You can get the Imperial Palace for $79 by using the "Easy Search for Easy Click" tool above, this will take you to the Easy Click Travel website. Your reservation may be cancelled up to 72 hours before your stay.
BB, I was checking our rentals on Hotwire for a future trip and for your dates, a minivan is $48.95 a day. I think somewhere on the board (could it be the squeegeekid) a PHX posting mentioned that there may be better deals in "off airport" locations using Enterprise. Good Luck!
Skelman, while in Philadelphia, you might also want to check out the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, it runs from March 6-13. This is the largest flower show in the US and one of the oldest, and it draws big crowds to Center City, parking around the CC is difficult and you may want to avoid this area if driving. Here is the website and you can look at photos of the 2004 show. You can walk to the show from the Embassy Suites. Philadelphia Flower Show
Note: "non-betterbidders" can book this hotel room through the flower show website and pay $200 plus tax :)
Just got rejected, once again, bidding for the elusive 5*, starting at $105 and going up to $150 in $5 increments with Priceline, for one night 02/13/05. Looks like I will use my backup reservation at the Monte Carlo @ $109 (it's now $129) However, I just realized that I made the reservation for 1 person when I will need a room for 2. I called ECT customer service and the clerk said that she will add notes to my reservation requesting a room with 2 doubles. Hope that I don't get hassled at check in!! Looks like this will be a busy weekend in Vegas as we approach Valentines Day, rates on the Strip are going up. Hotwire is not even showing any availability at the 5* level.
this garage is about a block away, better to drop your luggage off at the curb and pull into the lot down the street. $15 was the rate in November, and getting directions from the front desk was an effort.
This is a really nice hotel that was, I believe, formerly an apartment building. I stayed here a few years ago for a show at the PA Convention Center. The hotel was built in the "round" in that the rooms are sort of in the shape of a wedge of pie, and quite large. Managers reception and free breakfast make this an even better deal, but this hotel will charge $24 plus tax for parking, or half the cost of your room!! The Philadelphia Parking Authority operates a garage on 19th and Callowhill Sts. about 4 blocks away that charges $5 for parking on weekends and $11 during the week, but with no in-out privileges. You may want to call and check this out with the link below. If you are going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, check out the Rodain Musuem as well, you will pass it on your way from the hotel. Also, there are several good restaurants in this area, Brigid's is a pub that features Belgian food and ales. If the weather is nice, bring your rollerblades or bike and you can check out Fairmount Park along the Schuykill River, the largest urban park in the US. If adventurous, you can take the bike trail all the way to Valley Forge, about 23 miles away.
Wow, that sounds like a great rate, can you please provide the dates of your rental period?
thanks!
The Hilton Garden Inn is fairly new and it was built over top of an existing parking garage shortly after the Pennsylvania Convention Center was built and is connected to the Gallery (a mall). One of my pet peeves is paying for parking because I'm just so cheap! While this is a center city hotel, I think $22.00 a day is outrageous. If you don't mind a short walk, go to a garage operated by the Phila Parking Authority on 8th and Filbert St., parking is $10.00 for up to 24 hours. The downside is that the garage is un-attended during the night (midnight to 7 am) and once you leave, you will need to get a new ticket. I parked here on New Years Eve while staying at the Marriott nearby (using rewards points, of course, I said that I was cheap!) and had no problems, and saved $20.00. Phila Parking Authority This property is very convenient to public transportation as the Gallery is atop a regional rail station with easy access to the Market-Frankford "Elevated" train, and many suburban rail lines coming into the city. My other pet peeve with hotels is late check in and early check out. This hotel lists the check in time as 4:00 PM and Check out time as 11:00 AM.
keep bidding in 72 hours and let us know how you make out!!
PS, I asked the assistant manager at checkout about getting to and from Shea Stadium and the train station at 111th St., he said that the Hotel Shuttle Bus would be available to drop or pickup hotel guests, just call.
Just checked out the location of the train stop at 111th street to the Ramada, this is a good 5 block walk and not one that I would make with Luggage. It is a bit desserted at night as well, but during the day, it looks ok. Also, you can walk to Shea Stadium from here, but I would probably ask the desk for the shuttle on a night game :)
Made a same day reservation for the LGA Airport area, and accessed Priceline through Savingsbarn.com. This area has 5 zones and I wanted to stay in a 3* property; the highest star rating in two zones is 2.5 stars so I had two re-bid opportunities. I noticed that the Crown Plaza had rooms available and what appeared to be the Wyndham was available on HW for $93. Started bidding at $65 for a 3* and increased by $10 on my rebids, all rejected up to $85. Addded a 2.5* and bid $70 and won.
Ramada Plaza La Guardia Airport
La Guardia Airport (LGA)
3710 114th Street
Corona, New York 11368
Your Offer Price: $70.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $70.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $19.58
Total Charges: $89.58
I gotta admit, I was not pleased when I found out I won a room at a Ramada, as I am not a big fan of this chain. I have probably stayed in 4 Ramadas in the past 10 years. I was pleasantly surprised upon check in that the lobby was clean and the staff was friendly. It took almost 10 minutes to find my reservation and load it into their system. I had to change rooms as I had problems with the HiSpeed internet connection (9.95 a day), this was done without question and got a room with a 'frig (usually a $10 charge). The room was updated and clean, small bathroom, but as NYC airport hotels go, this is a nice hotel. Also featured: Free 24 hr. Airport Shuttle to LGA, a restaurant and bar, Free Parking (several airport hotels charge $10 or more for this), an indoor pool, 24 hour fitness center. I would definately stay here over the Wyndham as the rooms seem newer, and there is less "jet takeoff" noise. Shea Stadium is just across the Grand Central Parkway, but I'm not sure if you can get there from here, on foot. The Hotel's website claims that you can take the #7 subway to 111th street, walk to 114th Street, then two more blocks to the Ramada Plaza. The rack rate for this property was $93, so I probably overbid at $70. The Ramada Plaza is also not far from the Asian restaurants on Northern Blvd. so its Korean BBQ for me tonite, BulGoGi and Kimchee....
it looks like Circus Circus is coming up st $89 and the Monte Carlo is $199 for the one night, this is through EasyClick Travel, use the red link above. I just used this to book a room in LV for the following weekend. Other deals are available off the strip and if you have a car, this may be a lower cost option.
I like trains too (once took the TGV from Paris to Marsaille, now, that's a train!) and even one of my in-laws works for Amtrak, but with $49 airfares and a 1 hour flight from the 'burgh to Philly, I like flying better!! :) Not sure what the airfares would be for your son's dates of travel, but Southwest will be starting service from Pittsburgh soon and in anticipation of this service, US Airways sometimes lowers fares. The Amtrak station is at 30th and Market streets, you can take a cab (as suggested the Hotel), but since your son likes trains, the Market-Frankford Line ( its called "The EL" by locals) Market-Frankford map and schedule runs from 30th street station to the 2nd street. Upon exiting the station, your son will be at 2nd and Market streets and will have a 2 block walk to the Hyatt. If arriving in the evening, I might take a cab. I'm not sure what the cab fare is, but the fare using The El is $2.00. While in Philly, check out the Philadelphia Museum of Art as they will have a major exhibit featuring the works of Salvador Dali. Also about 25 miles west of the city is Valley Forge National Park and along with a visit to Independance Hall, it can give one a great perspective on the sacrifices that others made over 200 years ago that established our freedom.
did I see somewhere on the board a reference to Craigs list for short term rentals??
I haven't used this before....
I was rejected in bidding for a 5* property on 2/13/05. Started at $105 and bid all zones up to $151, but was rejected 8x :) , with each rejection came a list of hotels from lowestfare.com with availability for my travel date. The Venetian was offered at $259. I will try once again in 72 hours and then one last time on Sunday when inventory may be released. :)
No, I just plugged in my travel date and city, and received two pages of hotels. I could ID the Monte Carlo as the 4* property since the description mentioned the Lance Burton Theater. The drop down menu on the left is pretty slick....$109 is a pretty good rate as the MC website is showing $149. This property features 6 pools, wonder if I have to be a polar bear to enjoy this amenity....I did swim in the 62 degree surf at the Jersey Shore in mid-May once, but I was 15 yrs old at the time...... :)
Hotwire is showing the 5* Venetian for $254 for 2/13....down from $274 last week.....is a $150 PL win in my future??
I believe it follows the rule of supply and demand, that is, on any given date, based upon the occupancy levels, a hotel will offer rooms to the Priceline system. If the hotel is near sell out, it may not offer any rooms to Priceline. The Jersey City (NJ) Hyatt, as an example is often tough to get from Monday-Thursday as the hotel is filled with guests on business expense accounts paying the top rate. On weekends, if the hotel anticipates vacancies, in an attempt to maximize the revenue of the hotel, some of its inventory is put up for bidding. Instead of offering its rooms for one price, it will offer rooms at several price points, and through the bidding process, offers to sell are matched with offers to buy (your bid). By monitoring the postings on this board, and armed with its "a posteriori knowledge", you can start with a lower bid which just might match the hotel's offer price. By not monitoring this board, you might start out at a higher bid, such as your example above, bid $70 and get the Hyatt when a bid of $47 may have won the same room (as long as others have not won all the available $47 rooms). But you might also get the Omni, so you can't always be assured of getting a specific hotel, just a hotel with an offer price that matches your bid that corresponds to its star rating (4*, 3.5*, etc.)
PS, I ended up having to pay $9.95 for the HS internet, it was not removed from my bill. I would still stay here anyway, as it is a bargain!!
I just checked ECT and for the night of 2/13, a 4* "Off The Record" hotel is available for $109 per night, this appears to be the Monte Carlo and I will probably go with this. Another 4* Off the Record comes up and appears to be the Westin @ $129.
You will like the Sheraton much more than the Holiday Inn as it is a newer property, and very close to a lot of restaurants in the "Old City" neighborhood of Philadelphia. This is a very walkable part of town and if the weather is nice, you can walk to many of the historic sites like Independance Hall, the Mint, the Constitution Center, Betsy Ross House, not to mention several watering holes that will stave off dehydration !
I wonder if I can book the JC Hyatt this far in advance for 1/28/06 :) Many watering holes in Hoboken to choose from.
By reading the postings on this board, it has made me a more informed bidder and it has caused me to use Priceline more than Hotwire, As a result, I have saved even more on my travel costs and has introduced me to more properties.
Happy 2nd Birthday!!!
I called Hotwire customer service to make my same day, last minute reservation in the Parsippany, NJ area. There was a 3.5* available for $72 which I believed to be the Parsippany Hilton and a 3* for $63 with the following amenity: Business Center. With not much to go on, I took a leap of faith and this turned out to be the Summerfield Suites by Wyndham in Whippany, NJ.
1 room(s) @ $63.00 per night x 1 night(s) $63.00
Hotel Taxes and fees: $12.95
Hotel Subtotal $75.95
Total Price $75.95
This is a fairly new property with an outdoor pool in the center of a courtyard that in the summer will be inviting. Hotwire is missing some amenity icons as the rooms are suites, has free breakfast, guest laundry, (tiny) fitness center, and a kitchenette that features a full size stove, refrigerator, mini-microwave and sink. Also, there is a manager's reception from 5:30 to 7:00 with complimentary light appetizers, beer and wine. :) Unfortunately I had to pass :o The hotel also features HiSpeed Internet (WiFi and ethernet) at $9.95 a day. I called the desk and wanted this fee waived since I have a "Wyndham By Request" affinity card, and was told that since my reservation was pre-paid through Hotwire, I would have to pay for HiSpeed Internet. I went to the Wyndham By Request web site and since there was no mention of this policy, I called the desk again and convinced the clerk to credit the $9.95 on my bill. The website specifically mentions that "500 air miles" would not be awarded to HW or PL prepaid reservations or airline crew members, but makes no mention of denying the other benefits available with the Wyndham affinity program. Overall, a terriffic deal at a nice 3* property in a great location. The rate for a pre-paid (non-cancellable) reservation including tax was $163. The icing on the cake is that this hotel is only 10 minutes from Arthur's Tavern in Morris Plains :)
Check out the link above to Real Hotel Photos and you will see the Jersey City Hyatt, if you were any closer to NYC, you'd be in the river :) Read some of the past postings on the board and you will get a feel for this property and its safety and proximity to getting into the city. I
Add me to the TOBB *banned* list!
in Off Topic: Run of House
Posted
I have viewed this other bulletin board and although my momma always said that "if you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all". But I must admit that the tone of that board reminds me of the scene from the film "Oliver" where the main character finished his bowl of gruel and asked the headmaster of the orphanage for "more".......we all know what happens next......
I'm of the age that I dont care to grovel in attempt to post for the benefit of others, and don't like to be "talked down to", so things are just fine here..... :)
on that note, I will zip my lip and just say "sorry mom" :)