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4* Rittenhouse Square - Won the Radisson Warwick at $110 after a "try your bid again now" offer at $126. I also had received a 24-hour 7% off coupon, so my actual rate was more like $103.

Started bidding for a *4 in the downtown area at $56, and immediately got a counteroffer for $75. Continued bidding and hit Hotel Phillips at $66. 5/26 -5/30 Hotel Phillips $66/night $322.24 total with tax I used the PRICELINE link to start my bidding.

While bidding, I received an email promotion from Priceline for an extra $5 per night. My winning bid was $49, and they added $5 to it, so the winning bid price was $54. 3.5* Marriott Detroit Southfield 1/15 - 1/16 Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $49.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $49.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $14.80 (USD) Total Room Cost: $63.80 (USD) I did use the PRICELINE link to start my bidding.

Won the Silver Cloud Inn for $88/night for 11/3 - 11/7/11. Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service), High-Speed Internet Access I was hoping for Silver Cloud over the Holiday Inn Express, which has the same amenities. Before I booked, Hotwire showed that the hotel was "Recommended in 100% of Hotwire customer reviews." Given that reviews for Silver Cloud on Trip Advisor were very positive, I figured it might be Silver Cloud. I always appreciate the information posted on this board - it's so helpful!

Won the Courtyard Madison East for one night (5/29/11) at $43 on the first try. It looks nice, and there's a very positive review, so I'm pleased! As a side note, I noticed that PRICELINE has 5 Madison zones - Downtown, East, West, South and Southwest - while the Wisconsin hotel list only lists Downtown, East and West. Not sure if Priceline has changed the Madison zones recently, or it's just that no one ever bids in the South and Southwest zones :)

3* Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti (Ann Arbor North) Holiday Inn Ann Arbor Near University of Michigan (Plymouth Rd) 11/12/10 - 11/14/10 2 rooms @ $63/night $252 + 39.72 taxes = $291.72

Got the 4* Hyatt Regency Convention Center at $55. Booked two rooms for three nights 9/3-9/6/10. Started bidding at $49, and bid in $1 increments until I hit the Hyatt at $55. (I love cities with lots of re-bid zones - was able to do all this in one sitting!) Used the Better Bidding PRICELINE link to start my bidding.

Staybridge Suites Rochester on 2nd Street. Winning bid was $62 for 2 nights. Placed bids at $48, 50, 55, 56 (counter offer to increase by $15), 57 (same counter offer), 58, 59, 62 I'm a little rusty, because I forgot to use the Bidder Bidding PRICELINE links until my third try, which (thankfully) was the winning bid! :)

I'm looking at a hotel on Hotwire that is 4* at $139/night in the Brussels area for 4/24 - 4/27. Amenities are fitness center, restaurant, business center and high-speed internet access. and it's rated 4.0 out of 5 on trip advisor. Any ideas on which one this is? Thanks for any help ....

I started bidding pretty low ($41) to see where the bottom was in the Downtown zone. With so many re-bid zones, I went up in $1 increments. I hit the Manchester Grand Hyatt at $68, which is actually the hotel I was hoping for, so I'm very pleased - It looks great! :) Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego 9/5/09 - 9/9/09 Your Offer Price: $68.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $272.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $45.66 Total Charges: $317.66 Started from the Better Bidding PRICELINE link.

So after reading this very interesting thread, I'm wondering this -- if you see a recent bid posted on the board for a hotel you want, does it make sense to start your bidding with that winning bid? You're still risking over bidding, but seems like this might work unless hotels are changing their prices constantly ...

Used the better bidding PRICELINE link. Got the Courtyard Marriott on the first try for $55, which made me wonder if I could have done better. Given that an earlier bidder had to go to $92 for this hotel, and the rack rate is $159, I still feel pretty good about this win!

Used the link to PRICELINE. Got the Holiday Inn East St. Paul in one bid for $40 for a stay on 8/1/09. Hotel web site indicates it was renovated in June 2008, and it looks very nice. Rack rate was $73.

Stayed at this hotel 11/25/08. While the hotel was clean, the rooms are very dated (80s decor). A note in our room said that the hotel would be undergoing "much needed renonvations" in December 2008. Asked for two beds upon arrival. Was told that we had a room with a king bed and it would cost $10 to get a room with two beds. The beds turned out to be Sleep Number beds, and I didn't think they were very comfortable at all. On the plus side, the room did have a very nice view of the Mississippi River. We asked for assistance from housekeeping, and they were responsive and very pleasant, and brought us a couple of extra bottles of water (there was one in the room). The restaurant has been updated, and we had dinner there. The food was very good, so I would recommend the restaurant. Parking is free in their lot. Overall, for a Priceline win, it was ok, but I was very glad we didn't pay full price. Should be much improved once the renovations are done.

I had to a work a bit for this one ... Started bidding for a 3* at $45 and bid every about every 24 hours. Was finally accepted $56 four days before the date we wanted to stay (11/25/08). Interestingly, when I placed the winning bid, PRICELINE told me they would have an answer in about 15 minutes. Never have gotten that before. I assume they were contacting the hotel to see if they would accept. I wondered if the fact that I kept bidding at around the same price triggered something ... ? Will post a hotel review separately, but note that this hotel will be undergoing much-needed renovations starting in 12/08.

While I was not impressed by the photos on the hotel web site, this was a nice surprise. Not sure when it was built, but the hotel felt new. Asked for two beds upon check-in and was no problem. Entire hotel is non-smorking. Room was large, including the bathroom. Nicely decorated, comfortable beds. Also had a refrigerator and mircowave. A parking lot is attached to the hotel, and parking was $4/day. Looked like there was also street parking available within a block or so. There is a shuttle that picks up at the hotel that runs to the Mayo clinic once an hour. Two computers were available in the lobby for free internet access with a printer. There is also a restaurant in the hotel. Food was good, but not amazing. Free coffee/tea was available in the mornings, and free cookies in the afternoon. We stayed two nights, and overall, I would definitely recommend it.

I was rejected through $150, but now our plans have changed, so I won't be continuing to bid. Thanks again for the help.

Part of the location issue is that we're going to the main Mayo building, which looks like it is more than a mile away from this hotel. This hotel's web site says that it doesn't have a shuttle like some other hotels do. However, it's close to St. Mary's Hospital, and I've discovered that St. Mary's does have a shuttle that runs to the other Mayo buildings, so that helps!

3* Rochester Courtyard Marriott St. Mary's $57 ... 11/23/08 - 11/25/08 Started at $48. Rejected with suggestion to raise my bid by $14 and bid again. Rejected at $50 Rejected at $53 Rejected at $55 with suggestion to raise my bid by $15 and bid again. Accepted at $57 Would have liked one of the other 3*s better for their locations, but hopefully this will work out ok. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $57.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $114.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $21.70 (USD) Total Room Cost: $135.70 (USD)

I think we'd want to go for the 4*/resort first with a max bid of $200. If that didn't work, then we'd go for the 3* or above with a max of more like $150. Rack rates I'm seeing for these dates for the *4s on the hotel list on this site are $324 - $480. Rack rates for 3* are $228 - $269. Thanks.

I'm looking to bid for a Resort or 3* level in Key West for 2/26/09 - 3/1/09. I don't see a lot of posts for either of these. Any suggestions for a starting bid? Thanks!

Started at $40. Was able to keep adding zones in $2-3 increments as none of the others currently have 4*. Accepted at $55. 11/22/08 - 11/23/08 Hilton $55 + $14.66 taxes and fees = $69.66 Used the Better Bidding PRICELINE link.

Bids rejected at $68 and $78, won on $84 bid Westin Pasadena 5/24 - 5/28 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $84.00 Subtotal: $336.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $54.39 Total Charges*: $390.39

I just noticed that HOTWIRE listed the hotel's Trip Advisor rating as 3.0 out of 5. The Westin is rated 4.0 out of 5, so I'm thinking it could be the Hilton, which is rated at 3.0.

Can anyone help in identifying the following hotel? 3.5* Pasadena $102 per night ("you save $111") Fitness Center Restaurant(s) High speed internet access Pool(s) Business center My search was for 5/24 - 5/28 Thanks!