Gallus50

BTW - The email deal was through Travelocity, not MileNorth. Kind of a typo in my first post. They don't have much Chicago pizza where I live now, so I am looking forward to some of that gooey, cheesy goodness. Mariano looks great for breakfast food - I'm not much for going out to breakfast. Thanks.

The listed price was $108, but I used the $15 off BB HOTWIRE link to bring the price down to $93. Amenities are just as the previous poster listed: Free Internet, Smoke-free rooms, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Golf nearby, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower.They actually have a great fitness center so not sure why that is not listed. Golf nearby is an amusing amenity for a downtown hotel - not really, but whatever. Need to catch the El to the airport early on Saturday, so this will be a good location for that. I tried bidding on PRICELINE up to a comparable rate, but came up with nothing. So this was a good alternative. (The first two nights of the trip I am staying at MileNorth, booked through a special email deal they sent me. With $100 off a $300 purchase, the rate there ended up being about $95 per night. Not bad for downtown during the business week.) As always, thanks Better Bidding.

Wanted to mention that you need to beware when Villa Florence is an option for an opaque purchase. They tack on a fee, like a resort fee, after you arrive. I believe it is about $22. For a stay of several nights, this can bust your budget.

Just an observation - I looked at TA reviews and the negative reviews seem to be on and off, but not constant. If you can't get HW to refund your money, don't despair. It is a really nice hotel and you got an excellent rate. Furthermore, I think there is a good chance - probably more than 60% - that they won't be there, or won't be disruptive. I say that based on the percentage of good/bad reviews. Not scientific, just an estimate.

Hotwire recently revised its zones in SF and the moderators have not changed the listings yet. I guess this post will notify them. I have a feeling this is the Scarlet Huntington. Check out the amenities and see if they match. It gets great reviews.

runner - The Villa Florence also charges a $25 "facility" fee. Along with the Serrano, it is the only other "extra fee" hotel of which I am aware. After reading another post about the Serrano, I got concerned and did not bid 4* in that zone. The extra $22 would have wrecked my budget. I ended up going with a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal because I could ID the hotel. That being said, the rate you received was much better. I ended up with a net cost of $108 per night. Hopefully, that will make the bitter pill of the "urban" fee a tiny bit easier to swallow.

That resort fee is ugly. Made me avoid bidding SF 4-star in that zone.

When I looked back at Hotwire reservation, amenities listed were: free parking, free breakfast, free internet, pet friendly, smoke free, fitness, pool, business center and internet access. Hope this is helpful.

Only amenities listed were pet friendly, restaurant and business center. Did use the BB PRICELINE links, I believe. Thanks.

This is one of the nicest hotels in Goldsboro and we've stayed there before for a swim meet. So I was happy when it came up through bidding.

I could tell this was the Hyatt Place, which is one of my daughter's favorite hotel chains. Since we were staying there for her All State Honors Chorus weekend, I booked it. It was very nice, especially for the price.

I was bidding heroically but going nowhere, up to $102 in USE, USW and Financial District, up to $95 for a 3.5*, and up to $85 for a 3*. It seems that SF has gotten more expensive since my last visit two years ago. Then I saw a posted win for the Serrano, which mentioned a $22 per night resort fee. If I were to get that hotel through bidding, the extra $$$ would ruin my budget. Since most wins for SF don't seem to be hitting below $110 these days, I went with this $113 PRICELINE EXPRESS deal. I like to work out when in SF for business, and they apparently have a pretty good fitness room, also coffee in the AM and wine hour in the PM. It's so close to my office, I can practically see in the window. It's a decent deal overall.

On PRICELINE regular retail search, the Omni is available for $131 a night at that time. This is supposed to be a fabulous hotel and below your stated budget. If you want nicer, not necessarily cheaper, I would strongly consider this. It's at the upper edge of the Financial district and not too far from Union Square. LeMeridian is $139 a night, but it also shows up on HOTWIRE and PRICELINE NYOP. So I would look for that, too. (The location is not as good. It is clearly in the Financial District.)

I tried the $20 trick with $10 at the Hyatt in San Francisco and it worked well. Landed on the 17th floor with a nice view of the bay and the skating rink below. I also made sure to check in late (around 9 pm) and ask politely. :D

This happened to me once, when the discount was supposed to be automatically applied and it didn't happen. I, however, didn't confirm the transaction and close the deal. Instead I called them and they applied the discount over the phone and I closed the deal that way. They didn't seem to have an explanation as to why the discount wasn't applied the way it was supposed to happen. I would say pursue this until you get that $20. MIght want to try calling - and do save their original email so you can reference it.

Moderators - NYOP meant Name Your Own Price on Priceline, so you might want to move this to the San Francisco/PL section. I'm not delighted, but not unhappy with this win - somewhere in between.

Well, I finally scored on NYOP, if you can call it that. Not my best win ever, but not my worst. Won the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, Financial District/Embarcadero for $102 a night. My net cost won't be that much, as I had a coupon that took $20 off the total of an NYOP stay. So I'm actually paying about $95 a night before taxes and fees. I might have gone too high, too soon, but I didn't think I had time to play around. The Hyatt does have a good location and a good fitness room, so that's nice. And even the worst room won't be bad. Used the BB link as much as i could. OH BTW - Started at about $85 and went up in increments of $5, using rebid zones and bidding USW, USE and FD/EMB separately at first.

Don't think it's the Cartwright. Cartwright Hotel doesn't have a fitness room.

Here is another hotel I am interested in. If anyone can help, that would be great. 3* Union Square West/Nob Hill for $83 Amenities: Boutique, Internet, Smoke Free, Fitness, Business Center. 4/5 TA. Comments in reviews include bad TV and good showers. I was thinking the Hotel Diva but it usually displays a restaurant icon as well. HW says the last person got the Cartwright Hotel; I am thinking maybe this it, too....???

I was feeling conflicted because the Hyatt has not displayed a pet friendly icon before. So I went to their website and sure enough, they are a pet friendly property that welcomes your canine companions. There is a fairly substantial fee, but I never knew that the Hyatt accepted pets, like, ever. Now I really do think this is the Hyatt, which makes it more desirable than the Hilton, but not quite as appealing as LeMeridian. Will let you know...

Yes, I missed the fitness icon. It is there as well. Sorry. Comments in reviews did also mention excellent transportation, which certainly fits for the Hyatt. Cable car, BART and Muni, all right there. Will look again and probably bid tomorrow. Will keep you posted. (Hey there slruud. Thanks for chiming in. Nice to hear your (posted) voice.)

HI Guys - Could use some help here. Tried PL NYOP up to almost $90 from 4* down to 3*, so this may be the best thing going. 4* - Financial District/Embarcadero from December 18-21. Amenities are Pet Friendly, Restaurant, Business, Internet TA Rating is 4/5. HW approval rating is 90% Reviews mention that it's close to Ferry Building, parking is expensive and that there is construction on the street, possibly. I am torn as to whether this is the Le Meridien or the Hilton Financial District. The Hilton usually displays more amenities, but it also has the list above. Both are 4/5 TA rating. I'm interested in LeMeridien, but the Hilton, not so much. Does anyone have a good educated guess which one this is?

Another family going to the same event stayed at this LaQuinta, too. Turns out they booked it conventionally thru PL, not NYOP. They paid $89 a night before taxes and fees. : ( Wish she had called or emailed me first .....

Need to be in a place called The Plaines on Saturday, 8/31. This was about as close as you can get. We are also paying less than the $56 posted above because of an offer from HOTWIRE for $20 off any hotel booking over $50. It turned into a hassle because it didn't work automatically. I had to call, but I did finally get the extra $20 off. : ) Amenities: Free Parking Free Breakfast Free Internet Indoor pool(s) Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower TA rating said 4.5 which wasn't exactly true. And this property was most recently the Four Points by Sheraton. It just changed hands.

Sorry about the curt post. When I read the original, it seemed as though you were just fishing and hadn't even looked at prices yet. It's hard to help someone if they haven't done any of their homework, so to speak. Though thereuare does a masterful job, nonetheless. Sounds like you got a great deal, and saved enough to go out to breakfast!