Colfax

Nice find, Gallus! :)

Welcome to BetterBidding, mcl024! You didn't do anything wrong, but rates are extremely high for these dates, and $150 isn't enough for a 4*, unless rates drop. Hilton $479, Parc55 $462, Westin SF $398, Grand Hyatt $359. Hotwire is a good barometer of what might be available on Priceline and HW only has two hotels in USW/USE, both at high rates: 4* USW for $374 or 3* USE for $268. :) So $150 is too low. $200 might be a more realistic limit, if you can go there, and even that might be too low for 4*. Breaking down your four-night stay all four nights are expensive but the Fri/Sat segment looks cheaper than Sun/Mon. For Fri/Sat Hotwire has a 4* in USW for $231 (vs. $374 for all four nights). If you're willing to split your bid and possibly switch hotels on Sunday you might get $150 accepted for 9/30-10/2 alone. Then deal with 10/2-10/4 separately, and probably at a higher rate. If $150 is your firm limit you may need to consider 3.5* or 3*. Let us know if you have questions. Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your puchases.

How frustrating. Mostly people have been having good luck with LMT lately. The two times I used LMT they answered back within 24 hours. I haven't heard of this happening until now--waiting 3 days to hear back from LMT. There's still plenty of time left to resolve the situation and get booked somewhere though. I agree you should hold off on Priceline bidding until the LMT situation is fixed. Have you called LMT's Customer Service line? 1-800-442-0568. Have you checked with Hyatt to see if they have a reservation in your name? Good luck and let us know how this plays out.

Respectfully I disagree, joespud. The southern portion of USW-Nob Hill zone is close to the Tenderloin but the reported 3* hotels in USW are located on the same blocks or across the street from hotels rated 4*. Visitors who don't want to be near the Tenderloin should avoid bidding USW zone altogether, not just at 3* level. These are the 3* hotels reported to the board in USW-Nob Hill: 3* Donatello 3* Handlery Union Square 3* Hotel Rex 3* Kensington Park Hotel 3* Serrano Hotel 3* Warwick Most of those are highly rated hotels, and a few have better reviews than some of the 4* in USW. Donatello is #6 of 242 SF hotels on TripAdvisor. Rex is #13 and Kensington Park is #20. Warwick is the lowest rated of the bunch and even that's #86 of 242. People have different standards and tastes, of course, but I don't think any of those six hotels would be considered "terrible". They're mostly smaller boutique style properties--several are managed by Kimpton or Joie de Vivre--and personally I'd prefer any of them over the 2000-room mega Hilton, which I find cold and impersonal. Just my opinion. (I like the Hilton's pool though!) Bottom line: if you don't want to be near Tenderloin don't bid USW zone at any quality level. And if you win a hotel near the Tenderloin just walk east or north, not west or south, and you'll be fine. I like Whitcomb too, and I agree the Renoir at 7th and Market is a bad location. Even with my low standards I wouldn't want to stay at Renoir. Look at Priceline's zone map though and you'll see Renoir isn't located within the boundaries of any Priceline zone. It can't come up on a Name Your Own Price bid then. Renoir's in the Priceline Hotel List because it came up on the past when the zone boundaries were different. Unless the boundaries change again it won't come up now though. In their retail product I think Priceline rates the Renoir 1* or 2* at most.

I hadn't seen that lalife.com site before. I appreciate what they're trying to do but I can't say I agree with all their ratings. For example, they rate Bel Air, Brentwood, and Westwood as 7 on a 1-10 scale for safety. To my mind those are all very safe neighborhoods and I wouldn't hesitate recommending them to a single female travelling alone. No place is completely safe, of course, but those neighborhoods are about as safe as LA gets. They rate Santa Monica a 5, and it's true there are some shady areas in Santa Monica, but those aren't where the Priceline hotels are located. From a safety standpoint I don't think you need to be concerned about the locations of the 3.5* or 3* hotels that have been reported to the board in Santa Monica-Marina Del Rey zone. So where can you stay for $100 or less that's safe and relatively central? My suggestion would be to shoot for a 3.5* in either Beverly Hills-West Hollywood or Century City-Westwood zone first. Then if rejected try for a 3* in either of those zones. 3.5* in Manhattan-Redondo Beach zone would also be very safe. It's not as central as the other two zones but it is on the ocean, if that appeals to you. After you've purchased your plane ticket get back to us with which zones you want to try and someone will help with strategy. Or since you haven't bought your plane ticket maybe take a look at Priceline Air + Hotel Vacation Packages, where you buy air and hotel together. Some of the package hotels are discounted to levels similar to what you'd get through Name Your Own Price bidding, but you get to see the name of the hotel in advance, and know you're buying a hotel where you'd feel comfortable. Please use this PRICELINE link to search and/or purchase a vacation package, if you go that route. p.s. to Moderators: please move thread to LA board. :)

Sometimes the best deals happen in the days just before you travel, but not always. With your trip less than three weeks away now it's definitely not too soon to bid, or to start trying, as long as your travel dates are firm. Priceline reservations are nonchangeable and noncancellable. Having a car means you're free to stay in any zone and don't have to be near a Metro line. Most hotels in LA charge for parking, in case you didn't know. Your first big decision is which zone or zones you want to stay in. Do you have any sense of that at all? Reading other posts here and reading the LA neighborhood info on TripAdvisor or Fodors, will help give you a feel for the different areas. What interests you? Beverly Hills shopping? The Beach? Museums? Hollywood? Clubbing and nightlife? Santa Monica and Bev Hills-WeHo are very popular with visitors but $100 probably won't be enough for 4* in those zones. Would you bid higher than $100 for a 4*? Would you consider 3.5* or 3*, if it's not in a shady area? p.s. post hasn't moved to LA board yet, but it might.

Welcome to BetterBidding, IUDaughter. For starters, I suggest going to Priceline's website and taking a look at the map of LA zones. That will get you more familiar with the zone names and give you some feel for the geography. $100 might be enough for a 4* in Downtown or LAX zones. $100 almost certainly won't be enough for a 4* in Hollywood, Beverly Hills-West Hollywood, Century City-Westwood, or Santa Monica-Marina del Rey. It might be enough for a 3.5* or 3* in those zones. No "shady hotels" have come up in Beverly Hills-West Hollywood or Century City-Westwood zones, so I think you could feel comfortable bidding 3.5* or 3* in those zones if your $100 limit is firm. Beverly Hills-WeHo is the only zone that offers 5* bidding, but $100 won't be nearly enough for 5*. The attractions in LA are very scattered. There's no one zone that's amidst "everything". To help you choose the best zone(s) for you what are you planning to see/do in LA? Will you have a car? A moderator will move your post to the LA section of the board when they see it. Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links for your puchases and searches.

I was checking Brewers Festival rates for someone else and Residence Inn is sold out now. Orbitz and Expedia don't have a single available hotel Downtown. $126 sounded high when you won it, but it turns out to be a good deal!

As per usual Mon-Thurs cost more in Natomas zone than Fri-Sun. $55 was rejected. Bids placed through the BetterBidding PRICELINE link.

Welcome to BetterBidding! I know it seems strange that the counteroffer increased from $20 to $25 when you increased your bid, but that doesn't necessarily mean the hotel got more expensive. Sometimes Priceline gives you these large counteroffers (like $25) when you're only one or two dollars away. Based on the $20 counteroffer you got to $82, then rejection at $90, the winning bid is somewhere between $91 and $102. You don't have any more rebid zones for 3* in Burbank. When your 24 hour lockout is over I suggest bidding $95 for 3*. Then add North Hollywood and bid $100. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Please start your bids with this PRICELINE link.

Congrats, wendydenny. Nice deal. Is this a one night stay or two at Parc55? If you want help with your car rental please start a NEW TOPIC in Car Rental section, including the dates you need the car, and whether you're renting downtown or at the airport.

For being close to rental cars it doesn't matter between Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf. All the big car rental companies have offices in both locations. It's still not clear to me if you're bidding for 8/20-8/24 or 8/20-8/25, but Hotwire has a 4* in USE for $141 (for four nights) or $146 (for five nights). That means there's a good chance you can win a 4* bidding in Priceline's USE or SOMA zones in the $100-130 range. (Hotwire's USE zone is larger than Priceline's and includes Pricelines' USE + SOMA zones.) If you want help with a Priceline bidding strategy for Union Square let us know. The Hotwire 3* in Fisherman's Wharf has dropped from $161 to $154. Good luck with your decision. Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your purchases.

You don't have to walk to light rail. The Red Lion has a free 24-hour shuttle that will take you to the airport and you can catch MAX there. The bug report I saw on TripAdvisor was about ants, not bedbugs...if that's any consolation. :) You can't request a refund based on someone else's experiences. If you check in and find your room is unsatisfactory try to resolve it with the hotel staff first. If you can't then call Priceline's Customer Service. Red Lion may not be the best, but at $35 you didn't overpay. If you have an issue with your room speak up. Hopefully it will be better than you expect.

Not necessarily. Longer stays are generally harder to win than short ones but you shouldn't assume you can't get 14 nights, as long as your bid levels are in line with prevailing rates for that season.It doesn't cost anything to bid. If your friend prefers staying in one hotel for 14 nights there's no harm in trying for 14 nights first. I'm not familiar with London to comment if $165 is realistic, but maybe someone else will give an opinion on that. The longer the stay the lower the fee per day. You might pay $10 Priceline fee for a one-night stay and $16 Priceline fee for a two-night stay; so $8 per night there. With every additional night the total fee goes up, but the fee per night goes down.So yes, you'll pay more in fees for four separate bids of 3 or 4 nights than you would on a single 14-night bid. But the difference in fees isn't as significant as the lower room room rate you might get by splitting. Splitting you might pay $2 more per night in fees but save $50 per night on the room. Have you checked HOTWIRE? If Hotwire has hotels for 14 nights Priceline might too.

Welcome to the board, mobiwan. Omni, Hotel Derek, and Intercontinental have all been reported with those icons so it's likely one of them. If you search on "3 adults/0 children" instead of "2 adults/0 children" a different 4* appears, but with the same icons. Even though icons are identical the 3/0 and 2/0 options are two different hotels because they have different Hotwire customer ratings. The 4* that comes up searching 3/0 looks like a match for the Intercontinental, because that's the only one with a 4/5 TripAdvisor rating. By process of elimination the 4* you see searching on 2/0 is either Omni or Hotel Derek then. If you purchase one of these please use this HOTWIRE link and let us know what you get.

I never noticed that disclaimer before, Oregon John, but you're right it's there.

As far as getting two beds...it's in your favor that Best Western Seven Seas charges the same rate for one queen or two doubles on their website. Two queens cost more though. Good luck with it. At $44 per room you could buy two rooms if necessary for less than the $90 listing you were originally considering. p.s. to mods: hotel name didn't get to subject line.

LastMinuteTravel has a couple possibilities too: 1) A 4.5* Downtown/UnionSquare for $153 that looks like Hyatt Regency. It's a little over $140...if you want to stretch your limit for a higher grade hotel. 2) A 3* for $116 that looks like Holiday Inn Golden Gateway. That's in Priceline's Civic Center North-Japantown zone, a zone you didn't include in your PL bidding, but I'll mention it because the price is good for these dates. The Hyatt listing is "On Request" so it can take 24 hours to hear back if the reservation request is accepted.

Moderators, Please move Marin thread to Cali-Other board. :)

September is still a busy month in SF and six nights can be tougher to win than a shorter stay. HOTWIRE only has two hotels Downtown under $140. There's a 3* in Civic Center South for $133 and a 2.5* in USW-Nob Hill for $137. (All the 4* are $200+.) The 2.5* USW @ $137 looks like a possible match for Hotel Bijou, upgraded from 2* at last report. Icons are Boutique and Internet. Regular rate is $199. Does this 2.5* interest you? Or any interest in splitting your bid and staying at two different hotels? Splitting will improve your chances of acceptance and splitting may become necessary at some point, but it's very early to split now, unless two different hotels is what you prefer. If you don't want the Hotwire 2.5* and aren't ready to split yet then all you can do is keep trying the $100-$140 range for 3* every few days now. I don't think I'd bid higher than $140 this far ahead. Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links for your purchases. Good luck and please keep us posted.

Is this a one-night stay or two?

Thanks for using the board's HOTWIRE link. Please post the name of the 2.5* hotel you won. Then someone will respond regarding the bedding situation. Thanks.

Welcome to BetterBidding! 3.5* USE $189: My best guess is Orchard Garden Hotel. 3.5* USW $159: My best guess is the Warwick. If you purchase one of these please use this HOTWIRE link and let us know what you get.

San Francisco and South San Francisco are two different cities, as you probably know. Even though Citigarden Hotel has a South San Franciso address it's in Priceline's SFO North-San Bruno zone; not the South San Francisco zone. Same thing for Holiday Inn. It gets confusing. :) Enjoy your stay.

For the 3* Downtown it's probably Holiday Inn Downtown or Holiday Inn on the Bay. Both have been reported with those icons. For the 2* Old Town I can't ID it. Hotwire says 30+ reviews, which is a low count; so I think it could be something new, not yet in the Hotel List. With 90% approval and 4/5 on TripAdvisor it should be something decent. Maybe someone else will have an idea. If you purchase one of these please use this HOTWIRE link and let us know what you get.