MJRBIM

Good all-suite hotel, 5 minute walk south of the Parliament Buildings. Check-in was smooth, no mention of PL. Got a 9th floor room (approx. 650 sq.ft) with 2 Double Beds, Large bathroom, Kitchen, Living Room and Free wireless High-Speed internet. General facilities are good - pool, whirlpool, fitness centre, and FREE breakfast buffet in the lobby. Underground self parking (with in and out priviliges) is $13 CDN with your room key. All in all, a good solid 2.5* hotel - but a little bit far away from the Restaurants and Bars in the Byward Market area. There's a 24-hour Tim Horton's on the Main Floor if you get the muchies.... =========== http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage....arshaCode=YOWRI

Cozumel Vacation Packages on PL include the following hotels - Hotel Cozumel 3* (formely Reefscape) Melia Cozumel (RESORT) www.meliacozumel.solmelia.com/ Park Royal Cozumel (All Inclusive) What are the chances that one or more of these would also be PL hotel-only bids...? 3 * star is about as low as I am probably going to go, because the phrase "2 star Mexican hotel" sounds like something out of a Tennessee Williams play...and I don't want to go there. I won't be bidding until the new year - so I'll see if anyone else gets anything in the interim.

Just noticed a new zone in the Cancun region, it now shows COZUMEL. - Cancun (Downtown & Beaches) - Cozumel - Riviera Maya COZUMEL is showing 3* and 2* availability....not sure what the hotels are at the 3* level, but Cozumel has great diving - so I'm going to try a trip in the new year.

I've taken the train from Toronto to Albany in the past, and would NEVER do it again.... The cars are beaten-up, the food is terrible/expensive and runs out quickly....and worst of all - the border crossing was painfully slow 2 1/2 hours (and that was before 9/11).

I don't think it's browser specific...probably cookie-based... On a recent bid it appeared to be $7 per night cheaper using IE vs. Netscape. I went into Netscape for a quote at $56 for a hotel room when I was not logged in to Hotwire. Went back in 30 seconds later in Netscape, logged in - made the exact same request, and was quoted $63 for the same property. Fired up IE for the same Hotwire quote at $56 - logged in during my purchase and kept the lower price. So I saved $7 per night by not being recognized by the Hotwire site. Looks like they charge the repeat customers more than the newbies.

1st Bid - 2.5* Ottawa DT @ $37 = Declined with a $10 Counter Offer 2nd Bid - 2.5* added HULL @ $40 = Accepted at the 2.5* Residence Inn Ottawa DT I have stayed here before at the full rack rate - it's an OK hotel. =========== Check-In Date: Monday, September 20, 2004 Check-Out Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Hotel Name: Residence Inn Ottawa Downtown 161 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J2 613-231-2020 Your Offer Price: $40.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $40.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $10.60 (US dollars) Total Charges: $50.60 (US dollars) =============== Best rate on the Marriott site is a at $149 (CDN)/$114.39 (US) plus tax...so I'm saving about 60%..

1st Bid - 2.5* Ottawa DT @ $37 = Declined 2nd Bid - 2.5* added HULL @ $40 = Accepted at the 2.5* Les Suites Ottawa DT Doing a little dance in my chair....Les Suites is back for weekday bidding!! =========== Check-In Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 Hotel Name: Les Suites Hotel 130-Besserer Street Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9M9 613-232-2000 Your Offer Price: $40.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $40.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $10.60 (US dollars) Total Charges: $50.60 (US dollars) =============== Best rate on the Les Suites site is a at $145 (CDN)/$110 (US) plus tax...

Brief review is posted.... REVIEW

Solid 3* hotel only a few blocks from the Parliament buildings. Bellman was helpful almost to the point of being pushy - I only had one bag...but dammit he was going to' carry it the twelve feet to the desk....and expect a tip.... Check-in was smooth and no PL-attitude. Got a large king non-smoking room on the 5th floor. Super comfortable bed, and excellent room service meal. Valet parking (with in and out) is $20 CDN. High-speed internet is $9.95 CDN per day. For $38 US on PriceLine a really great deal.

Last minute bid... 1st Bid - 2.5* Ottawa DT @ $38 = Accepted with a bump to the 3* Sheraton =========== Check-In Date: Wednesday, September 1, 2004 Check-Out Date: Thursday, September 2, 2004 Hotel Name: Sheraton Ottawa Hotel 150 Albert Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P5G2 613-238-1500 Your Offer Price: $38.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $38.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $10.25 (US dollars) Total Charges: $48.25 (US dollars) =============== Best rate on the Sheraton site is a at $129 (CDN)/$98.31 (US) plus tax. This will be my first stay at the Sheraton Ottawa, so I will post a review....

First time using the "Add a Night" feature on PL....seemed to work pretty well. ADDITIONAL NIGHTS RESERVATION Here is the itinerary for your additional nights reservation. You may have to change rooms for your additional nights. Please ask the front-desk agent at check-in for details. Check-In Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $75.00 Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $17.82 Total Charges for Add. Night Res.: $92.82 ================= Taxes and fees were $0.05 higher than my original bid. Still a great deal....

This is a one-night stay for my wife and her sister, who are going down on a business trip. Not a bad price - and the hotel is really close to where they are meeting. 1st Bid - 4* Loop/Grant Park @ $60 = Declined 2nd Bid - added 4* Skokie/Nile (free rebid) @ $65 = Declined 3rd Bid - added 4* Midway (free rebid) @ $70 = Declined 4th Bid - added 4* Lincoln Park (free rebid) @ $75 = Accepted at the Palmer House Hilton =========== Check-In Date: Monday, August 16, 2004 Check-Out Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 Hotel Name: The Palmer House Hilton The Loop - Grant Park 17 East Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois 60603 312-726-7500 Your Offer Price: $75.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $17.77 Total Charges: $92.77 =============== Best rate on the Hilton site is a pre-paid at $152 (US) plus tax... Reviews on this hotel have been mixed - "love it or hate it" - just about everywhere (TOBB, Fodors, Trip Advisor), but it's one night, the location is great, and the price is acceptable.

Same day bid...have an early flight and don't want to fight the traffic from Downtown in the morning. 1st Bid - Toronto Airport YYZ - 3* @ $35 = Accepted Check-In Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Hotel Name ========= Marriott Toronto Airport 901 Dixon Road Toronto, Ontario M9W 1J5 416-674-9400 Your Offer Price: $35.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $35.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $9.32 (US dollars) Total Charges: $44.32 (US dollars) ========= Best rate on the Marriott site is a whopping $249 (CDN) /$186.94 (US) - so PL saved me over $150 on this one room-night alone.

Are you sure this is a 4*...? It has always come up on PL as a 3* in the past....

Ottawa's LES SUITES (2.5*) hasn't come-up on PriceLine for a while...bids of $38 (US) or higher have been bumping me to a 3* at the Radisson or Crowne Plaza. Those hotels are fine if I am by myself on business, but when my family wants to join me - the "separate bedroom" suites at Les Suites are a must. So I bit the bullet and made my a Hotwire booking at $49 (US) per night....still a great deal considering the $149 (CDN) best rate on the hotel website. **************** Hotel Details ========= Les Suites Hotel Ottawa (Value) 130 Besserer Street Ottawa, ON K1N 9M9 Canada (613) 232-2000 Amenities : Suite, Airport Shuttle, Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Kitchenette, Golf Nearby, Laundry Facilities (self-service) Check-in: Wed, Aug 11, 2004 Check-out: Sat, Aug 14, 2004 Billing Details ========= No. Rooms: 1 No. Nights: 3 Price Per Night: $49.00 Subtotal: $147.00 Taxes / Booking Fees: $22.95 Total Price: $169.95 (U.S. dollars) ========= This is $11 (US) per night cheaper than my last Hotwire booking for this hotel in December 2003.

There has been some discussion elsewhere that it is one of these two hotels... Residence Inn Mont Tremblant Manoir Labelle http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage....arshaCode=YMYMT Homewood Suites Mont Tremblant Resort http://www.homewood-suites.com/en/hw/hotel...ctyhocn=YQBMTHW ...but with PL you can never be sure, and I can't find anyone's bid history anywhere.

Started both these bids the other day, hoping to get the Courtyard Marriott in the Byward Market...but it looks like the sub-$38 bid range won't get it.... (One-Night 07/21) 1st Bid - 2.5* Ottawa DT @ $34 = Declined with $9 Counter Offer 2nd Bid - added Hull @ $36 = Declined 3rd Bid - Changed bid date to 07/28, since I have another trip on that date @ $36 = Declined ***Waited 72 hours since I didn't want anything out of the Ottawa DT/Hull zones*** Started new bid for One-Night 07/21 1st Bid - 2.5* Ottawa DT @ $37 = Declined 2nd Bid - added Hull @ $38 = Accepted with a bump to a 3* Then repeated the exact same bid pattern for One-Night 07/28. Taxes and fees on both bid were the same....which isn't always the case. =========== Check-In Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 Check-Out Date: Thursday, July 22, 2004 =========== Check-In Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Check-Out Date: Thursday, July 29, 2004 =========== Hotel Name: Radisson Hotel Ottawa Parliament 402 Queen St Ottawa, Ontario K1R 5A7 613-236-1133 Your Offer Price: $38.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $38.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $10.24 (US dollars) Total Charges: $48.24 (US dollars) =============== Best rate on the Radisson site is a pre-paid at $114 (CDN)/$86.36 (US) plus tax. The Radisson Ottawa is a good hotel, but the location isn't as good as the 2.5* Courtyard...hopefully the sub-$38 bid range will hit again soon...

A very nice mid-range 3* hotel near the corner of Jasper Ave and 105th - close to all the major downtown office buildings Friendly staff, smooth check-in - I paid an extra $15 (CDN) to bump from a regular PL room to a room with High-Speed internet access. Well appointed rooms, decent beds, nice sheets and bathroom features...but the room is a little small, and the work desk is TINY. I didn't visit the pool and fitness centre, but based on the other common areas (lobby, elevators, hallways, etc) - I would expect it to be OK. A solid 3* hotel and a great deal at $35 (US) - I'd stay here again.

A really solid 4* - I was going to a wedding at the convention centre and the Hyatt is right next door... Flew in at 8 AM and got an early check-in. Staff were great - friendly, helpful and no PL attitude. Got a large non-smoking room with two-doubles on the 17th floor, huge bathroom, and high-speed internet at $12.95 CDN per day or $59.99 CDN per week. Fitness, pool and steam room facilities are very good, and the on-site "Stillwater" Spa is excellent. Had room service one morning it was very good and a decent price for a DT hotel (under $20 CDN per person including tax, tip and fees). I would stay here again if I was coming into Calgary.

This is an older property in need of some TLC and is probably a 2 to 2.5* rather than a 3*. Got bumped to a business floor at check-in because it was a quiet night and I needed high-speed internet access. The room itself was in very nice shape, probably been remodelled in the last couple of years - but the common areas (elevator, hallways, pool, etc.) are all showing the years. It's free parking, near the airport, and it has a shuttle van. It's right on the Trans-Canada highway, near Highway 2 - so you can get to just about anywhere from the hotel. All in all, it's a stop-over hotel, not a travel destination - fine for a one-nighter, but I wouldn't want to spend much more than that.

Winnipeg downtown - Holiday Inn & Suites 3* Had two PL stays here in the last week...it's a mid-range 3* hotel on the corner of Portage and Colony next to the Bus Station. It's a pretty noisy corner, and the sound isn't buffered very well in the rooms. Good staff, decent beds, and bathroom features. Valet parking is $9.00 CDN per day. The only problem I had is with the High-Speed internet access. It is ONLY available in the Suites - not in the regular PL rooms, so on my first 3-night stay I had to pay a $60 CDN per night upgrage fee (since I was working from the hotel). On my second stay (a one-nighter), I just went with a regular room because I was only at the hotel for about 6 hours before my early AM flight. The front desk staff said that they expected to have High-Speed internet access in all the rooms sometime this fall, which would make a big difference to my review. All in all - not the best PL 3* that has come up in Winnipeg, but OK for a short stay. I have stayed at the Sheraton hotels (DT and Airport) in my pre-PL days - and they are better hotels.

Last minute/Same day bid because my travel plans were changed and I got burned...totally my own fault. 1st Bid = 3* Winnipeg Airport @ $35 - Declined 2nd Bid = added 2.5* @ $35 - Declined 3rd Bid = added Winnipeg South @ $40 - Declined 4th Bid = added Winnipeg DT @ $40 - Accepted, with a bump to a 3* I was hoping to hit one of the Sheraton hotels (either DT or at the Airport), or the Hampton Inn - as I know they have high-speed internet in all the rooms, and I need to work from the hotel for the next couple of days. Instead, I got the Holiday Inn And Suites DT - which it turns out ONLY has high-speed in it's "suites"...so at 11:00 PM last-night when I checked-in, I had to pay a $60 CDN per night upgrade to get a suite. HOTWIRE had a 3.5* (which has been reported as the Sheraton DT) at $73 US per night - which would have saved me money over this trip...and the Hampton Inn website had a pre-paid at $90 CDN. Lesson learned....the Hampton Inn pre-paid would have been my best option (and I would have earned some Hilton points). ================== Check-In Date: Sunday, June 27, 2004 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 Hotel Name: Holiday Inn And Suites Winnipeg 360 Colony Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2P3 204-786-7011 Your Offer Price: $40.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $120.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $17.15 (US dollars) Total Charges: $137.15 (US dollars) ================== Best rate on the Holiday Inn site was a pre-paid at $89.21 (CDN)/$65.68 (US)

Sorry, yeah - third zone should be Airport....

Adding an extra day to my trip for a business meeting on the Monday.. I was looking to save a few $, so I didn't bid the 4* - instead I ended up doing 2 bids, one at the 3* level that failed, the a new set at 2.5* that got be a bump to a 3* 1st bid - 3* Calgary DT at $35 = Declined 2nd bid - added Calgary North at $40 = Declined 3rd bid - added Calgary South at $45 = Declined 4th bid - added Calgary Airport at $35 = Declined 5th bid - added Calgary West at $35 = Declined STARTED a new bid at 2.5 * level... 1st bid - 2.5* Calgary South at $30 = Declined 2nd bid - added Calgary North at $35 = Declined 3rd bid - added Calgary Airport at $37 = ACCEPTED with a bump to a 3* =============== Check-In Date: Sunday, July 4, 2004 Check-Out Date: Monday, July 5, 2004 Hotel Name: Radisson Hotel Calgary Airport 2120 16th Avenue Ne Calgary, Alberta T2E 1L4 403-291-4666 Your Offer Price: $37.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $37.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $8.56 (US dollars) Total Charges: $45.56 (US dollars) =============== Best rate on the Radisson site was a prepaid at $119 CDN/$86 US ===============

Started out trying for a 4* Downtown hotel in Edmonton, hoping that I might hit the Westin - but no dice up to $55, I used all the other zones because only DT has a 4*. 1st Bid = 4* Edmonton DT@ $40 - Declined 2nd Bid = added Airport @ $45 - Declined 3rd Bid = added South @ $50 - Declined 4th Bid = added West @ $55 - Declined Started a new bid at 3*... 1st Bid = 3* Edmonton DT@ $35 - Accepted ================== Check-In Date: Monday, July 5, 2004 Check-Out Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2004 Hotel Name: Coast Edmonton Plaza 10155 105th Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1E2 780-423-4811 Your Offer Price: $35.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $35.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Service Fees: $8.85 (US dollars) Total Charges: $43.85 (US dollars) ================== Best rate on the Coast Hotels site was a pre-paid at $95 (CDN)/$70.65 (US)