WillTravel

I'm not familiar with Rio, but if there's no map of the zones, the catchment area can be very wide, as I found out when I emailed Priceline about a different city with no zone maps. You could win any 4* hotel that has Rio de Janeiro in the address, which I think is a very large area.

I think I know what the poster means by a hotel where she can take her key with her. At many European hotels, particularly small 2* (and some 3*) places, all the keys for the rooms are kept with the front desk, and you have to hand them in before you go out. Thus, the front desk staff always knows who is in the room, and an extra guest can't get in very easily, because every arrival and departure will be noted due to the need for the front desk clerk to give you the key. But some people do not like this system because the keys are sometimes stored behind the desk on hooks, making it obvious to anyone who is in the room or not. And some people don't like the feeling of the loss of privacy, because there's no way to be anonymous and unnoticed at a hotel like this. I don't think it's likely you would get such a hotel on PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, but I think some small places have shown up on occasion. You take the train from Gare du Nord to Brussels, and you take the train to Reims from Gare de l'Est. If you want a hotel in the area right in between these two stations (which is not most people's favorite area), then it's probably best to book directly. But otherwise, you can always take the metro from anywhere.

If it were me, considering you have only one rebid zone and it's so close to the date, I'd start high.

My guess is that if you got a counteroffer of $175, you will need at least $160, and quite likely more. Did you decide you are okay with any 4* or 5* hotel in the CCMQ?

Previously I had won the Marriott Calgary for $62 for the night of September 7. My weekday stay is elsewhere, paid by work, but I decided I wanted to stay the weekend on my own as well. I have to admit that given how easy it was to win the Marriott, when the website price was so high, I thought it would be just as easy to win it for weekend nights a week later. I could have done this bidding a week or two ago, but thought it would be no problem to get a low price bidding later. That turned out not to be the case. The night I won the Marriott, it had a website rate of $319, and for the nights I did *not* win the Marriott, it had a website price of $169. So today, I bid very slowly and tenaciously. I got a counteroffer to add $17 when I bid $68. I then bid $70, 72, 73, and finally won at $74. This hotel has never been reported on this site. However, the reviews are very good, and the location is fine, so I'll be happy with it, I'm sure. The Delta Bow Valley website rate is $159 CAD. I bid through the PRICELINE link on this site.

The problem is that you can't bid CCMQ, because you might get the Grand K. No one can give you a strategy that ensures you avoid it, if you include CCMQ in your bid. You can't bid South, because you might get the Holiday Inn. Similarly, no strategy can make you certain to avoid it, if you bid for South. As you said, you don't want Schipol-Airport. The East zone is not available with Priceline.com Name Your Own Price. There is the North zone, but I think you'd find that inconvenient, and it only goes up to 3*. There are some circumstances where PRICELINE is not a great choice, and this might be one.

With bidding on Priceline, you can't be sure of avoiding the Grand K, because you could be upgraded to a 5*, even if you bid for a 4* or less. Maybe Hotwire would be best in your case? I'd avoid that Holiday Inn, also.

Yes, it's definitely in the Eiffel Tower zone. Thanks for posting your bidding history. It wouldn't be my choice of areas, but with planning, you can make it work, I'm sure. I think the closest I've been to the hotel area is when I went to the Theatre Brancion (which is worth checking to see if they have anything interesting playing). I like to use the transit planner at www.ratp.fr .

Was this actually in the Eiffel Tower - Grenelle - Montparnasse zone? So far as I can tell, the boundaries of the zones haven't changed, so it would be a real surprise if you had gotten this hotel by bidding just for the St. Germain - Latin Quarter - Montparnasse zone?

People have upgraded a PRICELINE room at various hotels. What would be the exact cost for the Grand K, though? Do you mean that the upgrade would be the cost difference between a standard and a deluxe room? Also, what dates are you looking for, and what prices have you found through conventional means?

I tried $58, and I got a counteroffer to add $17. I closed the browser, went through the board's PRICELINE link again, and bid $62, adding Calgary North as a free rebid zone. Who knows, I might have saved a dollar or two more, but this will do fine. I noticed Calgary does not have 2.5* downtown. I didn't see any 2* successful bids for downtown, and I wasn't feeling experimental. Website price is $319 CAD (or $304 USD). This is probably my greatest savings over rack rate, ever. I meant to put 09/07/08 - 09/08/08 in the subtitle, sorry.

I don't have experience with the Grand K, but I chose not to bid for a 4* in Amsterdam because of the Moevenpick. The area is much improved, with lots of new construction, but it's still isolated and I still didn't want to be returning there at 1 or 2 in the morning. Have you taken a look at HOTWIRE? That might allow you to focus in on a likely hotel.

The problem, as usual, is that you may give up the ideal location you can get by booking directly. I'd start by taking a look at www.solmelia.com . Three years ago, I got a great direct rate for the Tryp Cibeles, a well-located 4* in Madrid. (It's a beautiful hotel. My only objection is that the beds are on the hard side.) I'd figure out what you think is the best area to stay in, and then compare it to the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE zone maps, and then decide from there. Another good site for Spanish hotels is www.GTA Hotels.com .

I don't think you will get a single twin bed (as in wide enough for only one person) room. However, it's quite possible you could get a two-twin bed room. If you go to the Hilton web site for this hotel, and enter to get a room for two people, the two lowest-price, and equally priced, options are the QUEEN HILTON GUESTROOM and TWIN HILTON GUESTROOM. The SINGLE HILTON GUESTROOM specifically says that it's only for 1 adult, so they could not put you and your girlfriend there legally. The odds are you would be allowed to get your choice of either a Queen or Twin, but if it's essential to have either one, you might want to rethink this.

Your safest strategy is to use HOTWIRE, and enter two adults and two children in the search field, to get a quad room, or to use PRICELINE and bid for two rooms.

For Priceline, St. Germain - Latin Quarter - Montparnasse can work quite well too. The Marriott Rive Gauche is a bit non-central (as are some Opera Quarter West hotels). At the risk of being redundant, I would avoid Eiffel Tower - Grenelle - Montparnasse, because of the risk of getting the Pullman (ex Sofitel) Rive Gauche, which is actually outside Paris, although there are several nice hotels with okay locations in that zone.

I wouldn't worry - the two boys are old enough to manage on their own, and I'm sure if you bid you can win another hotel room, probably in the same zone and maybe the same hotel. You can bid again in less than a day, right? Otherwise, I agree with the advice to contact a manager, speak calmly and ask for the possibility of paying for an upgrade to get a room with two beds.

I think those zones are good choices. Opera Quarter East is the most central. Have you also looked at HOTWIRE, which allows you to make finer distinctions? Be sure to read the reviews of the 4* hotels that have been won in these zones. I think they are reasonably good, but there have been some complaints, so just ensure you would be happy getting any of the known hotels (of course, an unknown hotel is always possible if not likely). Also, I'd suggest you book a cancellable backup hotel, because those are busy and expensive Paris dates, and then you'll be able to make an informed decision about your target price.

If you look at the reviews for the 4* hotels in Kensington, there are many that aren't that good. I think it will be fine if you keep in mind that you are getting a great bargain, but if you are looking for something that is really nice and upscale, you might want to look elsewhere. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, and this would seem to be one of the better reviewed ones, compared to Copthorne Tara and Hilton Olympia, and it was fine, but I would consider it more of a 3* experience even with its 4* rating. I do think the 4* hotels in Mayfair-Soho tend to have better reviews, and the location is more convenient, but of course it's also a more expensive zone. In my opinion, the reviews of the 5* London hotels for the Mayfair zone are not sufficiently better (and in many cases are worse) than the 4* hotels for Mayfair, so if sticking to the Mayfair zone, I'd probably not bid 5* even if I were inclined to splurge. Instead, I'd use Hotwire to focus in on the nicest 4* or 4.5*.

If you want a central location, I'd skip City Center South. And I'd probably suggest HOTWIRE to increase your chances of focusing in on a really centrally located hotel, because bidding on Priceline in the City Center/Museum zone could give you the 4* Movenpick or the 5* Hilton, neither of which I consider that central. They're fine hotels, based on reviews, but you would lose some time in transit. Transit in Amsterdam is mainly by tram, although there are some buses and a metro system. I suggest getting a strippenkart at the train station. Amsterdam is also very walkable.

The Springhill Suites has a conventional rate of $249 for a room with two doubles and a sofabed. You'd also get free breakfast. This room could fit six, although I don't know if it's technically allowed. How old are the children?

I know lots of people have gotten this hotel on PRICELINE, but this deal may be equivalent or better. Here's the deal, as described on TravelZoo. http://hotels.travelzoo.com/international-...ium=email_top20 Keep in mind that this hotel is on Giudecca Island, so requires a vaporetto or boat ride to get to the central part of Venice. Based on reviews, hotel amenities are very expensive, and there are limited options if you don't use them. On the plus side, I expect this newly-constructed hotel would have better air conditioning than the old-style Venice hotels, but you'd have to double-check that.

I wouldn't count on $120, at all. Try www.destination-stockholm.se although any 4* hotel, that is well-located, will likely be much more than $120. But with breakfast, and the Stockholm card, maybe it will still be a good deal. Also try the Scandic chain - they often have summer deals.

I don't consider it that bad to stay near the Space Needle, at least not so far, although I've always been at least a few blocks away. I haven't had a car on my visits, and have managed fine. But I would likely feel differently if I had an experience like Colfax (I've never stayed in that specific area). I agree with tilepusher's #2 and #3, but I think #1 might be the Travelodge by the Space Needle.

What dates are you bidding for? With that information, someone can probably give you more specialized help. I would also fear getting the Knights Inn, if the retail side of Priceline says that it is a 2*. What is the name of the zone you are bidding for?