I went out again that evening. The funny thing was I had pleanty of hot water from the wash basin. With complete faith I jumped into the shower again the next morning (got in way late again that night) ...... brrrrr - this time there were no visions of far off places... just visions of up close and personal encounters with the front desk. Reality check - I am a very pleasant person who isn't that forceful. So they offered me 500 bonus points for two days of cold showers. My sister who is a travel agent screamed at me for two days saying I should call back and have them refund my monies. So please, no more flames from anyone else - do check for maintainance repairs when returning to your room - no matter how late

Tried 4* in Galleria - Dallas North and Frisco - Plano West for $40; nada. Just can't seem to get 4* hotels, so I settled for tried and true Renaissance North Dallas Hotel at the Galleria - Dallas North. Nice place, but wanted more. Oh well, maybe I will luck out and get their chocolate covered strawberries when I check in :) Check-In Date: Sat, Dec 20, 2003 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Dec 22, 2003 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $33.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $66.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $16.21 Total Charges: $82.21

Tried to bid $45 for 4* at: - Frisco - Plano West - Galleria - Dallas North - Market Center - DAL Love Field Didn't get anything, so I changed my bid to $35 for Market Center - DAL Love Field. I am getting tired of staying at the Renaissance Dallas North Near the Galleria. Nice hotel, just wanted a change of paste. Was trying for the Sheraton Suites Market Center. Have stayed there before and it is great! However Priceline has sent me to Sheraton Brookhollow Hotel. It is an old property which has been gutzied up a lot. Not very nice - just adequate :) All in all, should have stayed at the Renaissance Dallas North Near the Galleria. OK. Here are the price and reservation details: Sheraton Brookhollow Hotel - Market Center - DAL Love Field Check-In Date: Sat, Dec 13, 2003 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Dec 15, 2003 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $35.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $70.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $16.87 Total Charges: $86.87

:) Opps! Went back and checked my Priceline Receipt and found the DFW Hyatt Regency was a 3* hotel, not a 4* as I said in my previous post. Sorry for the misinformation.... glad you caught it!

Tried bidding 4* for $70 @ - Frisco - Plano West None of the bids were accepted :) , so I bid 3* and received: Renaissance North Dallas Hotel Zone: (Galleria - Dallas North) Check-In Date: Sat, Nov 29, 2003 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Mon, Dec 1, 2003 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $35.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $70.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $16.87 Total Charges: $86.87 This is a good Hotel, but just not looking forward to those outrageously high Wayport Internet Access charges which expire at 3 p.m. each day. The hotel staff are very friendly as I have stayed there many times before. However when I asked to ensure I received the chocolate covered strawberries :o again, I was advised those are for special package guests, and that Priceline Customers did not qualify :) ..... the welcome packages I have received in the past were mistakes.... :)

Tried bidding 4* for $35 @ - Frisco - Plano West - Galleria - Dallas North - Downtown Dallas - Market Center - DAL Love Field Did not bid for anything in DFW Airport North as you get the Hyatt Regnecy at the DFW airport and have to pay $16/day parking & $20/day Internet Access. None of the bids were accepted, so I bid 3* and received: Sheraton Suites Market Center - Market Center - DAL Love Field Thu, Nov 20, 2003 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, Nov 23, 2003 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $35.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $105.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $22.43 Total Charges: $127.43 :) Was EXTREMELY satisfied with this hotel. The suite was very nice and they have these new beds that are the best beds we have ever slept on. So impressed that we would replace our home matteress with this one. We did not want to get out of bed. The room also came with a very nice work place, which included a HP FAX/Copier/Printer at no charge (you had to supply your own paper). The Wayport Internet Access charges were the most reasonable we have encountered so far. $10/24 hour day. This was important as we were there for 3 days. Most Wayport Charges are $14-$20/day, but the day always ends at 3 p.m. So if you enable it at noon that day, you only receive 3 hours of use. The Shearton's 24 hour policy is very fair - although we still believe High Speed Internet Access should be both wireless and free. One major note about the High Speed Internet Access - you have to supply your own Ethernet RJ-45 cable. HIGHLY recommend this hotel. Good location, but if you go west on Market Center Drive, the neighborhood gets a little scary....

Tried bidding 3* for $33 @ - Frisco - Plano West - Irving - Dallas NW - Knox - Northpark Did not try DFW Airport North (would have received Hyatt @ the airport), or Galleria - Dallas North (would have received Renaissance North Dallas). Did not want the former hotels because 1) Parking charges at Hyatt are $13-$16/daily on top of room charge - and High Speed Internet access is $20/day on top of room charge. 2) Renaissance North High Speed Internet Access is $13/day on top of room charge. Do recommend the Renaissance overall, but not the Hyatt. Selected Market Center - DAL Love Field and received: Check-In Date: Sun, Nov 9, 2003 Check-Out Date: Mon, Nov 10, 2003 Your Offer Price: $33.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $33.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $10.96 Total Charges: $43.96