WillTravel

Although the odds are fairly good, there's no way this can be guaranteed with PRICELINE.

I think it might be Le Meridien Etoile, because the star rating, the pool, the area, and the TripAdvisor rating all match. What do you mean by "downtown" Paris? Le Meridien Etoile (remember, this is just a guess) is in Paris, but on the northwest edge, although near the metro. As for what the star rating of the reviews means, take a look to see people's complaints and praises.

I used the PRICELINE link at the top right of the page. I bid $49, and got a counteroffer to add $14 more, for $63. I used rebid zones (and also downtown zones, because I knew it was very unlikely to win at that price), and continued getting counteroffers up to $53. Then I bid $55 and won. Doubletree is nice, although my favorite to win is the Hilton, because the Hilton is so close to the LINK station, and the Doubletree is a number of blocks away. But it is easy enough to walk out of the airport and to the Doubletree - no need for a shuttle if you don't want to bother.

I'm repeating myself, but you can likely score a hotel for this night at a cheaper rate than you are bidding. If you look at LMTClub.com (join with code FBFREE12), then you could get the Radisson Warwick for $81. Some hotels are Available, and some On Request (you can't be sure for a day or two while the request is worked on), but the Radisson Warwick is available. Other hotels that cost less than $96 are also available. That said, a couple weeks ago, I got the Marriott Downtown for $70 on Priceline, on a date when rates were very high, so you might succeed eventually by bidding.

Through EasyClickTravel, you can get the La Griffe Luxury Hotel, which is rated 5*, for about $250/night including taxes and breakfast. So I would definitely rethink your strategy here. Try Kayak and see what options you have outside of PRICELINE.

First of all, if you look at PRICELINE's regular hotel product, they are offering the 4* Doubletree Hotel Westminster for $152/night, including free breakfast AND free wi-fi (both of which can be quite costly at hotels). So going to $200 is absolutely not necessary. This hotel is south of the river, but other hotels in the Westminster zone are south of the river too (and you might win this one with a PRICELINE bid). This hotel is non-refundable, and the deal may go away, but for the time being, I would personally limit my bids to no more than about $100 or at most $110, given that this hotel is an option. If you don't want to be south of the river, and also want to ensure a convenient location, stick to Mayfair, but it may be very costly. I like the Bloomsbury zone, but the north part is not as convenient (I'd be fine with it, though, and also with the location of the Doubletree Westminster).

Radisson Lexington hotel is now just the Lexington Hotel, according to an email I received from them. What was Thirty/Thirty, and then LOLA, is now King & Grove.

I would make sure that you have located the best 5* deal that you can before bidding further, so you have an accurate basis of comparison. Once you consider taxes and fees, it is quite likely possible to find a 5* hotel that is cheaper than what Priceline is leading you to pay.

I had been low-bidding this for weeks, but finally threw a few more dollars at this. I am flying out of Philadelphia after my NYC trip, and will have one day there (or a little less actually). I had previously failed at up to $65 for a 3*. I've previously stayed at the Courtyard and the Residence Inn, and both were great, but I'm happy to try another Marriott property. This was a 3* bid, but I was upgraded to 4*. I bid through the PRICELINE link! Lowest rate on the Marriott web site is $239! The Courtyard and Residence Inn are not even available. There is a lot of stuff happening in Philly this weekend, so maybe that's why.

I think the problem is that the hotel might mind, because it would violate their fire occupancy rules. Not necessarily a huge risk, but possible.

You can never be sure, particularly with such a slight amenity set. However, what you can do is look at Priceline Retail, filter down to 3* hotels only, filter down to 8.0 rating or better, and see which are in the approximate area. I don't know if anyone has statistics, but it seems likely that if you find such a hotel on the retail side, it might match this express deal.

You have several options: 1) Book 2 rooms with PRICELINE for Sept. 7-9, and then book 2 rooms conventionally for Sept. 8-9. 2) If the party arriving on Sept. 7 is willing to take the chance of changing hotels, book the first 2 rooms for Sept. 7-8. Then do another bid for 4 rooms for Sept. 8-9. 3) Book all 4 rooms with Priceline for Sept. 7-9, and accept that one night will be wasted for 2 of the rooms. 4) HOTWIRE is a possibility, but there is a good chance you would not be able to get what you want. 5) Take a look at PRICELINE Express. Depending on inventory, it's possible you could do what you want with that. Use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links at the top of the page!

I checked out the Astor in the Park neighborhood when I was last in NYC, and there are interesting things around there (which I visited), but I wouldn't particularly want to stay there, and it does feel way out. For the other location questions, maybe try Google Maps, and map out some itineraries, both by walking and by using transit. With Andaz Wall Street, you could do something like take a taxi in the morning to your first location, or back again - it could well be it's still worth the price. Another thing to consider is if you want to visit your hotel during the day, which would probably mean you want a midtown one (or set up your activities in such a way that you don't inconvenience yourself if you choose a different location).

With On-Request, you do the booking, and then they get back to you in 24-48 hours with the result. If there's a room, they charge your card, so you can't do any PRICELINE booking or other nonrefundable booking, while you are waiting. I think almost always there is a room, so if you can stand the wait, and you see a room you want, book it and wait, is my suggestion.

My dates are very similar (August 28 - Sept. 2). What I ended up doing is booking the Cosmopolitan on the Last Minute Travel Club website for $126/night (+ taxes and fees). It is a 3* in Tribeca, with a double bed. There are various codes for getting free membership to www.lmtclub.com - right now FBFREECLUB12 works. It's possible Priceline would offer a better deal, but when I tried bidding a while back, I wasn't getting anything close (even with bonus cash). Longer stays tend to be more difficult, although it's quite likely that a bid right near the dates would have worked, but I wanted to lock something down that I liked.

For the 18th, do you require the same hotel? You can try the PRICELINE option to extend your reservation, but my suspicion is that either this won't work, or you will be charged a significantly higher rate. You could also just do another 3* bid in Bellevue, knowing you might get a different hotel. Priceline Express has a $105 3* hotel in Bellevue for August 18.

For example, if you use Priceline Express, you can get a Bellevue 3* hotel for $63 per night for August 19-23, but that's not available for August 18-23. Thus, you can likely do better bidding for August 19-23.

Yes, parking can be pretty expensive downtown. Note that August 18 is a Saturday night. You might possibly do better bidding for August 19-23, and then do August 18 separately.

A 5-night stay at a really busy time is always going to be difficult. What zones do you want?

I've stayed at Hotel Whitcomb (for free), and I can't imagine it being worth $212 per night. It's OK, but the area is not so great, although it is right next to BART. This deal is not near Union Square, but it's a nicer hotel (in my opinion), and a much better area. I've stayed at this hotel (Holiday Inn Golden Gateway) and Hotel Whitcomb, so I think my comparison is fair. http://www.travelzoo.com/hotels/san-francisco/-149-San-Francisco-Hotel-in-Posh-Nob-Hill-40-Off-1280911/ I'd go for that cancellable backup at $149/night over Hotel Whitcomb at $212.

Very few of the Seattle downtown hotels that appear on Priceline are close to the Amtrak station, in terms of walking distance. Expect to be 1-2 miles away at least.

Very cool, BEAV - thanks!

I was browsing through PRICELINE and noticed this option in the list of named hotels: Sleeping Bulldog Bed And Breakfast, with a 2.5-star rating I think we generally expect when we are bidding 2.5*, that we will get something like the Springhill Suites or Comfort Inn, not a bed and breakfast, even if the B&B is perfectly nice. I note in the description that you have to contact the B&B for special check-in policies, which makes it sound like there's no 24-hour desk, to say the least. Is PRICELINE changing its rating policies?

Note my $59 bid for July 19-21 that got me the 4* W Foshay. However, maybe July 18 is harder (I haven't tried).

If someone gives you an answer, it will only be true as of that moment. You have to check this yourself every time you want to bid, because zones and ratings change.