misconduct

First bid of $42 rejected for 3.5* and rejected when 3* added. Second bid of $48 rejected for 3.5*, with counter offer of $63. Final bid of $55 acceped for 3.5*. Hilton Los Angeles Airport Los Angeles Airport (LAX) 5711 West Century Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90045 310-410-4000 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $55.00 Subtotal: $55.00 Taxes & Fees: $15.25 Total Charges*: $70.25 Cheapest rate on Hilton website with AAA/CAA discount was $144 + $20.29 in taxes. It's a shame I can't get Hilton Honors points or perks though (I'm a Diamond member) though the Priceline savings make up for it and then some...

Friend bid for the room so I have no idea if she used the Better Bidding links. I also believe she took the counter offer rate of $80, after an original bid of $62. Was certain she could get the room for $75 but she wanted to confirm the booking. Check-In Date: Saturday, September 18, 2010 Check-Out Date: Monday, September 20, 2010 Region: Orange County, CA City Area: Newport - Huntington Beach Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RoomPer Night: $80.00 Subtotal: $160.00 Taxes and Services Fees: $29.36 Total Charges*: $189.36 Best available rate with AAA/CAA discount was $169.15 plus 12.16% in taxes. Hotel has mixed reviews on Trip Advisor with several Priceline customers complaining of getting shafted.

Just a correction on the amenities. They are actually: Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness Centre and High Speed Internet.

Downtown Vancouver Entertainment District Price summary Hotel rate per night: $109.00 Subtotal:$109.00 Tax recovery charges & fees:$23.63 Total price: $132.63 Amenities: Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Business

Got the Holiday Inn on the first try. Best rate on the hotel website is $108/night. Check-In Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Hotel Name: Holiday Inn Los Angeles Airport 9901 La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles, California 90045 310-649-5151 Your Offer Price: $39.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $39.00 Taxes and Fees: $12.78 Total Charges*: $51.78

Was actually trying to get the 3* Coast Edmonton House Hotel to get the suite but was 'upgraded' to the 4* Westin. The Westin is lovely but Ithe kitchen suite plus additional space at the Coast was preferable. Best rate on the Westin website is for $90 USD/night, whereas the room was purchased for $62USD. First bid of $51 for a 3* rejected. Second bid of $62 accepted with the automatic upgrade. The Westin Edmonton 10135 100th Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 0N7 780-426-3636 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $124.00 (US dollars) Taxes and Fees: $21.74 (US dollars) Total Charges: $145.74 (US dollars) Used the BB PRICELINE link.

As an Edmontonian, I'm hazarding a guess it might be the Coast Plaza -- even though it's not a match for the criteria of previous HOTWIRE wins. As far as I know, the Chateau Lacombe doesn't have a complimentary shuttle -- unless they'll cover the charge through the Airporter service. The Coast Plaza does have a shuttle. There aren't that many 3 star hotels downtown. Possibly the Coast Edmonton House, the Holiday Inn Express or even the Courtyard by Marriot might meet the criteria. If Hotwire includes the Kingsway region, the hotels are at most 2.5 stars, though you risk the Ramada which is definitely not worth the money.

I travel regularly to Calgary for work and, without exagerration, I've stayed at over 20 hotels in the city. During mid-week in Calgary, hotels are rather expensive and often hard to get into when booking direct with the hotel. Of the known PRICELINE hotels in downtown Calgary (Marriot, Delta Bow, Hyatt, Westin), they are all comfortable, clean and have decent guest services. I've stayed in all of them. To improve your odds of getting reasonable accommodation and if you are willing to hedge your bets that these are the only four options, perhaps lower your star rating to 3 stars in downtown Calgary. Having said all that, there is a chance that there are other 3 to 3.5 star hotels that you could get matched with. It wouldn't be the end of the world... most of the 3 to 3.5 star hotels in downtown Calgary are reasonable and it's unlikely you'd end up in an outright bad hotel. The Hyatt is the top hotel in Calgary and ideal if you want full service such as in-hotel restaurant, fitness centre, pool, etc. However, it typically does not a lot of mid-week vacancy -- especially if there is a large conference in the adjacent Telus centre that attracts people from out of town. The Marriot is literally next door to the Hyatt and it becomes the overflow conference hotel so room vacancy can be limited there also. It doesn't have all the in-house amenities of the Hyatt but it's still a good place to stay. The Westin is nice but the in-hotel restaurant is fairly mundane and it's a longer walk if you are relying on the C-Train as public transit. And the Delta Bow Valley is a standard business type hotel. The hotel doesn't have as busy of a vibe as the other three and it's at the edge of downtown but it's perfectly acceptable as a 3 to 3.5 star... and the Delta will likely have the best view if you can get a room on a higher floor or facing the river valley. Also, if you are driving, parking in downtown Calgary is quite expensive too. Only New York has more expensive parking in North America. I'd only stay in downtown Calgary if I have to be centrally located and do not have a car.

First try was $45 for a 3 star in the Edmonton zone (which should be called Edmonton City Centre or downtown rather than encompass the entire city. On rebid, I opened it up to South Edmonton and Edmonton airport and got the hotel at $51. Given more time, I would have actually tried for a 3 star in South Edmonton. However I needed a sure bet on short notice due to a last minute visitor. Used the PRICELINE link from the forum.

Unimpressed with this winning bid. I had started bidding at $61 for a 4 star and increased incrementally by $10 until I received the Mercure. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$101.00 Subtotal: US$202.00 Taxes & Service Fees: US$31.35 Total Charges: US$233.35 Trip Advisor lists the hotel as 3 stars and Google lists the hotel as 3 1/2 stars. The ratings on Trip Advisor say the location is fabulous but service is rotten. I tried to dispute it with PRICELINE with the argument that it was not a 4* hotel. The first Customer Relations Agent agreed with me and sent it in for review. When I called the next day to follow up, I was told the review found that it was in fact a 4* hotel. The second agent was a talking robot who read just about every response from a script. The lowest price I saw for the hotel was $116. All told it was not worth the $15 a night saved. I suggest taking another poster's advice after he won the Mercure Welcome... Melbourne for a 4* is just not a good bet right now.

I figured that was the case. Just thought I'd post because the Hyatt hasn't been officially added to the HOTWIRE list... just in case someone was reviewing old posts at a later date.

It's a bit late but I'm going to venture a fairly educated guess that this property is the Hyatt Calgary. Of the four star hotels in Calgary (Westin, Sheraton, Fairmont, and Hyatt), it's the only one with a spa.

One other note... The hotel erroneously charged me for the hotel room, even though it was paid through PRICELINE. I was charged just under $71 CDN total. Without 5% tax and 6% hospitality tax, I'm guessing that the room is worth $65 CDN on a weekend. With that in mind, I'd suggest that if you are trying to get this property, try starting your bids low around $40 to $45 USD a night.

The review from the friend that stayed here is that it's a decent 2.5 star hotel. Because all of the basic rooms were full due to a youth sports tournament and a group of military personnel staying in the hotel, it seems the room was upgraded beyond the basic suite. The suites are fair sized with a seating area, kitchenette and a separate bedroom with a small washroom. There seemed to be a decent sized gym in the Mezzanine area and also a decent room service menu. The only complaint was the wait for the elevators and the noise proofing could be better. You could hear someone coughing in the adjacent room. Try to get a room on a higher floor and facing the river valley.

First bid of $61 accepted. It was booked the day before the stay so I didn't bother with trying to low ball the stay and risk having my bid rejected. I was trying for the Courtyard by Marriot but it came up as the Coast Edmonton House Hotel, which is not on the existing Priceline Hotel List. I would have preferred the Courtyard since I didn't have a particularly remarkable experience 6 years ago at the now Coast Edmonton House when it was still locally owned. Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $61.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $14.22 (USD) Total Room Cost: $75.22 (USD) The Coast website is showing a lowest rate of $114 CDN before taxes and add ons. With the exchange rate, I saved about $30 CDN.

First bid of $88 rejected for 4 star in Downtown Vancouver, added rebid zone of Surrey Pitt Meadows Second bid of $98 rejected, added rebid zone of Coquitlam Third bid of $108 rejected, added rebid zone of Langley Offer accepted Check-In Date: Thursday, October 23, 2008 Check-Out Date: Friday, October 24, 2008 Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$118.00 Subtotal: US$118.00 Taxes and Services Fees: US$27.28 Total Charges: US$145.28 Lowest rate on the Hyatt website is $269 CAD/night. Used PRICELINE link off Better Bidding.

If you are willing to try your luck on Priceline, it seems to be the only three star listed in downtown Calgary there. I hope you are looking for a weekend though... much better odds.

As someone who regularly travels to Calgary for business, I seriously doubt you'll get the Hyatt or the Westin on Priceline during the week for a reasonable rate. Mid week occupancy at the major downtown Calgary hotels is next to zero. It would be great for you to prove me wrong though :) and you may luck out in the summer, post Stampede period. If you are set on staying downtown, I suggest dropping your star level to 3* and try to get the Marriot. The Marriot is next door to the Hyatt and is a better than average 3*. You could go 3* at another area of Calgary. The known PRICELINE Calgary-South hotel is the Holiday Inn. I'm not sure when it was added to the BB list but there was a Holiday Inn on 45 St and MacLeod Trail which is now a Best Western. There is a newer Holiday Inn that opened much further south but who knows if it's the same Be careful of Calgary Airport though. The Radisson is listed as a 3* but it's barely a 2* in my opinion --noisy from airport/traffic and starting to look run down. The other 3 star is the Holiday Inn across the street which is, once again, another Holiday Inn which is in much better shape than the Radisson. However, it's just a basic 3*. The 2.5 star Country Inn at the Calgary Airport is nicer than both of the other hotels and you get a free continental breakfast; unfortunately, it is further north and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a car.

With Comic Con in town, I think you are going to be seriously hard pressed to find a hotel room during this period at a reduced rate on PRICELINE. I think you're best going on to HOTWIRE and taking what you can get on there.

Was unable to add a night at the end of the trip, despite PRICELINE offering the option. Comic Con starts on that night so that is the likely reason. When I called the hotel to request my bed preference, Reservations told me they couldn't make a change to the booking because it was done through PRICELINE. The front desk put a note on my file but, again, no guarantees.

Bids of $82 and $87 rejected. Bid accepted on third try. I only tried for Downtown- Harbor Island as a zone and was going to expand it to include other zones only if it was looking desperate. Check-In Date: Sunday, July 20, 2008 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Hotel Name: Hotel Solamar, A Kimpton Hotel 435 6th Avenue San Diego, California 92101 619-531-8740 Your Offer Price: $92.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $276.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $46.17 Total Charges*: $322.17 Hotel website is listing $206/night.

Do a search on www.kayak.com. It'll search all the major hotel chains plus the booking services like GTA hotels and skoosh. There are plenty of reasonable rates when I tried a search with your dates. After getting an idea of hotels and star level on kayak, try googling the hotels for a direct website and then booking a cancellable reservation. Then play with bidding on PRICELINE.

Check-In Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Check-Out Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008 Your Offer Price: US$72.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: US$216.00 Taxes and Service Fees: US$44.64 Total Charges: US$260.64 Tried initially for a 5 *, bidding starting at $90 and upping at $8 increments. When I wasn't getting counterbids, I decided to open up to 4*. First bid of $65 rejected. $72 accepted at the Renaissance.

Check-In Date: Sunday, April 13, 2008 Check-Out Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Your Offer Price: US$90.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: US$270.00 Taxes and Service Fees: US$71.05 Total Charges: US$341.05 Bids of $75 and $82 rejected. Accepted at $90 on third try. Marriot website is listing 176 Euros on a AAA rate, not including 23% tax and breakfast. I think I made out like a bandit!

I don't remember what the summer rates are but Hotel Vancouver appears quite consistently on their Great Rates, Great Dates deals. Naturally, it's only for certain dates. As a generalization, the rates will still be higher than PL offerings at different hotels but lower than Fairmont regular rack rates. I've gotten $109 or $129 rates at their Alberta properties when rack rate listing has been $189 or higher.