Colfax

I can't find a match for the 2.5* or 2* hotels in HOTWIRE vacation packages. (There's only one hotel offered in vacation packages that's less than 3*.) There are any number of Travelodge, EconoLodge, DaysInn and etc on Lombard and the 2* is probably one of those. The 1* with no icons I don't even want to think about. :) Before trying to identify the 2.5* or 2* on Lombard I wanted to mention that for the same money Hotwire has a 3* in Civic Center-Japantown for $102 or a 3* in Union Square West for $102. It's possible you could win a 4* in Union Square for less than $90 on Priceline. Is Lombard where you actually want to stay? Nothing wrong if it is, but it's not the most common choice so I thought I'd check. One advantage the motor courts on Lombard have is free parking usually. The hotels in Union Square charge more like $40-50/night.

I didn't know that Hotwire only displays the first 8 icons if there are more than that. I learned something today! :)

Hilton rates: 7/25 sold out 7/26 $206.10 7/25-7/27 $249 That means Hilton has a two day minimum stay requirement associated with checkins on 7/25. HOTWIRE has a 4* Santa Clara for $183. I think that's the Hilton but can't say with certainty. There's no harm in bidding Priceline up to $120. If you win the Hilton at $120 that's still less than 50% of their best published rates for those dates. And if you won a 3* in Santa Clara for $70-100 the savings vs a 4* would be more than enough to cover the parking charge at Great America.

How long ago did you win this, springstein28? I ask because other posters have bid much higher than you for similar dates without success. I'm wondering if you were sucesssful because you bid early or if availability has just now opened up. In any case, congratulations. A great deal!

The Sheraton is a 4* on Harbor Island. I don't think 10% of accepted Downtown bids are at the Sheraton but it is a possibility. If you're a gambler please use the HOTWIRE link.

Welcome to the board, CameronLynn. I'm stumped on this one. The only two 4* reported in SeaWorld zone to date are Hilton San Diego Resort and Paradise Point Resort. When I check HOTWIRE Vacation Packages for your dates the Hilton and Paradise both still come up as 4*, but with different amenity icons than the 4* you're asking about. Both have tennis icon and your 4* hotel doesn't, for example. There's no match in Vacation Packages for your icons so I think this is some third hotel; not the Hilton or Paradise Point. Maybe one of the 3.5* in the Hotel List has been upgraded.

Before posting that I thought the HOTWIRE 3* was the Sirena I checked Expedia, which said the Sirena has a comlimentary airport shuttle. I just checked again and it still says that. Maybe the Sirena dropped their shuttle and didn't tell Expedia? :) Most of Hotwire's hotels are from large familiar chains like Holiday Inn and Hilton but there are also a lot of independent properties and small chains participating. A hotel like the Sirena could easily come up. If Expedia has bad info and the Sirena doesn't have a shuttle then you're right....it's probably the Courtyard. If you purchase we're interested to hear which hotel it is. Sometimes those Hotwire "List Prices" match the real website rate but not always. I'm sorry to hear about your mother.

That means Priceline doesn't have rooms at the Hilton at any price now. You would have recieved an offer if they did. Unless availability changes you won't win the Hilton those two nights no matter how high you bid. (Priceline might have rooms for one night or the other alone, but they won't tell you that. It's just yes or no to the exact set of dates you request.)If Hyatt is still sold out one night (I didn't check) you're not likely to win a 4* on Priceline now. Your dates are still two weeks away and it's possible Hilton will still give rooms to Priceline between now and then. It's really impossible to predict if they will or not, or when. Do you want to hold out and keep trying for a 4* in Santa Clara? Bid for 3* in Santa Clara? HOTWIRE?

Those icons could describe any of a half dozen different hotels in Downtown Seattle. I tried bringing up the W in Hotwire Vacation Packages to view its current amenities and the W wouldn't show for any of the random dates I tried. If you only want the W, or one of the other hotels you mentioned, I think the HOTWIRE purchase sounds risky.

Before you do more bidding I suggest trying Add a Night on your accepted bid at the Hilton. That will tell you whether the Hilton has Priceline rooms available for your remaining days. The three possible outcomes are: 1) Your Add a Night request is accepted at $60. (Unlikely since the Hilton is $249 for the nights you're trying to add.) 2) You get a counteroffer like "The Hilton has rooms available 7/25-7/27 but the price is $100". You can accept or reject the counteroffer. 3) You get a message that the Hilton has no Priceline rooms for the additional days. If you get the third message then you probably won't win a 4* on Priceline no matter how high you bid, since the Hyatt is sold out. ========= HOTWIRE has several Santa Clara options for your remaining dates: 4* $183 (possibly the Hilton) 3* $132 2.5* $69 2* $66

$80 probably isn't enough for a 3* in Santa Monica, but you don't know unless you try. You can also bid for 2.5* in Santa Monica. If the location appeals to you I suggest $75 for a 3* in Santa Monica, then add your free rebid zone Lawndale (only goes to 2*) at $80. If that fails start a new bid of $65 for a 2.5* in SM, and add Lawndale at $80 again. Other possibilities under $80 per room: 4*, 3*, 2.5* LAX 3*, 2.5* Redondo Beach 2.5* Beverly Hills/West Hollywood 3* Brentwood/Westwood For near the ocean (not necessarily oceanfront) go with Santa Monica or Redondo. For lowest price it's 3* LAX. 2.5* LAX could be cheaper still but the Hacienda Hotel might come up and reviews are mostly bad. If you post which zones and quality levels you want and in what order someone can post more specific strategies. It helps support the board when you start your Priceline bids at SavingsBarn.com.

From your initial post: Wherever you stay you'll be doing some driving but Long Beach is a long commute to the destinations you mentioned. Since you want to be near the ocean what about Santa Monica? Either bid for a 3* on Priceline or on HOTWIRE enter "Santa Monica" as your destination. (For some reason Santa Monica hotels don't always show up on Hotwire when searching on "Los Angeles".) You bid up to $80 in Long Beach. Is $80 your limit? That might not be enough for a 3* in Santa Monica, but there are other options under $80 that are closer to where you want to be than Long Beach.

Congratulations, BHL. Hilton or Hyatt?

Congratulations, cdngirl! Have a great time in LA. :)

Congratulations, Steak2007! Two down and two to go. For your remaining two nights availability is really tight. HOTWIRE has NOTHING in five of the seven Downtown zones. Other than the airport all that's left is: 4* USW $353 2* USW $122 3.5* FW $359 2* FW $188 HOTWIRE and Priceline are more likely to get fresh inventory on Monday, when hotel revenue managers return to work and review upcoming occupancy, than on Sunday. Unless you want to take a chance on the 2* in USW I'd probably put this aside for now and see what Monday brings.

HOTWIRE now has a 4* in USW for $95 for your first two nights. Probably the Clift or Parc 55. The hotel disappears when I add a third night.

When I check Oxnard for 9/14-9/17 I find a 3* for $56, but with more amenities than you listed. Shuttle Gym Pool Restaurant Highspeed Golf Tennis Is that the hotel you're asking about? I can't find any Oxnard hotels in HOTWIRE Vacation Packages (which is how we usually identify hotels), but checking those dates on Expedia the only hotels I find with a restaurant and airport shuttle are the Casa Sirena and Courtyard Oxnard. Since Casa Sirena is $71.10 and Courtyard is $129 it's more likely this is Casa Sirina. Please use the HOTWIRE link if you choose to purchase, or let us know if you have other questions.

What exact dates is this for? That info helps with the identification. Not every hotel that's near the beach will have a "near beach" icon.

Is it update time, westie? Colfax (with the long memory)

Based on HOTWIRE Vacation packages that looks like a match for the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay. And a good deal since the Hyatt is $189/$199 for those two nights. Please use this HOTWIRE link if you purchase and let us know which hotel you got.

Because availability changes all the time. A bid might be rejected on Wednesday and then an identical bid accepted on Thursday. It's unlikely you'll be accepted for all four nights in one bid if the Hyatt is still sold out on 7/25, but you have the opportunity to try for four nights again if you'd like, before trying for 3 nights or 2 nights.

If you want to bid higher for all four nights in FW and don't want to wait 24 hours you can safely add USE and USW to your FW bids. There are 2.5* hotels in those zones too, but given prices for your dates it's ulikely you would win one. If you do win a 2.5* in USE or USW you'll be staying in your preferred zones. You've already been rejected at $75 for 2.5* in FW. For all four nights I suggest: $75 for 2.5* USW $100 for 2.5* USW + FW start new bid of $75 for 2.5* USE $100 for 2.5* USE + FW $125 for 2.5* FW + USW + USW OR just wait til your 24 hours are up and bid $125 for the 2.5* in FW alone.

Your two budget options (probably less than $80) are 1) a 4* Downtown or 2) a 2.5* in Beverly Hills. I don't suggest 3* bidding Downtown beause there's a 3* hotel Downtown that most people don't like. With your $100 limit you could also try for 1) a 4* or 3* in Beverly Hills or 2) a 3* in Santa Monica. (Santa Monica doesn't have 4* bidding.) Your $100 limit probably isn't enough for a 4* in Hollywood. I'm not trying to steer you in any particular direction but in order to provide advice you'll need to decide how many nights you want to stay where. Keep in mind that almost all LA hotels charge to park and the parking charge isn't included in your Priceline bid. If staying all four nights Downtown is your first choice then no, I don't think you need to split your bid at the start.

Like thereuare said, the HOTWIRE amenity lists may not be complete. Here's another example: all Homesteads have highspeed Internet but I've never seen a Homestead that displayed a Highspeed icon on Hotwire. With just a laundry icon it's impossible to identify what the 2.5* hotel is, as almost all hotels have a guest laundry. If you purchase on HOTWIRE we'll be interested to hear which hotel you win.

Steak2007, You need to understand you're bidding for some of the busiest days in San Francisco so far this summer. You can't be picky about whether you'll win a hotel with free Internet. You'll be lucky to win ANY 2.5* in ANY Downtown zone for $150 or less. It's possible availability will improve between now and July 15 but I don't think that's something you can plan on. Hotwire has a 2.5* in Fisherman's Wharf for your dates that appears to be the Holiday Inn Express. (No guarantee on the ID.) It's $178. Everything in Union Square is $250 or more. If you could win a 2.5* on Priceline for $150 you'd be beating the best price you've found. Are you willing to bid that high for a 2.5* on Priceline? If so someone can offer a specific strategy. If not what do you plan to do? Would you be willing to stay near the Airport to save money and take BART back and forth every day? When rates are very high some people will make that compromise. Perhaps you could win a 3* or 4* near the Airport for $75 or less. Also, as I mentioned earlier, availability for your first night, the Sunday, is much better than the other three days. If you're willing to split your bid you could try now for Sunday Downtown at a lower price and work on the other three nights separately. Thanks for bidding through the link at SavingsBarn.