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Hello All - Can anyone identify this hotel? On the Hotwire search for 12/26 and 12/27, it shows up as a 3-star hotel: "Fremont - Ballard area all-suites hotel" $97 per night 100% Recommended Amenities are: Free internet, Business Center, Indoor Pool(s), Fitness Center, Pools Thanks! LW

Probably not the Embarcadero! The USE prices are more reasonable, although still high considering tax and potential parking fees.

My kids are pretty young - they will be 9, 7, and 4 at time of travel. If I see a candidate hotel, I will do as you suggest and post the icons hoping for a potential ID. Thanks!

Hello All - We're looking to book a hotel in the Union Square area for 2 nights starting August 10th. We are a family of 5, so our choices seem to be book two rooms through Hotwire, or search based on 2 adults/2 children and hope to get a roll-away bed added to the room later. One thing I've thought of doing was - if the hotel can be identified - call before booking and ask if roll-away beds are permitted. Does that seem like a reasonable strategy? If not, any other suggestions? Thanks

The closest 4* hotel would probably be the Westin, which would be a leisurely 15 - 20 minute walk to the Key Arena. But keep in mind that all of the downtown hotels are just a short cab ride, or monorail ride, away from the Seattle Center and Key Arena.

Don't think so. Simply stating that there really has been no fluctuation. The prices have been constant, not indicative any sort of randomness in HOTWIRE searches. The more likely explanation seems to be that there is something built in to the search parameters, perhaps based on the particular hotel's availabity or room configurations, that affects the pricing. That's my novice take, anyway.

The prices returned for searches on that day have been consistent for more than a week now. Always the same: $89 for 3 adults / 1 child $96 for 2 adults / 2 children for what appears to be the same Downtown / Pike Place 4* hotel. I'd guess that there's more going on here than just random fluctuation.

For the (assumed) same Downtown / Pike Place 4* hotel, with amenities: Fitness, Restaurant, Business, Hi-speed Internet, booking for 1-night on 1/1/10: 3 adults / 1 child: $89 (counterintuitively, the lowest price) 2 adults / 2 child: $96 1 adult / 3 child: $96 Does that make any sense? and for completeness, 4 adults / 0 child $89

Thanks. Any insight as to why the price changes if the room is booked as 2 adults / 2 children, versus whether it's booked as 3 adults and 1 child?

As requested, I followed up on the NYC thread. As our stay was last April, I didn't have handy the exact room price we paid. But suffice to say that ThereUare's suggestion worked for us!

We eventually did stay at the Affinia Manhattan as ThereUare recommended. Good hotel, plenty of room. We booked through Expedia and got a good price. Only downside was the noise at night was excessive due to ongoing constuction.

We're looking to book a hotel on January 1st, 2010. Hotwire shows one 4* Downtown / Pike Place hotel with amenities: Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-Speed Internet (no pool shown) for $93, if booked as 2 adults and 2 children. But if I use 3 adults and 1 child, Hotwire shows one 4* hotel for $89. Since the stars and amenities remain the same, I'm assuming it's the same hotel? (probably the Westin???). However, with our kids it's important to us to have a pool. How likely is it that this hotel is the Westin, in either booking configuration? Thanks!

Thank you. Great suggestion...

Dates/length of travel: 1 or 2 nights, April 2nd and/or 3rd. Don't want to spend more than $250 per night.

Hello All - Can anyone recommend a reasonable Manhattan hotel that could accommodate 5 (myself, wife, 3 kids under 12)? Most places I've checked will only allow 4 due to fire code regs, even though our 2 and a half year old still sleeps in a crib. I'm aware of the Embassy Suites in downtown, but that's a little out of the way. Would prefer something closer to Penn Station, Times Square. Thanks!

Doing a search for Saturday or Sunday, June 14 or 15, prices seem to be anywhere from $700 to upwards of $1000 for nonstops. I don't have a set price limit, but 500 to 600 would be sounding pretty good to me now. Problem is I can't be stuck with large penalty/change fees, since I'm not sure of my return date...

Need some help and suggestions regarding "bereavement" fares. (I assume this topic has come up previously, but being new to the board I don't have time to search previous threads - I apologize) My elderly grandmother in Ft. Lauderdale is apparently on her last legs - a matter of just a few days, most likely. I'll probably try to book a last minute fare from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale or to Miami for her memorial service, once she passes. Any advice or tips on how to get a reasonable fare? I know that airlines offer "bereavement fares" but I suspect that they are not necessarily good deals. Any advice as to what other options I should consider? Thanks in advance!

Amenities shown before my purchase were: No smoking, continental breakfast, fitness center, pool, business center, washer/dryer, high-speed internet.

Ok, I posted the info on the Hotline side of the forum. Now, one more question about strategy, now that I've got the Silver Cloud Inn booked for that Thursday night: Our schedule may clear up in the next few days to the point where our Friday night may also be open, allowing us a 2-night stay. Here's the question: If we determine we can stay another night, and if Hotwire still shows the same deal available (i.e., "Seattle - Lake Union for $134) for Friday night, is it pretty much a given that it will be the same hotel, that is the Silver Cloud? (There are only 2 other hotels in the area, and of those probably only the Residence Inn would accommodate the 4 of us, plus baby.)

I won a room at the Lake Union Silver Cloud Inn for June 19th, for $134 (plus Hotwire fees). I checked Hotwire over the past week and for 2 adults/2 children (over 2 years old) the lowest rate listed for South Lake Union had been about $175. Rack rate is anywhere from $189 Internet special rate, to about $209 for lake view suites. Added bonus is that parking is free at the Silver Cloud Inn, whereas it's about $19 per day at the nearby Residence Inn.

Well, after all that I checked Hotwire today and searching for 2 adults/2 children (over 2 years old) they showed a 3* hotel on South Lake Union for $134. Checking over the past week, the lowest Lake Union hotel, if there was any availability, was shown on Hotwire at about $175. Given the good points many of you made - in particular that booking through Priceline only guarantees a "standard" room that typically sleeps 2 - I decided to go the Hotwire route. I purchased the room (through the betterbidding link) at the $134 rate, and it turned out to be the Silver Cloud Inn. Yea! Thanks, and I will also post this on the Hotwire side of the forum to make the information available in the standard manner.

Well, I thought I'd test your hypothesis (and mine as well): I called all three Lake Union hotels - here's a capsule summary of their responses: 1. the Courtyard Inn: an enthusiastic "Yes!" 2. Residence Inn: a more neutral "Yes we do." 3. Silver Cloud Inn: "we don't normally participate at this location. I don't know about other locations." Perhaps they're not quite as hesistant to disclose their involvement with PRICELINE as you might have expected! (although yes, this is based on a small sample of 3 hotels...). And, although the Silver Cloud Inn rep sounded like he was giving an honest answer, who really knows...

Thank you very much for all your replies and advice! One thing that Colfax said intrigued me: that "Courtyard hasn't been reported here in over two years." While that certainly seems to make our chances of getting our desired hotel (the Residence Inn) in our selected area (Lake Union) more likely, it begs the question: why not just call the 3 hotels in question and ask if they do business with PRICELINE? Is that a feasible strategy in this case, when I'm dealing with a very specific area and only 3 possible hotels?

Thanks Thereuare: Still somewhat fuzzy on how Hotwire works. I read the thread you referenced, which states: "HOTWIRE follows the same general theme, except Hotwire allows you to pick the area you

Ok, thanks thereuare - It seems like the safer bet for us would be to go with HOTWIRE, since as you say we can specify the 2 adults/2 children option. However, I've never used HOTWIRE - from a quick visit to their site all I saw was the ability to do a citywide search for hotels, given check-in, check-out dates. Do they have somewhere a similar feature to Priceline - i.e., the ability to focus on a specific area (South Lake Union) and bid on price? I realize that there may be a place on this forum that provides those answers, and if so, feel free to direct me to that post/location. Thanks!