mbstone

The Holy Grail of PL wins, the HGI Anaheim is located in the Garden Grove PL zone. It's impossible to overstate how utterly superior HGIs are to all other hotels, and this property is no exception. $12/day self parking fee, was not charged. Like all other HGIs, rooms feature HDTV, microwave, fridge, coffeemaker, desk with Herman Miller Aeron desk chair, free wired/wireless internet, good alarm clock, Neutrogena bath products, some rooms have adjustable-firmness beds. Property has restaurant for breakfast ($10), guest pantry 24H, outdoor 75F heated pool/jacuzzi/exercise room 630A-10P; guest laundry 24H. Free shuttle to Disneyland (3/4 mi). Free business center, 24H, with workstations/copier/printer and secure free printing from your room. Restaurants, attractions, shopping in immed vic. Jack-in-the Box across the street, 24H. Bank of America across the street. Was offered only 2 queen beds in room at check-in and was told no king beds available because their computer was down. Usually this is a BS story and I told them as much, but apparently their computer really was down, and they made an extra effort and were able to accommodate us by manually checking the room list. I hereby apologize for calling the desk clerk a BS artist as this one was apparently telling the truth. Rated 3* by PL. Compare with nearby "4*" Hilton Anaheim with $15 parking, pay internet, no microwave/fridge.

Use Priceline, it's lots cheaper than Hotwire. Nearly every Anaheim property has a shuttle to DL. Start at $45, not $55; and try 3*. (Persons with cars should bid nearby Garden Grove first, as you would be less likely to get dinged for parking. Also in Anaheim you might get the Clarion.) Even in Garden Grove most properties have free DL shuttles.

The Hilton Garden Inn: The Holy Grail of PL hotels. The ne c'est plus ultra of PL hotels. Or of any hotels. No 4* hotel comes close. $43 3* Garden Grove right out of the box. $12 for parking, but who would care.

$45 Redmond 3*, nope $48 2.5* nada add Kirkland, no joy up to $50 added Bellevue

As far as deposits are concerned, a hotel might take a stored value card, but they might not, and no rent-a-car company will; and some RACs only take credit cards, and some only take debit cards issued by banks.

The Hyatt is a kick-ass hotel at any price, did you start at $80?

As someone who bids and stays in this area regularly, recommend you NOT bid the Anaheim zone which has too many hotels that charge for things like parking and internet access. Bid 3* Garden Grove, and then Buena Park starting at around $48-50. These areas are very near Disneyland. Your free rebid zones include Laguna Beach and Seal Beach, but you probably won't need them.

I appreciate being invited/enrolled in Hotwire Express and am looking forward to any perks. Would that PL wouild launch a similar program....

I wish PL would standardize the amount and type of payment required for room and car security deposits. I won a great hotel, but I had to pay $300 deposit at check-in. PL never told me. Thank goodness I had the $300. As to cars, PL has standardized at $200 credit or debit card deposit, with debit cards some RACs take some types of debit cards and reject others. Hertz welcomes my PayPal Business Debit card while Avis won't take it. Alamo requires proof of a round trip plane ticket before they will take your debit card, which is a sort of IQ test to see if you know how to purchase a refundable plane ticket. Excessive deposits will kill you dead if you're on the road for more than a couple of days, and it's always a hassle trying to get CC/DC holds removed so you can go to the next town....

Mostly cut and pasted, if you've seen one Residence Inn you've seen 'em all, and it's always great to get one on PL. WARNING: THIS RESIDENCE INN REQUIRES $300 DEPOSIT AT CHECK-IN. Once again PL does not enforce a maximum deposit, so unless you know beforehand about this property you'll be in for a nasty surprise. A couple of days on the road at high-deposit properties will kill your finances very quickly and you'll spend hours trying to get the CC holds cleared. Interior corridors, elevator (could be distant from your room). 11A check-out. Free parking. Free breakfast (waffles, eggs, bacon/ham, pancakes ,fruit, cereal, porridge ,toast, muffins and more...) 630A-9A, later on weekends Free (wired) Internet Free happy hour Mon-Wed 530P-7P Beer and wine + salads, burgers, lasagna, ravioli and other snacks. Free first night pack with coffee\tea and microwave popcorn Gym. Pool and spa. Basketball and tennis court. Launderette needs coins ($1/machine). Guest pantry and newspapers at front desk. They'll shop for you if you give them a list of groceries! Room has a kitchen with dishwasher, Microwave, fridge, freezer and coffeepot. Ice from refrigerator icemaker only. This property, unlike some Residence Inns, also has a full oven. Sofa; large TV; double bed, the only bed type available in any room at any Residence Inn, if you're a big fella you'll find it tiny. About 15 minutes to Disneyland with no turns. All this for $48

Always nice to get the rare and elusive 3* prize of a Residence Inn which of course offers free breakfast and full kitchens. Extra night refused. $300 deposit demanded at check-in, fortunately I was able to come up with it. Thanks for telling me, PL.

Spouse has new job located at Microsoft Redmond without relocation expense or per diem and needs to live very cheaply until 1st paycheck (i.e. a PL hotel that is commutable to MS by bus). Thanks for any ideas.

This is a Zonk (See my review). Bid $43 Garden Grove 3*, rejected; Added Buena Park 3*, rejected; Up to $46, added Seal Beach free rebid zone, rejected; Added Anaheim zone, accepted. Property charges $12/day for parking and also charged my CC for prepaid room charges. Just read the review. Consider Anaheim zone poisoned at 3* level as long as this property is being given out.

If you get this hotel on PL, you have been Zonked. (Lesson learned, bid the Garden Grove or Buena Park zones instead). First of all, the "resort" in the hotel's name isn't because the property is a resort, they are referring to the nearby Anaheim Resort Whose Name We Can't Say Because It's Trademarked. Not only is this hotel not a resort, it's not what you would think of as a 3* hotel. A 2.5* hotel? Lower. A 2* hotel? Lower. While the amenities offered here are the basis for the 3* rating on PL, the room, and the entire hotel, exudes filthiness and creepy-crawliness. I was afraid to take my socks off for fear of walking on the carpet barefoot. The carpet, drapes, and chair all had large mystery stains. Good luck getting the heater/AC unit to work. The bathroom door locked me out so I had to call maintenance. They ding you $12/day for parking (unlike most properties in the nearby Garden Grove and Buena Park zones) which is their version, I suppose, of a resort fee. The room is what you would expect from a Mom-and-Pop motel in Barstow or Needles. The rattletrap TV continuously plays an audio commercial for their "seductive" pay-per-view porn -- and this is a place that caters to families with little kids on trips to Disneyland!! Wireless internet is free but unbelievably slow, you can get on the faster wireless network of the hotel next door. Room service -- if anybody could eat in the room without retching -- is available 630-930A and 4300-930P, salads and sandwiches only for dinner. Of course you would go to one of the many nearby establishments instead of room service or the hotel's restaurant or bar. At least for the $12 parking charge you can go in and out with your car. Refrigerator, coffeemaker, in room safe (my bill had a $1.30 safe charge that was billed and deleted). At check-in I was told no king bed available, only two double beds, but I said BS and they magically found a king room. Do not bring your wife, girlfriend, or kids here unless you want to be in the doghouse. Amazingly there are families here paying rack rates for their Disneyland vacations. I wanted to scream to them, if your Mommy and Daddy had the brains God gave a goose he'd have put you up in the Hyatt or Crowne Plaza or one of the 2 dozen decent 3-4* hotels in the Anaheim/Garden Grove area. Lobby pay computer with printer; pool; free newspaper; Disneyland shuttle (property is 1/3 mile away). The property should be bulldozed. It is now two days after check-out and there is still a mystery "pending" $94.68 authorization on my credit card although my total bill was $24 for parking. For more recent negative reviews of this place, check TripAdvisor.

Welcome to BB. Did you start bidding at $95? Why? From all appearances this is an extreme overbid. What is the web site rate for this property, and what made you decide to bid $95?

There's not much difference between the 3.5* and 4* hotels in the Disneyland area, and for that matter the Orange and Garden Grove 3.5* properties aren't very far at all from DL. It's the easiest and cheapest PL bidding in the U.S. If you have to bid $50 or more you wuz robbed. The only difference in the 4* properties is you'll have to pay for parking.

3.5* $43, shooting for the Anaheim CP, rejected. Added 3* Buena Park, success! Last time I got this amazing property on PL my bid was $47. After free cooked breakfast for 2 and free booze, it's almost a free stay.

AFAIK this is the first Ayres property that has come up on PL. You lucked out, I imagine they don't charge for parking or internet like the DT across the street. Please post a review.

While I don't mean to make light of your finances, Anaheim usually has ample quantities of unsold 3* and 4* rooms, and $10-$15 more would certainly have garnered you one of 'em. For example my $43 2.5* bid was upgraded to the 3.5* Crowne Plaza. (While the CP charges a $12 resort fee including internet, most others don't.) Most Anaheim hotels also have a free DL shuttle. I never bid below 2.5* on PL in any locality in which a 2.5* or better property is offered.

If you think hotels are ridiculous with debit cards, try rent-a-car companies. Often a PL rental will be with Alamo, which requires proof of a round-trip air ticket in order to use a debit card. This is essentially a test of whether you have the intelligence to buy a refundable airline ticket. Another time I wound up at Avis, which had a hissy fit because I dared to use a PayPal Business Debit card instead of a bank debit card. I managed to get most of my PL money refunded, then I walked across the hall and rented from Hertz #1 Gold, where my PayPal debit card is on file and where my car was waiting but at double the price.... Yes you are being discriminated against. I would have somebody white do the same thing and see what happens.

Anaheim Crowne Plaza check-in: "Are you a member of Priority Club?" "Sure, but remember I reserved with Priceline, you don't give points on Priceline stays." "Yes, but if you give us your member number we'll still give you a 2 PM checkout (and some other amenities that went right by me because I was so surprised)."

Started at $47 for 3* Buena Park (wanted the Radisson). Counteroffer at $62. Added Seal Beach-Huntington Beach at $50. Rejected. Added 2 1/2* and Disneyland-Garden Grove at $43, accepted.

Rated 3* by PL, obtained on a weekday for $47, this is one of the very few properties I'd pay rack rate to stay at, and if you know me you know that's really saying something. 3 story brand new (or newly renovated) property with exterior corridors and elevators. Beautifully landscaped grounds. Free parking, free Internet. Free breakfast buffet 630A-11A. Free LA Times. Room service 11A-9P. Restaurant 7A-10P. Game rooms with arcades, big TV, billiards. Full bar 7A-10P -- for the love of God, FREE BEER AND WELL DRINKS during happy hour 530P-730P. Coffeemaker, refrigerator, microwave, 2 HDTVs, wet bar, sofa. Separate bedroom. Gift shop 7A-1P & 5P-10P; guest laundry 7A-10P; exercise room 7A-10P. Pool & Jacuzzi 7A-10P. Meeting rooms; banquet facilities. Medieval Times attraction adj. Near other attractions, e.g. Knott's Berry Farm.

Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $47.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $94.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $21.12 (USD) Total Room Cost: $115.12 3* in Buena Park I was expecting the Courtyard (meh) or Holiday Inn (meh -). What a pleasant surprise. Be sure to read my hotel review as soon as I complete it.

Used to be the notorious Furama. Please post a hotel review.