orion1778

Thank you for the help. The dates for this trip changed and I wound up booking directly through the hotel to take advantage of a special offer that was run.

OK, I've clicked on all of the links.

I was leaning toward booking the 5* Gaslamp North, but for quite a bit less money, this looks tempting. Rate: $109 Dates: August 25, 2012 - September 1, 2012 Amenities: Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-Speed Internet Access Recommended: In 95% of Hotwire customer reviews (300+ total reviews) Customer rating on TripAdvisor: 4.5 out of 5.0 I think I can rule out either Hilton hotel based on TripAdvisor scores. I'm stuck beyond that though.

After nearly a dozen failed Priceline bids, I went ahead and grabbed this property on Hotwire. I was confident I'd ID'd it at the Crowne Plaza before booking. Amentities: Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Virginia Beach seems to have a lot of low-quality hotels and motels, so I was relunctant to roll the dice bidding 3* on Priceline. The beachfront hotels/motels all have sky-high rates for this weekend given that it's in peak vacation season, but I'm OK not staying right on the beach (even though I do plan on visiting it). I saved about $25 over the internet rate that I could have gotten. So while certainly not my greatest Priceline/Hotwire success ever, I am more-or-less satisfied with the outcome.

Hotwire has a 3* in the area for $115 that I think I can ID as the Crowne Plaza, so I'll say $115 is my budget.

Thinking that there's only a single 4* hotel available in all of the Virginia Beach zones (Westin) I've been bidding specifically for this property. Dates: August 12 - August 14, 2011. Started at $61 and continued $66, $71, $76, $81, $86, $91, $96, $101. The web rate on the hotel's website is $165, and there are no 4* options available on Hotwire, so I question whether Priceline even has any rooms for this hotel this weekend, or if I could keep bidding indefinitely and come up with nothing?

Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link and started bidding on 4* hotels in Pittsburgh. Since Downtown is the only zone with a 4* option, I knew I had 10 re-bid opportunities. $55 - REJECTED $60 - REJECTED $65 - REJECTED $70 - REJECTED $75 - ACCEPTED Omni William Penn Hotel 530 William Penn Place Pittsburgh, PA 15219 I've stayed at this property in the past and am happy with the outcome. I even saved $21 over what I would have paid on HOTWIRE for what I suspect is the same hotel.

Really expensive rack rates in Pittsburgh this weekend for whatever reason. Many hotels have no availability the following night... Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE Link. Started at $60 for 4* - rebid at 65, 70, 75, 85, 90, before finally being accepted at 95. Overall satisfied but a little bummed I picked a busy weekend to visit Pittsburgh.

I only needed a room for one night and wasn't picky, as long as it was in Manhattan. I had a pretty strong feeling I was going to land the Club Quarters Wall Street based on some historic wins, so I started low and worked my way up. $75 - Downtown - SoHo - Financial District - Rejected $78 - Add Madison Square Garden - Convention - Rejected $81 - Add Empire State Building - Rejected $84 - Add Central Park South - Rejected $87 - Add Midtown West - Rejected $90 - Add Midtown East - Accepted Club Quarters Wall Street 52 Williams Street New York, NY 10005 Got just what I was expecting. Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link. Thanks! Edit: I made an error in the title, I was bidding 3.5* in all of these zones.

Forgot to mention that I used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link! This board has gotten me some great deals. It's the least I can do to give back.

First bid $40 Downtown-Inner Harbor - Rejected. Add rebid zone and $43 - Accepted: Tremont Plaza Hotel. I am satisfied.

Needed a hotel for the same night, picked the 3* Richfield, which is the Holiday Inn Express. Amentities: Complimentary Breakfast, Fitness Center, Pool, Business Center, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby Overall it was a pretty standard Holiday Inn Express. No complaints.

Because there has been some confusion over this property, I wanted to post a quick report. I arrived in midtown at 11am. I didn

Quick comment on this property: I checked in to the hotel about 3:00pm. They gave me a room on the third floor with one bed (which wasn't an issue since I was traveling alone). The room had no view. It shared one wall with the hotel's gym and was directly across the hall from two meeting-type rooms that had people coming in and out all day. Maybe it was the luck of the draw, but I wouldn't be surprised if told that this was one of the hotel's assigned "Priceline rooms." For my needs, it was OK, and the hotel was in a great location, but I just wanted to throw this out there...

For what it's worth, this was a very nice hotel, but the location was disappointing. Maybe it's because the season was summer and there weren't many people on either of the college campuses, but the neighborhood was dull. The hotel was accessible to center city via public transportation or bicycle, but it definitely wasn't in the center of the action.

JeffSC, do you know if your original 1-bed room have a kitchenette? There seems to be some confusion on these boards over whether Priceline booked rooms are "unadvertised" rooms w/o kitchenettes.

Started bidding using the PRICELINE link: 3* Downtown $60 – REJECTED 3* +Gloucester, Runnemede, Deptford $65– REJECTED 3* +University $70 – REJECTED Next day: 3* Downtown $75 – REJECTED 3* +Gloucester, Runnemede, Deptford $80 – REJECTED Next day: 3* Downtown $81 – REJECTED Counter offer for $103 3* +Gloucester, Runnemede, Deptford $83 – REJECTED 3* +University $85 - ACCEPTED Hilton Inn At Penn 3600 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 Not exactly ideal, but my friend were already pushing our budget so I guess we’re lucky to get anything for under $100 during the Independence Day weekend.

I won this hotel through PRICELINE for an upcoming visit in August. I called to see if I would have any luck getting a room with two beds. They said Priceline had booked me in a "studio 1-bed" room but they would be happy to sell me a "studio 2-bed" room for an additional $50 plus tax. That would have added more than 50% onto what I have already paid. I tried haggling and politely explaining that I wasn't interested in spending more than a nominal amount of money on this "upgrade" but the lowest I could get them down to was $40 plus tax. Oh well - I understand NYC is a tough city for getting rooms with two beds. I guess my friend and I will figure something out.

I had been putting in some lowball bids the past few days without any luck. Today I finally landed the Affinia Manhattan. Started by using the Better Bidding PRICELINE link. 4* (CPS, MSG-Convention, MTE, MTW, ESB, Time Square) $101

I had been trying a few lowball bids the past week, but hadn't been having much luck. Location wasn't much of a concern as long as I could get a room in the District, which made this a little easier. Used the BetterBidding PRICELINE link. First bid: $62 White House-Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Capitol Hill, Dupont - REJECTED Second bid: $67 add Mount Vernon - REJECTED Third bid: $70 add Springfield - Accepted Washington Marriott 1221 22nd St NW Washington, DC 20037

Going to Vegas from May 21st - May 24th. Ideally I was trying to stay on the strip. Wasn't thrilled about the idea of staying at the Westin but would have been happy with the Trump (had I gotten it). My price ceiling was $100 per night. The strategy started with PRICELINE... Day One Dates: 5/21/09 - 5/24/09 4* Strip Vicinity North - BID $75 - Rejected 4* add Boulder Strip [rebid zone] - BID $80 - Rejected 4* add Nellis/Las Vegas Speedway [rebid zone]- BID $85 - Rejected Day Two Dates: 5/21/09 - 5/24/09 4* Strip Vicinity North - BID $85 - Rejected 4* add Boulder Strip - [rebid zone] BID $90 - Rejected 4* add Nellis/Las Vegas Speedway [rebid zone] - BID $95 - Rejected Gave up on PRICELINE. Booked Thursday (5/21) and Friday (5/22) directly at the MGM Grand. Paid an average of $75 per night and used a promo code that includes a $35 activity credit (plus a few other bonuses). Used Better Bidding's HOTWIRE link to book a 5-star hotel in Central Strip for Saturday (5/23) at $143. Amenities: Casino Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Spa Services Received: Wynn Las Vegas. Overall I paid an average of a little less than $98 per night (before taxes and fees) for two solid on-strip hotels. The Central Strip 5* was cheaper than all of the 4* and 3.5* hotels on the strip, so it was basically a no-brainier.

Thanks for the tips. If the only 4* hotel in the North Strip zone (Treasure Island) has not released it's inventory to PRICELINE yet, at what point are they likely to do so? As much as I'd like to stay at the Wynn, I'm willing to stay in a less luxurious hotel as long as the price (and location) are right. $100 is still my price ceiling.

Trump - acceptable. Westin - preferably, would not like to stay there for all three nights, but I would be willing to move there on Saturday in order to stay at a nicer place on Thursday/Friday. I have only bid $65 so far and only in the 'strip north' area. I would be willing to bid up to $100 on PRICELINE before looking elsewhere.

Bump.

Thanks for the tips. I ended up not making the trip to Vegas on New Year's. Maybe next year...