pomcoach

Bidding for my nephew for the Motley Crew Concert at Target Center on Monday night. Wow, rates were pretty high for Downtown Hotels. First I tried 3* up to $60. Rejected Reg. Rates for 3*s were: 3* Embassy Suites$135 3* Radisson Plaza $234 So started a new bid and tried 2.5* up to 60. Rejected Reg. Rates for 2.5* were: 2.5* Courtyard Minneapolis DT at the Depot $151 2.5* Residence Inn DT $179 2.5* Residence Inn DT at the Depot $161 So started new bid & tried 2* for $45 and was happily accepted! Glad to be done! (My nephew keeps calling to see, "What'd ya get?") The Regular Rate for the Townplace Suites was $113 nt. My nephew seemed pleased. The website photos look nice. 2 nts. x $45 =$90 plus Taxes and Fees of $18.76= Total of $108.76 POMCOACH :)

One of our best buys was the Hyatt Tamaya in New Mexico. It was near Albuquerque (hope I spelled that right) on the Santa Ana Pueblo. This hotel is stunningly beautiful, built like a big Adobe structure with sculptures and immaculate grounds. We stayed for 8 nights with Priceline, the first 5 nights at $69 and the other 3 at $74 over the 4th of July week 2003. Our room was well appointed with many touches of the Southwest, such as a Native American wall-hanging, dark brown leather headboards, and even a stone shelf in the bathroom which resembled a drum. The room itself was fairly average and simple, but it was the Southwestern accents that made it special. They had free activities to sign up for like baking bread with the Pueblo women and free bikes to rent. There was storytelling and horseback riding for a fee. There were 3 or 4 pools and a big waterslide. We loved this place. If I had it to do over again, we would have stayed maybe just 5 nights and stayed the other nights in Santa Fe or somewhere else. We did most everything there was to do in 5 days and would have probably enjoyed moving on to something else those other days. But lounging by the pool is pretty wonderful too. Pomcoach :)

We stayed here from Dec. 17-24th, 2004. We had 2 rooms, so we didn't have to put up with the 2 teen girls yakking all night. My first bid was won at $69, but the 2nd room, (which I didn't try for until a few months later) I kept bidding higher and higher and was finally accepted at $95. I felt the $69 was a good bargain, but that $95 was too high and not much of a bargain at all. We did LOVE this hotel! It is beautiful with large rooms and good beds and very quiet rooms too. We made sure we ordered a wake-up call each morning, and in turn, got a pretty service tray outside our door to make hot chocolate. Our hot water was always right on time, but several mornings was not really hot, only a little warm. Kind of a let down! The tray comes with packets of whatever you request: hot Chocolate, Coffee, or Tea. We also ordered turn-down service for every night of our stay at 8 p.m. They turned down our beds, freshened the bathroom, left 2 chocolates on our pillows and a little card that told the weather for the next day. (By the way, the temps. were way OFF for each and every day. Don't know where they get their info.!! One day they told us: high of 80, but it was really 50!!) The Atrium was beautiful. We were on the 3rd floor with our daughters in an adjoining room. I liked the 3rd floor because we could still see the fountains and decorations in the Atrium. We had balconies which faced inside toward the Atrium and we watched the elevators go up and down. The elevators were decorated with big red ribbons and bows, like giant Christmas presents. We had a King Non-smoking and the girls had 2 Queens non-smoking. The bathrooms were large also, with 2 sinks and a really long counter to put all your things. We loved it! The pool area was gorgeous! Huge really warm pool, like bathtub water! 2 big hot tubs, really nice temp. I really dislike it when the hot Tubs are so hot that you can't really use them at all. These were very relaxing! Even though the front desk person told me they were sold out, I never really saw more than 1 or 2 families. The parking lot seemed very empty too. I even had the whole pool to myself for 2 hours from 5-7 pm.! It was Heaven! Every staff member we met was there to please us! Everytime I called Vicki, the receptionist, with a question, she would say, "Why yes, I'd be delighted to help you!" Wow! We would be delighted to get this hotel for every trip to Orlando. It's a great location for Disney, Universal, and Sea World is a 5 minute walk across the parking lot. The signs said they were charging for parking, but they stuck the Express Check-out Bill under my door with a Zero Balance and no mention of a parking charge, so I was not foolish enough to go ask about it!! My 2 teens liked this hotel better than the Hard Rock Hotel which was $229 a night!!! We would be DELIGHTED to get this hotel every time we visit Orlando! Pomcoach :)

We just stayed here Sunday night 12/26/'04 for our winning bid of $38. The desk clerk had my Marriott Rewards Number for incidentals, in case we purchased breakfast in the morning. She upgraded us to the 8th floor, which was the concierge floor or something. The rooms were nice, but not anything more special than standard rooms. But there was a bathrobe in the closet and one free bottled water in the room. Everything was clean and looked fairly new. The beds were average. We had 2 rooms. Our requests for one King Non-Smoking and the other room - 2 beds (I think queens) Non-Smoking, were granted. The room was very quiet. We heard no planes at all, even until Noon the next day. In the morning we were at the airport in 5 minutes or less! Great for the rest of the family, because my husband gets TENSE :) on "fly-home" days. Pomcoach :)

Well, finally successful! I already have a room for 7 nts. for Christmastime for $69 at this same hotel from 12/17 to 12/24/'04. But as I've said before, the teen girls like to stay up all night doing facials and gabbing :) :) . So we parents really wanted to sleep some on this vacation, so wanted a separate room :D :o . We are arriving with the teens really late at night on Dec. 17th, so my husband didn't want to spend the money on that first night, since we hope the girls will be tired and fall asleep after the long flight from Iowa! Here's my bidding history: Tried 4* for Univ./SW 12/18-12/24 up to $89 =rejected Started a completely new bid with new dates. Tried 4* for 12/19-12/24 crawling from $90-$95, adding free rebids. At the $95 bid, it was very weird, it said it kept checking for 25 minutes. I thought for sure I'd gotten it. Then it came back saying something wrong with my Credit card. Weird! Nothing wrong on all the other bids! So they made me fill out C.C. stuff again. I put in 4* Univ./SW again at $95=Accepted The lowest reg. rate found on the Renaissance website for my dates is AAA $143 for every night. So now we will have a 5 day break from the girls, so we can get some sleep before tromping all day in the parks! It all worked out, just had to pay a bit much for it! Oh, I did go back and try to add the Saturday night (12/18 , but they said No Availability. I tried bidding $95 for it too, but was rejected. I suspect either they do not want me for just one night, or it is a Saturday check-in problem. We are very happy with the 5 nights apart from the Teens! :) Hope this post helps others.

Oh she is a real beauty! Soon you will be jetting her all over for those fun family vacations. But for right now, just try to get as much sleep as you can, whenever you can and eat well. I am so happy for you! And yes, she does look like a candidate for Miss America! And I ought to know, I'm a Miss America judge! Much love to you and yours! Pomcoach :)

:) I am very late on this too, but Congratulations on your expected new member of the Family! And Merry Christmas too! "And visions of Family Vacations danced in their heads!" Your life will never be the same, but that's (for the most part) in a good way! :o Give Baby a big hug for all of us bidders! Much love to your Family! Pomcoach :)

Thank you so much. You know Priceline really helps, no matter what the situation. Take care everybody, Pomcoach

I sadly lost my wonderful Uncle on Tuesday afternoon, who went to be with the Lord. We are planning for his funeral. This room will be for my other wonderful Uncle who's a minister and will perform the funeral service. Researching rates for the Airport Area, here's what I found: Airport Hampton=$89 Airport Baymont=$68 Airport Comfort Inn=$72 Airport Sheraton 4 points=$79 I first bid $35 and it was accepted for the Hampton Inn, which is the one I was hoping for! They will have a nice Continental Breakfast for my Minister Uncle and my Aunt. That will be great, since the visitation for the funeral starts at 10 A.M. on Sat. morning. Thank you to others who have bid and reported their wins. :) Pomcoach:)

We need 1 night in this zone before staying at the Adams Mark conventionally for 2 nights at $89 (ouch!, especially since I haven't heard good things about the Adams Mark. :) ) This hotel I got is the Indianapolis Radisson Airport 3*, which I've gotten before on Priceline, and it was no prize either! :) The cheapest rate I could find for the Radisson was $99 on the hotel website. I figured I would not get the Adams Mark since they say they are not available on their website for 10/7/'04. My husband wanted to be close to the Adams Mark, which is where my daughter's program is, that we're attending. Here's my bidding history: Tried $35 - 3* Airport $35= Failed Add Free Rebid South zone $39 (only has up to 2 1/2*)=Won!! Your Offer Price: $39.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $39.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $10.99 Total Charges: $49.99 For those interested, I tried a previous bid for 3* N.W. zone for $50, $52, and $55 = all failed. Was hoping to get the Embassy Suites in the N.W. zone, who's reg. rate was $169. Was hoping for that yummy breakfast. Darn! Happy Bidding Everybody! Pomcoach :o

I tried that link, and it took me to a Priceline screen with the words United States, Canada, Asia, Mexico, etc. But when I clicked on the words, it took me to "Can not find this page." So I don't think the link works. Pomcoach :)

Since I talk about Priceline quite a bit (my teen says I'm obsessed and she makes faces when I start discussing it with another adult) other people want to know about it. I bid for those in my family and distant family. I've also bid for a few co-workers and friends of co-workers and other Cheerleading Moms that are going to Cheer competitions and need places to stay, and even helped my dermatologist and podiatrist. I really "TRY" to "TEACH" about bidding, though, because I want them to start to be able to bid for themselves. It was fun to bid for others at first. But now it takes my whole Saturday, when people just call me up and want an area I really am not familiar with. Some people just expect me to snap my fingers and get a fantastic deal for them. So now, I've begun having them call me on their cell phone, and we bid together. (Of course, I let them click the 'Buy My Hotel', not me. But I still have to do the research for them, look up the regular rates and such. But I do explain what I did and try to get them to at least know how to be self-sufficient. Afterall, bidding is a great liberator, helping us go places we never could have gone before. (Sounds like Star Trek.) I don't want to keep bidding all to myself. I want others to enjoy it too. Pomcoach :)

About 1 1/2 yrs. ago during Spring Break I got the Wyndham Reach Hotel in Key West for $131 a night. Spring Break was a peak time, as you can imagine! The hotel felt a bit older, but we were pampered. It had a nice little beach area. I'm not very good at this website yet, but there is a list of Key West Hotels that have come up on Priceline for Key West. The ones I know come up on Priceline are: The Wydham Reach Key West Resort (the one I got.) The Wyndham Casa Marina Resort The Hyatt Key West Resort & Marina My rate was really high because it was Spring Break, but summer is really hot and may not be a peak time, unless there are festivals going on. I would guess that $85 might be reasonable to bid, but you really need to look up the regular rates for your dates to see if they are low or high. Good Luck. I really liked Key West. I was born there, but I didn't remember it, being only a baby :) It was nice to see my birthplace. Pomcoach :)

Thank you for the Good Luck wish. Say a little prayer for the girls. They're getting a little nervous! :) :) And Mom too! :o Pomcoach

I was actually bidding in the Perimeter area for a 2.5*, hoping that the Hilton Garden Inn would bite. My girls are in the Miss United States Pageant there. I also tried bidding this on June 26th, but was rejected at $31. Even though there are lots of areas in Atlanta, there are no free rebids when bidding for a 2.5*, because all the areas have 2.5*. :) Since $31 didn't make it more than a week ago, I tried $32 today. I was accepted and upgraded to this 3*. That's OK. I am not terribly dissapointed that we didn't get the Hilton Garden Inn. I knew there were other 2.5* hotels that I might get, and also saw that someone else had recently gotten this Hol. Inn Select. My husband and I will have a nice relaxing last night in Atlanta away from the Pageant contestants. :) Your offer price: $32 Taxes and Fees: $10.50 Total: $42.50 Cheapest rate I could find for this Holiday Inn Select was an advance purchase on the internet of $87 from the hotel's website. We're pleased. Pomcoach :o

We stayed here Spring Break 2003. Our room was huge and the hotel was very nice. We loved it! The pool and grounds were pretty too. Have a good stay! Pomcoach :)

Wow, sorry I haven't been on this board for awhile, so I didn't see the post that was to me, above. Anyway, yes, I went to Priceline and put in my request # and e-mail for my winning bid for Dec. 17th, 2004, Friday night. And indeed it says 4*!! And I have my printout from when I actually got the bid in March, which says You got your price of $69 for a Resort hotel room. But here's what the screen says now: Congratulations, you got your price of $69 for a 4-star hotel room. And it shouldn't be the "Pool under renovation" think either, because it should be all fixed up by Christmastime when I'm there. I'm so surprised because everything I've read makes this hotel sound even better than most of the Resort* level's in the WDW area. Does this mean that we would have to bid 4* to get this hotel now? And does this mean that it might come in for less now? And does this mean that there's an even higher quality Resort* level in this area now that's participating with Priceline? (Enquiring minds want to know!! :) Pomcoach :)

hmmm...... I wonder if they just call it a 4* in the package deals, but still call it a Resort* when you get it on Priceline's regular bidding? Just a thought. I think we should watch to see what a regular bidder has this hotel labeled, before jumping to any conclusions. I'll be watching. :) We got this hotel for this Christmas and it was called Resort*. But of course I bid for it ages ago. Pomcoach :)

5* Venetian (Strip) Mon. 6/7/04, $119, 1 nt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, finally got this June 7th, that I've been trying for a few weeks. Regular rates on Venetian site were: Mon. 6/7/04 =Suite Special $129, Reg. $169, Hotwire $145 So, I knew for sure I would not be bidding over $120, since I could book the Suite Special on the Venetian's own site for $129. (After paying the Priceline Fee, I wouldn't be saving more than $2 probably. I probably only saved $3 with the $119, but bidding is fun and $3 is $3.) I started with $99 and was sadly rejected. :o I got a Counter Offer of $133 which I by-passed. :) I added free rebids until being accepted at $119 :) Thank you to everyone who shares their information here! Only 2 more nights to get, and I'm done bidding! Which will be good, since I fly out TODAY!! :D Pomcoach :)

Yes, I am hoping to have a nice looking puzzle when it all gets together! Thanks for the encouragement! :) Pomcoach :)

Boy, I am just "piecing" this vacation together! We wanted the last 2 nights at a 5* on the strip, so I first began bidding for June 7 and 8 (Mon. & Tues.). I went all the way up to $115, but no takers! The regular rates on the Venetian Site are: Mon. 6/7 = Suite Special $179, Reg. rate $179, Hotwire $182 Tues.6/8 = Suite Special $129, Reg. rate $169, Hotwire $129 I just didn't want to go higher for both nights than $115, so decided to bid for the last night by itself. So bid 5* Strip for 6/8/04 Tuesday at $79 rejected Priceline gave me a Counter Offer of $110 (I by-passed it) Added Convention Ctr. at $97 rejected Added Fremont at $99 and was gratefully accepted! I was so happy to see something accepted. I have been taking a lot of rejections lately! So $99 plus taxes and fees of $17.02 = Total $116.02 I now need 2 more nights of a Resort out at Henderson or NW Vegas, and 1 more night at hopefully the Venetian. I feel like I'm putting a puzzle together! Pomcoach :)

I'm not so sure you could have gotten Mon. June 7th for $109, as bbbb thought. I just bid last night 5/29th for the dates of Mon. June 7th and Tues. June 8th together, 5* Strip on Priceline. I was rejected up to $115. I didn't go any higher right now. Oh, and by the way, my Counter Offer was $135!!! :) I started a completely new bid and only tried for the last night of Tues. June 8th. I was accepted for $99 at the Venetian. :o Now I am waiting to see if rates might go down a bit, so I might have a chance at my other date of June 7th for $120 or less. So don't feel bad about accepting the counter offer. I know you spent more than you would have liked. But chances are, it's really not that MUCH more. Remember I have to pay the Priceline fee twice because I'm bidding 2 separate nights. Here are the lowest rates I found for my dates on the Venetian's site and on Hotwire: Mon. 6/7- Suite Special $179, reg. rate $179, Hotwire $182 Tue. 6/8 - Suite Special $129, reg. rate $169, Hotwire $129 Have a good trip! Pomcoach :)

I've been helping my neice learn how to bid on Priceline. She bid 2.5* for the Council Bluffs zone. $48 rejected, but a Counter Offer of $12 more. She declined the Counter Offer, and added free re-bid of $50 and was accepted! Country Inn & Suites 17 Arena Way Council Bluffs, Iowa I know for a 2 1/2*, $50 seems a bit high, but we have been having our share of trouble getting a bid accepted for this date. Don't know what's going on for a Monday night, but it just seemed hard to get something accepted. I had already been struck down for $38 & $45 for Council Bluffs 2.5* several days before. Which was hard to believe, since we had found a rate of $61.99 as their best on-line rate for the Country Inn. The Holiday Inn in Council Bluffs was $114. The Country Inn & Suites looks pretty new and has a nice looking pool and hot tub on the website. I think my neice did an excellent job for her first time bidding alone. Pomcoach :)

Did you happen to find out what the regular rate was for your night at the Venetian? I'm trying to bid for 2 nights about a week before your date, so just wondering. Thanks! And congratulations on getting a night at the Venetian! Can't wait! Pomcoach :)

My husband really wants 4 nights here, but I tried, bidding from $74 and using free re-bids all the way up to $85. I just didn't want to go higher than $85, since I still have about 19 days left. The rates on the J.W. website look like this for my dates: June 3 Thur. - $179 AAA June 4 Fri. - $179 AAA June 5 Sat. - $199 AAA June 6 Sun.- $199 AAA So since the first 2 days were regularly $20 cheaper, I figured they might be cheaper on Priceline as well. So I started a brand new bid, so I could use all my free re-bids again. I started at $74 and was rejected, but got a counter offer of $92. (I love getting counter offers! Don't know why!) Of course I by-passed the counter offer, and continued using free re-bids up to $84 and won!! Yeah! Well, so now I have 3 nights of our Las Vegas vacation settled. The first night is at the Venetian for $99, and the next 2 out at the Resort for $84. Oooh! I'm so excited! Still need 2 more days at the Resort and 2 more at the Strip! Pomcoach :)