Jenga

Just to close this out, I went with my group's directly negotiated discounted price, which gave me the Hyatt Regency downtown for $45/night for the week. Thanks!

Can you help me to identify this Chicago hotel that's showing up on Hotwire? North Michigan Avenue - Water Tower - Gold Coast 3.5* Boutique, Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, High-Speed Internet, Golf, Tennis, Spa "Best Value" (but not Customer Favorite) December 5-7, 2008 $103/night It's not an exact match (that I can determine) for the existing list. Does it sound like Hotel Indigo? Any help appreciated. Thanks!

Could I get help with a bidding strategy for NMA-River North, 4*, Sep 5-7, 2008? I'd like to keep the nightly rate under $100; my max is $125/night. Splitting the stay is not an option for this trip. Mag Mile and Loop are acceptable in a pinch, but I'd prefer to stay in the NMA zone (I'm presenting at a workshop in the area). Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks, thereuare. Sometimes I need more than one brain to figure out all of this stuff. I'll also find out if I can still opt for Dreaded Roommate back-up at the last minute -- this may be my "back up" room if it flies. And, yes, splitting the bid is definitely an option; it's fine if I wind up switching hotels.

Sorry, if the above was too long: 6/4-6/11 Louisville Max budget: $75/night. Preferred: $50/night (I'm reimbursed up to $50/night) Must be downtown 3* or 4* only (some 2*s are too far away from the event) I don't see an affordable back-up hotel. Sound do-able for these dates?

Here's an odd one. I'm scheduled to be in Louisville 6/4-6/11 for a national professional event at the Kentucky Int'l Ctr. Our rooms are paid for, but they're double occupancy with someone we've never met. So, three options: room with a stranger for a week (ugh); pay $50-$60/night (depending on hotel) supplement for a single room; or book on my own for which they will reimburse up to $50/night. I'm inclined to try on my own based on PRICELINE wins here. But current rack rates look high -- my group may be using up a lot of the hotel rooms -- and even HOTWIRE only lists one downtown property at the moment ($169, may be the Hyatt). I don't mind adding up to $25/night out of pocket but this event becomes much less desirable if instead of being all-paid it drains my limited grad school funds. I have to be downtown to walk to the venue and/or catch a pre-arranged shuttle, so only one acceptable bidding zone (Downtown). I'll also need to stick to 3* or 4* to ensure proximity. Upside: The event is several months away and I'm happy to camp out on PRICELINE. Downside: Worst case is I spend more than $50/night out-of-pocket, which would defeat the purpose of turning down the $50-$60/night single. And I don't see any affordable back-up hotels in the area. I realize this is asking for help predicting the future, but any suggestions or advice? I have to let the organizers know my decision by mid-week.

Thanks, thereuare. I now always follow your back-up plan advice (thank you!), which gives me the leisure to continue to look for a great deal without too much stress. I'll keep looking just for sport, but I think for a late arrival and early meeting literally one block from the hotel: at least with The Pod I get a good story to tell friends when I get home :) I really appreciate all your advice and help for this trip. I left the biz world to go back to grad school -- in my old life I never would have switched hotels twice for a one-week stay (or any stay, for that matter). But now that money is an issue -- with BB's help, I'm doing an NYC trip with lodging averaging out to $102/night before tax. Now THAT'S impressive. Couldn't have done it without you! (I was never brave enough to use PRICELINE before I discovered Better Bidding!)

OK, I'm set except for my first night 3/18-3/19. My back-up is The Pod -- I know it's goofy, bit I've been curious to try it out and see if it seemed survivable for a potentially longer stay this summer. (I tried first using Quickbook and Expedia via BB affiliate links since The Pod sometimes pops up there -- I always try for you guys! -- but no luck so finally just phoned the hotel directly.) The Pod is $99/night single shared bath. The location is actually perfect for me since I need to be in the E 50s for a super early breakfast meeting. I'll keeping checking PRICELINE since ideally of course I'd prefer to stay in a more mainstream hotel. But am I correct in thinking even something as cheap as $120 would be unlikely for MTE, MTW, MTC, or CPS in this date range? (I'd prefer to avoid Times Sq and Downtown for this particular night.) Basically I'm wondering if there's any realistic point in trying to get something in these neighborhoods that would be anywhere close to the wacky $99 at the wacky hotel? :)

The more experienced members can help you with a bidding/re-bidding strategy that may be more effective. But in the interim: HOTWIRE is showing a property that could be a match for the Jersey City Hyyatt at $305/night for your dates. That looked quite high to me, so I wonder if this is part of the problem. In comparison: when I got the $95/night rate on PRICELINE, it looked like HOTWIRE had the JC Hyatt at only $172 or $179 (don't remember exactly). Your dates may coincide with a more heavily booked period with fewer anticipated surplus rooms and higher prices. I don't know how to link in a message to Better Biddings' PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links, but you can access both via the Support Links tab, above, which will help fund this site :)

I used the Better Bidding PRICELINE box 3* Newark/Jersey City. Bid $90: rejected Added 2.5*, same nabe, raised bid to $95: accepted (and "upgraded to 3*" per Priceline's wording). 2 nights @ $95 Subtotal: $190.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $39.87 Total Charges: $229.87 This was the hotel I was hoping for, so I'm happy with the result overall. (Hotwire listed what looked to me like the same hotel for $179, so maybe $95 isn't bad!) Now off to find one more hotel in NYC for my first night (3/18). If I'd been thinking NJ all along I would have flown into EWR, but with a super late flight into LGA and an equally early mtg the next morning, I didn't want to schlep to NJ.

Thanks, all! I'll be in the area a lot over the next year, so these are all terrific tips. thereuare: I decided you were about the PATH (it's been a long time since I lived in NYC; takes a while to wrap one's head around JC as a desirable place to stay!). Got a decent deal on JC Hyatt Regency on the Hudson via BB's PRICELINE link. Will go post on the NJ board now. Many thanks, as always! :)

Sorry not to be more specific. Yes to all. Harlem Line, Hudson Line, or New Haven line, under 2 hours out (so Poughkeepsie and New Haven would be too far, but I was wondering about closer-in stations on any of the lines coming into Grand Central). I know this is a wide swath, but since I don't think there are many (if any) hotels super close to the train stations, I thought I'd give it a shot just to see if something obvious flashed into anyone's mind.

Thank you! I'll definitely post a review and some pix. And, yes, recent TripAdvisor reviews note the public areas are still under construction and restaurant currently closed, but with positive comments on the rooms and service, BTW, I just looked on Quickbook (again by a link on BB, although I'm not sure if it rebates you) and found Gild Hall listed for these dates at $109 but crossed out with a special, "Book now" rate for just $99/night for the weekend. That would have been a very good deal! I can't believe I'm obsessing about $22, but there you go.

(I used the BB PRICELINE link) Well of course now I'm kicking myself and wondering if I should have waited a day and tried to get this for $100 or less Bid $95, 2.5* Downtown only; rejected Bid $100, 2.5* Downtown + Midtown East; rejected Bid $110, added 2*, same nabes: accepted! And, yes, I see the error of my ways here. I should have added nabes and then added 2* without raising my price. I'm tired tonight and didn't want to go 15 rounds :) But I've heard nice things about the hotel -- I was target bidding with fingers crossed for Gild Hall or the MTE Marriott Courtyard, either of which would be convenient for different reasons, despite being in completely different parts of the city -- and I'm happy to be below $120, which was my goal for the weekend. On to figure out what the heck I'm doing 3/18-3/21.

Hope springs eternal :) Do we know of any hotels on the MetroNorth line that are walkable (or a free shuttle) from the train station? I have a research trip in NYC 3/18 to 3/23. I don't mind a long ride into the city but also don't really want to stay in NJ (with no offense to our NJ-based travel gurus!). I used to live in the area and nothing is coming to mind -- but my unsuccessful forays on PRICELINE (using BB link, of course) have me concerned about price. HOTWIRE suggests under $200 downtown for the weekend, but midweek is going to be tough. Anything on any of the MetroNorth lines into the city 1-1/2 hours or less would be fine. I don't think this has been asked here before. If I missed an earlier post, my apologies. P.S. -- Actually now this would just be for 3/18-3/21. Grabbbed a good deal for the weekend at Gild Hall on PRICELINE (BB link). Will go post that on the other board.

Thanks, AAronJB, that's a good point to keep in mind! Since I'm Van Galdering down to the city I figured I'd wait this out and hope for last-minute deals. I now see Hotwire has a 4* NMA/Water Tower hotel for $156. Boutique Restaurant High-Speed Internet Business Center Fitness "Best Value," rating 4.1 out of 5. Comments reference "hip" rooms and recent construction. The amenities match the Rafaello on the BetterBidding hotel list, yes? I'd love to get this down a bit, may try some bidding at Priceline tomorrow. The prices at HotelsDotCom also look like they've come down a bit, so maybe I'll have some luck. I'll be back to update one way or the other. P.S. -- How do I make "HOTWIRE" format as a ckickable link like you guys do?

Thank you -- I hadn't even considered Boutique as an option. The Ambassador East gets such mixed reviews, I'm going to ponder before bidding. We only live a couple hours away and this visit is an optional add-on to an already scheduled vacation trip out of ORD. If it's too expensive I'll have to skip the visit, but hoping I can figure out a way to attend this workshop without going broke. I will update with final results -- I appreciate the very good advice and help :)

Airport instead? AaronJB, if this is an appropriate forum to ask: how would the Metra to ORD be at 8:30 or 9 at night? An alternative might be to go out to the airport after my workshop, come into the city for fun the next day, and then head back out to airport to rendezvous with my husband for our flight out in the evening. Lots of extra transit, but the $$ saved might be worth it since my final destination is O'Hare anyway. Any thoughts on Hotwire for ORD airport hotels? Thanks!

Thanks, guys. Well, I tried Priceline but I was too cheap! (Let me know if I now need to move my posts to the Priceline thread? Or stay here b/c I may end up going with Hotwire after all?) I lowballed it for NMA/River North at $99, was rejected; came back by adding Millennium Park/Loop, same price; also rejected. I'm just very cheap :) I think this means I'm locked out for 24 hours, totally my fault for being cheap. Would it be best to try again at $125 when I can get back in? (AaronJB, the likely Indigo you mentioned on Hotwire would be great -- love that chain -- but unfortunately out of my price range.) The Metra tips are a big help, too -- didn't even know there was a CTA alternative. Thanks again for the very useful tips and advice -- much appreciated!

Thanks, AaronJB and thereuare! This is so helpful, much appreciated. Something that slipped into the Customer Comments makes me think this is the Hyatt. I'm attending an evening workshop about 6 blocks NW of Water Tower Place -- not really sure what neighborhood is closest, Mag Mile, Loop, River North? (I know there are maps, I'm just having trouble getting oriented.) Ideally I'd like someplace that's a resonable cab ride home at night, and that would also allow me to go to the Art Institute or maybe shop in the morning the next day before meeting my husband at the airport. (Don't want to stay out at O'Hare.) AaronJB, thanks for the heads-up abut the Inn of Chicago. I'll be on my own and don't want to stay anyplace icky. I'd rather pay a little more than risk it. I've never tried bidding. Do you think I could land a 4* for $100, or would I need to start at $125? Any advice appreciated. Thank you!

Customer Favorite, 20 reviews. Customer reviews mentioned very high prices in hotel restaurant Amenities: Fitness Center, Restaurants, High-Speed Internet, Pools, Business Center I'm guessing the Hyatt McCormick Place-? But I'm new at this. Chicago is super high-priced for these dates. Is $129 a good price for this likely hotel? The other option would be 3* Mag Mile/Streeterville at $99, listing amenities only as Fitness Center & Hi-Speeed Internet (Inn at Chicago)? With thanks in advance.