starbucksgirl

This has got to be one of the weirdest hotel stays that I have ever had.... Check-in - when we arrived we were greeted by an employee named Michelle. There was no one in line so we expected to be checked in rather quickly. Michelle spent almost 15 minutes trying to find us two rooms that were connected to each other. I'm not sure what she was doing on her computer but she just kept saying, "it will be one more minute." She didn't seem very competent at her job and she should have called for someone if she was having problems with her computer. She complained that she had just been chewed out by someone on the phone. Michelle was sitting in a chair behind the check-in desk and only stood up at the very end of our encounter to hand us our key room cards. It was a weird check-in. I felt like we were at some really small motel in a very small town not a professional Ramada hotel. Room - the room was a super weird mixture of decor. The carpet was a seafoam green. One of the accent walls was a burgundy color and the tile in the bathroom was a periwinkle and light yellow amoeba-looking design bordered by a weird Spanish tile. I swear they went to a local homestore and just picked out whatever was the cheapest thing on sale and then installed it in this hotel. There is no cohesive design to this hotel. Lobby - another weird design choice. Super white lobby with an odd full-length crystal chandelier and bright orange barstools and strange irridescent glass flower sculptures. I think they are attempting to give the lobby a modern feel but it just doesn't work. The whole design of this hotel is strange. They really need to hire a designer to help them pull the "look" of the hotel together. Breakfast - this is another weak spot. The tables are a red and black lacquer design. The breakfast area is small and consists of 4 tables that seat 6 people each. This is an odd choice given that most folks travel in pairs not groups of 6. Granted, some folks will be happy to have a large table but most folks just felt awkward having to share a table with another couple or two. I wouldn't call the breakfast substantial. They had a waffle machine but it made weird waffles and they didn't have real butter (only crock spread). They had some old apples for fruit and 3 different kinds of cereals (raisin bran, fruit loops and cheerios). They had a small container of what seemed like powdered eggs and then a small container of sausage. They had yogurt and some small muffins. They had an apple and orange juice machine but both were watered down. Just weird. All in all, it was a fine deal for the room (about $55 a night) but I definitely wouldn't pay more for this hotel. The room was relatively clean so that was a bright spot. The hotel is also in a good location (right off the freeway). There is a dairy queen across the street so that was a plus. :)

I have been bidding for several days now and finally hit the sweet spot for Waco hotels. I started out bidding $35 a few days ago and since there were no free rebid zones for the 2.5* hotels I had to wait 24 hours until I got my price. I hit that price at $55 today for a Thurs-Sat. stay. You might be able to get the hotel for slightly less. I didn't have time to keep bidding every day so I upped my bid to $55 today (I bid $45 yesterday). I just got tired of bidding. The rooms at this hotel go for $75 a night so I'm satisfied with my savings. There must be something going on in Waco this week as I couldn't get a bid in any of the 3 zones that I was trying. :) This hotel has a 9.3 rating out of 10 so I'm excited to be staying there next week. Thanks! PS - Used the PRICELINE link for my bid.

Started bidding at $45. Received an immediate response to increase bid to $64 and I would win the hotel. Ignored offer and kept bidding by adding free rebid zones (bid $47, $50, $53, $55 and $57 respectively). Won the bid at the $57 mark. Hotel website rate is $129.99. Great deal at $57 a night. :) Used your PRICELINE link to make the bid!

Just an FYI....when priceline promts you to raise your bid by any amount you can always just close down the page and reopen the PRICELINE link and rebid half the amount that they are prompting you to bid and you will usually still win the hotel. For example in the scenario above. 1. You initially bid $40; it was declined. 2. Priceline prompted you to bid $52. 3. Close your window (i.e. don't accept their prompting). 4. Open a new priceline window. 5. Add a "free" rebid zone and bid $46. 6. You're very likely to still win the room I just bid on the same zone and won the Doubletree for $43. Lately, you have been able to get a hotel in the Memphis East zone for this amount (I check several websites including this one to see what to bid). Just a quick tip. Hope it helps!

Started bid at $40 for 3* in Memphis East area. Rejected. Added free rebid zone and bid $43. Won at $43. This hotel retails for $107 online so saved about 50% (total priceline purchase was $57.24 with taxes and fees). Used link to purchase PRICELINE hotel.

The rack rate includes breakfast and entrance to the resort (i.e. you don't have to pay the $12 per day fee) but this doesn't apply to priceline customers because obviously we are getting the room at a greatly reduced rate.

I recently stayed at the Flamingo for 7 nights. My observations: STAFF - the staff was very nice and accommodating. We made several requests to them and they tried to help us in any way that they could. ROOM - the room is on the large side and has been recently renovated. The carpet looks new and the bathroom has been re-tiled. The furniture looks a little "wine country" from the 80's but it fits in nicely with the rest of the room. The two armchairs in the room were new and so was the desk chair. It looks as though they kept the original furniture (which is in very good condition) and just changed some of the other elements in the room to freshen it up (i.e. new drapes, new linens, new chairs, new carpet, etc). The one thing that I LOVED about the room is that it had a full size wall of windows looking out to either the parking lot or the pool. Our room faced the parking lot but it was a small parking lot for just our section of the hotel. In the morning we would open the drapes and let all of the sunlight come in. It was beautiful. The only thing that was dated in the room was the paint that covered the seams of the windows. It was definitely rotted/rusted in different spots and needed to be scraped and repainted (I'm certain the windows are either original or close to original; they need to be redone). I imagine that they are working on this though as the hotel was still in progress when we stayed there. We did have two doors to our room. I'm not sure if everyone has two door leading to their rooms. We had a door that went to our room from the parking lot (which was very convenient) and a door which led into the hall so that we could get to the pool quickly. We always bring earplugs with us when we are on vacation so that we can sleep through the night when others are coming in late. This always works for us so we never notice inconvenient late night noise (but you will get late night noise with any hotel). The refrigerator was in the closet and opened the wrong way (towards the back of the closet) but it was functional. Every room is non-smoking. A definite plus. INTERNET - I don't think that internet is standard except for the Executive King Rooms (which would probably not be a priceline room....just guessing). Internet was $4.95 for 4 hours, or $9.95 per day, or $25 for the week (we opted for the last option and were satisifed). BATHROOM - the bathroom had new tile and came with a blow dryer and a coffeemaker and the regular toiletries (bring your own shampoo and conditioner if you are particular). A little on the small side but nice. POOL AND SAUNA - The pool area is beautiful. The pool is very large and has a lap pool. This is a classic CA pool area. Just gorgeous. If you are going in the spring/summer spend some time outside reading a book and enjoying the grounds. You have to imagine that the hotel looks like a bike wheel. The center of the wheel is where the pool and sauna sits and the spokes are the different sections of the hotel; they branch off from the pool. The tire on the wheel serves as a walking terrarium; it is an enclosed area that circles the exterior of the entire property and has beautiful plants that smell wonderful inside of it in dry rock beds. You can wake up and go outside if it is beautiful or you could just walk through the terrarium and get some exercise. We used the sauna 3 nights. It was great; really hot water. The jets blow a little extreme but all in all it was very relaxing after coming back from the wineries. We did not find towels by the pool in November (no surprises there I guess although the front desk told us to look for them). We just brought towels from our room. That worked fine. EXTERIOR - the outside of the hotel is beautiful. It is very retro looking. They have stacked stone on the exterior of the building and the fonts used on all of the signs are very vintage. They have definitely put some money into the exterior design. Some of the elements work very well and some of them seem out of place. They have natural stone and natural wood on the exterior of the building and then a great retro neon sign that lights the hotel up. You can see it coming down the main street before you get to the hotel. They must have worked on the exterior recently because others have noted that the exterior looked dated; I would beg to differ. RESORT FEE - there is no fee to stay at the Flamingo, however, if you want to use the resort facilities I believe it is around $12.00 per person. This additional add on fee which is optional covers breakfast and use of the resort facilities. We didn't want to use the resort areas because the hotel was nice enough as it was so I have nothing to report on the resort areas. FRONT DESK AREA - this is the weirdest part of the hotel. It is such a weird lobby area. It is trying to be designed/retro but it doesn't work. It sort of feels like a camp registration check-in desk (hence, the campy feeling of the hotel). It is not elegant or intimate or styled in any way. No worries though. The staff is very nice. HOTEL RESTAURANT - didn't eat in the restaurant. PROXIMITY TO WINERIES - this hotel is ideally situated if you are planning on visiting several of the different wine regions surrounding the area (russian river, dry creek, healdsburg, sonoma, napa, etc). You are about 15 minutes away from any of these wine regions (with the exception of Napa which is just a little bit further). It is a GREAT location for wine tasting in all of the regions (very central). Check the lobby for discount tasting coupons in their kiosk area. RESTAURANTS - there are several restaurants in the downtown area which is about 7 minutes away. There is a Starbucks and a Pete's Coffee & Tea and a great breakfast spot called Mac's. There is also a See's Candy really close to the hotel which is a must for me. There is a decent Thai restaurant across the street from the hotel (.01 miles away). Several people told us that Hank's Creekside across the street is an excellent place to eat breakfast. SUMMATION - All in all a nice hotel (especially if you like vintage). It looked like the kind of place that film execs would have hung out at in the 60s, and it turns out that was part of the history of this hotel. If you are used to more upscale properties then you probably won't be impressed with this hotel. It has a slightly campy feeling to it but is still very nice. We generally just sleep in our room, however, I would hang out in this hotel if I wasn't always wine tasting. I liked the feel of it. I wouldn't want to pay full price for the room (some paid upwards of $179 a night retail the week we were staying there). I wouldn't pay that much to stay here. Still, a solid hotel that is only slightly overrated at 3.5*. I would feel better giving it a 3* but it did have some of the amenities of a 3.5* (restaurant, room service, etc). Enjoy your stay. Don't be afraid of this hotel. It is a nice place to stay.

I stay in this area every year and always bid through priceline for my room. I usually bid $55.00 and always end up at the Doubletree in Santa Rosa. I thought I would try something different this year. I was trying to snag the 4* Hyatt Vineyard Creek upgrade that some folks have talked about on another message board but knew that it was a longshot. I was hoping the $57 bid was still the magic number (this is the amount that others just bid when they were upgraded to the Hyatt). I just bid $57 outright without any rebids. Won the Flamingo. Not a bad hotel especially if you like retro hotels. Some of the areas of the hotel definitely show their age but I thought that it was a groovy hotel from a bygone era. The rooms have been redone and it was certainly a good deal for $57 a night. We received about a 50% discount through priceline so we were pretty satisfied. The hotel is near downtown Santa Rosa. It is in a good location for wine tasting, etc. Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $57.00 Subtotal: $342.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $53.91 Total Charges*: $395.91 I used the PRICELINE link on your site for my hotel stay in Sacramento. Thanks!

Was looking for a rental car for 8 days for a trip to the wine country in November. Used link to PRICELINE off of this website. 1. Started bid at $11 for midsize, denied 2. kept bidding at $11 for standard, denied 3. raised to $12 for economy, denied 4. kept at $12 for compact, denied 5. raised to $15 for full size, won bid Total with taxes and fees. $161.20. An excellent deal for a full size car in Sacramento; renting through Hertz. I usually get upgraded whenever I tell them I'm on vacation and I flash them my pearly whites. :) People are not usually nice in CA so be nice and tell them you're on vacation; they may upgrade you without you even having to ask.

I have stayed at this hotel repeatedly over the last 3 years. I usually try to win this hotel on Priceline when going to the Atlanta area. This is a very nice hotel in the Perimeter business district in the Northern part of Atlanta. I like coming to this hotel on the weekends because this area is not crowded and it provides convenient access to all of the other areas of Atlanta that we might want to visit. We also love this hotel because it is close to a large mall, close to Costco and close to Trader Joes (which we don't have in Nashville......yet.....we'll get one sometime this fall)! The hotel is very clean and very nice for a 2.5* hotel. The people at check-in are usually nice to work with although not always the most polished group of individuals that I've ever seen. Some of them are professional and some of them are not professional but they are all generally nice. The rooms are a decent size and the beds are comfortable. The pillows are usually pretty nice too. The parking at the hotel is free, however, it is up a large hill (this is the ONLY negative that I can think of for this hotel). It helps to park and unload your luggage and check in to your room and then go and park your car. The hotel serves a breakfast in the morning (they charge for this). I have heard from others that it is a nice breakfast. We usually drive over to the Corner Bakery in Atlanta to get some great mueslix and coffee instead (great patio, great food, great people watching). What more do you need? I think that this hotel is a great deal for Atlanta. I routinely get this hotel for around $37 a night and you couldn't ask for a better environment (close to the freeway too)!

I just needed one room for two nights for a quick trip to IKEA. I usually stay in the Perimeter area as this is a business area during the week but is virtually empty on weekends. Hilton Garden Inn's website price is $89 a night. Hilton Garden Inn is a nice little hotel (have won this hotel numerous times on Priceline). The beds are really comfortable, free parking, free internet, and a very nice room. Parking is a bit of a hike up a large hill but that is the only negative. 1. Started bid at $35, received notice that I could add $9.00 to bid to secure room. 2. Selected "Perimeter" and free re-bid zone and rasied bid to just $37. 3. Won bid. 1 room for $37 a night. Terrific deal. Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Perimeter Center Perimeter 1501 Lake Hearn Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30319 404-459-0500 Check-In Date: Thu., June 26, 2008 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sat, June 28, 2008 / 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $37.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $74.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $18.43 Total Charges*: $92.43

I was booking 3 rooms for weekend with my girlfriends. I usually stay in the Perimeter area as this is a business area during the week but is virtually empty on weekends. Hilton Garden Inn's website price is $89 a night. Hilton Garden Inn is a nice little hotel (have won this hotel numerous times on Priceline). The beds are really comfortable, free parking, free internet, and a very nice room. Parking is a bit of a hike up a large hill but that is the only negative. 1. Started bid at $35, received notice that I could add $9.00 to bid to secure room. 2. Started new bid and selected "Perimeter" and free re-bid zone and rasied bid to just $37. 3. Won bid. 3 rooms for $37 each. Terrific deal. Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Perimeter Center Perimeter 1501 Lake Hearn Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30319 404-459-0500 Check-In Date: Fri, May 16, 2008 / After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sat, May 17, 2008 / 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $37.00 Number of Rooms: 3 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $111.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $24.45 Total Charges*: $135.45

We needed two rooms for two nights. First bid - *2.5 Houston Northwest Willowbrook $40 - Rejected Second bid - Added Houston East $45

This hotel is located right off the 65 freeway. It is very convenient to everything. Upon first arriving at the hotel, we were informed that we would be on the 3rd floor. My husband requested a lower floor as we have a baby and we had several suitcases, etc. to bring to the room with all of our baby gear. The front desk informed us that they would give us a room on the 2nd floor (and that all of the 1st floor rooms were "smoking rooms)." They also informed us that they were doing us a favor (in a nice way) as they usually put priceline customers on the 3rd floor (per their management). Hmmm. We entered our room on the 2nd floor. Room 218. I put the baby down to sleep and then went to the bathroom to put our stuff away. I began to notice a small bug on the counter (size of an ant). Squashed it. Then went to the kitchen and began putting some of our food away in the small kitchen. Noticed a few more small bugs (looked like ants at first). Then upon further notice, I saw several bugs of various sizes. It appears the room was infested with cockroaches. I called the front desk and they moved us immediately to a room about 4 doors down (Rm. 212). This room was much better and we stayed at the hotel for an entire week (without incident). My husband did spray all of the room with ant/roach killer though so I'm not sure if we would have continued to have a problem or not. The rooms are small. One queen size bed (hard mattress). A small closet area for hanging items. A good size dresser with 6 drawers. Nice tv with free cable channels (showtime I think). A small kitchen with fridge, range, sink (no dishwasher). And a small table with two chairs. Internet access was $4.99 per stay (we used it the whole week for only $4.99 total). It is wireless access. All in all an ok stay. The hotel needs to do a better job of cleaning up after each person leaves (especially if someone has stayed there long enough to leave behind an infestation of roaches). They also have laundry facilities (which we used). $1.00 for wash, $1.00 for dryer. I think there is a small vending machine with candy bars in the laundry room too but that's all I saw. The staff was nice during our stay except for the priceline on the 3rd floor comment. They should change their policy in this area as it makes you feel like a second class citizen. My husband commented to the front desk staff that they must not be that interested in our business if they just cart all priceline customers to the top floors even if lower rooms are available. Hmmmm. There are several restaurants close to the hotel. The best ones include a Pei Wei, Chilis, Panera, Qdoba (Fresh Mex), Coldstone, Moe's Southwest (Southwest Mex), and a Steakhouse (can't remember name but it is in the Target shopping center by the Panera).

Just bid on Priceline and got Extended Stay America in Brentwood for a week's stay. I started the bidding at $35 because I was hoping to get the Candlewood Suites (must have to bid slightly higher to get the Candlewood at the 2* level). Received the Extended Stay instead. I think I could have received this hotel for less (maybe around $30) but was hoping for Candlewood. First bid...$35 - BRENTWOOD - ACCEPTED Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $35.00 Subtotal: $245.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $55.70 Total Charges*: $300.70 Brentwood 9020 Church Street East Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 615-377-7847

Hi there. The address for the hotel is: Midtown Atlanta 1365 Peachtree St Atlanta, Georgia 30309 404-745-1000 Thereuare, I stayed at this hotel back on 5/2/06 also. My review was referencing that stay. I purchased the room for $47 on that night also (can't remember my number of rebids). Hope that helps. Thanks for such a great site. I use it often. Kelly

We arrived late in the evening (around 10:00pm). There is no parking close to the hotel so we had to park at the hotel. Parking is a STEEP $19 per night charge with in and out priviledges; at least it was valet parking. You pull your car into a garage and the valet comes out and parks your car. You go right into the hotel and up the elevator to the lobby. Check out was easy the next morning; we called the valet ahead and he had our car ready for us (we had the car packed with IKEA stuff and it was nice to know that the car was protected in the hotel parking lot; everything was still there the next morning). The lobby is nice and definitely has an "Atlanta" feel to it. Exposed brick wall, groovy carpet and a nice check-in gal. The rooms were very nice for a 2.5* hotel. They appear to have just been renovated. Dark green carpets, really nice kitchens with modern cabinets and a fridge, stove, eating area, etc. Would be a great hotel for a longer stay. The room had a couch and a bed. The bathrooms were pretty nice. The granite in the vanity is a nice touch. The room is a little on the small side but seemed to have everything we needed. You will enjoy your stay at this hotel....except for maybe the steep parking fee. I would have preferred winning the Courtyard by Marriott as they have free parking in their lot but this is still a nice hotel.

Bid 2.5* $42.00 Midtown - Denied; added $45.00 Stockbridge - Denied; added $47.00 Jonesboro - Accepted Bid on day of arrival. Was hoping to get the Courtyard as their parking is free. Residence charges $19 for parking (yikes ); there is nowhere close by to park so unless you want to hoof it you have to pay for parking (at least it is valet). I stayed here last month and it is a pretty nice hotel. Rooms are redone with granite bath countertops and nice kitchens in the room. I'll post this info. in the hotel review section. This room is listed for $109 on Marriott's website. Room $47.00 Taxes and fees $13.94 Total $60.94 + $19.00 for parking = $79.94 PS - This is a new hotel for Midtown Atlanta. Can you please add to the hotel list for Priceline. Thanks!

3 Nights, 1 room, 1st bid $24 (ACCEPTED) Web rates $58.99 (homestead site) $55.80 (Travelocity) Bid Today Your Offer Price: $24.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $72.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $17.91 Total Charges: $89.91

Hi everyone, Here is the bidding results: Started out at $50 with "Downtown-Vanderbilt" @ 4* REJECTED Rebid at $53 ADDED "Brentwood" @ 4* REJECTED Rebid at $55 ADDED "Frankline" @ 4* ACCEPTED Downtown-Vanderbilt University 2555 West End Avenue Nashville, TN 37203 615-321-1300 Check-In Date: Friday, July 1, 2005 Check-Out Date: Saturday, July 2, 2005 Your Offer Price: $55.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $55.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $15.76 Total Charges: $70.75 Thank you for this great site. Will post review when I return. Kelly P.S. - Looks as though it's easier to get the lower rate for the weekend timeframe. I posted earlier on this board that I was having a hard time getting a room for a reasonable price on a Thursday night. Friday night is much better. hotel price drops from about $176 a night for a Thursday to about $139 a night for a Friday night. yahoo!

Hi there, just wanted to post my results today even though I didn't win my bid (not willing to go any higher). I might not have won this bid as the dates for the stay are tomorrow (i.e. bid too close to the stay date). My goal was to obtain a 4* (preferably the Marriott) for under $70 a night (have seen other posts that have won this hotel for $55 and $65 respectively in the last month). Here goes.... Started out at $55 "Downtown - Vanderbilt" @ 4*.......Rejected Second Bid at $60 ADDED "Antioch - Smyrna" @ 4*......Rejected Third bid at $65 ADDED "Brentwood" @ 4*...................Rejected Fourth bid at $69 ADDED "Metrocenter" @ 4*...............Rejected Fifth bid at $71 ADDED "North Nashville" @ 4*..............Rejected :) Not willing to go any higher. :) Apparently the only 4* hotel in Nashville is in the "Downtown - Vanderbilt" area so there are plenty of opportunities for re-bids. I was bidding for a friend who just asked me to make the request last night. Looks like lead time is crucial here. Thanks so much for this board! Kelly

Was looking for 3* in Santa Rosa or Sonoma, for a rate around $60. I did have to rebid although I can't remember what price I started at, but it did finally accept my rate of $60. Hilton Sonoma County/Santa Rosa Santa Rosa - Rohnert Park - Petaluma 3555 Round Barn Boulevard Santa Rosa, California 95403 Check-In Date: Tue, Sep 20, 2004 Check-Out Date: Thu, Sep 24, 2004 Your Offer Price: $60.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Subtotal: $240.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $36.23 Total Charges: $276.23 This was a bargain. The hotel is stunning. Read my review to find out more. I've posted it here. But it is also available in the review section. This hotel has been completely renovated (the front desk said that every room is finished now). I'm going to break down my review into sections so that you can pick and choose what you are interested in: HOTEL ROOM The room is absolutely beautiful. The carpet is done in a sage green color with what looks like a white fleur de lis in the pattern and the walls are papered in a cream and yellow diamond pattern. The bed furniture is done in a warm wood tone. The windows have white plantation shutters on them and the other furniture in the room is also done in warm brown wood tones. It is very complementary to the wine country atmosphere (they even have muted vineyard pictures framed on the walls in the room). The bathroom is papered in a light yellow with small topiaries in the design every foot or so. The fixtures in the bathroom are bronze and add to the rustic feel of the room. The countertop in the bathroom is done in a muted gray granite. Very nice touch. The shampoos are neutrogena. Nuf said. We asked for a room with a view and were given one that looked out onto the hills. The rooms either face the parking lot or the mountains. I don't think they can always accommodate the request, but it doesn't hurt to ask. If you get one with the parking lot view.....don't worry, the property is really beautiful and there are lots of trees everywhere and if you're like us you won't spend that much time in your room anyway. The property in general feels like a resort. It does not look like a normal hotel. I actually think that this property is more like a 4* now. Very, very nice. NECTAR RESTAURANT We ate in the restaurant for breakfast twice. The food was terrific and the it was a pretty good value for the quality. We had a "made to order" omelette ($10) one morning that came with skillet potatoes (frozen) and toast and then ordered a fresh fruit plate ($3 and absolutely the best fruit I have ever had) and the next morning we had a belgian waffle ($8 very good but a little on the small side) and a side order of toast ($2). We had the fruit plate again and it was just as good as the first day. The service was a little spotty (just not polished) and the hostess was very stand-offish (typical CA attitude); she was a young girl but very inexperienced and unfriendly. We checked out the dinner menu and it looked fantastic. We didn't get a chance to eat dinner there as we were out and about in the wine country but I would have liked to have tried them for dinner (the two things I remember from the menu are the coconut-lemongrass mussels and the matchstick sweet potatoes. I can't remember the price of either item but it wasn't exorbitant by any means. The menu looked inventive and very reasonable. The view from the restaurant is beautiful. You can sit on the deck overlooking the valley and order wines by the glass and a couple of appetizers. You can also order a full dinner inside (there is a small section inside the restaurant but most folks preferred the patio). LOCATION This location is perfect if you are planning on visiting the local Sonoma wineries. We actually found it to be a very good central point in the heart of the Sonoma Wine Country. You are right in the middle of all of the wineries. The hotel is literally right off of the 101 freeway (about 1/4 of a mile away). Every wine region is about 10-15 minutes in either direction. We visited most of the surrounding regions (Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Sonoma proper, etc) and found the location to be ideal. WINERIES I had to throw in my 2 cents about the wineries in the area. If you are a red wine drinker I highly recommend that you visit UNTI vineyards. This winery was recommended by two other wineries and they truly make some delicious red wines. We also really enjoyed tasting at Ledson (don't forget to ask for complimentary tasting coupons from the restaurant waitress; she loves Ledson). Ledson was a wonderful experience. They let you taste wines in Riedel glasses (this is a unique experience if you have never tasted wine from these very expensive glasses; the wine tastes so much better). They have a wide variety of wines and you can only buy them at the winery; they do not distribute anywhere. They had some world class wines. The last place that I would recommend is J Winery. They actually pair small appetizers with their wines. It costs $10 to taste at the winery but it is worth every penny. The wines are good, the tasting is generous and the food pairs wonderfully with the wines. Enjoy!

This hotel has been completely renovated (the front desk said that every room is finished now). I'm going to break down my review into sections so that you can pick and choose what you are interested in: HOTEL ROOM The room is absolutely beautiful. The carpet is done in a sage green color with what looks like a white fleur de lis in the pattern and the walls are papered in a cream and yellow diamond pattern. The bed furniture is done in a warm wood tone. The windows have white plantation shutters on them and the other furniture in the room is also done in warm brown wood tones. It is very complementary to the wine country atmosphere (they even have muted vineyard pictures framed on the walls in the room). The bathroom is papered in a light yellow with small topiaries in the design every foot or so. The fixtures in the bathroom are bronze and add to the rustic feel of the room. The countertop in the bathroom is done in a muted gray granite. Very nice touch. The shampoos are neutrogena. Nuf said. We asked for a room with a view and were given one that looked out onto the hills. The rooms either face the parking lot or the mountains. I don't think they can always accommodate the request, but it doesn't hurt to ask. If you get one with the parking lot view.....don't worry, the property is really beautiful and there are lots of trees everywhere and if you're like us you won't spend that much time in your room anyway. The property in general feels like a resort. It does not look like a normal hotel. I actually think that this property is more like a 4* now. Very, very nice. NECTAR RESTAURANT We ate in the restaurant for breakfast twice. The food was terrific and the it was a pretty good value for the quality. We had a "made to order" omelette ($10) one morning that came with skillet potatoes (frozen) and toast and then ordered a fresh fruit plate ($3 and absolutely the best fruit I have ever had) and the next morning we had a belgian waffle ($8 very good but a little on the small side) and a side order of toast ($2). We had the fruit plate again and it was just as good as the first day. The service was a little spotty (just not polished) and the hostess was very stand-offish (typical CA attitude); she was a young girl but very inexperienced and unfriendly. We checked out the dinner menu and it looked fantastic. We didn't get a chance to eat dinner there as we were out and about in the wine country but I would have liked to have tried them for dinner (the two things I remember from the menu are the coconut-lemongrass mussels and the matchstick sweet potatoes. I can't remember the price of either item but it wasn't exorbitant by any means. The menu looked inventive and very reasonable. The view from the restaurant is beautiful. You can sit on the deck overlooking the valley and order wines by the glass and a couple of appetizers. You can also order a full dinner inside (there is a small section inside the restaurant but most folks preferred the patio). LOCATION This location is perfect if you are planning on visiting the local Sonoma wineries. We actually found it to be a very good central point in the heart of the Sonoma Wine Country. You are right in the middle of all of the wineries. The hotel is literally right off of the 101 freeway (about 1/4 of a mile away). Every wine region is about 10-15 minutes in either direction. We visited most of the surrounding regions (Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Sonoma proper, etc) and found the location to be ideal. WINERIES I had to throw in my 2 cents about the wineries in the area. If you are a red wine drinker I highly recommend that you visit UNTI vineyards. This winery was recommended by two other wineries and they truly make some delicious red wines. We also really enjoyed tasting at Ledson (don't forget to ask for complimentary tasting coupons from the restaurant waitress; she loves Ledson). Ledson was a wonderful experience. They let you taste wines in Riedel glasses (this is a unique experience if you have never tasted wine from these very expensive glasses; the wine tastes so much better). They have a wide variety of wines and you can only buy them at the winery; they do not distribute anywhere. They had some world class wines. The last place that I would recommend is J Winery. They actually pair small appetizers with their wines. It costs $10 to taste at the winery but it is worth every penny. The wines are good, the tasting is generous and the food pairs wonderfully with the wines. Enjoy!

My husband and I just returned from the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta (5/26/04-5/29/04). Just another short description for those of you that are interested.... 1. Parking at this hotel costs $20 a day (didn't know this until we arrived). I think that this should be taken into consideration when bidding for a hotel on Priceline. I wonder if Priceline indicates the amount for parking when you bid on a hotel (I didn't notice anything when we made the bid but maybe someone on this board is aware of their policy on stating the parking fees). The $20 fee covered valet parking (which was nice since you didn't have to wait for your car; you could call down and have them get it ready). 2. I called the hotel ahead of time and asked for a non-smoking room with a view on one of the top floors. They gave us a room on the 37th floor with a beautiful view of downtown (really spectacular). Just be polite when you call and they will try to please you. Remember to be courteous and to thank them. 3. The workout room is terrific and each locker room has a sauna (nice amenity after a hard workout). The men have a dry and a steam sauna. The women just had a dry sauna (although you could add water to the rocks to create a steam sauna). 4. The architecture on the inside of the hotel is interesting, however, the walls are made out of concrete (felt a little industrial). The rooms were decorated in a very traditional style (not my favorite). I would not have paid more than we did for the room, however, we felt that it was a good value considering the view. We also thought the bed was extremely comfortable (which was worth the price of the room alone in my opinion; it was a softer pillowtop-type mattress). The room comes with a refridgerator and a safe and cable tv and some pretty decent arabica coffee (the bath products were neutrogena). High speed access is $9.95 a day but it also includes free local and long distance (a great value). You really don't need to pay for access, however, as there is a free wireless hot spot in the adjacent Courtyard by Marriott (3 blocks or so). There is also a free wireless hotspot at the new McDonalds on Peachtree Ave (right down the street from Publix). There are several other wireless hotspots in the city that you can access if you have a wireless card. Hope that helps. Have a great day! Kelly

My husband and I just returned from the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. Just a short description for those of you that are interested.... 1. Parking at this hotel costs $20 a day (didn't know this until we arrived). I think that this should be taken into consideration when bidding for a hotel on Priceline. I wonder if Priceline indicates the amount for parking when you bid on a hotel (I didn't notice anything when we made the bid but maybe someone on this board is aware of their policy on stating the parking fees). The $20 fee covered valet parking (which was nice since you didn't have to wait for your car; you could call down and have them get it ready). 2. I called the hotel ahead of time and asked for a non-smoking room with a view on one of the top floors. They gave us a room on the 37th floor with a beautiful view of downtown (really spectacular). Just be polite when you call and they will try to please you. Remember to be courteous and to thank them. 3. The workout room is terrific and each locker room has a sauna (nice amenity after a hard workout). The men have a dry and a steam sauna. The women just had a dry sauna (although you could add water to the rocks to create a steam sauna). 4. The architecture on the inside of the hotel is interesting, however, the walls are made out of concrete (felt a little industrial). The rooms were decorated in a very traditional style (not my favorite). I would not have paid more than we did for the room, however, we felt that it was a good value considering the view. We also thought the bed was extremely comfortable (which was worth the price of the room alone in my opinion; it was a softer pillowtop-type mattress). The room comes with a refridgerator and a safe and cable tv and some pretty decent arabica coffee (the bath products were neutrogena). High speed access is $9.95 a day but it also includes free local and long distance (a great value). You really don't need to pay for access, however, as there is a free wireless hot spot in the adjacent Courtyard by Marriott (3 blocks or so). There is also a free wireless hotspot at the new McDonalds on Peachtree Ave (right down the street from Publix). There are several other wireless hotspots in the city that you can access if you have a wireless card. Hope that helps. Have a great day! Kelly