djohannw

As I got a seat at this year's Freddy's award-ceremony at the Embassy Suites New York City, I needed a hotel that was convenient to downtown New York by Path. Tried 3* for Jersey City first up to 55$ but was rejected, so decided to settle with 2.5*, lowered to 50$ and got: Courtyard By Marriott Jersey City Newport Zone: Jersey City 540 Washington Blvd Jersey City, New Jersey 07310 201-626-6600 Check-In Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, Apr 30, 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $50.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $50.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.35 Total Charges: $63.35 Not the killer-deal like the Hyatt for 35$ like in January, but still a great deal for a weekday. First bid was accepted at this level, so I may have scored at a lower amount; I have no historical data available for this hotel, however. Hotwire has a 2.5* at 61$ currently, but with the Kitchenette-amenity I guess this is more likely the Candlewood-Suites. They also have what's likely the Hyatt (3.5*) at 183$. As this is right on top of the Pavonia-Newport Path-Station, I guess that fits my needs perfectly...;-)! As I am usually using the UK.site, here is a little side-info: I bid on Priceline.com this time as someone else is picking up the tab and needs to be billed in $$$... Greetings - Dirk

OK, this is probably my first request for help for quite some time, but I am totally unfamiliar with this city, so I would like to ask here for some advice. We are doing a tour of California this summer, and as we planned it, we reserved three days for L.A.. Looking for hotels in this area, our main objectives are: - a clean room - a more quiet location - most likely free parking - great price - drivable to L.A. and Hollywood - Star levels: 2.5* or above, 2.5* if all-Suite hotel is likely, three star+ otherwise Location is not that important as we have a car and will take that to get to any place we want. I personally do not like the busy atmosphere of L.A. itself, so the last time we stayed at the Hyatt Westlake Village (which was OK, but we want something different this time). Next stop after this would be Las Vegas, so a place that is not too inconvenient to reach I-15 would be a plus also. Beach or near beach would be nice, but is no real factor. Price would be, and doing some research it seems that some areas south of L.A. have really rock bottom prices (Orange County, Anaheim, Long Beach...) - but will they meet my other criterias? So here is the question: What area would you recommend based on what I said before? We will need three room at one place if that matters... Greetings - Dirk

I've stayed there last August and found the place to be decent. While it is not among the Ritz Carltons of this world, it was a clean room with friendly people and a very decent continental breakfast. The bath was also what one would expect from a two star. Also my Marriott silver card gave me a room on the third floor which had interior corridors vs. exterior on floor one and two. We just stayed one night there on our way to Las Vegas and were more than happy with the place. 2* is very appropiate. Greetings - Dirk

Going forward with our summer holiday as prices in Monterey were steep and availability sparse: Embassy Suites Monterey Bay Seaside Zone: Marina - Seaside 1441 Canyon Del Ray Seaside, California 93955 831-393-1115 Check-In Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 Check-In Time: After 04:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price:

Thanks for all your feedback...I make sure to get an Atrium-facing room..;-)! Does anybody know if the place has a Regency Club??? Greetings - Dirk

If I'm not mistaken this is 49 Pounds per night, which equals about 88$ per night before tax. If you include the tax, that is about 85

After seeing the bunch of winning bids for this place I gambled a little to see if this place has also loaded the low rates for August/September, and I am happy to confirm it does...;-): Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Check-In Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price:

I'll keep you updated about the specials I found in San Francisco while I'm there...;-)! You're right, however, that London Fog jackets at $20 are hard to beat... Greetings - Dirk

With a 13$ parking fee and also an additional tax of 2$ per night charged at the Sheraton where I stay the night before I decided to "splurge" a little and decided to book a "lesser" quality hotel at a higher price: Homewood Suites San Francisco Airport North Zone: South San Francisco 2000 Shoreline Court Brisbane, California 94005 650-589-1600 Check-In Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price:

Needed the cheapest place I can find...anybody ever stayed there before Sheraton San Francisco Airport Zone: San Francisco Airport (SFO) 600 Airport Blvd Burlingame, California 94010 650-340-8500 Check-In Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price:

As I said...it's a tiny car...;-)! However from my own experience I can testify that a large suitcase (28'') plus two carry-on size suitcases still leave some room for more bags if you use the back-bench to stow them. Just forget about the hold...you probably would not even fit a bag of chips in there... So for two people it is just bearable for short distance travel with a reasonable amount of luggage. Greetings - Dirk

FWIW last time I stayed in New Jersey I parked my car next to a "ethnic" supermarket (at least for me...I have NEVER seen that many chinese and latin food-items in a single store) that is a little away from the Newport/Pavonia station and walked about five minutes to the station to take the PATH to downtown New York. I had no problem with that, however I only stayed there for a single day and not overnight. Greetings - Dirk

For those who come to Germany and need a car (and really, just a TINY LITTLE vehicle): National.de (the German branch of Nationalcar) offer a special for a ultra-compact car (Daewoo Matiz) at 10

Just wanted to add this information here also... I am still interested in getting this night instead of using an award at the Hyatt. Hyatt.com has a web-rate for that night of 139$ and a AAA-rate of 119$ available. Doubletree shows 119$ AAA and 95.20$ as Net Direct (prepaid) rate. I currently hold a reservation using a Faster Free night at the Hyatt. Had previously bid anything between 35$ and 45$, today decided bid 60$, but that was rejected as well. So it seems I have to stick with my FFN-reservation... Greetings - Dirk

Just stumbled across this: Must be a REALLY exclusive place...:) I wonder if this qualifies for the "Double the Difference Guarantee". Greetings - Dirk

According to Priceline's Vacation-product (and assuming they use the same ratings for the hotel-product), the Grand Hyatt New York (MTE-zone) is now rated three stars only instead of four stars previously. Greetings - Dirk

FWIW, 75$/80$ for a four star in MTE are probably a thing of the past, because the Grand Hyatt that once was the 4* that got these bids most likely has been re-rated to 3* by Priceline due to the ongoing rebovations at that hotel. This is based on the assumption that Priceline uses the same rating for both their hotel- and vacation-product, where the Grand Hyatt shows up as a three star since a few days... Hope this helps, and good luck! Greetings - Dirk

I will do both the Jersey Gardens as well as the Outlets in Secaucus, plus the Woodbury Commons and the one in Riverhead (Long Island). So yes, I certainly would appreciate the adress of the Pizza-place you mentioned...;-)! As to Hoboken...I have never considered that for dining so far, but if you have suggestions, I gladly take those too. You got my eMail, don't you? Greetings - Dirk

Thanks for the corrections and the links...when I go to downtown I planned on using the PATH train anyway. btw: My main destination this time is New Jersey (the factory outlets there), so I decided against a place in Manhattan as I have to have a car to get there, and 15$/day is certainly cheaper than what you pay in Manhattan. The "trick" to get this parking-rate (self-parking) is to get a sticker from the front-desk for the Hertz-garage. Greetings - Dirk

Great deal for a place right across from Manhattan, IMHO. The Ferry to Manhattan departs right next from the hotel, and the Path Subway Exchange Place station is also next door. Both downtown and Uptown Manhattan are less than 30 minutes away. Hyatt Regency Jersey City On The Hudson Jersey City 2 Exchange Place Jersey City, New Jersey 07302 201-469-1234 Check-In Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price:

Just checked the terms again, and it seems it's good only for those negotiated rates Expedia offers ("Expedia Special Rate"): "Here

Both comments fit perfectly...they have nice landscaping behind the hotel, and Downtown Disney is right across the street...three minutes if you walk VERY slowly. Greetings - Dirk

Just from my inbox: "Dear djohannw, Save $25 on a hotel stay of two or more nights -- anywhere you like! Get away and shop in the city, kick back on a sunny beach, or enjoy a more comfortable alternative to spending the holidays in your old room (and your old bunk bed) at home. Your coupon redemption code is holidaybonus." As this is such a generic code I assume anybody can use it...if not, the first taker will be the winner...;-)! Greetings - Dirk

Another great source for getting an overview over hotels in Europe is HRS. They are a reseller and offer both published rates as well as their contracted rates over a single website, and usually are rather good in their offerings... Greetings - Dirk

My experience with more than three nights is a bit dated...but then I was able to get four nights accepted at a price that I would expect the bonus money being applied to all nights in full... My test-bid, however, was just for one night, and that was accepted at the usual rate. Greetings - Dirk