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robteb

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Everything posted by robteb

  1. I believe the Kitano is actually in the ESB zone, not MTE. I have been trying for MTE myself for a while, and got a bit worried when I saw this win, as 38th Street is too far south for my needs this trip, until I noticed that chocoholic_chick had in fact added ESB to her re-bid zones. Now I can get back to my bidding :) !
  2. If you check my recent priceline win, I got the Courtyard Downtown/Tremont for $57/night -- a great price!! It, and the other two 3* hotels (Radisson & Doubletree) in the Copley Square zone, are all towards the east side of the zone, and only about a
  3. Bid $50/night and used $20 Bonus cash, bringing the winning bid up to $56.67/night. Was hoping for the new Courtyard Copley Square (closer to the Hynes Convention Centre), but this one will work fine for the price!! Best direct rate is $129 ($119 AAA). Started with the BetterBidding PRICELINE link above, as always, then logged in to my PRICELINE account to access my Bonus cash, before beginning the bidding process! Tried a few bids for a 3.5*/4*, going up as high as $75 (including the bonus cash), but they were unsuccessful. Dropped back down to $50 for a 3*, and got it on the first bid.
  4. After my success with part 1, I selected only the Airport South zone this time, and won with the same amount!! Part 3 booked with a hotel close to the airport for my 6:30 am flight back to Toronto!! And again, used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, of course!
  5. Tried the common winning bid of $51, but was rejected. (Higher prices for the Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I assume.) However, I was offered a free rebid for a $15 increase. Knowing I must be close, I turned that down, added a safe re-bid zone of my own, and increased only $5. Success on Part 2 of the trip!! Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link again, of course!
  6. Was trying for the Crowne Plaza in the Airport North zone, but no nibbles under $50 (using a few re-bid zones), so added Airport South and was successful with the Sheraton Gateway. Part 1 down, 2 to go. Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link, of course!
  7. HOTWIRE is currently showing the Westin Jersey City (via Hotels.com) for $206.25 per night. It is literally right on the Hudson River with a Manhattan view, and is one PATH stop (basically a 5 minute subway ride) from the World Trade Centre. I bet if you bid for a 4* Jersey City on PRICELINE, you could get it even cheaper!!
  8. Thanks! I actually tried that first and both HOTWIRE and PRICELINE were still asking $120 and up for a 2*!! Parts of Jersey City can get a bit sketchy, and with my points I am assured of a decent place (Candlewood Suites) right downtown.
  9. Gave up on NYC and got a cheap hotel (with my IHG Priority Points) in Jersey City for the 4th , so my trip is complete! Thanks as always to BetterBidding!
  10. Wow, NYC prices are really out of control this Labour Day!! After many days of various bid combinations, I finally got the Sheraton NY and Towers today for a more reasonable $175. This was for a two night stay, Sept. 7-9. I then used the "extend your stay" feature to add two additional nights. Now all I need is something under $200 for Sept. 4, and my trip will be complete!! Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link as always!!
  11. If you don't mind a short walk, there is a huge (over 2000 spaces) "Green P" municipal parking lot underneath Toronto City Hall. Weekend rates are cheap (I believe around $12 per 24 hours). It is just a block north of the Hilton on Queen Street, just east of York Street (across from the Sheraton Centre, which in turn is just across from the Hilton). It may even be connected to the Hilton by Toronto's underground "PATH" tunnel system, although I've never used that section myself. Hope this helps.
  12. There are not a lot of major chains in this area. My best guess would be the Days Inn at 14 Roncesvalles Ave. If it's this one, BEWARE!! It's in a horrible (sketchy) area and located right next to a streetcar storage yard, so the noise from the turning trolleys is probably intolerable at night. Another outside possibility is the Sheraton Four Points at 1926 Lake Shore Boulevard West. Although Four Points are usually 3*, this hotel is right next to the highway (noise) and is in a fairly remote location (not much around besides the highway and several parks along the lakeshore), so it wouldn't surprise me if it were rated 2*. There are also many independent motels and small hotels throughout the zone, but I'm not sure if Hotwire would use any of these. Hope this helps. .
  13. Do you mean the Sheraton Four Points? I'm pretty sure there is no full Sheraton in this area.
  14. HOTWIRE is currently offering a 4* for your dates for $104 which matches the Sheraton (among others), so I think you would probably get something on PRICELINE for around $90, especially with the bonus cash. You should be aware that some of the regular wins (e.g. the King Edward, the Marriott Yorkville) DO NOT have a pool. If that's an absolute necessity, you might be safer on HOTWIRE. Good luck and welcome to Toronto!!
  15. You should ALWAYS double-check at the time you are bidding, as zones can change at any time. For your first bid, before you check off the zone you want (i.e. Downtown North or South). just check another zone to see what star levels are available. For re-bids, I usually open a second PRICELINE window, and use that to check zones one at a time before bidding in my main window. At the moment, there are 8 re-bid zones for 3.5*: Brampton Burlington-Oakville Don Valley Mississauga Oakville-Mississauga South Toronto East Toronto West Vaughan-North York but I repeat --ALWAYS check at the time of bidding!! Good Luck! :)
  16. The Extended Stay is less than a 5 minute bus ride to York on the "Steeles West 60" (except in rush hour when Steeles Avenue can get a bit congested). If you're up for a bit of exercise, it's probably only a 15-20 minute walk (which might actually be quicker in rush hour!!). Have a great time, and yes "Go Rafa!" again.
  17. I have never heard of a hotel in Toronto that makes valet parking mandatory. Some may have valet only (i.e. no self-park option), but you are free to park where-ever you wish. The municipal, city owned parking lots (usually referred to locally as "Green P" lots, in reference to their big green signs) are located all over downtown Toronto, and often (but not always) offer the best rates. Hope this helps.
  18. HOTWIRE is currently showing a 3.5* for your dates for $89. This is most probably the Delta Chelsea. Although definitely not a 4*, it is a very nice, extremely large, upper-end 3.5*. It's in a great location, just a block north of the Eaton Centre, right off Yonge Street. It has two pools (one adult and one family with a waterslide!!), and several restaurants on-site. Also, if you join the FREE Delta Privilege program, you can get priority check-in and a good chance of a room upgrade, even with HOTWIRE and PRICELINE wins (just be sure to call the hotel after your win to add your membership number to the reservation)!! If this sounds good and you want to try to get an even better deal using PRICELINE, switch to "Downtown NORTH" and go for a 3.5* starting around $60 and add re-bid zones going up to your maximum (for 3.5*, I believe there are eight re-bid zones). I'm pretty sure your offer will be accepted by the Delta Chelsea. Of course, as with all PRICELINE bidding, that's not a guarantee, as hotels being offered can always change, and you could be upgraded to a 4* in the zone, but I think it's a safe bet!! Good luck and welcome to Toronto!!
  19. That is Caribana weekend here in Toronto. It is traditionally the weekend with the lowest hotel vacancy rate of the entire summer, with up to one million people attending the parade. You probably won't get any super low rates, but you never know. Good luck and welcome to TO.!!
  20. If you join the free Delta Privilege program, the Delta Chelsea has a priority check-in desk and they will almost always try to upgrade you to the south (newer) tower which has the nicer rooms. I have used my Privilege card several times with PRICELINE wins, and have always been treated well!! After you join, make sure you call the hotel and have your new membership number added to your reservation.
  21. Basically I just kept a close eye on the BetterBidding Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins over the month or so before my dates. It's easier in some cities than others. For example, NYC can be all over the place, with the sheer number of hotels offered to PRICELINE at any given time. In April, I was SURE I had the 3* Park Central nailed, and yet I got the Holiday Inn Midtown (which actually turned out to be a better hotel for my purposes)!! Montreal, on the other hand, with only 4 or 5 common 4*'s, is much easier. All that being said, it's still always cavet emptor -- you never really know for sure what your bid is going to produce!!
  22. The only better location than the Intercontinental for a trip to see the Jays would be the Renaissance, which is actually part of the Rogers Centre. The IC Toronto Centre is a very nice hotel, is a 3 minute walk to the game, and for $2 cheaper than the HI Midtown, is a GREAT deal!!
  23. The Hyatt usually goes for the lowest rate of all the 4* hotels in Montreal. If I increased my bid too much, and there was no availability at the Hyatt, there was a chance that another 4* might have accepted my bid. By keeping my bid relatively low (below the lowest winning bid level for the next most common 4* win -- the Omni for $90), I knew it would probably (hopefully) be too low for the other 4*s to accept. Of course, I could have been unlucky, and another 4* with a high vacancy rate for my dates might have accepted $86 anyway, but the general history of Montreal wins was in my favour. Every city and date of stay is obviously different, but by studying the BetterBidding Calendar of Wins, you can often figure each hotel's pricepoint. Hope this helps!!
  24. The is a strange zone in that there are only 2 hotels that I can think of in the entire PRICELINE zone. The Don Valley Inn (formerly the Crowne Plaza), and the Best Western Roehampton on Mount Pleasant Road at Eglinton (which I don't believe has ever been reported as a win). The latter is actually a wee bit closer to the CNIB, and is a much better overall location, as there are many restaurants, good shopping, and an easy walk to the subway if you decide to go downtown at some point. The Don Valley Inn is quite isolated, and there is nothing within walking distance. There used to be a Holiday Inn at Eglinton and Leslie, but that no longer exists, so unless there is some small independent hotel that I can't think of at the moment, this is it for PRICELINE. As far as HOTWIRE Don Valley zone goes, the only possibility other than the three hotels listed on the Hotwire Hotel List is the Westin Prince, which is a beautiful hotel and would most probably would be a 4*. For some weird reason, the Best Western Roehampton is in the HOTWIRE Noth York- Vaughan zone, and If you need to be near the CNIB, I wouldn't take a chance on that, as it is a huge zone with many other possiblilities far from the CNIB. Again, the Don Valley zone is strange and I'm pretty sure these are the only 4 hotels (either reported or not) in the entire zone. Hope this helps!!
  25. Not only is this the Canada Day long weekend, it's also right in the middle of the Montreal Jazz Festival. I would imagine that vacancies will be low and thus winning bids will be higher than usual ... probably. Good luck!!
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