Travlin1

4* Washington Hilton (Embassy Row / Dupont Circle) $98 Hotwire rate 7/23/11 to 7/28/11 Amenities listed were: Fitness Center; Restaurant(s); Business Center; and High-Speed Internet Access

4* Washington Hilton (Embassy Row / Dupont Circle) $98 Hotwire rate 7/23/11 to 7/28/11 HOTWIRE description is NOT acccurate. It says "95% customer satisfaction" which is far from the truth. Whether you look at Tripadvisor, Travelocity, Yelp, or anything else, the average approval rating is about 3 stars out of 5. I am annoyed at the deception, as I never would have chosen this property, which has little to recommend it, other than (I understand) being clean. I had hoped to get the Palomar which DOES have a 95% approval rating, or the Omni Shoreham, both of which are far nicer properties than this older (built in 1965) Hilton. It did finish a major renovation last month (June of 2011) but from recent posts I understand that the rooms, while improved, are still nothing to write home about. I also understand that it still doesn't have WiFi in the rooms (???), only in the lobby. At least it appears to be bedbug-free, as the only report of that I can find was a single report from about 18 months ago. This is my first disappointing bidding experience in several years.

The Hilton Bonnet Creek is a large new (6 months old) property just on the outskirts of Walt Disney World. It is part of a new and uncompleted area of high-end resort hotels. It is adjacent to its sister hotel, the Waldorf Astoria. Guests of either hotel may use the facilities of both. This Hilton should not be confused with a nearby Hilton in Lake Buena Vista. The LBV Hilton, while nice and well-maintained, does not have the pizzazz or glitter of this new hotel. The Hilton Bonnet Creek is an elegant, exquisitely decorated hotel, with a show-stopping pool area, yet current rates are just below $100. I don't know if those are temporary rates because of the economy or are designed to attract business to an area that still has hotels under construction. Either way, the rates were enough of a bargain that I didn't use Priceline or Hotwire (sorry, guys, still love ya) because I wanted to be sure to get this particular hotel. My guess is that the rates will soar once the Bonnet Creek construction is completed. The construction is only visible on the drive in, and you won't hear it at the Hilton. By comparison, the best rates I could find (and I'm a good bargain-hunter) at a higher-end on-Disney-property hotel - even at the faded Contemporary hotel - were twice that. Downsides: You pay a daily parking fee ($13 per day for self-parking in an attached garage or $20 per day for valet parking). The meals in the several restaurants and bars are expensive, and there are no convenient ways to obtain less expensive family fare without venturing out into traffic. No in-room refrigerator. Not directly on Disney property so requires about a 15 minute drive. Although it's very close to Disney, we regularly got lost and wasted valuable time. The Hilton could be a little "grown-up" and dull for the kids if they are not into swimming in the pool. The kids won't have the non-stop Disney magic they would get on a Disney property, but that is a welcome respite for the parents. Upsides: No daily resort fee. Frequent and easy bus transport to and from all the Disney parks. Remarkable pool area that meanders around the property. Pool area has a large screen on which to show family movies at night and has a snack bar, hot tub, complimentary towels at poolside, and expansive decking with comfortable deck chairs. Gorgeous, modern, elegant decor. Comfortable beds with expensive and soft Pacific Coast linens. Free in-room safe that will accommodate a laptop. Excellent service by staff. Lovely, sizeable, and comfortable rooms. This hotel appears be as close to Disney as the hotels in the Lake Buena Vista area but with much less traffic and hubbub than LBV. I considered this hotel a find and would absolutely return for a second stay. :)

Dates of travel: March 2010 during the business week, not week-end This Crowne Plaza is in the Westshore area of Tampa, 2 blocks from the decaying Westshore Mall. Once THE mall in town, Westshore is still anchored by a virtually-empty Sak's and a slighty-busier Macy's, but the physical plant is deteriorating and the customers are few. It does have some nice restaurants, including P.F. Changs and Mitchell's Fish Market. Westshore is near the airport and Tampa Bay and is home to many Tampa businesses. There is a very popular strip shopping center near the hotel (and across the street from the elegant Intercontinental Hotel) that is always busy. It includes a Panera Breads and a Starbucks. Although as a woman I wouldn't go for a walk in the dark in the neighborhood, overall it seems relatively safe, with a number of well-bred condo complexes nearby. The hotel itself is near the end of the road that leads to the Howard Frankland Bridge to St. Peterburg. If you pass the hotel by mistake and end up on the bridge, you will have a L-O-N-G trip to St. Pete and back in order to get back to the hotel! On to the topic at hand: the hotel itself. The hotel has been a Clarion and a Ramada. It sat closed and vacant for 2 years until Crowne Plaza bought it and re-opened it last year. CP has obviously invested considerable money in the renovation and there are many nice touches (more on them in a minute). Short of an outright demolition, however, there is no way to disguise the hotel's poor-cousin history. The ceilings are low, the hallways are dark, and the tower building is attached to an old-Florida-style, two-story building with outside entrances. Those rooms, the "cabana" rooms, front the small and very unimpressive pool. The small parking lot out front is well-paved and always full. The side and back parking lots are not well-paved and are full of potholes. They clearly have not yet been updated. The entire hotel has been painted white. While I'm sure a clean-looking "glistening white" was the goal, the goal was not accomplished. Next go-around, I would strongly recommend several coats of a high-quality cream or tan paint with glossy black trim. Is there anything I LIKED? Actually, yes. Quite a lot. The hotel has adopted a stylish and modern design in hues of grey, black, and silver. It's soothing and quite handsome. The lobby is attractive, if compact, and has a small, trendy bar. The staff is cheerful and helpful. The rooms have an electric window shade to dim the bright sun. The bed linens are lovely but the bed itself I found a little lumpy and not firm enough. The rooms have a number of conveniences. Some of the lamps turn on when you touch the lamp base. The room featured a large flat-screen TV. The bath amenities (lotion, shampoo, conditioner) were high-quality and pleasant. There was a comfy square armchair that faced a functional square table that could be pulled closer to work on. There was also a traditional desk on which to work. Because the hotel has noise problems (you hear the water in the walls and the neighbors if they're noisy), the hotel gives each guest a pretty drawstring package that contains ear plugs, an eyemask and a small bottle of lavender-scented linen spray, all designed to make falling asleep more pleasant. The wake-up call system is automated and excellent. If you need to get up at the same hour for several days, there is no need to make a daily call to request a wake-up call. The system allows you the option of requesting the same wake-up call every successive day until cancelled. That's a time-saver and prevents the business disaster when you forget to make the call the 4th night you're there! On Tuesday evenings, management offers a complimentary Manager's Reception with wine and beer, cheese and crackers, and small hors d'oeuvres. In nice weather, it's held on the patio near the pool. My room rate included the full breakfast buffet. This was fabulously convenient, as the wait staff were swift in bringing me orange juice and coffee (including for my travel mug when I was leaving) and the buffet offered options for most tastes: scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon strips; fresh fruit salad with pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, and grapes; muffins, biscuits, bagels; cereals; yogurt. One day, the buffet included homemade biscuits and sausage gravy. Another day it included French toast and syrup. The buffet really started my day off right. Downtown and the Westshore area are connected by a road called Kennedy. Taking it allows you to avoid the confusing and crowded interstates. During rush-hour, count on a 25 minute trip one-way. Not your cookie-cutter hotel. Far from perfect. But oddly likeable. They're working very hard on improving everything and at offering excellent customer service. They're likely to succeed.

1-night stay Monday, July 27, 2009. Bids of $35 and $40 were rejected. Bid of $42 was accepted one week before stay. For those who want more info on the hotel, see my hotel review posted 7-30-2009.

My bids of $55, $60, and $70 in the Westminster-Broomfield area between Denver and Boulder for the weekend of Saturday, July 25, 2009, and Sunday, July 26, 2009, were rejected. Rather than bid $75, I elected to bid $76, and my bid was accepted. Anyone who wants more info on the hotel can read my review, posted 7-30-2009.

This Staybridge Suites is one of a couple dozen new Denver hotels carved out of a near-airport plains area with no vegetation. The area looks as if it might have been reclaimed after strip mining, but the staff said it wasn't. We chose to stay here the evening before our flight to minimize travel time and hassle. Hint: Since there are so many new hotels in this area, check not only Priceline and Hotline rates but also "regular" (AAA, AARP, Travelzoo, etc.) and promotional rates on any hotel chain you particularly like. Chances are good that, since the competition is so great, you can get a good deal. The hotel is about 10 minutes from the airport and offers a free airport shuttle. We elected to instead keep our rental car and drop it off the morning of our flight. Although all rental car companies at the Denver International Airport are off-site, they all offer a free shuttle, and the return process, unlike the check-in process, at Avis was very swift, and we were at the airport in minutes. If it would save you money (it didn't us), you could instead opt to turn in your rental car the preceding day and take the free hotel shuttle to the airport. [Hint: Next time, if we again visit both Denver and Colorado Springs, we will fly into the Colorado Springs airport, where renting a car is MUCH less expensive than at Denver International Airport, or we will take a shuttle from DIA to downtown Denver and rent a car there. The latter is more of a hassle, but can literally save you $100 or more.] The Staybridge Suites provides a free daily breakfast and, Tuesdays through Thursdays, a free evening manager's reception. The night we stayed was Fiesta Night, with light Mexican food and complimentary wine, beer, and soft drinks. The breakfast featured cook-it-yourself waffles, pre-cooked egg-and-cheese omelets, yogurt, muffins, fruit, cereal, cranberry and orange juices, milk, and coffee. The suite had a separate living room with TV and couch/pull-out bed. Adjacent to that was a small kitchen area with microwave, a tall-but-skinny refrigerator that must have been custom-built for the hotel chain, a dishwasher, dishes, coffee and coffeemaker, etc. The separate bedroom with door had two full beds and a second TV. The attached bathroom had a shower/tub and toilet area that could be closed off from the sink area. The hotel has a small, free fitness center, and a free indoor pool. The pool depth is from 3 feet to 5 feet, and there is no separate children's pool. The pool is attractive, and you can only access it by using your room key. The elevators were being worked on while we were there. Even when working, they were slow. The hotel offers free WiFi throughout the hotel and complimentary, unlimited use of 2 computers in the lobby, as well as complimentary use of a 3rd computer for printing boarding passes. For those refueling a rental car, there are only 1 or 2 gas stations in the area and they are about 5 minutes minutes away. There is a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant, a Village Inn restaurant, several fast-food (Wendy's, McDonald's, Subway) restaurants, and a King Soopers grocery store, but that is about it for non-hotel dining. There are new condos and new hotels being built, so I suspect there will soon be more amenities in the area. No one at the hotel mentioned the fact that we had paid via Priceline. The front desk staff were pleasant but not exceptional. We paid $114 (with taxes, $130), which I did not consider a good rate. I suspect you can do better!

Gorgeous 4* hotel in a new, high-end area called Broomfield, about 20 minutes from Boulder and about 30-40 minutes from downtown Denver. Located at the top of a hill by itself, but within a couple of blocks of a huge shopping mall (Nordstrom's, Dillard's, movie theatres, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc.), a delightful McDonald's (ever seen a McDonald's that has a fireplace and plays classical music?), other restaurants, and the main highway into Boulder. Free and ample on-site parking. Attractive outdoor pool and hot tub area, with outdoor bar. Concierge had typed directions available for all attractions. Front desk clerk referred once to our "prepaid" bill but immediately seemed embarrassed by having done so. Hotel, which was full at the beginning of the stay, could not accommodate my request for 2 double beds (only a king) but did provide a free rollaway bed. Lovely rooms, but beds were actually not as comfortable as I expected. Chair and ottoman in room were very comfortable. The hotel has a complimentary fitness center. It also has an in-hotel spa which offers massages and other services. Free WiFi only in lobby. Free newspaper (it was either the local paper or USA Today) at the front desk. Lobby has a small bar that sells breakfast foods and Starbucks coffee. Not a Starbucks store, though, so my Starbucks card wasn't accepted. Hotel looks far newer than its 10 years, and was a great bargain at my $76 Priceline (July 2009) rate. I would definitely recommend this lovely hotel if you don't mind the drive into Boulder. There are two other high-end hotels in the immediate vicinity, both of which are also 4* Priceline hotels.

The good: A definite bargain for the $42 (Priceline) I paid. Hotel provided my requested double beds AND a (free) rollaway bed promptly and without complaint. Front desk never mentioned Priceline or "prepaid." Very comfortable beds. Free computer use in lobby. Close to I-26. Pleasant staff. Free on-site parking. The bad: Aging hotel in serious need of renovation. Depressing lobby. I would not rate it a 3.5*, and am surprised that Marriott hasn't required an update. In a seemingly-empty tech park FAR from Garden of the Gods, Pike's Peak, the Broadmoor Hotel. Hard to find the hotel once you exit the highway. Staff not knowledgeable about directions to attractions. No ready-printed directions to same. Arrived several hours early, and room not ready. (Can't complain too much about that, but most hotels have some rooms ready early).

My two teenage sons and I just returned from a several-day (July 2009) stay at the Hotel Monaco Denver, which is one of a number of charming Kimpton boutique hotels. As Kimpton Hotel fans know, no two Kimptons are alike, except that they all focus on service and fun. We had previously stayed at Kimpton's Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, MA, and adored it. While Hotel Marlowe is new, glitzy, and elegant, this Kimpton is somewhat older and could stand some renovation. That having been said, it was still a delightful hotel. The lobby floor is wooden, with expensive rugs, the beds are very comfortable, the decor is colorful and whimsical, and the amenities are numerous. Here are a few examples of the hotel's special touches: The lobby is large and inviting, with overstuffed chairs and couches, and cushy ottomans. The lobby ceiling is tall and impressively and colorfully painted. Guests often take their complimentary New York Times and gather in the mornings for complimentary coffee and tea, and again for complimentary wine in the late afternoon. Afternoons also feature complimentary Wii games on a large TV screen. Interestingly, there were as many adults playing as there were teens. When you return from a hot afternoon of playing tourist, you find a large tub of ice in which complimentary popsicles are buried upside down ... just pull a wooden stick and enjoy. Kimpton In-touch members enjoy free in-room WiFi; others have free WiFi in the lobby. Hotel computer use is free for 15 minutes each day. The hotel is pet-friendly. I saw one man with three Scotties on a tripartite leash. While relaxing in the lobby, I enjoyed petting several well-behaved dogs and chatting with their owners. (Never saw an unruly dog....I suspect that people who travel with their dogs also train them well.) When you check in, you can request the complimentary loan of a pet fish in a cute fish bowl. The daily maid service takes care of the fish, so you don't have to. The hotel is located at the intersection of Champa and 17th Street, just one block from the famous 16th Street pedestrian mall and its free, constantly-running buses. We took the bus to the end of the line and then walked about 6 blocks to Coors Stadium (marvelous facility, with nary a bad seat to be found) for a Colorado Rockies baseball game. Although we planned to reverse that process on the way back, we instead opted to take the open-air pedi-cab conveniently waiting outside the stadium. I had never ridden in a pedi-cab before but was impressed that it was operated by a friendly and clearly-fit bicycle rider. The pedi-cab swiftly took us to the hotel door (literally up on the sidewalk) for $12. There are a number of sites (the Capitol, history museum, famous Tattered Cover bookstore, tea in the Brown Palace lobby) either on the pedestrian mall bus line or within a few blocks of it. The best part of the Hotel Monaco Denver is the staff. They were all young people who were uniformly upbeat, personable, and helpful. They cheerfully printed computer directions to various attractions and answered all questions. When I once called from my room and apologized for being a "pest" by asking multiple questions, the desk clerk graciously replied, "I'm always happy to hear your voice, Ms. ___." (And there was no sarcasm!) This is not a cookie-cutter hotel, but is one that I highly recommend if you love well-staffed, friendly, upscale smaller hotels.

Just returned from Denver, where we stayed at the charming and fun Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver in late July 2009. Depending on date of travel, rack rates at the hotel can approach $300/night; however, rates below $150 are available this summer. There are a number of packages available on the hotel website; however, we stayed on a Travelzoo.com rate, which was $99, plus free valet parking (normally $26/night).

One week before my Monday, 7/27/09 stay, I bid $42 for a 3* in Colorado Springs, hoping to get the Homewood Suites (free breakfast), Hyatt Place (free breakfast), or the Hilton Garden Inn (no free breakfast but nice hotel). My bid was accepted but, as can happen, I was "upgraded" to a 3.5*, the Marriott Colorado Springs. Complimentary parking. No free breakfast, of course, but, as this is a great price on a nice hotel, I'll spring for breakfast for the family!

Winter in Sarasota is peak season, so I would expect the hotel rates to be more expensive across the board.

Positives and negatives from my recent (July 2008) stay at the Palmer House Hilton in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois: Positive: The hotel and its staff appear to be working assiduously to improve the hotel's past mixed reviews. Even though the hotel knew I was a "third party" (Priceline / Hotline) guest, the front desk promptly granted my request for a renovated room with two double beds. The room was large, with two closets. The beds were comfortable. Excellent, friendly, and alert security guards downstairs at street (below lobby) level. Every single staff member with whom I had contact was pleasant and helpful. My sense is that management, to its credit, has trained its employees to go above-and-beyond in interacting cordially with guests. The lobby, most rooms, and the fitness center have been renovated. The pool and the central street entrance are currently still closed for renovations. The hotel's location is excellent if you plan to see "Jersey Boys" or plan to visit the impressive Art Institute of Chicago or the new Millennium Park. Each is no more than 1.5 blocks away. All are worth a visit. There is a relatively new CVS across the street for those items you forget, and there is a second, seedier CVS around the block. A Corner Bakery next to the hotel supplies moderately-priced breakfast foods (ask for the scrambled eggs by themselves - not shown on the menu - and you'll get a plateful of tasty, hot eggs for $2.75), and an Au Bon Pain and a Panda Express near the Art Institute (1 block from the hotel) provide alternative sources of inexpensive meals. Lovely, historic, carefully-restored lobby. The restored ceiling (go online to see a photo) is exquisite. You may want to spend some time there: order a libation or simply drink in the ambience. The halls of the hotel are lined with framed, black-and-white photos of the stars who played the hotel from the 1940's on. The photos are a fascinating bit of memorabilia: you'll recognize Sonny and Cher, George Burns, Jack Jones, and many others. The hotel is only 1/2 block from the CTA "El" (subway). You can take the subway to and from the airport for a mere $2 each way, but the station near the hotel has no elevator, and dragging luggage up and down metal stairs can be a hot and uncomfortable business. There is an elevator at an El station a few blocks away. If you're taking in a Cubs game, the El takes you there and back, without the need to change lines. Don't even think of driving your own or a rented car into the city. Parking is scarce and pricey, and the drivers use horns instead of brakes, and consider lane lines and speed limits mere suggestions. Gray Line tours/trolleys (affiliated with Go Chicago cards) is conveniently located in the hotel lobby. Negative: There is no coffee maker in the room and no complimentary coffee in the lobby. To get coffee, you either have to visit the hotel restaurant, order room service, or go next door to the Corner Bakery. Bad for those of us who need our coffee to get dressed! Bathroom amenities are limited to shampoo, conditioner, and soap. The bathroom is small. There is a $15/night charge to use the fitness center. The neighborhood is so-so. Go left toward the river and Art Institute, and the neighborhood is fine. Go right, and the neighborhood rapidly goes downhill, with run-down stores and homeless persons lingering outside. The El (subway) is VERY close to the hotel (generally a good thing) and VERY noisy. If you are tired at night, you won't notice it for long. If you are a light sleeper, or are not accustomed to urban noises, you'll lie awake for awhile. No newspapers are delivered to the rooms; however, stacks of USA Today newspapers are left on a table near the elevators on each floor. I personally would prefer one of the local papers for more interesting local color, but others may disagree. The hotel should demand a refund from the design firm that selected the colors and fabrics for the renovated rooms. What WERE they thinking? The fabrics sport an ugly, retro combination of olive green, mustard green, vivid yellow, and similar colors. Truly unfortunate color combinations. The room I had, while large, did not have a couch. It did have a small desk and one comfortable reading chair, ottoman, and reading lamp. I saw other rooms as I walked past during housecleaning, and some were, indeed, much smaller than mine. I appreciated the hotel's thoughtfulness in providing me the larger room. Summary: I really WANT to like this hotel, because it clearly is trying so hard to better itself. And the people are so darn nice! But, even after the renovation, it still seems dated. If you love glitz and shiny new, this is not the hotel for you. If, however, you want to be within walking distance of the Art Institute, "Jersey Boys," and the Millennium Park, you may find this hotel a good fit. It certainly is NOT a cookie-cutter, chain hotel, and is one you will remember. You usually can secure a PL price of between $90 and $100 per night for this hotel which, in Chicago, is not bad.

I had already purchased my airline tickets for 7/20-7/25/2008 before I realized that the Trade Mart convention (20,000 people) was booked for part of that same time in Chicago. That explains why next to no Priceline bids were accepted for neighborhoods near downtown. Also, shopping the hotel sites directly revealed that there were virtually no deals to be had: no good AAA or AARP rates and virtually no government rates (for those of us to whom that applies). Even the 3* hotels like Hampton Inns were in the $188 to $250 and up range. I wanted to be in the downtown area (North Michigan Ave. or the Millenium Park/Loop). Free re-bid zones (with no 4* hotels) were Lincoln Park and Midway. I bid $85 for Millenium Park/Loop area. Rejected. I added Lincoln Park (free re-bid) for $91. Rejected. I added North Michigan Ave. for $96. Accepted. I bid on June 29, 2008, after attempting unsuccessfully on earlier occasions to obtain a room for less. Be aware: My research indicates that this historic hotel is still being renovated. Expect construction noise. Per the hotel website, the pool is closed for renovation of the fitness center/spa. The fitness center and wireless Internet are fee-based. Reviews suggest that the lobby is gorgeous but most rooms, including bathrooms, are VERY tiny. This is the second largest hotel in the city, after the Hyatt. Good news: Hotel has a great location across from "el" and train stations and right in the heart of downtown, near many attractions and some theatres. There is a good bakery around the corner so you can avoid that pricey hotel breakfast. I'll post a review after I stay there.

Last summer (August '06), my teenage children and I stayed at the elegant Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge (Boston). The hotel is part of an exclusive chain of boutique hotels, which even has its own wine label. The hotel offers complimentary wine-tasting every evening in its intimate "living room" on the first floor, and complimentary coffee and tea every morning. The hotel is on a canal which flows into the nearby river, and leisurely boat rides are available a few steps from the hotel. Guests can walk through an underground garage to the CambridgeSide mall, where an upscale food court offers numerous choices for a quick meal. The hotel, which is surrounded by small but lovely gardens, features a well-regarded but expensive restaurant, and there is an excellent Italian restaurant next door. Although the hotel clearly caters to a mature and monied clientele, my children and I found it comfortable and cozy. The rooms, like the common areas, are exquisite. The faux leopard comforters, though, are startling if you aren't expecting them. The beds are wonderfully comfortable. Nightly turn-down service is provided, as is complimentary use of the Internet in the business section of the hotel. The staff - mostly bright young college students - are friendly and helpful. For a fee, the hotel will cater to your pampered pet, even providing special meals and doggy treats, and walking your dog for you. The pets can stay with you in special rooms. Although I saw a well-behaved dog or two, I never heard so much as a single bark. The hotel is quite a distance from Harvard and MIT, but is in a nice area of Cambridge. (The area around the MIT campus is rather rough.) The only disadvantage to its location is that it is not as close as it might be to downtown locations. We followed the advice universally given to tourists: don't try to drive in Boston. We thus did not rent a car. After arriving by plane, we unwisely attempted to travel from the airport to the hotel by mass transit, and discovered that such travel involved a bus and a subway transfer, followed by a walk of 4 or 5 blocks ... quite warm in August when you have luggage (even rolling luggage) with you. The taxi ride for which we opted for our return to the airport was $25, and well worth it. There is a large and impressive science center across the street from the hotel. If you are going on a "Duck tour" (and you should, as it's great fun for adults and children alike) on one of the city's famed WWII-surplus amphibious vehicles, you can conveniently pick up a Duck at the science center. The Hotel Marlowe is lovely and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The new, moderately-priced Hyatt Place hotels attempt to be to Hyatt what Courtyard by Marriott is to Marriott Hotels: a chain of smaller, somewhat-upscale hotels full of amenities business travelers find useful. Unfortunately, in implementing the idea, Hyatt Place chose not to build new hotels, as Courtyard by Marriott did, but instead to renovate a chain of older Amerisuites hotels. The result is, at best, only partially successful. The advantages: The renovation of this hotel was completed in the fall of 2006. Although Expedia currently advertises this hotel for $199 per night, I was able, through Priceline, to obtain a rate for early August, 2007, of only $40. The hotel offers a complimentary and perfectly-adequate breakfast of cereal, bagels, juices, Starbucks coffee and tea, yogurt, and toast. You can purchase additional, hot entrees such as scrambled eggs. The hotel does not have a formal restaurant, but has a small bakery and small bar accessible round the clock. Unique but pleasing music plays in the background of the common areas. US Today newspapers are complimentary. The rooms are essentially a suite, with an opaque divider separating the beds and bathroom area from the living room/refrigerator/microwave area. There is a very large L-shaped couch with a wonderful, huge ottoman, and a 52" TV. There is also a desk, chair and lamp. Although the hotel advertises HDTV, only mono stations were available, and only a few of them. The outdoor landscaping was very attractive, and the common area was unique, clever, and modern. The hotel offers free Internet use on two computers in the lobby. It also offers complimentary in-room safes. Coffee and tea are available in the room. The rooms were clean, and the beds comfortable. The staff was exceptionally helpful and provided Mapquest directions and restaurant recommendations. A hotel shuttle is available. The surrounding area is upscale, and near a fabulous, large, multi-building shopping area off Peachtree-Dunwoody. The area conveniently includes not only restaurants and upscale small shops but also a SuperTarget (always useful for those items we forget to pack). The disadvantages: Despite serious renovation efforts, the hotel retains a distinct flavor of the too-old, too-decaying. Although there are 6 floors, there are only 2 elevators. One was out of service, and the other was painfully slow. The pool is tiny, probably a hold-over from the Amerisuites days. The bathroom was tiny and contained only a toilet and small shower/tub, with an inexpensive liner. (The attractive sinks were located outside the bathroom, facing the beds. This location can be an advantage or a disadvantage.) The closet was small but adequate. The room and hallway decor was a depressing combination of gold and brown. The room still had an older A/C unit, which was quite noisy. The ceilings were low, adding to the "old" feel. Although this hotel features several innovative ideas, overall the execution of the concept was disappointing. For $40/night, however, it's a good option, especially for families, for whom the complimentary breakfast, the refrigerator, the large couch, and the large-screen TV may be of particular interest.

I bid $35 for weekdays 8/6 - 8/8 (2 nights). Bid declined. PL offered to allow me to rebid for $44. I declined, and started a new bid, using free rebid zones. Won 2.5* Hyatt Place Atlanta Perimeter (formerly AmeriSuites; bought by Hyatt, and renovated 2 years ago) for $40 per night. Taxes and service fees were $19.35 total for the two nights. Hotel website for dates in question show AAA rate of $189 on weekdays, but $99 on weekends. According to the hotel website and various other Internet reviews, the hotel offers free parking, and a free shuttle to nearby Marta subway station and nearby Perimeter Mall. It also offers a free continental breakfast, or you can purchase hot breakfast entrees. Room has 42" plasma HDTV, and small kitchen area.

Like you, I stayed there last summer, with the same winning bid you obtained, and was delighted with the hotel. I today posted a lengthy review of the hotel on this site. If anyone else is staying there soon, they may wish to read it for more (hopefully helpful) details and suggestions.

My bids for up to $70 for a 4* stay in either the Perimeter area or Buckhead area of Atlanta for 8/4 to 8/7 were rejected. (I used $2 to $5 increments in bidding.) Knowing that the 4 days included a weekend and a Monday and a Tuesday, and that Atlanta hotels are often empty on summer weekends, I split my bid, and, using the multiple available free rebid zones, secured a two-night weekend (8/4 and 8/5) stay at the Westin Perimeter for $60. Priceline asked if I wanted to request that my stay be extended at that rate by up to 2 days. Hopefully, I replied that I did, but then Priceline said the offer to extend was declined. I am still looking for a Monday-Tuesday stay, even though it will likely be at another hotel (hopefully in same general area). I have bid up to $80 for a 4* in Perimeter or Buckhead, without success. As it is just 30 days away, there may be more inventory later, so I will try again. P.S. Thanks for the permutation strategy described in earlier posts. P.P.S. I am posting this to provide more complete information concerning my earlier post on the subject.

I know Atlanta hotel rooms are always cheaper on the weekends. Because I wasn't successful bidding for a 4-night stay at a 4* in the Perimeter section of Atlanta, I split my bid, and got a two-night weekend stay (8/4 and 8/5) for $60/night. PL offered to let my extend my stay, but then declined my request for an additional two nights (Mon., 8/6, and Tues., 8/7). I called PL and was told they don't have inventory for those two nights. I've gone up to $75/night for the Mon. and Tues. of my stay (understanding that if I get a different hotel, I'll have to move), but no luck. Any insight into anything big (conference?) taking place in that area of Atlanta on those days that may be interfering with PL's inventory? Thanks.