WillTravel

York Hotel in San Francisco, listed in the Hotwire list, is now Hotel Vertigo. Apparently it was renamed because the hotel was used in the movie, "Vertigo".

Further update - For a 3.5* hotel in Fisherman's Wharf, I got a counteroffer to add $14 more, when I bid $48. I did not succeed at $53.

I am still getting the same counteroffers for USW and failing at $64.

I was nervous not having a cancellable backup, so I booked the Hotel Triton (a Kimpton Hotel) through a TravelZoo special. It's $89/night, so definitely more than I need to pay through PRICELINE, but it does have an ideal location, and looks like an intriguing place. But I can cancel up to the day before, and that's the important thing.

Long story short, you are very unlikely to get a 4* hotel in Trastevere on Hotwire. Possibly a small part of the Rome West zone is in Trastevere, but the 4* hotels you get on Hotwire will not be from there, but from a westerly area that is not part of historical Rome and generally not convenient.

You can get a 4* on HOTWIRE, but it probably will not be in the most central area, even if you choose Rome Central. However, I wouldn't choose any other zone other than Rome Central, because the others would be less convenient.

If you want to be very central, your safest bet is probably to identify a 4.5* or 5* hotel on HOTWIRE in the Rome Central zone, or bid on PRICELINE for a 5* in the equivalent zone. (No guarantees with this strategy, but I think it's very likely to succeed. It would be more expensive, though.)

Just for an update, I have been trying 4* bids.

At $60 for USW-Nob Hill, I got a counteroffer to add $17 more.

I tried various rebidding options, up to $64, and each time kept getting the $17 more.

I really didn't want to go higher than that, so I did not proceed past $64.

But at least I have an idea of the price range for this zone.

I have not gotten counteroffers from any other downtown SF zones.

I'm putting in another review 6.5 years later!

I stayed here recently on a promotion that wasn't through Priceline.

In this case I had a reasonably sized room with a queen bed, and a fully equipped kitchen.

The hotel appeared to be in good order.

Note that you do not have an elevator here.

Much of downtown Seattle can feel like a ghost town at night, but this area has a good selection of stores, restaurants, and cafes that are still open.

Priceline tends to be great for large cities at high star levels. The results for small towns are more iffy, and the savings may or may not be there. Also, with small towns, it might be the case, for example, that a 2* Fairfield Inn is quite fine, but that there are also really awful 2* places, and you will not have the option of bidding at higher star levels to avoid them.

I'm considering going to Victoria, so I went to the bidding screen through the links above. This is using FireFox.

I selected my dates, and then I selected 2*, and saw the usual note about the average retail price being $179.

Then I clicked 1*, and I saw the average retail price was $NaN.

NaN means "Not a Number", and suggests that there is some sort of blank or null or non-numeric character in that database field.

I clicked the 2.5*, and also got the NaN.

I started from 4*, and got average retail price $218.

Anyway, perhaps there is a slight chance that the NaN is related to lack of inventory, but there could be some other reason too.

Has anyone else seen this?

Colfax,

I started bidding (with the PRICELINE links) at a low level, mostly to try to attract counteroffers rather than expecting to win.

And I will keep looking to see if someone scores a great deal. So I'll lock in if something great comes up, meaning with a great quality/price ratio, but otherwise I will wait.

If you opt for a higher grade hotel I'll suggest bidding for a 4* in SOMA-Moscone zone on PRICELINE. Other than the Intercontinental any hotel you win will be within a block of Market Street. And the Intercontinental hardly ever comes up on Priceline. Or look for Parc 55 or Hyatt Regency on Hotwire...both hotels also near BART.

If I get the Intercontinental, I'll suffer through the experience somehow, I'm sure :).

I think you pretty well captured what I was debating - which is that bidding 2.5 in the Civic Center zone is not really worth it to me if I don't get the Whitcomb.

Gallus50, I'll consider the King George, but I think it's probably a step down from what I'm looking for.

In my case, I got a free stay with the old Wyndham Best Rate Guarantee program (back when Whitcomb was still considered a Ramada for booking purposes), and even with that, my room was not what I would consider small. It was a bit on the old side.

Are there any zones where bidding 3* or 3.5* is very likely to land a pleasant and convenient neighborhood and a reasonable-quality hotel? (Forget BART for a moment and just focus on general convenience.)

I know that nebulous posts are hard to answer, but I'll try to give an idea of what I am looking for.

First of all, last time I was in San Francisco, in 2008, I stayed at the Whitcomb (free stay). In this case, I was just there overnight, so it worked out perfectly to get in and out of the airport by BART.

So far as I can see, the BART is definitely the most convenient option for getting to/from the airport. In this case I will be arriving fairly late, and probably catching the first BART in the morning (although in this case I have a 3-night stay). So even though the Whitcomb neighborhood is not at all great, I don't mind too much as I just get out of there quickly via BART.

To make a long story short, getting a nice hotel that is right by a BART stop would be ideal. Of course I am cheap as always, but I could even be tempted by a 4* at the right price. The Whitcomb is available for $58/night with EasyClickTravel, so while I might consider going higher than that for a 4* hotel, I probably would not want to bid more than $45 for an uncertain result.

Here are the criteria I am keeping in mind:

* Be near BART, if possible.

* Be at least a 2.5* hotel, maybe at least 3*. I don't think I want a hotel worse than the Whitcomb, if that helps. A small room is fine, though.

* A nice neighborhood is important if I'm not very close to the BART. (I know there are buses and MUNI also.) I definitely don't want to be stuck in the Tenderloin and have to walk several blocks through it (I have done this in the past, whether or not it's a good idea, but I don't want it to be necessary.)

In the back of my mind I am thinking that if I can't be sure of a nice, well-located hotel with bidding, I might just stay in a well-located hostel. Not sure if I would follow through with that, though.

If I bid the Civic Center zone, at 2.5*, what is likely to be the worst result I could get, given my above criteria? I know the Whitcomb comes up a lot, but obviously can't be guaranteed. I also know that new hotels can be added at any time.

For the other zones, I guess I have been too long away from San Francisco, because I don't have a clear idea of what to favour.

If you have gotten this far, any advice is welcome.

If you want the Marais area, choose a hotel in the Louvre-Marais zone, although even then it might not be the Marais if you look at the zone map.

I think you are right that choosing a hotel in the Gare du Nord-Republique zone will not get you a hotel in the Marais.

This is great news that 5* bidding is available in Paris again.

September usually is more expensive than August. There are lots of trade fairs, fashion weeks, etc., so it is a very busy month particularly for business-oriented hotels. August is the low season when there is little business occupancy. But it does not hurt to try for your budget range, except you should have a cancellable backup if you can't win a bid at that price.

Edalb, yes, I post on Fodors also.

I am very partial to Edinburgh, if you want to break your trip up. It would be an easy train ride, even though it looks like a fair distance from London. But accommodation will be very costly if the festival is still on (but that is my favorite time to be there).

Another possibility, if you want to go to another English city, is to take Megabus - www.megabus.co.uk - or National Express - www.nationalexpress.com . Both can have some very cheap transport options.

I have to say, though, that 13 nights in London would also be a fabulous trip, and choosing 3 different areas, for example, would let you see completely different sides of the city.

I know you meant the LHR hotel for one night before returning to the US, but I would personally disagree with that (no biggie though, as you clearly see it differently).

For Docklands, it really is far out. You will be near very few sites of interest, unless you want to hang around financial skyscrapers. However, if you have such a long stay in London, and you are also interested in Greenwich, it might be okay for part of your stay if you are planning to switch between hotels.

I will disagree, in a friendly way, with the idea of switching to go to an LHR hotel. Many of these are not that easily gotten to by public transport, particularly from central London. You will have to waste time getting to that hotel the night before, and then the next morning, you may have no choice but to take a taxi or the overly expensive Hoppa bus. Lots of times I like to go to a play or something the last night, and that would not really be possible. Example of such a hotel - the Crowne Plaza.

When are your dates? I think that your $75 budget, and 4* requirement, may not be compatible most of the time.

Do you have a backup booking? You are going at a very busy time.

For Rome, PRICELINE is not always the best option. If you look at 5* options at www.hotelscombined.com, there are many 5* hotels in central Rome that are substantially cheaper than the counteroffer you got.

One non-Priceline or non-Hotwire option to consider is London School of Economics accommodation, either for part or all of your stay. The good thing is that you can have the use of a kitchen and laundry facilities, and some of the locations are excellent. There are both ensuite and non-ensuite options, although the ensuite are more expensive of course. Often, breakfast is included. Having stayed at one of these, I can say they are definitely not as nice as a Priceline 4* hotel, but all the other features made up for it.

www.lsevacations.co.uk

During part of your stay, some deeply discounted options are available.

I would like to stay in the central area that is clodes to subway (mom can't walk too much).

through my research, my preference would be (for 2 rooms, 4 nights):

1. (Champs Elysees-Opera Quarter West) Concorde Saint-Lazare

2. (St Germain-Latin Quarter-Montparnasse) Marriott Rive Gauche

3. (Champs Elysees-Opera Quarter West) Concorde Lafayette

Any suggestions?

If your mom can't walk much, keep in mind that the metro can often involve stairs. Sometimes buses can be a better option. Check out www.ratp.fr for transit options, and you can restrict to buses if you like.

Unfortunately, it is a real problem. Canada now requires visas of Mexicans, and Mexico now requires visas of Canadians, and there has been almost zero notice.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Canada+v...2075/story.html

First, I would have your mother apply for a visa right away. Maybe it is possible.

Second, you will need to escalate this up Priceline support, because I doubt the first-level reps will be able to help you.

What was the deal, at which hotel?

When you say the opera quarter, do you mean the Priceline zones for both Opera Quarter East and Opera Quarter West?

Note that 4* hotels in Opera Quarter West can be quite a distance from the opera house, although the 4* hotels in Opera Quarter East will all be reasonably close. Maybe you don't care specifically about the opera house, but I thought I would ask.

Personally I would prefer the location of Holiday Inn Mayfair, but Premier Inn County Hall is not bad either.

When you say you want a 4* hotel, would Premier Inn County Hall be up to the standard that you want?

The Holiday Inn Mayfair is really perfectly located for a visit to London, and so convenient with children.

If you do not think of it as a true 4*, I can understand that, but keep in mind that you will probably have to triple your budget, more or less, to get a hotel family room that is some levels above a standard business-class hotel. London hotels at the very top end are probably very nice (not that I know personally), but I think it is fair to say that 4* chain hotels in the UK will probably be fairly run of the mill most of the time.

But I would not get it on HOTWIRE if there are no real savings.