moondog

I used the information from this Priceline Hotel win and made a similar ($45) bid for 12/29 (without doing any homework), and was successful on the first attempt. I ended up at the Marriott in the same area.

first attempt was $46 for 3*, rejected. then reduced to 2.5* at same price level, rejected. the la quinta isn't the worst place i've stayed in fresno, but the heater in my room was broken and the staff wasn't very helpful.

i think this might have been a slight overbid (got it on the first try), but that's ok because 6:00 was fast approaching and i had to be in this zone. the hotel is decent. -plusses: clean and modern, friendly staff, very large room -minuses: no outdoor pool, not a very good location (but i guess most of the hotels in the zone are in the same area), no balconies

i was already staying at the doubletree and figured i'd get it again because the hotel was large and empty, but after going all the way up to $60, i decided to drop to 2* and start at $40. in retrospect, i should have started lower, but live and learn. as for the property, my initial reaction was disappointment, but i quicky learned to appreciate its finer points --> free local calls/laundry/internet/dvds and literally on top of the santa clara depot (trains, buses, and airport shuttle).

first bid: mtv/pa 3*; $30 second bid: mtv/pa 2.5*; $35 third bid: added downrtown san jose; $40 fourth bid: added sjc; $45

I just finished a 4-night stay there at $28 per night. At first I hated the location, but once I got accustomed to the MAX light rail, I started to come around. This hotel's major shortcoming is that the staff seem to have a bone to pick with Priceline customers. In fact, they extorted an extra $15/night to "upgrade" to a room with 2 beds. Rollaways are also $15. The LAX Hilton is the only hotel I've stayed where I've received worse treatment.

I received this hotel after being rejected at $35. It's much nicer than the other Marriott, although I wouldn't want to stay there without a car (free street parking near the hotel). BTW, my recent bidding history suggests that the 2 Marriotts are working together to allocate priceline rooms; there seems to be no real pattern as to whether which one I get.

I've received this hotel 2 more times since my last post, both for $35. In case you're curious, I was also rejected at $35 twice. On the first occasion, I wound up with the Residence Inn in Costa Mesa (after adding the Irvine zone) for $40 and the Marriott Suites (where I'm currently staying) also for $40.

That's arguably the nicest of the Hyatts (and is directly across the street from the beach), but is not very convenient if you need to be in Newport. A friend who works for Hyatt told me they would never let that property go on Priceline in the same ballpark as Newporter/Irvine so I wonder if you need to bid 4* to get it.

per thereuare's request, i'm reposting this info as a new thread. i booked a room there last week. i think the threshold is lower, but don't know how low (maybe 35). although the zone is called newport/huntington, i've never gotten a hotel in hb. in fact, the hyatt newporter and the 2 marriotts (in addition to fashion island, we've received the marriott suites at jamboree/bristol) are the only ones i've ever seen.

For clarity here is more info on the Hyatt... my most recent experience was 2 weeks ago. it's been possible to get rooms at the hyatt (bid 3*) for 27/28 for at least a year. whenever the 28 bid doesn't work, i raise to 35-40 and usually get one of those hotels near the airport (my memory is a bit vague, but hilton and radisson come to mind). however, on more than one occasion we got stuck out by the irvine spectrum which is pretty desolate.

please accept my apologies for violating protocol and thanks for not simply deleting me. to answer your questions: -the hyatt was the irvine hyatt in the irvine zone. while i like that hotel and it's a great deal for 28, i don't like to bid irvine because we got stuck in some generic place out by the spectrum in february (can't recall the name) which was very inconvenient -the marriott was the fashion island marriott. i've heard that the newporter still comes up on occasion, but their price floor is higher than the marriott and much higher than the 27 that was in effect until last november or so. i will start a new thread for the Marriott.

i've booked two rooms in the past two weeks. the first time, i bid the john wayne zone and got the hyatt for $28. this is clearly a good deal. the problem is you can end up in some pretty stale places (out by irvine spectrum) when the hyatt is full. for this reason, i prefer the newport zone (i guess it's possible to stuck in hb, but i've never heard of that happening). last week, i bid $40 in the newport zone and got the fashion island marriott. the reasons i started with such a high bid: -the 6:00p deadline was fast-approaching -i didn't want to be bullied into adding another zone (though i guess i could have just added 2.5 stars to my criteria) -tmk there isn't any current and reliable data i'm guessing the break point is around $35. any thoughts? btw, the marriott is a lot nicer than the newporter.