luckylassy

Amenities were: Free Internet Pet friendly Boutique hotel Beachfront hotel Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Internet access Golf nearby Tennis nearby Super happy!!! Thank you again for your help!!!

Thank you for the help. I'll probably go with Hotwire and try for the Surfcomber. As much as I love The National, they charge resort fees and then charge you on top of that for a beach chair. At least the other hotels include the beach chairs in their resort fee. I'll make sure to follow up on what I do and get. Oh and I followed up on the Sonoma post. Thanks again.

In the end, I ended up just making reservations the old fashioned way and stayed in Napa (there was a county fair in Sonoma so they were too expensive).

Hotwire ($137) gives amenities with Free Internet, Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Beachfront hotel, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Internet access, Golf nearby, Tennis nearby. And approximately $28.25/night in resort fees Priceline Express ($128) gives amenities with internet, pets, pool and $19/night in resort fees. I am hoping for the Surfcomber or the National, but you never know. Any best guess what these may be? Thank you

I have used Priceline successfully to get a really cheap 3.5* room in Santa Rosa many, many times, but now I need to get 3 rooms. Am I better off bidding for 1 room and then adding rooms later? Or should I bid for all three at the same time? My target is to pay $100/night with taxes and fees. Do you think adding Sonoma and/or Napa would get me a free bid(s) since their hotels are so much more expensive? Thanks for your help Betterbidding gods!

I am happy to report that my second go around was successful. Very successful. I selected 4* Dupont Circle-Woodley Park, bid $82, and was rejected. They offered it to me at $99, which I ignored. I then added a free bid zone (Alexandria) and bid $85, and got.... The Palomar Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $85.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $19.74 (USD) Total Room Cost: $104.74 (USD) I love this hotel and couldn't be more pleased. Thanks for the bidding advice.

Hi all. I am trying to get 1 room in the Woodley park/DuPont circle area on Priceline. I would love to hear your strategy. It seems that lots of folks who bid at 3.5* get the Marriott Wardman hotel, which I am not incredibly fond of. So I am sticking with 4*. With taxes and all I am trying to stay under $110. I am traveling soon 5/25-5/26. And ideas or strategies to share?

I actually screwed up my priceline bidding. I started with 4* Woodley Park/Dupont Circle (my target) - I started at 70 I kept adding areas with no 4* and increased my price by $1 each time. Except, somewhere along the way, I inadvertently added Georgetown/Foggy Bottom, which does have 4* Luckily, none of my bids were accepted and I ended at 80. How and when can I start over? Is is 24hrs or 72 hrs? And thank you. I was under the impression that Westin City might be it too.

Love this site. Always use links! Looking at Hotwire for a Dupont Circle/Zoo hotel. Here is what I have to go on: 4 star - Recommended In 85% of Hotwire customer reviews. Amenities: Fitness Center Business Center High-Speed Internet Access Pretty vague!!! Does anyone have an idea? I also have a priceline battle going on - will see how that plays out. Thanks in advance!!!

I am super pleased with this one. I initially bid $90 for a 4* in Dupont area. Priceline countered with $106. I re-bid $97 and added West Alexandria (no 4* there). It was accepted quickly. I was hoping to get the Palomar, so I was shocked to actually get it. And of course I used the Priceline (and Hotwire) links here. :)

We recently stayed at the Red Rock, having won it on Hotwire for less than $70. We took the shuttle from the airport, which was a money saver. There was no line at Check in. And our clerk was pleasant enough but not very attentive. I very nicely asked for a Canyon View Room. She said sure and asked if we wanted to upgrade for $50. She said the upgrade was to a larger room. I decided to go for it. As it turns out, the room was at the very end of the hotel (a HUGE trek) and was a Strip view. Yes, it was a bigger room - but that is it there was no more furniture in it. Just an empty space that would be great as a dancefloor or to do yoga. It was odd. However, I did not feel like treking back down there and asking to be switched to a Canyon View Room. We ate at the Hachi restaurant. It was not the best experience. Our server was visually upset that we ordered several small meals and rolls (which they advertise for all over the place), rather than entrees. As for the food, well, I enjoyed my soup and told him so, when he went to take away my bowl. He never even responded back to me. I don't know why he was pissed, since our bill was still $80 pre tax. I think it is the first time that I didn't tip 15-20%, since he was such an ass. Making matters worse - I got quite sick about 30 minutes later. Not a good experience at all! The rest of our stay was quite pleasant. Do yourself a favor and visit the spa, even if it is just to use the jacuzzi. We did twice. It was quite the experience. The bed, linens, and overall comfort of the room was great and well worth the original price (I was stupid to "upgrade"). All the staff was very friendly, nice, and knowledgeable. I would definitely return the next time I am in Vegas.

Got it on the first bid. I am shocked, especially considering that I tried Sonoma 4* and was denied at $75! Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $53.00 Subtotal: $53.00 Taxes & Fees: $14.19 Total Charges*: $67.19

I arrived at 11:30 and check in was pleasant enough. I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to a suite or larger room and was told that since I purchased my room through Priceline, it was not possible. I asked if we could get the largest room possible, to which I was told I would have to wait for the room to be ready. They took our bags and we went on our way with errands. At 4pm, we were notified that our room was ready. Once we got into our room, I have to honestly say that the only complaint was the size. It was tiny and only had enough room to walk around the King bed on each side. Everything else was fine - they have free WiFi, and a pretty decent sized and working bathroom. They offer free coffee and tea in the lobby throughout the day. They also have some evenings with free wine and cheese - we never took advantage of it - but it was a nice touch. The most pleasantly surprising thing is that the hotel is right next to the I5, but we couldn't hear a thing inside the hotel - they must have invested in good windows and construction. Also, parking is about $10/night, but we never needed to use it. There was plenty of street parking and parking on their property. So overall I was reasonably happy with my stay considering that I paid only $71/night through Priceline and it was very conveniently and centrally located. Good value.

I just spent my honeymoon here for 7 nights. Hotel renovations I believe were completed in October 2008. We very much loved it here. We were upgraded to a pool/partial beach front view w/o asking. Our room was very comfy and spacious. One of the best conveniences is that the King and Queen shops are just across the street within walking distance. Eat there for dinner (Roys or Sansei were our favs), rather than at the hotel. However, the breakfast buffet is superb at the Marriott and is highly recommended. Didn't do the Laui, so I can't comment, but we had a great view of it from our room. Very comfy relaxing stay at a great price!

Alright. I got the Red Rock! 4.5* West of Strip 10/11-10/12/09 Amenities: Resort Casino Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Spa Services Hotel rate per night -$54.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $54.00 Tax recovery charges and fees: $13.20 Total price: $67.20 Total charges to your credit card $67.20 Keep in mind, though, that there is another $25 resort fee, but that includes internet and shuttles to/from strip and airport. I couldn't be happier and I booked through the HOTWIRE links here. Thanks all!

Please Help ID 4.5* (West Strip) 10/11-10/12 Resort Casino Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center High-speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Spa Services Hotel rate per night: $54.00 Nights: 1 Rooms:1 Subtotal:$54.00 Tax recovery charges & fees :$13.20 Total price: $67.20 I think it is Red Rock - can anyone confirm that it is most likely this? I know that there is an additional $25 resort fee if that is the case.

Well, I finally got it. 3* Point Loma-Shlelter Island-Old Town 10/8-10/11 for $71. It is the Courtyard by Marriott Old Town. Eh, I was hoping not to get this property, but I knew that it was a possibility. It is a good price considering that I don't HAVE to pay for parking there. There seems to be enough street parking, but if there isn't, their lot is $10. I'll post a review afterwards, but here is the price breakdown: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $71.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $213.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $37.32 (USD) Total Room Cost: $250.32 (USD) Thanks for your help.

I started my bidding low for a 5*North Strip hotel at $60 (It was $20 worth of fees on top of that). Was rejected and offered to get it now for $95. Instead, I added another area without a 5* and bid $62 And that was the end. They declined my bid and did not let me put in another :) It is ok I really want the Rio, and I am trying to get it for less than $80 (I am pretty sure that is the price HOTWIRE is giving me). But, I'll do a separate post on that. In the meantime, I thought I would share: if you want a 5* North Strip on this date, start below $95

I stayed here, booking with a vacation package through cheaptickets.com. Room came to about $45/night. We also asked to stay in the Ipanema tower. The guy at check in was very accomodating and even gave us extra coupons for other events. We had a great sized room which was very comfortable. The view was of the back of the hotel (no strip), but it didn't bother us. Shuttle was great and worth using. It will take just as much time to take a taxi. The only glitches during my stay were: (1) the room safe was locked upon arrival (we very much needed it). We immediately asked for it to be fixed. We waited 2 hours for security to come. They never did. We waited 2 other times, and they still didn't show. On the second day, sick of waiting, we physically went to the front desk. They offered to change our room, which was nice, but a pain so we declined the change. After another 2 hour wait, it was finally fixed. (2) the internet in the lobby is a joke. lets just say that the machine ate my $20 and i didn' t even get to check my email. Do yourself a favor and just pay for internet in your room. The machines in the lobby are owned by and independent company, which means I will never get my money back. Overall, I had a great stay and the room was a great value. I hope to stay there again in October. Wasn't thrilled with the casino itself, though, but I won't count that against them at all. Tips - eat breakfast at the Gold Coast buffet. It is much cheaper.

Colfax, I think you are right. I did try just the first three nights and was also rejected, with my max bid of $60. I will give it another go with the three nights with a set of higher bids. I also think I am going to also go for a 4* Downtown-Gaslamp, although I do it begrudgingly b/c of their high parking fees. I have an offer of a cute beach rental 1 blk from Ocean Beach for $100/night inclusive of taxes and fees. So if these bids don't work tomorrow I just might go for the rental. I really do appreciate everyone's help. And I always use the PRICELINE link from this site!

Did the above strategy and got rejected for the final $65 bid. Oh well, I will go at it again tomorrow.

based purely on location on the strip, I would go with the MGM. The other two are on more extreme ends on the strip. I have stayed at the MGM and been very happy.

Thanks for the correction. I was going by faulty memory. I will bid: 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town - $60. Then, if rejected... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town, Escondidas - $62 Then, if rejected... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town, Escondidas, Chula Vista-National City- $64 Then, if rejected... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town, Escondidas, Chula Vista-National City, San Ysidro - Mexico Border - $65 I'll let definitely post on how it goes. In the meantime, I am waiting for some callbacks on some vacation rental quotes.

Thanks. I went ahead and followed through on my old South Beach post. I am trying to get a 3* room in the Point Loma area for 10/8-10/12. It seems to be that it will either be Humphreys Half Moon Inn Suites or Kona Kai Resort based purely on recent wins of the area. I know that Humphreys does have vacancies for these dates. I really don't want to pay more than $65/night, since there will most likely be parking fees over $10/night to also budget for. Since I already tried up to $59/night and was rejected, I think my process should be the following.... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town - $60. Then, if rejected... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town, Escondidas - $62 Then, if rejected... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town, Escondidas, Chula Vista - $64 Then, if rejected... 3* Point Loma-Shelter Island-Old Town, Escondidas, Chula Vista, National City - $65 Then, if rejected... Escondidas, Chula Vista, National City don't have hotels >2.5* Does that sound about right???? I am new to this bidding game, but it seems like a great tool. Thanks so much!

It was too risky for me, so didn't book this one. I am sorry I can't help ID it. What I ended up doing was just booking a suite directly at the Indian Creek Hotel, which I do not believe Priceline or Hotwire have as properties. It was a pleasant stay without too much of the hustle and bustle of South Beach proper. Parking is only $6/night too, which is much more affordable than most of those other properties, which are usually $20-35 for parking PLUS resort fees on top of that.