mbstone

> Haven't seen this property in a looong time. Now that the Furama is kaput, 2* LAX may now be safe to bid.

OK, now I get it. 2.5* Central Palm Springs - Hotel This Hotel features the following amenities: Restaurant(s) Property offers at least one restaurant on the premises; hours and days of operation may vary. Pool(s) Property offers at least one pool area; hours and dates of operation may be seasonal. Fitness Center Guests have access to exercise equipment; an additional charge may apply. Laundry Facilities <amenity names only please... not descriptions>

National (upstairs from Alamo) probably would have given the SUV upgrade for free.... the cheapest counter upgrade from Alamo was $9 for a midsize... offered him $5 he wouldn't budge... might as well spring $2 extra for the SUV (Chevy Trail Blazer with 2K miles).

Plus 15% or so for taxes plus $11/day parking.

2.5* Redondo/Manhattan Beach $39, rejected 2.5* add LAX $41, rejected 2.5* add Beverly Hills $42, rejected 2* $30, accepted Your Offer Price: $30.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 12 Subtotal: $360.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $62.89 Total Charges: $422.89

I was unable to retrieve the same rate. The Ramada Resort hotel is a resort, it does have a pool and two jacuzzis (9A-11P), coffeemakers, refrigerators, in-room safes (said to cost $1/rm/day, but no charge was collected) , outside corridors (our room entry was from the rear parking lot, and the room fronted on the pool area via a sliding glass door); restaurants, limited room service, gift shop, massage and spa services available, unsure if there was an exercise room. We emailed the manager in advance and were given connecting rooms. The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. There is a supermarket, drugstore, and several restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the property.

The Radisson LAX has free street parking on 98th. They do charge for internet, but only if you want it. They have a killer rooftop bar, great pool and exercise room, walk to LAX or shuttle.

This was a Hotwire purchase, I had previously made a few PL bids for Resort properties starting at $69 Rancho Mirage, adding Indio and bidding 82, starting again with Resort Central Palm Springs at $59, adding Indio again at $69. Due to the holiday break season I am not sure these data points would be useful to most bidders. I decided to stop bidding on PL since I am traveling with children and am trying to get two connecting rooms -- I have had varying success getting, and not getting, connecting rooms on PL. At least Hotwire lets you specify the number of kids. I emailed the hotel manager asking for a connecting room as this is my most important criterion (although a poolside room would be a plus). I will report when I get back.

Ramada Resort Palm Springs 1800 East Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs, California 92264 (760) 323-1711 Property previously unknown to this or TOBB. TripAdvisor reviews are all over the map. Should be interesting.

:) This is the first hotel I have ever stayed in where I have experienced a burglary -- and according to the Torrance police, it was an inside job, and it happens regularly. This "2*" property is about 1/2 mile from the nearly identical, but friendlier and presumably safer, 1* Homestead. The services and amenities are the same, sporadic maid service, partial kitchenette, part-time front desk. The Homestead gave me a king bed with no extra charge, but this place wouldn't. The parking lot fills up at night and you might get shut out completely. Except for being robbed and losing my laptop I had a great time.

So, as far as this BB is concerned, will posts regarding properties in the Torrance-Carson subzone of the Long Beach zone be found here (as I would submit they should be), or in California - All Other Cities (where some of them are)? How about the Redondo-Manhattan Beach zone?

I really liked the renovated Westin as a hotel (although there are better hotels to be had in LV). You can get a published rate for not much more than the PL rate, unlike PL stays you will 1) collect SPG points (if you are into such things), and 2) have the opportunity to be comped based on your play there.

Insurance: I am away from home back East, where my wife and mother-in-law live and where I have possessions, a mortgage, and conventional auto insurance. I have checked with my auto insurance carrier and they claim I am covered for rentals up to 30 days. PL bias: I know of one absolutely foolproof method of avoiding getting an inferior room which I use very rarely and which I cannot share. I don't mind elevators or ice machines. I do mind smoking rooms, and I wish PL would stop endangering my health by not allowing me to request a nonsmoking room when bidding. Seems to me the smoking rooms tend to be occupied by people from places like Asia or Chicago where everyone chain-smokes. The LAX area hotels that claim they have no nonsmoking rooms (or no king beds) the most often are the Holiday Inn and Sheraton. A little schmoozing with the front desk clerk can go a long way, as can being a regular or elite at that property. You can shut down PL snobbery in an instant by asking the desk clerk, "If you were spending your own money, you'd use PL, wouldn't you?" 100% of the time the clerk will smile and nod in agreement. The clerks have great respect for us PLers, they just aren't allowed to show it. Another variation: "I earned this Gold card by spending the bosses' money, now I'm spending my own money!" This will often result in your receiving Gold (or whatever) privileges for that stay. Possessions: Living this way helps me learn to travel light and avoid attachments to objects. I have about 4 bags and maybe 4 cardboard boxes that contain things like files and an HP inkjet printer. Sometimes I have to leave town for a couple of days. If I am coming back to the same hotel, and they have bellhop service, the bell desk will nearly always store my bags for a couple of days for a decent tip. I have recently rented a tiny 5x5' storage locker near LAX (check those move-in specials!) for those other times. After a stay in a kitchenette property, going to a non-kitchenette property, I find myself having to toss foodstuffs and condiments I would rather have kept. Oh well, I consider it a tip for the housekeeper.

This bid is a great example why one should always bid on an Economy or Compact and then haggle for an upgrade at the counter. National features pick-your-own-car from sections of the parking lot marked "Economy," "Compact," etc., and typically offers low-cost upgrades from PL reservations. I walked the parking lot before going inside and discovered a Buick Rendevous (one of my favorites, normally SUV class) parked smack dab under the "Compact" sign. I asked the counterperson if I could have it, and he said, as long as it is in the Compact section you can have it. So to my great surprise it only had 3000 miles on it, and I did get it!

Rated 1* by PL, got for $36 (8 day stay, same day bid). First room I received was a smoking queen, it smelled bad & bed seemed very hard. Manager apologized, said this was their only room, and gave me an electric ozone-generating air freshener gizmo which worked somewhat. Fortunately, they gave me a better, nonsmoking king room with a sofa (sofabed)(a "deluxe" room) the next day without additional charge. I observed workers completing renovations on many rooms. Homestead Suites are rooms with kitchenettes (microwave, stovetop, full size refrigerator, sink, utensils); desk, leather swivel desk chair. Inside corridors, elevators. The property is spartan in some respects (no pool, non-24H front desk, free maid service only every 2-3 days, ice is from refrigerator ice trays) and generous in others (free local calls, guest pantry, $4/stay wi-fi internet). Guest laundry, community reading and TV room. Passes to local health club, $5. Pets accepted w/cleaning fee. 8 local TV channels + 2 Showtime + 10 basic cable + 1 Japanese; PPV movies. This property features an exceptionally robust variety of shops and restaurants in its immediate vicinity. Hilton, next door, is within hotel-bar-crawling distance. Major shopping mall within 1 block (Del Amo Fashion Center with Barnes & Noble, Macy's, CompUSA, etc. etc.) Restaurants within 1 block include Benihana, El Torito, Denny's. Elephant Bar, Hilton, IHOP, KooKooRoo, Lucilles BBQ, Marie Callenders, Souplantation, -two- Starbucks. Many, many more stores and restaurants within 1/4 mile including 24H supermarket, drugstore, banks, billiards, Sprint Store, Indian, Chinese buffet.

MOD: Title should read Homestead Suites not Hawthorne Homestead Suites is at 3995 Carson St, Torrance. Same day bid. Your Offer Price: $36.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 8 Subtotal: $288.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $51.60 Total Charges: $339.60 Prior rejected bids: 12/1-6 Redondo Beach 2.5* 40 12/1-5 Redondo Beach 2.5* 40 12/1-9 LAX 3* 39 12/1-7 LAX 3* 43 12/1-7 LAX 3* 45 12/1-15 Redondo Beach 2.5* 50 12/1-15 Redondo Beach LAX CC 35 12/1-15 Torrance 2.5* 31 12/1-15 Redondo Beach 2* 35 12/1-15 Redondo Beach LAX 2* 34 12/1-15 Torrance 2* 34 12/1-2 Redondo Beach 2.5* 40 Counteroffer at 52 12/1-2 Redondo Beach Bev Hills 41 12/1-9 LAX 1* 33 12/1-9 LAX Bev Hills 1* 35 12/1-9 LAX Bev Hils MDR 1* 36 12/1-9 Torrance 2* 36 Counteroffer at 46

So it's upgrade stories you want. The following observations are about as true of other cities as they are of LAX. Hotel "upgrades" of the undesirable type often occur. Typically you bid 2.5* and get "upgraded" to a 3*. The typical 2.5* properties have free parking and/or breakfast and/or internet, sometimes all of the above. The typical 3* has pay parking and pay internet. The basic idea is, the fancier the hotel, the less you get. Examples: LAX Airport Area - Los Angeles 1* Tradewinds Free parking, free muffins/coffee, free internet. 2.5* Courtyard - LAX Pay parking (valet only), but nearby free street parking. Free internet. Courtyard - El Segundo Free parking, free internet. Printme. Holiday Inn - LAX Awful pay parking, no street parking. Free internet. Residence Inn - Manhattan Beach Free parking, free full breakfast, free internet. Kitchen (cook your own food and save). 3* Hilton - LAX Awful pay parking, no street parking. Pay internet. Marriott - LAX Pay parking, no street parking. Pay internet. Radisson - LAX Pay parking, free street parking. Pay internet. 4* Sheraton Gateway - LAX Pay parking, free street parking. Pay internet. Notes: Pay parking typically $12-15/day. Street parking typically on 98th St, 200-500 yards from hotel, hunt/fight airport employees for a parking space. Pay Internet typically $10-$11/day. Also, the fancier the hotel, the fewer TV channels there are (Mbstone's Law Of Hotels). Car upgrades: These are a good thing. The counter person will start off offering you a one car class upgrade for $10 but has the authority to give you a two or three-class or SUV upgrade for as little as $3. You are always safe in renting the lowest possible car class from PL and dickering at the counter for an upgrade, this will always save you money. Always refuse to pay extra for stuff like satellite radios or GPS.

For 3 months now (since I started my present job) I have been living in the LAX zone, staying in PL hotels and driving PL rent-a-cars. The prices I have been paying ($16-18 for cars, $40-45 for hotels, on the average) compare favorably to leasing a car or renting an apartment. Advantages: I get to drive a variety of newish cars. I don't have to worry about car maintenance or standing in line at the DMV to register the sucker. I get maid service. Since I can play with the dates, I have lots of rebid opportunities. I don't have to worry about extended car payment or rent commitments or down payments or security deposits. Disadvantages: Although PL has a theoretical 28 day maximum, this is not really available and I have great difficulty renting cars for more than 10 days, or hotels for more than about 5-8 days. Sometimes there is a convention causing hotel availability issues, and I have to stay in a less desirable PL property or even a local motel. I have to move a lot. In this zone you can get dinged ("upgraded") for a pay-parking hotel without warning (although some properties are near free on-street parking, a couple are not). If I get too tired to leave the room I am tempted to eat room service which can be very expensive at some properties. Sometimes I get PL Treatment like "we only give PL guests smoking rooms."

Oops. Lisa, of course, sang "give me Park Avenue" not "Fifth Avenue."

I don't find this to be true at all. For me the optimum time period is 7-10 days at a time and the optimum time before hand to bid is 4-24 hours.

Part youth-hostel, part motel, this 1* Inglewood, CA property (LAX zone on PL, HW) caters to the young and young-at heart by providing a combination of a) minimalist rooms and :) great amenities and service. I have stayed here twice, and I'd rather stay here than the LAX Hilton (I realize that's not saying much). The rack rate is about $55; I have recently stayed here for $39 (PL) and $41 (HW). (On HW it was $43 two days before, then $42 day before, then $41.) While I like the place for several reasons, it's not for everybody. Oliver Douglas would dig the place, but Lisa Douglas: Darling I love you but give me Fifth Avenue. Also known as Adventurer and as Backpackers' Paradise, this property is located about a mile east of LAX on Century Blvd. in Inglewood. If you frequent LAX you have probably seen their (free) airport shuttle, festooned with ads like "99

This place is now out of business. There is a God. Moderator: You can safely delete this thread.

$40 2.5* Manhattan/Redondo, rejected add LAX $43, accepted $12 parking and no on-street parking. Used savingsbarn.com Your Offer Price: $43.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $172.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $33.54 Total Charges: $205.54

The usual hotel and car deals are not available in LA the week of 10/24. I was rejected up to $48 at 2* using zones LAX, Redondo, Culver City, Bev Hills, Bel Air. Had to pay $25 to get a ^%&% compact when I usually pay $16-18 for a full size car. What gives.

This hotel is filthy and Not Acceptable. We rejected two of two offered rooms because the furniture and carpets were heavily stained, and because the rooms, lobby, and public areas stank of mold and urine. We got the creeps just being inside the place. PL refunded our money as they have for others. This property should not be permitted to participate in PL.