headtrip

Bad news today, During a quick search, I saw that Orbitz has the Sahara available on my dates for only $31.78, $6.22 less per night. I forgot in which case would Priceline refund the difference between the Priceline bid price and the price of a travel web site. Does anyone know? My Bid Price: $38.00 Orbitz: 31.78 Sahara Hotel Website 43.00 Priceline Website 56.00 It's not the end of the world, but I hate overbidding if there is a lower rate out there. I know the rate wasn't available when I originally bid the hotel.

My credit union used to be at 6101 Centenela right next to the hotel. Althrough the Hotel parking fee is $15, I believe you can park overnight at 6101 for less, just ask the attendant when you arrive. If you get parking there, you won't have to worry about the hotel's parking fee.

Writer, I stayed there once when everything else was booked and the rooms are about closet size, with a double bed taking up about 85% of the room space, and the bathroom door is about the same size as the bathroom. It is billed at the oldest hotel in Vegas and it looks it too. The only positive thing I can say was it was clean, but I wouldn't reccomend it because the rooms are so tiny. You expect that in New York, but not in Las Vegas. The best thing about the Golden Gate Casino btw is the giant shrimp cocktail for $2.99, I think you get about a 1/2 lb of shrimp, it's a good deal.

Due to an engagement I had in Hollywood, I tried to find a last minute room to crash in Friday night, but no takers, so had to watch my intake and drive home after the event. $45 3* Hollywood $47 2* Hollywood $50 2* +Beverly Hills/W. Hollywood $55 2* +Bel Air/Brentwood

Writer, You are so right about the 3* rating. It can be anything between a Hilton and a Holiday Inn, and many Holiday Inn's I've stayed in with priceline are borderline "Motel" properties. Hard to believe they get 3* ratings. I've stayed at the Sahara before, it wasn't shabby and not exceptional either, but it's been a few years. I agree that the access to the rest of the strip is easy with . I checked the regular rates at the Sahara for that time period which are $43 a night, so my discount is about 13% over regular rates. Not a huge bargain, but again, it's just for me, so I'm happy to keep the savings and spend it on something else.

Yes, you really can still stay on the Strip for under $50 a night. I was looking for a cheap room in Vegas just for myself and here it is at the Sahara Hotel. The Hotel is old and dated, but it is definately on the strip for $38.00 a night, (you can get 3 rooms for the price of 1 compared to the Venetian). Three stars is for the amenities, not the service/decor...At least it wasn't the Stratosphere. Bidding was: 3* Fremont Zone $35 (rebid offered for $9 more) 3* +Las Vegas Strip $38 Bid Accepted Check-In Date: Sunday, November 26, 2006 Check-Out Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 Hotel Name: Sahara Hotel And Casino 2535 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 702-737-2111 Summary of Charges Your Offer Price: $38.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $76.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $15.32 Total Charges*: $91.32

Chances are you will not find good priceline rates downtown based on the VOIP Expo, some associated industries also schedule their meetings in San Diego at the same time. You might have better results and pay less if you are willing to stay farther away from downtown by bidding these zones: Pt. Loma-Old Town Mission Valley San Diego Coastal Sorrento Mesa Del Mar The drive is only 25 minutes from Del Mar (with the other zones being closer) to San Diego downtown. If that's an option for you, The Del Mar Hilton for ex. is 3* and there are several nice suite hotels I could give you a Strategy to bid on at the 2.5* level. Reply if you are interested.

If you are nostalgic at all about the armed services, or are interested in the San Diego's history with the Navy which goes back over 100 years, this really is an incredible experience. Also you can practically walk there from the hotel, only 1/2 mile away.

Great News and Congratulations on your win. I am sure you will be happy with the Hotel. Remember that Hotel Parking is $26.00 per day and valet only, but you can park at 3rd and K a 1/2 block away for $12 (per tripadvisor) a day, but no in and out privledges. Also, FYI, you can see a list of San Diego Museums and Attractions here: San Diego Attractions Have a great trip.

All I can say is....WOW Congratulations!!!! Probably the taxes are more than the rental! How much was your total?

Phoenix metro area is pretty large, so if you don't want a 30 minute commute in traffic (during rush hour) each day, I'd say to stay in Scottsdale and enjoy your reunion more. Looking at previous wins, I think you would have a reasonable chance of getting the 3* Scottsdale Doubletree if you are bidding over $50 and remember you can be upgraded even if you are only bidding for 2.5*, but there haven't been any recent wins reported at a 2.5* star level. Good luck.

Spookywood, Sorry you didn't win on your first try, but I would try the same bidding strategy again, except that I haven't seen anything 4* downtown won for less than $80 for quite some time, so I would reccomend that you start again at that price and going up 3 dollars each bid. And yes, of course bidding 3 rooms for 5 nights does make a difference because the priceline inventory is limited and so if a hotel has only 2 rooms available or only 4 of the nights available, you are not going to get your transaction processed....but remember, rooms do get released to priceline if occupancy is low and I think you should try again each day. Unless you don't mind a Holiday Inn or Clarion at a 3* rating, I wouldn't reccomend bidding below 4* because the savings between star ratings in San Diego are very small. One other thing, to protect your piece mind and allow you to bid right up to your stay, make sure you have a cancellable backup reservation if case the priceline bidding strategy isn't working. Good luck!

Thank you for sharing your win. Was $56 the first bid you made for Ventura? Can you also list what bids you made for Santa Barbara and was it at the same star level? I'm planning on traveling there for the weekend next month, so your information could help me decide. Enjoy your stay.

The Marriot in Norwalk is located on Norwalk Blvd at Civic Center Dr. with the I-5 freeway on the south side of the Hotel, but I wouldn't call it "close" to San Gabriel, it's about 20 miles south on the I-605. The Westin Pasadena is on Los Robles about a block south of the I-210 freeway and 2 blocks north of Colorado. I think your $60 for a 3* is definately in the ballpark for the Hilton or Marriot, althrough the priceline price for any particular week might be set higher to $75 or $80 a night for your particular week. I would also try adding Pasadena, which is much closer to San Gabriel, and West Covina (which has a larger selection of Hotels and might let you win with a lower bid).

San Francisco can be a bit cold going into October, But weather in Orlando or Miami should be very nice that time of year and plus it's only a 2.5 hour flight vs. a 5 hour flight, if that matters to you. I'm not sure you even care if you are in the city at all and since you mentioned the beach, it sounds more like you want to get away from the City. From Orlando, there are quite a few beach communities on the coast Daytona Beach has 3* hotels on the beach with Ormond Beach and Palm Coast as rebid zones where you can stay and you can use priceline to bid and hopefully land something in the $45-$85 range per night for 3*, giving yourself a weekend getaway that's not too far and not too expensive. If you feel more like SoBe, then South Beach in Miami will cost a few more dollars more, but definately more beautiful people and lots of clubs and stuff to visit if you think that's romantic. Bid 3* South Beach with North Miami and SW Miami as rebid zones starting at $70-$110?? per night, and you'll have the hip SoBe getaway. 2 other places that come to mind, but are a bit more remote, so you'd need to rent a car... Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks of Virginia (Newport News, VA) South Padre Island by Corpus Cristi, TX Let us know where you decide to go...

My understanding is that the priceline price is only for the car rental, and CDW insurance is not part of your bid unless it is specifically mentioned in your confirmation page. On every priceline car rental I have done, if you want the CDW insurance, you can purchase it at the counter when you are getting your car, but that will be charged over and above what you paid to priceline for the car rental. That is the same for any upgrades, extras, or fuel charges which are also not covered by the priceline rental agreement. Since your priceline bid and purchase is for a rental car, I don't see why your credit card benefit would not apply for that rental, but to be sure, I would call your credit card company to confirm their policy, rather than be worrying about it. Hope this helps.

Because there are 6 of you, I would agree with Xanthia that a car/SUV is your best option, just because you will save based the number of people. But for only $5.00, you can get a day pass good on any Trolley or bus and most attractions like Balboa park, Old Town, and the waterfront are only a few minutes travel from downtown San Diego. We stayed in the Omni hotel downtown and the Trolley Station, Petco Park, and the Convention Center are all just accross the street. Talk about convenient. Also, one attraction we didn't plan, but we were very glad we went to on our trip to SD was the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. It is the longest serving aircraft carrier in the Navy, and it really does take about 4 hours to visit the whole ship, with headsets helping you understand and re-live when the ship was in service. I highly reccomend it if you have the time.

It depends on what your definition of good deal is. Does it just mean cheap, like a $26 dollar a night in Jacksonville, FL, or do you mean a good value, like getting the Hotel Coronado in San Diego for only $175 dollars instead of it's usual $380 price. I think any city can be romantic, cities with a beach in California or Florida, or a night life like New York or Las Vegas, or just remote and quiet with fall colors or beautiful scenery (the Black Hills, Yellowstone, and the Great Smokey Mountians come to mind). Give us a little more idea of what "deal" and "romantic" means to you, and I'm sure we can give you lots of good ideas.

Not a bad price at all considering it is for Labor Day weekend. Congratulations on your win and thanks for posting.

I checked with the Anaheim Crowne Plaza Resort and the $9.00 you listed as a resort fee is actually a self-parking fee (or $12 for valet).

With a little flexabilty you should be able to get a airfare in the low $300s per per person. As far as the hotel, if it were me, I wouldn't budget more than $100 per night because you can always find a deal, if not on priceline then on one of the other hotel sites, but it's up to you to decide which hotel you want and where on the strip you want to be. I think the Tropicana rooms are dated, but still a very good deal compared with the other hotels surrounding it. The average rates for all the major Casinos on that weekend is about $200 per night, so you can book a lower price backup like the Tropicana for $139 (avg.) per night, then use priceline to see if you can get a better rate, but I'm not sure you will have much luck for a 4 star hotel unless you go somewhere in the mid-$100 per night range.

I agree with you about one thing, if you want a specific type of SUV, larger or otherwise, Priceline is not right for you. On Priceline's web page, the SUV pop up window only says the SUV should be big enough to accomodate 4 adults and 1 child, 3 large bags, and 3 smaller bags. If your family is bigger than this, then Priceline is not right for you because that is the minimum required standard they said they would provide. You thought you would get a Suburban instead of a Tucson, and I'm sorry for your misunderstanding of Pricelines policies. It happens to a lot of people using priceline for the first time. It would be nice if priceline developed more categories for cars so there would be midsize SUV and large SUV. It would also be nice if they you could bid on 2 beds instead of 1 in a hotel room, but at present, they don't allow for either of those things, so basically we will just have to wait until they do. ~Steve~

They must have been reading your post! That's the good and the bad about everything being public, they may have realized the irony of the hotel price vs. the priceline price. Thanks for the posts...anyway.

Most likely answer is that the weekly rate is less than the daily rate X 4 days. When I did a sample 4 day rental, it also quoted me the weekly rate because the National daily rate of $31 X 4 was about the same as the weekly rate of $122. On a 5 day rental, nearly all the rental agencies quoted the weekly rate, not the daily rate. One thing I did think about through is that Alamo once wanted to charge me a fee because I had a weekly rental, but I wanted to turn in the car early. Since I had already paid for the day, could a company actually charge you more because you turned in a car early? Has anyone else had this experience? In the end they waived the charge, but I thought it was unusal and a bit crazy for charging someone if they turned in a car more than 24 hours ahead of schedule.

Congratulations on your win. My opinion is that the hotel will have a certain inventory of rooms available for priceline, and if those rooms are already sold, it will not offer any further rooms to priceline. That you were able to find more rooms on the hotel web site at a low price is very fortunate on your part. Good luck on your stay there, and avoid a street facing room if at all possible if you don't want excessive noise.