runNgun

first, are you in that much of a hurry to book it? It's a sunday night (the worst night for hotel occupancy) and off season is why I ask. You might get a cancellable back-up for now and wait.

If you are in a hurry, you might not hit a 3* at FLL until you reach into the $80-90 range (based on hotwire's prices and retail prices for the hilton and sheraton).

if you drop to 2.5* on PL in the DT area there is no guarantee you'll get the Amerisuites so if you are happy with what appears to be the Amerisuites (I'm not convinced it is as the amenities don't match) I'd buy from hotwire. When bidding for 2.5* in DT you also risk the chance of being upgraded to 3* and losing the "suite" and breakfast at Amersuites and adding a potential parking charge and resort fee at a 3*.

if you decide to go with HOTWIRE please use the links on the support page.

the upgrade is not to a "suite" but to the next class of guestroom.

"This includes a FREE upgrade to an oversized Superior guestroom"

it seems the superior are on a higher floor and are priced $30 more than the standard rooms.

suites are $500 more per night at this hotel...

zero $ here and I've spent more than enough :)

if it's like other rewards programs don't expect much

what they post is more middle of the road from what I see.

an example:

3* orlando WDW $55. This can usually be had for $45.

2* orlando SW/US $35. Seen this regularly for $25-$30.

priceline needs to make some profit or they'll go out of business :)

it's called the "winner's board"

the only way I know to get to it is to sign in to priceline, click on my profile, then click on priceline rewards, then it will appear on the upper right of the page.

It lists recent winning bids from different areas....

FYI - InterContinental Hotels Group (Holiday Inn, HI Express, Crowne Plaza. etc) don't participate with Expedia and you won't see them on that site. They severed ties a few years ago over payment & other terms. They do work with Orbitz and Travelocity.

are you searching for 2 adults? Why don't you list the hotels you get on your search for I-drive north and I-drive south and we'll help you identify them. From the ones I saw on my search for your dates a few are ON international drive but alittle over your price target.

as long as the terms let you AND you don't mind the possibility of changing rooms mid-stay then you should be ok.

and remember you can support this board by using the links to Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia in case the coupon is for one of those sites.

hotwire has a 3* in the South Strip zone (that appears to be the Excalibur) for $89 plus taxes, etc. That was based on 2 adults though so you'd have to be comfortable with getting a king bed and not a two doubles.

best guesses:

#1 - Orlando Vista (formerly Doubletree Club)

#2 - don't do it......

#3 - Radisson Worldgate

is the Universal area an option???

you must pass "go" :)

(i think it has to do with your # of posts)

Opaque Hotels.....

represent a relatively new way to purchase a hotel room. Unlike traditional purchases, a user only knows the identity of an opaque hotel after the purchase is made.

Why would anyone buy a hotel room without knowing the name?

The answer: SAVINGS!!

When a hotel room goes unused, the hotel never gets a chance to recoup the potential revenue for that night, and every night, hundreds of thousands of hotel rooms sit vacant. By offering these unused rooms to a third party that will only disclose the hotel's name after purchase, the hotel is able to monetize these rooms by selling them at deep, deep, discounts, while protecting their regular rates for customers who need to stay at a specific hotel. There are a few services currently offering opaque travel purchases, each operating in a slightly different way. We hope to provide an easy way to search them all and explain a little how each one of them operates.

Priceline:

The originator of opaque travel. Priceline allows users to "name their own price." A user is able to select the minimum star level and geographic area (according to Priceline's maps). They then submit a price they are willing ot pay for a room, if Priceline finds a hotel willing to accept that amount, the hotel is automatically purchased, your credit card is billed, and you now own that hotel room.

EasyClickTravel:

Not a newcomer to the hotel business, but they are beginning to make their presence known. In addition to non-opaque (hotels whose names are shown before purchase), EasyClickTravel offers an opaque product which they refer to as "Off The Record" deals. For Off The Record offers, a user can search by city and a price is shown along with a very detailed description of the hotel. The name of the hotel is only revealed after purchase, but the descriptions often enable you to figure out the hotels beforehand.

Hotwire:

Hotwire users enter a city and select a geographic area within the region the city they have chosen. Hotwire will then show one hotel at each star level (if available) along with the price and amenities that are associated with each property. The amenity icons are often generic, but sometimes (if you know an area well) you can figure out the Hotwire hotel offered by observing the star rating and amenity combination.

failed at $107...

check the tripadvisor part again and if it says 400 reviews or close then its the Wyndham on i drive which is usually in the low 40's on priceline.

Life doesn't start around here until 2am :)

dates might help us :)

how many adults and children are you searching for?? My search was 2 adults only.

Westin was the first chain to go Smoke Free a few years ago in North America and recently Comfort Suites (not Comfort Inn) went all NON as of 5/1/07.

on HOTWIRE my search for 6/20 checking out 6/26 with 2 adults shows a 4* (Hyatt that you want) for $96 per night. The Hyatt is a 4* on HW and 3* on PL.

with all the edits required daily I can understand the shoddy memory :)

2008 maybe :)

failed at $54

it has conflicting terms. I read in one spot that travel must be completed by July 4th but in another area it said it was valid for 2007. It does allow you to book past 7/4 because....

I have used it twice since the my first post for NYC on 9/7 for 3 nights and Tacoma for Aug 24th for 3 nights. Both confirmations show the 3rd night free so that's all the proof I need in case they try not to honor it.

very nice, ask for an upper floor to get a view of Universal.

ps - it's Sheraton Studio City not Suites.

I won this hotel last night on priceline for $41 and was 95% certain this was the same hotel. The tripadvisor rating helped. I needed another room but had some "hot dollars" that expire soon so took the chance.

This Hotel features the following amenities:

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

Vacation Package search still has only Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant and HS Internet (no Business Center)