dizy

I was just looking for one night for a trip to Toronto for the baseball classic. Hit with this on the first try. The kids will be so happy! I started the bid through the PRICELINE link at the top of the home page. Hope that's ok.

2.5* Courtyard by Marriott Pitt Airport $33 ... 8/16/08-8/17/08 (cannot figure out how to edit topic title?) Decided to do the extra driving out to the airport area to save $: Courtyard by Marriott Pittsburgh Airport 2rooms @33 for 1 night = $66 Taxes and fees= $16.98 Total = $82.98 Placed the bid through your PRICELINE link. Thanks.

I hadn't thought of the college kids moving in! I guess I am willing to go to $85 if necessary. There is a hotwire price showing $66 at last check for what is probably the Holiday Inn Airport. I was hoping not to have to go out to the airport area, but if it is too expensive I will. I am guessing the Greentree area might be easier than the University area for the reasons stated above. I believe I have exhausted my free rebids until late tonight, so if you suggest a strategy, I will use it then. Also, a general PL question - what do they consider the "same bid" withing 24 hours? I mean, I understand the free rebid idea, but if I put in a different name (my husband's) or a different CC number or email address, do they think it is a different person? Thanks!

Looking for 2 rooms for a 1-night stay on 8/16 to see a baseball game. Downtown or Greentree or University area would all be acceptable (though might be nice to stay outside of downtown to avoid possible parking charges). Don't want to be too far from DT since the kids will be exhausted after the game! Looks like people typically get good deals, but so far I have bid 3* up to $65 with no luck. Is something going on in town that night? Should I wait and try again or bid higher? Any advice would be welcome! Thanks.

I got this hotel - a bit surprised, but happy anyhow. Great location right at the metro station. 2 rooms for 2 nights: 2 rooms @ $65 for 2 nights = $260 taxes and fees = $46.88 Total = $306.88 I initiated the purchase through the PRICELINE link in your signature. Thanks for all the info on this site.

Did this for my dad. Got it on the first try. Great deal. $13/day * 11 days = $143 + $66 (tax and fees) = $209 Dizy

Got this on the first try. Great savings from other best price (hotwire is $43/day today). $21/day * 7days = $147 + $56.16 (tax and fees) = $203.16 Very happy! Dizy

My parents were looking for a one-night stay after a Syracuse basketball game. I booked this through the PRICELINE link at Savingsbarn.com.

Got this hotel on PL for $80 USD for a one-night stay (11/2/07-11/3/07). The location of the hotel is great - close to all the excitement. The lobby is nice, and there is a "scenic elevator" with glass walls to give you a nice view on the way up. Our room was fine. They seemed to be going for a high-end look, but never seemed to tend to the details to get all the way there. The wallpaper was peeling in MANY places, both in the hallways and in the rooms. There were some stains in the shower, and some peeling pains on the ceilings. The bottom of the bathroom door was chipped. I am not normally the type of person to notice all of these details, but I was planning to write a review, and I know that some customers DO care a lot about these things. The following night we stayed at the 4* Sheraton Centre which didn't have these kinds of issues and was definitely step-up by comparison (review of that hotel posted separately). On the positive side, the bed was VERY comfortable! I wish we could have brought it home with us! They did have a pool, which was clean, but small. We did not use any other services of the hotel. Check-in/check-out were no problem. All in all we had a wonderful one-night stay, but I wanted to note all the aesthetic problems for future customers. If I were paying $200/night, I might start caring about these things too!

My husband and I just returned from a one-night stay at the Sheraton Centre 11/3-11/4/07. I received this hotel on PL for $75 (USD), and promptly called the hotel to request a non-smoking King room as I was celebrating my wedding anniversary. When my husband and I checked in, the clerk wished us a happy anniversary (they obviously had put it into the computer), and due to our special event, they gave us a complimentary upgrade to a great Club Level room on the 39th floor. It was a beautiful north-facing room with a spectacular view of downtown! The hallways and rooms are tastefully decorated and very clean. We did not notice any obvious problems with carpet stains, rips in furniture, peeling wallpaper - everything seemed to be in great shape (not sure if the standard rooms are the same?). The bed was VERY comfortable and the shower was great. We followed the advice of many posters and parked across the street at the Civic Center parking to save $. No problem, very convenient. We did use the pool and hottub which were great! It was so fun swimming in the indoor/outdoor pool in November! The water temperature had to be ~ 85 F, very warm. The air temp outside was ~40F. Very nice setup! We did not eat at any of the restaurants onsite, so I cannot comment there, but they looked nice. Because we were on the Club Level, we got a complimentary breakfast on the 43rd floor in the AM. Very nice. Also, the location of this hotel was perfect for us! Obviously, a wonderful stay and I would hope for this hotel again with future PL bids.

Had already booked on PL for the following night, but we decided to start our trip one night earlier. Hoping to get the Sheraton Centre (where we are Sat night), but ended up with the Hilton. Not a big deal to us. It will give us a good chance to compare the properties. Started at $65 and bumped up $5 each bid until hitting at $80. Used PRICELINE link at savingsbarn.com to make the purchase. Dizy

Thanks so much for the info qauconsq! I am happy to have the Sheraton, and thanks for the info on parking. It is nice of you to take the time to help me out!

Thanks for the advice Thereuare. I went ahead and bid and got a win. 4* DT Toronto Sheraton Centre $75 11/3/07-11/4/07 $75 + $18.56 taxes and fees = $93.56 Lots of rebids, but I was not patient enough to use them all. Started at $60 and bumped up by $5 each time. Sounds like location is good, and I am excited about the win. I will post a review when I return, since there is not too much recent info in reviews. Thanks again.

I suppose we are willing to accept that entire zone, but that is part of the advice I was looking for. We plan on doing mostly walking around (though we will HAVE a car if needed). Not being too familiar with the zones, do you think that there are parts of the PL zone we would be unhappy with? Are there "pitfall" 4*s that people typically get but are unhappy with? Would we be better off going with hotwire, and if so do you have an opinion on which of the DT zones is better? Sorry, I know these are mostly questions aimed at opinions of those who have traveled there a lot, but I have seen a lot of good info on this board. Any thoughts are appreciate. I would like to stay at $90 or under if possible (let me know if you think this is unreasonable and then I may drop to a 3*), and again this is for one night, 11/3/07. Thanks again.

My husband and I are going to have a 1-night getaway Nov3-4. We have been to Toronto before and really enjoy walking around the city. We typically have stayed near Eaton Center and I think we would like to be in that general vicinity. I thought PL would be a good option for us this time since we usually travel with the kids and need 2 double beds! Anyway, I am thinking of splurging on a 4* for us. Any advice on price to bid, or even advice (or warnings) about what area to bid? Thanks for any help!

Excellent search function - that works great for me! Thanks so much. Great board here. So friendly and so much info. You clearly know your stuff Thereuare! Dizy

Thereuare, Thanks to you (and your wife and family!) for this great new tool! This is such a clear and easy way to go about making plans for a potential trip. One question - as time goes on will we be able to view previous months (years) wins? I know rates change as time passes, but I have found myself in the past going way back in time trying to see if there were any good deals offered during certain time frames (that might include spring break or a certain event or festival). Just curious. Also, I have an idea for something I'd like to see, though I don't want to take you away from your family anymore than you already are. For some of the more unpopular areas, you can find the areas and hotels in the hotel list, but you often have to go way back in time and read many pages to try to find a win in those areas. It would be great (but probably a pain for you) if you could click on an area in the hotel list and it would pop up links to the posted wins in those areas. This might be impossible, but I thought I would bring it up. Thanks again for all your wonderful work on this board. Dizy

I just talked to my sister. She will talk to her friends about this option, but she is guessing they will decide to stick with the original reservation over Planet Hollywood. My sister is well aware of this site, and I have already reminded her many times to make any hotwire/priceline purchases through your links. I am sure she will do so if she decides to take up that offer. Thanks so much for all your expert advice! Dizy

Wow, this is confusing... Current reservation = Hilton @ Flamingo = ~205/night *4 nights - all 6 people in one suite = ~$150 per person. For 3* with good location, they would be willing to go to ~$175 per person (total for 4 nights), which if you split it up to 2 rooms of 3 people each, gives you ~$130 per night per room. For a 4* great place with good location, they would be willing to go up to ~$275 per person (total for 4 nights), which if you split it up to 2 rooms with 3 people each, gives you ~$200 per night per room. Still sounds very complex, but I hope I have clarified. Dizy

I agree! When you get a counter offer, you can almost always win the bid for half of the difference. $95 or $96 should do it for you. Good luck.

OK - here it is - 6 people total. Current reservation is for Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Flamingo - 1 BR suite ~$205/night (but all 6 people plan to cram in there, so it is cheap). She said if they can get a very good place (ie 4* with good location), they would be willing to pay ~$200/night (3 people each in 2 rooms, possibly only claiming 2 people). If they can get a reasonable place (3* with a good location), they would be willing to pay ~$130/night (3 people each in 2 rooms, possibly only claiming 2 people). They would be paying more per person, but would not be so cramped as they will be in their current setup. Let me know if you have any great ideas. If not, they will likely keep their current cheap, but cramped setup. Thanks, Dizy

Also, there are 6 people total - that I know. Dizy

All good questions. I am guessing 2 rooms (unless there is a suite situation), and I am thinking they will only declare 2, but I'm not sure. I will check on these tomorrow AM (she has been sleeping for hours!) with my sister, get her budget, and also find out what the fallback is. Then you can let me know if they can do better. Thanks.

Thanks for the quick response. I am doing a quit bit of research for my sister who is traveling to Vegas with 5 friends 9/22-9/26. Location is apparently very important to them since they will not have a car. They are also looking for someplace with a nice pool area. She has mentioned NYNY, MGM, Paris, Mirage as top choices (for example), and the next tier would include Flamingo, Ballys, Harrahs. Apparently one member of the group has a strong dislike of the Excalibur (which I believe is coming up as a choice based on your hotel list). I think they are looking to go relatively cheap, but for a great deal on quality (4* I guess), they would consider it. Not sure how many really great deals they will get as it appears to be a very busy time (checked your Vegas Hotel Finder tool, and many were not available for those dates). I think they already have a cancellable "fallback", though I'm not sure what that is, so I will probably just continue to check back for any last minute hotwire deals, unless someone has a better suggestion. Thanks.

Hotwire just came up with a 3* condo in central strip. I guess I have never seen that before. Any idea of where or what this might be? Dates: 9/22-9/26 $172 Amenities: Suite, Pool, Kitchenette, Hi-speed internet, Fitness Center Thanks, Dizy