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swag

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Everything posted by swag

  1. As a rule, staying downtown, rental cars for Fest are not economical. Call the Radisson to check, but downtown hotels typically charge $20-30/day for parking. Add $20 for onsite parking at Fest or $10-20 offsite, plus the cost of the rental, wll, it adds up pretty fast. If you drink enough beers to make that pay (beers at Fest sell for $3), then you may not be in shape for the drive back. There's no re-entry at Fest. So if you park off-site, you can't get back to your car. But if you park on the grounds, they collect your tickets when you enter the lot, so you can return to your car and then go back into the Fest. That parking is $20 and fills fast; plan to be in line by 10 a.m. weekdays, earlier on weekends. If you don't rent a car, taxis to Fest are $4/person each way, or the meter rate (about $10 from the Radisson) plus tip. There's a city bus that you can get at Canal & Basin for $1.25 that goes to Fest. Or if the streetcar really is running, including the Carrollton branch, you can ride that to Fest for (I think) $1.50. If you do decide to rent a car anyway, check downtown rates. There's a Budget across the street from your hotel (location code MY3). By not renting at the airport, you may save as much as 40% off the airport rates, which could more than make up for the cab/shuttle ride to get from the airport. And you can usually still return at the airport when you leave, no extra fees.
  2. Good deal. Post back here after your stay, I'm curious what you think. I've read lots of comments about the Radisson, but most are about stays several years back. Note that the Canal Street streetcar is supposed to start running by mid-April, and will go right past the front door of your hotel. So if you're too tired to walk down to the river area, you'll have another option.
  3. Just saw this thread. For others who may be in the same situation, at the 4* level, I'd add the CCGD zone. I don't know of any 4* in the garden district. Most likely, you'd get the Sheraton or Hilton, which are both right across the street (Canal St) from the FQ. If you want to walk to the FQ and are concerned about safety, I'd be wary of the CBD zone (especially at lower star levels), which stretches all the way up to the Superdome area - that's a bit of a hike, especially once the weather get warm, and the neighborhood can get a little dicey.
  4. Those taxi rates are current. There's also a shared ride shuttle that's $10 per person from the airport to downtown.
  5. The Hyatt's fine, but farther out of the way than I like. I'd have booked the Sheraton at $80, but for those dates, it's been runing about $104. Last year, we stayed at the Sheraton, and my buddy had to do a load of wash. The closest laundromat we could find was around the 800 block of Bourbon or Royal, which is a good mile roundtrip, on foot, carrying a sack of clothes. But if we're ever in that predicament again, we'll try a cab to the Marigny.
  6. Just booked this year's Jazzfest trip. This spans both weekends of Fest, Fri thru the 2nd Sunday. Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Laundry The laundry is a giveaway, it's an unusual amenity for the FQ. (Laundry will also be key on a trip this long). Anyway, these amenities match what showed for the Holiday Inn under Hotwire vacation packages, so no surprises. It's the Holiday Inn at 124 Royal St. I'd been watching rates for a while, mostly the HI showed at $103 for these 9 nights, but $89 for 10 nights out the 3rd. The $91 rate for the 9 nights popped up on on Saturday, 4 days ago, but I lingered and a couple of hours later, it was gone. Been checking twice a day since then, and it finally reappeared tonite.
  7. Some thoughts reading this. First, I was surprised that Priceline had the best hotel rate only 40% of the time, while Hotwire won 43%. I had thought that the general consensus is that PL can usually beat HW's best price. Maybe they didn't consider differences in ratings, and that HW's ratings are often a star higher for the same property? Second, having the absolute best price the most often is a good metric, but what about the size of the savings? What if PL beats HW 8 times out of 10 and saves $10 each, but HW's 2 wins each save $100? And I wonder how they identified PL prices? You can never know that you got the absolute lowest price, right, unless they repeatedly bid $1 increments from multiple accounts...
  8. I've been checking rates a lot lately, and I've noticed something odd with some requests. There's a hotel that shows as $104 for a 9 night stay (4/23-5/02). That same hotel shows up as $89 for a 10 night stay, same check in, just leaving 1 day later. So they actually charge you less ($890 vs $936) for staying an extra night. And, yes, I am confident that it's the same hotel, based on unusual amenities and a price well below what Hotwire shows for other hotels for those dates. This doesn't seem to make sense. I would expect to pay difefrent rates for different durations as different nightly rates (weekday vs weekend, etc) get averaged over a long stay, but I'm surprised that it goes so far as get more for less. Another example, a friend was looking for a room for 4/22-27. Everything was very pricey. But when she extended her checkout and searched for 4/22-28, a good price appeared ($110). The hotel was a customer favorite, so you could tell for sure that the hotel had not been listed at all for the 5 night stay. She was happy to pay $660 for the stay, and will just leave early, but she would have also paid the same $660 for 5 nights at $132/night (still half of the best rate on the hotel website), and the hotel would have gotten the same money and still have a room to sell on the night of the 27th. So, can someone shed some light on this phenomenon? It seems like poor business on Hotwire's part.
  9. This year, the final weekend of Jazzfest ends Sunday, May 3, so the rates for 5/6-09 shouldn't be too bad. And here's something to try. Searching for 5/06-09 on Hotwire, the selections and prices aren't too good, I'd guess because it's so far out. But search instead for 5/06-10, and you get lots more hotels to choose from; and some of the same hotels are actually cheaper for 4 nights than they would be for 3. And you get the benefit of a late checkout. Just leave early and leave the keys in the room. There's a 4* Customer Favorite in the downtown zone (restaurant, pool, fitness,business) that I've been watching for other dates. The comments under the favorite link change from time to time, but have included phrases like "right on Canal St" and "great view", which lead me be believe that it's very likely the Sheraton or the Doubletree, both of which are basically across the street from the Marriott, and both I which are pretty nice (I've stayed in both).
  10. Hotwire has new maps posted for New Orleans, and it looks like the border between the FQ and Downtown zones has shifted. Instead of Rampart, the NW border of the FQ zone now looks to have moved a couple of blocks closer to the River, into the Quarter, to Dauphine St. There are several hotels along Rampart St: Best Western FQ Landmark, French Quarter Courtyard Hotel, FQ Suites Hotel, and maybe others. I don't know if any of them participate with Hotwire, but if they do, they've now moved into the Downtown zone. The border on the SW edge of the Quarter remains Canal St.
  11. Priceline gave me this hotel for another trip 2 months ago, and I liked it a lot, having a kitchen is a big plus for me on a multi-day stay. So I was actually aiming for it (same bid price, bid just the one zone). Got the same, usual warning that my price had only a small chance of being accepted. But guess what? First bid accepted. Candlewood Suites Austin South Check-In Date: Monday, November 17, 2003 Check-Out Date: Friday, November 21, 2003 Austin South 4320 Ih 35 South Austin, Texas 78745 Your Offer Price: $25.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $100.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $22.30 Total Charges: $122.30
  12. Yup, SXSW is held in the spring, and consists of a ton of evening club shows, plus some seminars on the music biz. I've never been. ACL is more of a traditional festival, with 7 outdoor stages in a big park, with music from noon till 10 pm. Last year was the 1st time they held it - I went and decided it would be an annual trip for me. It's already big (70K over 2 days last year) and growing (they added another stage and another day this year), but luckily, hotel rooms aren't yet the premium that they are for New Orleans jazzfest. http://www.aclfestival.com/home.html
  13. Bidding for the weekend of the Austin City Limits Fest. I put in a bid of $23, and got the "are you sure, only a slight chance of being accepted" message. Perhaps I should ahve ignored it, but I really only had one rebid available at this low level (to add downtown, my other acceptable area). So I upped it to $25 and it was accepted. Hotwire was showing $33 as the lowest available in S. Austin or downtown. ---- Congratulations, you got your price of $25 for a 2-star hotel room. Your Offer Price: $25.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $75.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $18.09 Total Charges: $93.09 Candlewood Suites Austin South 4320 Ih 35 South Austin, Texas 78745 A note about Candlewood Hotels: This exceptional hotel offers a comfortable spacious suite with a full kitchen, two separate phone lines, and a single queen size bed. Guests enjoy many extras like the fitness center, free video and CD library. Guests' privacy is honored at this extended stay hotel by offering housekeeping once a week. The front desk closes in the evening. Guests can check-in conveniently after the front desk closes by getting their key from an individual lock-safe and going straight to their room. Guests may also contact the manager on-site for assistance.
  14. I don't know. The only other Doubletree in town is the DT Lakeside, not near the FQ at all. If it's in any PL zone, it would be Metairie. As I said, I had bid both FQ and CCGD zones together on 4/22 when I got the Doubletree. (I had bid unsuccessfully the day before on FQ alone and FQ+NO East). Someone had emailed me earlier that day and told me that they have the Doubletree on a CCGD bid. Canal Street has been the boundary between the zones, so hotels on the SW side of the street (Doubletree 3*, Sheraton 4*) with even-numbered addresses are in the CCGD zone; the NE side of the street, with odd-numbered addresses (Marriott 3*) are in the FQ zone. So what does all this mean? - the other poster was in error. - PL changed the zones and then changed them back - the person who emailed me was in error, and the zones have been tweaked - PL has decided that the Doubletree is in both zones ? Take your pick... As to your other question, the reason I was avoiding the CBD zone is the Hyatt. As far as I know, it's a nice hotel (I know the lobby is pretty impressive) and properly rated as 3*. I just personally don't care too much for the location, adjacent to the Superdome, about a half mile walk from the edge of the Quarter, thru an area that can be a little iffy at night.
  15. Tax indicates Priceline paid $51 for this room. I had previously tried 4* $55 FQ+CCGD (rejected) and then 3* $50 FQ (rejected) Then bid $57 FQ+CCGD and got the Doubletree. Note - these nights are between jazzfest weekends.
  16. The following is current as of 4/15/03. You are urged to check for changes before placing any bid. On both Hotwire and Priceline, the French Quarter hotel zone is bounded by the River, Esplanade, Rampart, and Canal St. On Hotwire, the Downtown zone is bounded by US-90, I-10, and Esplanade, minus the area in the French Quarter zone. This area does include the Treme, an area you might not want to walk in, much less stay at; but since there are no hotels of high enough quality there, you shouldn't worry about ending up there. Priceline has now (Apr '03) split the Central Business District (downtown) zone. The CBD zone now includes the area between St Charles and I-10, from Canal to just past Poydras, including the Superdome area. It does not include the Treme. The new Convention Center/Garden District zone includes the downtown area between St Charles and the river, plus the Garden District along St Charles out to about Jackson Ave. For both Priceline and Hotwire, Canal Street is the boundary between the FQ and CBD zones, so hotels on the even-numbered address side of Canal (Sheraton, Doubletree) are in the CBD or CC zone; hotels with odd-numbered addresses (Marriott) are in the FQ zone. Other available zones include Airport, Metairie, Garden District. See the sites for details.
  17. Amenities: Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Business Center Tuesday-Friday between Jazzfest weekends. (posted for a friend)
  18. I don't know how everyone else feels, but I find flashing banners to be pretty annoying. Any chance you could do a static one instead?
  19. Sheraton New Orleans Hotel 500 Canal Street Bought on 1/25/03. These dates are during jazzfest, typically one of the most expensive fortnights for hotels in N.O.
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