ebowers

Woohoo!!! I was able to win a 4* hotel in Downtown Edmonton, which turned out to be the Westin on Priceline for Sept 15-16. My winning bid was $80 plus tax, for a total of $97.19 with tax. I had to try all the zones before I got to this bid and it was finally accepted! After that, I was just going to get the HOTWIRE room, which most likely would have been the Westin anyway, so I saved $5. Thanks for your help! I used the Priceline savingsbarn link.

Ok, I just tried again and it's still saying duplicate bid even after I signed out and closed my browser. Do I need to delete my cookies?

The Sutton's rating was slightly different, and I also took into account the number of reviews. Hotwire had the hotel as rated 3 with 20+ reviews, the last one left in May/07. Tripadvisor only had the Westin to match that, with a 3 rating and 28 reviews. The most recent was just a day or two ago, but the next one was May. None of the other hotels matched that. Any other 4* had higher ratings, or less reviews and different times left. I tried the strategy starting at $40 and am up to $60 after using all the zones. I'll retry again at $65 like you said, closing the browser since it said duplicate bid. Thanks, if I have more questions I'll let you know. I understand if you don't want to update the listing, but I really think it's the Westin from all those things. Also, if I go up to $80 on Priceline and don't get anything, I'll buy the Hotwire at $85 and let you know for sure!

Ok, I checked the Tripadvisor ratings against the Tripadvisor website, and that hotel is in fact The Westin. So you may want to update the ammenities to include High Speed Internet. Now having said that, I would like to try bidding at Priceline to see if I can get a room cheaper than $85 plus tax (which works out to $101) I was thinking I would start at about $40 on Priceline. I want to stay downtown and the 4* if I can, what would you suggest?

Ah I see, ok sounds good then. Now another question I have is: would you do the Hotwire for $85, or would you recommend bidding on Priceline to see if it could be had cheaper? The only two 4* hotels listed by Priceline were the Delta and Westin. The Delta was cheaper with just a regular seach $158 vs the Westin for $198. If I bid say, $60 would the chances be higher of getting the Delta since it's already cheaper before opaque? Or would it be just as good to get the Westin?

So you think the Sutton too. I didn't see that listed. Has that been won recently? How about the Delta?

I checked the Westin's website and the best price I could find was $112 for AAA rate. This seems plausible for the Hotwire rate, because most of the other rates (eg. No AAA discount were around $150 a night) What does anyone think? Most of the people at the wedding will probably be staying at the Hotel Mac, which is a Fairmont hotel, but it's nearly double at $159/night. I don't care if I have to stay a block away, as it's just me in the room and that seems pricey for one person.

I'm looking for a hotel in Downtown Edmonton for a wedding in Sept. I only need one night, so checking out on the 16th. Hotwire has a hotel listed, a 4* hotel in Downtown Edmonton for $86 (reg $134) for a 36% savings. Ammenities are: Fitness Centre Restaurant Pool Business Centre High Speed I was originally thinking this was the Westin, but I see from the list that High Speed isn't listed...although it's the only 4* hotel. Priceline has the Westin listed as a 4* downtown, and the Delta Edmonton Suite Hotel as a 4* as well. Both have modem lines listed on Priceline. As the Delta isn't usually listed on Hotwire, do you think this is still the Westin? I have a back up reservation booked at the hotel the wedding is at (Hotel MacDonald) which is one block away for $159 plus tax.

Yeah that's really what I was thinking too, but I was interested to see if you knew what that place was. Thanks anyway, and you're right, I probably would stay with the Benjamin, especially if that lower rate is still available at a later date.

Ok I found a hotel on Hotwire that is roughly the same price as the Benjamin, but I tried the list and it doesn't seem to match anything. Maybe you can help? This is the information listed 3.5* Midtown South for $216 (regular $345) for a $129/night savings Ammenities: Boutique hotel Fitness Business High Speed Internet Tripadvisor rating 4 out of 5 Any guesses as to what this would be? It doesn't seem to match anything provided on the list. Thanks

Thanks! I understand the strategy, and I have read that topic. I appreciate the help a lot. I'll have a talk with my sister and see if she's ready to try that. I am, but it is the both of us staying so I want to make sure she's comfortable with it as well. If we do it and win I'll make sure to let you know!

Hmmm, I guess if I could save like $50 a night or something I would use priceline.

Ok, so I've taken your advice and booked the refundable rate through the link you gave me. It's only like $23 more and you're right it's insurance in case something else comes up. I do think this hotel will be good, so unless I can get a way cheaper deal for a similar hotel I would probably stay with this one. I'll keep my eye out though because you could be right that this rate may be around in a couple months, or may be even cheaper Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

Sharing a bed is ok with me, we've done it plenty of times. I'm familiar with that area, and the reviews do seem good. If you had to pick, would you take the slighty higher refundable rate and keep trying priceline and hotwire. That's what I was thinking of doing.

What's your opinion on the Benjamin Hotel? I checked the Quickbook link you gave me and it lists a room for $216 average for both nights. That's the cheapest I've found so far, any thoughts?

Really, you think that $200 is a lot for NYC? See, I just assumed that this would be a decent price for a city like that since hotels here can go for the same amount. Of course I've never tried to get any through these websites so perhaps you can get them much cheaper. So you would start lower then? And not use these websites until later, just to check prices, that's sort of what I got from your message. I had thought about waiting until closer to the date, maybe another month or so just to see if things get cheaper. Actually, we're staying at our friends house in Jersey but my sister wants to spend a couple nights in the city for the "experience". I would be nice to have the luxury of stopping by the hotel to change and things like that, say if we have dinner reservations or something. I read a lot of reviews for the Hudson, and I think I would pass on that one. The UN one seems ok though. If you had to pick an area, which would you choose. I was just thinking Midtown East because I had stayed there before and it seemed ok, but Central Park South would be good too. I just worry about the price there. I don't think I want to stay in Times Square, as I think it might be too busy and possibly noisy or distracting with the lights. I'd like a good location, as we're planning on shopping, so it would be nice to be able to drop off bags if we need to as well. I'd love the Sofitel, it got great reviews and looks nice, but it's pretty pricey. It's website says $445 a night for Oct, but in the summer it's as low as $245 which I was prepared to spend. Perhaps it would get lower closer to the date? I don't know. I would think fall is generally an expensive time in NY anyway. I guess if I went priceline I would start at about $140 and work my way from there for a 4*. Does that seem reasonable if you were to try?

Sorry about that. They both would be ok, I don't know much about either of them. Do you have an opinion. I think I've heard the UN one is pretty good, although it's a bit of a walk to get anywhere is it not? How is the Hudson? It looked ok from pics. Does this seem like a good price for 3.5*, like decent size rooms and stuff? Some hotels I had been looking at were the Sofitel, City Club, Intercontinental and Grand Hyatt. Probably, my max bid on priceline would be about $250 a night, considering taxes would be extra. My sister and I would be splitting the costs, so I think we could handle that much a piece. Definitely want to keep it under $300/night plus tax

Ooops sorry, that was a typo. I meant that most of the hotels I've searched were $100-$150 more than the $250 I was willing to bid. What does UM/CPS stand for? Is that Central Park? I just assumed that those hotels were more expensive, since when I searched there they seemed to be in the $600 or more range. I was thinking about that too, but I wasn't sure about that area. The only hotel I've stayed in there was the Waldorf Astoria, which someone else paid for. Is Oct usually a time when hotels are expensive? I know sometimes they hold conventions and things in the fall, but I wasn't sure about this time. I guess I would be open to Midtown East or West or Central Park South. Just wondering what range I should start with.

There is also a 3.5* in Midtown Central for $199 (regular $295 a night) for a $96 savings. It features: Business Center Internet Restaurant Fitness Centre 3 our of 5 rating for tripadvisor. Any guesses as to what hotel this might be. I've searched Oct 6-8 as dates. Also, it says Best Value next to the price

I'm going to NYC in Oct and looking for a hotel from Oct 5-7. I would like a 4* or higher, but I don't know what a good example of a bid might be since I've never used this before. Would $250 be too much? Most of the hotels I've searched on other sites are at least $100-$150. Does anyone think it would be wise to try a lower bid, and if so...how low would you go? (limbo jokes aside :) ) I'm hoping to stay in either Midtown East or Midtown West if I can. Does this seem like a reasonable offer. Also, do you think I should wait a bit before trying this, or is it best to book early? Thanks for any help you can give. :)

My sister and I are looking for hotels in NYC in early October (5-7). I am thinking either Midtown East or Midtown Central, and I would like to book at least a 4* hotel. Most of the websites I've tried listed many hotels in the $350-$500 range for these dates, which is obviously out of my range. So I was going to try Hotwire to see what I could come up with. I've found a hotel in Midtown East for $279 a night (regular price is listed as $337), so it's $58 off a night. The amenities included are: Fitness Centre Restaurant High Speed Internet Pool Business Centre Tennis nearby It has a 4 out of 5 rating on tripadvisor. Can anyone hazard a guess as to which hotel this might be? Any help you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks! :)