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zgrrly

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Everything posted by zgrrly

  1. Thereuare, If I'd made purchases thru the board's research, I'd gladly share them, but typically find that my wants are too exacting since we take so few excursions that opaque purchasing isn't reasonable. If I were, say, a biz traveller, it prolly wouldn't be such a big deal. But my bf & I rarely get away & want to make sure that when we do, the hotel has what we require. I always use betterbidding as a resource for research, however, and--as I said--in well-documented areas (for instance, Orlando) can hold my own at IDing HW hotels--tho I haven't purchased any, yet. It's actually irrelevant about the above hotel now as I just found out that a Daytona trip I planned can't be cancelled, only postponed, so I'm stuck going there.--Not that I'll mind staying at The Shores, just that Daytona's water temps will surely have dropped significantly after Fay drops several inches of rain into its already-too-cool 78-degree water (our Gulf side had been 90, Fay made it 83). My Daytona trip, BTW, was a timeshare 'deal' that I 'won' from a work gathering, and since we'd already took vacation time, I thought I'd look into a quickie St. Pete jaunt instead where we could drop in to the Belleview Biltmore for enchanted dinners whilst still enjoying the beach--sans Fay. :)
  2. I ended up going with the Belleview Biltmore (king room, $88/ni) directly...I'd oversaturated myself looking for deals, wasn't sure to get what I wanted thru opaque means, then found a rate at a random site (by googling) before calling the hotel to verify something about room size when they bettered the site's deal. I loved the historic nature of the 100-yr-old hotel and the fact that it had a glorious pool area, spa, onsite ice cream parlour and unbelievable dining in the form of $25-$30 pp gourmet buffets & brunch (soup to nuts)--even historical tours and a particularly eerie "ghost" tour ($10) in the abandoned, unused upper floor. It was a hassle being "near" but not "on" the beach, tho, despite its shuttle service to a private club, as its locale is isolated and a good 1/2-hour drive from the Gulf (tho it sits adjacent to the Bay, but not near enough for watersports). So if one doesn't mind NOT being on the beach, the hotel is a sheer delight and we will return if simply for the splendid dining.
  3. Typically I can ID the hotels what with going back 'n forth between Hotwire regular & VP lists, but must say I'm stuck with this one: 3* in Treasure Island "Saint Petersburg, FL - Fri, Aug 22 to Mon, Aug 25 - 1 room, 3 nights, 2 adults; whose amenities are listed thus: beachfront, fitness center, pool/s, restaurant, business center, laundry facility, hi-speed internet access and tennis; for $89 through the betterbidding HOTWIRE link. I at first thought it might've been Tradewinds, but the rating's too low & amenities don't match; could be Sirata, but doesn't have either 'Resort' or 'Spa' in amenities, and also has 'laundry facility' added, so I'm stumped.... Any idea? And at the price, it's not a bargain as Sirata's got a 'run of house' fall room special for $72/night. Thanks kindly, dawn
  4. Wow, the Don Cesar! That's awesome... Fla resident rates are $189 for Sun-Thurs. and it's a gorgeous hotel from the looks of it. I might try to get in for August if I can get $99/ni. Good going, cltphantom.
  5. Well, I know those things aren't _absolutely_ guaranteed, but that's why I'm styudying the diff hotels 'n amenities-- so I'll hopefully be bidding on ones I already have a good idea of, no? Besides, in Fla nearly EVERY hotel has a pool, no matter how crappy! It's trying to get one on a body of water that'll be hardest. That's why I originally bid on only small islands and the beach strips, adding only those areas that didn't have the *-level I was bidding at. I'm at the point now where I can pratically guess the opaque HW & ECT hotels just from their descriptions! :) Guess if I WANT something, tho, I better get serious with PL. Haven't checked to see what *-levels were available where today.... Thanks for the guidance! Cheers, dz
  6. Thanks kindly Henrik! The 'where I want to stay' part (if you mean area) is flexible, but I STRONGLY want it to be on or adjacent to a beach. And, yes, I've thought about (and looked at) Clrwtr, etc., actually prefering the St. Pete end (or anywhere in between the two). We stayed there last year in a kind of quaint, verging-on-dumpy hotel/motel across from the beach (the view of which was blocked by tall hotels & condos on the beach side) in Treasure Island last year. I do not want to be across the street from the beach like that again. It sucked! Didn't like not having access to amenities directly on the beach there (i.e., pool, jacuzzi, hotel tiki bar, etc.). Don't recall name of motel where we stayed. Got a fair rate-not great--I didn't go thru HALF as much research as this year. --But it helped shape what I DO want this year. I'm also considering Ft. Lauderdale Beach, West Palm/Palm/Delray/Boynton Beaches, etc., in addition to Ft. Myers Beach (wd consider the Lighthouse in a pinch, but not the Shipwreck!), Bonita Beach, Sanibel, Captiva and Marco Islands. Travelling to the east Fla. coast is a longer drive and I'd rather avoid it unless I can obtain the ULTIMATE resort setting, ON the beach. Not really wanting Naples because the only thing I saw directly on the beach is the big resort, which is having a blues fest that Saturday (yuck) or I could've gotten a king rm for $99 a night on EasyClickTravel a couple wks ago. (Plus, it has what I consider exorbitant 'resort'-type fees: $15 PER PERSON PER DAY to use fitness equip, additional $20 PER PERSON PER DAY to access their jacuzzi -which is in the spa- or $25 PER PERSON PER DAY to access both!!) MY MUST-HAVE Hotel Amenities: king or queen bed/s (double too small; bf is a 6'3" bodybuilder!); refrig/coffee-maker; decent pool area w/sufficient sunning space/chairs; ON or ADJACENT (on the side of) to a Gulf or Atlantic beach (wd consider Bayside IF it was a stunning resort otherwise &/or provided beach shuttle/is on a small island). STRONGLY PREFERRED Amenities: jacuzzi or whirlpool tub; fitness room; on-site restaurant NICE-TO-HAVE: Outdoor refreshments; free breakfast buffet; blowdryer; bathroom amenities I'm now seeing AWESOME rates in Bonita Springs (~$69-80).... Tho nothing ON the beach, some are less than a mile away and on bodies of water. I must investigate further. I wanted to stay under $100 a night incl taxes/fees if I could (I know, I'm asking for a lot!), but might go as much as 25/night higher if I could get something SPECTACULAR for the price. Am I dreaming? And am I too scattered w/all this? I'm trying to give myself leeway since the rates are all over right now. I feel I should've come on here three weeks ago before I got within the two-week threshold of my date! Now, every price is significantly higher, altho I am noticing that both PL & HW hotels/prices/availability changes daily. Thanks for any help! Very sincerely dawn(zig)
  7. Thanks, thereuare, I hadn't seen the retail vs opaque question in the FAQ....advanced as I thought I was :) , I'd only -clicked- on the Qs I didn't already know answers to, so missed the 'extras' at the bottom!
  8. Just checked, but nothing's listed for the dates I need. :) However, Sundial and Holiday Inn on Sanibel are listed as PL "named" hotels-- again, does anyone know if this means that these are -definitely- choices for the opaque side? (Nothing's listed for these tiny Fla. islands in the hotel lists.) I'd change my strategy altogether and just bid Sanibel/Captiva Islands BUT when I just checked NYOP, it now only lists 1* economy category and that's IT! Sundial & HI are both **. :) Any input?
  9. Thank you both yellowdog and grandeisland. I realized after the second bid I would have to go higher in my bidding-- I'd originally thought there was only the one (Marriott) resort I was bidding on & maybe they'd send a counteroffer, but as you said, there may also be the Hilton to take into consideration. Interestingly, I read up on PL a little more at http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=611& which discusses the theories of how hotels may be priced, and got a better understanding, if not a more confused overall outlook :) of what, exactly to do to ~perhaps~ get certain hotels. But in this instance, it seems too risky and I do NOT want a spoiled birthday weekend. Which brings me to grandeisland-I may just rebid on those condos. I've actually looked at them online! :o And I'd kinda rather go to Captiva than Sanibel because: 1. I've never been there; 2. it's closer; 3. I hear there's construction all over Marco right now. I appreciate the feedback! And actually, I've been using this site for years to track going FL rates (lurker alert!), and could've sworn I had an account from years ago (???), but had to re-sign-up. Anyway, thanks again, :) dz
  10. Hi there. I was looking to get a weekend July 20-22, at (preferably) the marco island marriott beach resort and figured I was doing good by just bidding on the marco island first (naturally shot down at $59...), then adding Sanibel & Captiva because those don't list any resorts (shot down again for $66). (BTW, what's up w/Priceline only selling one & two-star sites on Captiva/Sanibel? and no resorts on Ft. Myers Beach?) Anyway, when I went to add Ft. Myers Beach area, I got worried cuz I remembered that in the original 'named' PL hotel list, they'd shown resort rooms available for my dates (Hyatt Reg Coconut Pt/Bonita Sps - which I wouldn't mind, for instance). Do they ever 'sneak' those in even tho their 'NYOP' rooms say there aren't any resorts for Ft. Myers Beach? Also, after re-looking at their 'named' hotels list, I saw the Hilton Marco Island Bch Resort, which I DO NOT want under any circumstances because there is loud construction and demolition going on right next door which disturbs anyone trying to relax by the pool or Gulf (which I want to do)!!!! :) Does anyone know if the Hilton is one of their Marco Island Resorts?? And if so is there anything I can possibly do to NOT get it? Thanks kindly, :) dz Sunny Fla
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