mrxow

I was going through my old priceline wins and noticed there were a few for hotels not on the hotel list. This is one of them. One important thing to mention is that this zone has two Extended Stay hotels in it. Back when I booked them, they were 1 star, not sure if that is still current. This one is technically in Anaheim. The other is technically in Yorba Linda. But the Yorba Linda one is closer to where people would say "Anaheim Hills" is located, so be careful you don't show up at the wrong one. This one is off the 91 freeway at Tustin. The other is off the 91 freeway at Weir Canyon/Yorba Linda Blvd. $77.49 total

I was very happy with the La Quinta myself, and would love to get it over the Crowne Plaza. You might want to add the downtown zones anyhow if you would be happy staying there, especially on the weekends. It sounds like maybe you are going midweek more often, though. Some downtowns can be deserted on the weekends. We got the doubletree in downtown Columbus one time. 50 bucks a night, two beds in a suite. Free street parking - very happy. I am one to take an outer zone, save my money and drive, though, too, if that is the cheapest way to go. I guess you just joined up here, and it looks like you have posted some wins, so that is good. A lot of the time, more info is available on here for central, higher star options. It is always good to get more info posted about outer, lower star wins. One tip - as it is very likely that 2* wins will be at Homestead or Extended Stay if you bid in a zone that contains one, it is good to figure out where they all are so you don't add a zone that contains one late in the bidding process and end up paying more for it than you needed to. As far as posting your wins on here, the moderator might modify your title and subtitle to conform to the following standardized post: Title : x.x* City (Zone) Hotel Name Subtitle: $xxx ... mm/dd/yy-mm/dd/yy If you forget, just look at the new posts page and you will probably see several that look like that. It is also nice to know if the price you got was for a first bid in that zone (if it might have been available for less) If you have some free time someday, I was trying to suggest you check out your priceline wins on the priceline site and maybe post some of them. You probably have a bunch to share... Welcome to BetterBidding! :)

Close to freeway. Mall across street - food court had best fast food Indian I have had to date... $96.24 total

No, it's not on the strip, but if you have a car an know your way it's not a big deal. Especially when you pay this kind of money for a weekend stay in Vegas. The big thing I wanted to mention about this hotel is that unlike most of the other homesteads I have stayed at, this one was built with a considerable number of larger rooms with king beds and sofas. When we arrived, they at first put us in a ground floor unit that was handicap accessible. I don't remember now if the problem was that somebody had smoked in the room or that there was no tub (which my wife doesn't tolerate) but we had them move us. I think the guy said if we moved it would be into one of the smaller queen rooms. If it had a tub, that was fine, so we moved. When we got to the room, though, it was one of the larger king and sofa units which was nice to have for the weekend. We had arrived late on Friday. It appears they get rid of the smaller rooms first, hoping to sell the bigger ones for more. If they don't preassign you into a smaller room, then, maybe it make sense to hit the casinos first and show up at the hotel later and hope they have given out all the queen bed rooms... :)

This turned out to be one of our better wins on PL. This hotel has an old and a new side. We were in the new side. At some point, the new side was added and the entire property was made into an apartment complex. So the majority, if not all, the rooms are suites. We were put into what was once a one bedroom apartment. It had a kitchen, but wasn't really stocked with anything to make it useful. It was pretty close to downtown and not far from the Buckhead area. We didn't end up having to pay to park. There was a decent amount of street parking opportunities we were able to take advantage of. We were put in a corner unit near the top of the new tower. The new section is built to mimick the appearance of the old building, which has a round corner. So our bedroom was ROUND with windows running around it for about a 220 degree view. I think we were on about the 16th floor with a view of downtown and across the city to the east. There is a pool on the roof. We were very happy with it. $78.46 total

$165.60 total. Resort fee required - 12 bucks a day if I remember... Included wireless high speed internet, though.

Bid 2*, upgraded. Not first bid to zone. Excellent room. Suite, new, with big hdtv and full kitchen. Unless some horrible 2.5 star is in this zone, definitely shoot for it if this zone works for you. Hotel is just south of the airport. Total $69.88

Goo steakhouse across the street. $59.90 total

Good steakhouse across the street. $53.99 total

Bid 2.5 star hoping to get Summerfield Suites, but ended up here anyhow. Not horrible, but just ok. The hotel club was swarming with people and parking was problematic. I think they made sure to accomodate hotel guests, though. It was a saturday night, I think. Apparently it is a popular local destination that night. $81.45 total.

Bid 2.5 star but was upgraded. This was not the first bid to this zone, so could not have won at much lower price. Nice hotel. Was able to grab parking on street right across from the hotel front entrance. You can park there as long as you want, if you can find a space, but you have to feed the meter during the day. Much less than the structure, though. My room was overlooking the street where I was parked. Spots opened up now and then. $81.44 total

Near Irvine Spectrum -far south end of zone

First day bid up to 50 with no luck. First bid on second day was 52 which was not accepted, but was offered chance to rebid by simply raising bid to 67. Added CC North at 57. No luck. Added airport at 60 and was accepted. Total $148.85 with taxes and fees for 2 nights.

Stevee - the last line of his response was in reference to the links, not opaque suppliers, so you can't assume his response was intentionally condescending. I figured that is not what you were asking, but I only look at a few threads a day, and not even every day. He looks at dozens, hundreds even, almost every day. You can't expect him to perfectly understand everyone every single time. He is also trying to help everyone as best he can and must compose his posts efficiently and quickly. When you said "the last line" he probably just looked as the last line and not the second to last line.

First of all, this win should be listed at $53. $59 was their denied 3* bid amount. Based on the above warning about the Hacienda and the fact that this person ended winning it, I took a look at some of the Hacienda reviews for future reference as I need hotels in this area now and then. I looked at a dozen reviews from 2008. Based on what I read, it doesn't sound like a horrible option, especially for a night here or there before or after a flight. I saw more than one compliment on the food quality. It appears they are putting money into the place as one wing has been remodeled. The parking is 5 bucks and street parking is available. One of the more interesting pieces of information is that it supposedly has a standard 2pm checkout. That can be nice at times... You can't bid 2 stars if you need an airport shuttle. I don't think you need to bid 3* or above to avoid this place if all you need is a basic airport room. Bowden68: 10 PL stays a month? Please go into your PL bidding history and post some of that info!! You, too Vanna!! :)

Should you win a room, I would call the hotel and see what their policy is on infants in regard to their room occupancy and rates. If up to a certain age, it doesn't matter, I would then ask about a crib or such. If you can't get two beds or a crib, hopefully you get a larger bed. It's best not to sleep with an infant if you can avoid it - adults can roll over on them an smother them. It's not worth the risk if you can avoid it.

Opaque means difficult to see through or perceive. Hotwire and Priceline are called "opaque" suppliers because it is difficult or impossible to tell exactly what you are going to get. What he meant was that he wanted to know what non-opaque (basically all the normal Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. booking options) are asking for per night for the type of hotel and location you are trying to bid in. He also meant Spring is different than Winter as rates go - the double April thing was an error... In my experience with counter offers and "rebid if you raise by x dollars" situations is that you might be able to get a bid to go through around halfway between what you bid and what they are asking. No guarantees, but you probably have to bid a bit higher to get what you want.

never mind - didn't read your post correctly - you really can't use PRICELINE if you must be near the marina

If you log into PRICELINE and go the the "My Rewards" section there is a page called the Winner's Board where priceline lists some wins. I don't know how often it is updated, but right now it said somebody got a 2* in Summerlin for $60. So people do apparently get wins in Summerlin :) If you are curious about bidding an area that isn't yet listed in the hotel list, you might glean some info out of the winner's board if you keep an eye on it for a while.

Do you mean the priceline hotel list on this site? Are you saying there were reported wins in those zones at one time and now there are not? Are you sure there were ever reported wins there? Maybe nobody has ever reported a win in those zones. Are you trying to determine free rebid zones by the hotel list? That list isn't necessarily complete. That is not how you determine which zones you can safely add. You determine this by looking at the Priceline site when you start your bidding. When you click on one zone at a time, you can see what star levels are available in that zone. Be careful because the resort classification, while "higher" than a 5 star is listed last on Priceline's page and you have to look carefully.

I am sure it does somewhere as well as on the email they sent you after the first bid... They don't tell you they will deny your bid after 72 hours sometimes, though. That appears to be a glitch, or was a glitch at least. Make sure to use the PRICELINE link when you try again.

It's 24 hours for hotels, 72 for cars. I have had problems with the car rebids though even after 72 hours where it gives me the error message and makes me wait another three days. Don't know if they have resolved this. I wait till the 4th day...

It's spring break. Kids are out of school. The weather is perfect here. They are going to Disneyland. The hotels are probably bursting at the seams with people. If you must be in a 3 star in the Disney zone, you are just going to have to bid more. Maybe a lot more. Your bids are 60% under the lowest price 3 star on Priceline's retail pages. They just probably aren't hurting to sell their rooms right now. Fullerton 3* hotels aren't all that far from Disney. If it was me, I'd take 2.5 star and drive, saving parking fees and getting lower room rates. Make sure to use the site links when you make your bids.

Did you switch to two nights on the second day of bidding because you didn't need the 23rd? If you waited 24 hours you don't have to change the dates... Do you absolutely want to be next to Disneyland those nights? Might you stay somewhere else and drive to the park? You are probably bumping into spring break travelers. If you win a 3 star in Disney area, you might end up with a parking fee at the hotel a lot higher than driving and parking in the parking structure. I am assuming you will have a car, I guess. You are adding the beach zones thinking you aren't going to get them, right? Orange, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton and Buena Park are not far to drive to Disney, though morning traffic from Anaheim Hills could get dicey.

All these years of Priceline commercials and you still think Captain Kirk is lying to you? The reality is BETTER than they advertise. I think I have averaged 60% or higher savings. Somebody yesterday got a two $175 rooms for 3 nights for $350 out the door. With taxes that might have cost $1150. That's almost 70% off. Feel free to rebid the next day, just don't do it 23 hours and 45 minutes after your last bid or you might have to wait another day... While you can often add rooms, PRICELINE is going to ding you with extra fees to do it, so figure out the days you want to stay first. If you are flexible on dates as well as zones, you should be able to book yourself something in one day of bidding. If you are flexible, try to bid business zones on the weekends and tourist areas on the weekdays. As was suggested, look at prices for different date combinations and bid the dates that are the lowest.