Thanks Jule for your post! Thereuare, thanks as well for the tip on the Imperial Palace. Hotwire is showing a 3* for $65 that with the following amenities:
Casino Restaurant Pool Fitness Center Spa Services Children's Activity Program Business Center
The "childrens activity program" concerns me....Not that I don't like kids, but mine will be back home and I'd rather not stay at a place that caters to this sort of clientel :)
Does this sound like the Boardwalk?
If a $100 bid for a 5* is not realistic, what do you think my chances of getting a 4* at around $100?
Decided that if the better half can go to Vegas with her sisters, then I can take an extra day or two and hit Vegas on my way to Phoenix/Scottsdale for a business meeting. I have already booked a room at the Las Vegas Hilton using HHonors points for 2/12. I was surprised that I could get this reservation given the demand for rooms on a Saturday night. I could not use points to get a room on Sunday 2/13 so I am in need of a bidding strategy for this one night. I will need a room with two beds or at the least, room with a King and a sofa bed (a la Venitian) as I will be travelling with a friend. Is it possible to win a 5* for a $100 bid? Definately want to stay on the strip as I will not have a car.
I have checked out Easy Click Travel using the new tool, and it looks like the San Remo is available for $59 and Circus Circus is also available for $39 for this one night; I have read mixed reviews on both.
In a perfect world, I would prefer to stay in one hotel for both nights 2/12 and 2/13 but room rates on Saturday night are sky high. My max bid for each night under this scenario is $100 and I would consider going down a star level.
Also, I plan to fly back to Phoenix from Las Vegas, but thought that it would be different to rent a car and drive, has anyone done this? Southwest's $39 airfares make this decision a no-brainer from a cost perspective.
Just wanted to close this topic out, I ended up booking three rooms directly with the Luxor at the rate of $99 per night, 4/05/05 - 4/08/05. These dates are mid-week and go up on the weekends to $159 (Friday) and $179 (Saturday).
Prof, Public transportation to NYC from Secaucus is via the bus. If you want the Subway, the Hyatt in Jersey City is right next to the PATH station that will drop you off at 33rd St. and 6th Ave. Parking at the Hyatt is $15.00 and about a block away, but if you can snag this hotel for the $37.00 rate, you will have an easier time getting into the City, and being not too far from Teaneck. Good Luck!
Shoeless,
thereuare is more familiar with this but an option is to take NJ Transit from the Princeton Junction train station Penn Station in NYC. The round trip OFF PEAK adult fare is $14.75 and ONE WAY child's fare is $4.40. This is cheaper than Amtrak, and parking at Princeton Junction was only $3.00 a day last year. This would make your trip into the city about $63 give or take. The phone # for NJ Transit is 1-800-772-2222. I did this last year and it worked great for me. You will need to grab a cab at Penn Station to get to the Millenium.
Good Luck, you could also bid for a room in the Newark-Hoboken or Secaucus-Meadowlands for Thursday night, you should get a good deal as the occupancy rate is down from Mon-Fri levels.
The Kinko's in Union, NJ has two desks that you can set up your laptop, you can connect with an ethernet (no charge) cable or dial up modem. You can also print out any documents as well for a small fee. This location has T-Mobile WiFi that charges a fee to go wireless.
This Hilton has free WiFi, but I got the last non-smoking room (also a handicapped room that was really big) and the WiFi signal did not reach my room, so I just used dial up.
I should also mention that the Hilton was but a mere 15 Minutes from the North Brunswick outpost of Arthur's Tavern, since I've never been to this Arthur's, I figured that I needed to benchmark it against the other 3 locations. They passed with flying colors!!! Also, there is a large Indian community nearby and several good restaurants to choose from.
Thanks for the tip!! Since my post, I have found out that there is a bit of dissention among the 5 sisters and that one of the 5 reported poor service at the Luxor during her last stay about 3 months ago. The staff had plenty of attitude and that some items like spa passes, coupons, were not presented no offered when asked at check in and that the front desk manager was not very helpful. According to this disgruntled former Luxor guest, she will never go back. We might have to split the group of 5 sisters into two hotels!
Pulled into a Kinko's to and fired up my laptop on a 17 degree afternoon to make my latest last minute bid for a room, this time in the Edison, NJ area. As always, I accessed PL through savingsbarn.com. Checked area room rates on Expedia before I made my bid and found out that several 3* properties were at $139 + with some properties shown as sold out. Hotwire was showing a 3* at $70. This area does not have any free re-bids but has 5 zones. Picked the Edison Woodbridge Zone and bid $68 for a 3* and received the following:
Congratulations, you got your price of $68 for a 3-star hotel room
Hilton Woodbridge
Your Offer Price: $68.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $68.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $17.37
Total Charges: $85.37
I may have opened my bid a little high, given Hotwire's pricing, but I saved $70 off the Hilton Best-Rate Guarantee. Whatever..... so much for best rates. This Hotel is close to the Metropark Train Station with frequent Amtrak and NJ Transit service to NYC, 35-45 minutes to Penn Station
Thanks TG and Thereuare, I have been checking several hotel websites and it looks like the best deal for the dates of travel seem to be the backup reservation at the Luxor @ $99 per night. Also, just found out that two of the five in the party will be returning on 4/8. So it looks like we are looking at two rooms for the dates of 4/5-4/10 and one room for 4/5 - 4/8. The Bally's deal looks pretty good, I think weekday rates are at $89 a night.
my bad, sorry for that, we will need three rooms total. Two of the rooms would have to have two beds in the room, the third room can go with a king if necessary. Splitting the stay would only be an option if we could get a 5* like has been mentioned on the board, since we would be fairly confident of the outcome. Do you think a $100 win is possible? I would probably need to book the weekend portion of the trip in a non-opaque property that we could identify, preferrably not too far from the 5*. The sisters will not rent a car hence, the central location on the strip would be nice. I did some checking using Easy Click Travel and it seems that there were two opaque listings that were 4* properties and a ton of non-casino hotels. These opaque properties looked like they were more expensive than the Luxor, and I believe that one was the Monte Carlo given the description of the some of the features, like the "Lance Burton Showroom". May I add that I would want to book this stay in a casino hotel; a spa would be a plus, not a requirement. The average room rate for the 5 days at the Luxor works out to about $130 without tax, so this would be a maximum bid amount for better, more "Strip Central" accomodations.
I'm helping 5 sisters with a trip to Las Vegas, one of them turns 50 this year. Dates of travel are 4/5 -4/10/05 and backup reservations have been made at the Luxor where the standard room in the Pyramid for the first three nights runs $99 plus tax; on 4/8 the rate goes up to $169 and on 4/9 the rate goes up to $189. Two in the group have been to the Luxor already so they would like to try something different. I had heard some good things about the Monte Carlo, but also heard a comment that the staff was "snooty", I guess I'm looking for some advice on similar if not better accomodations, more central to the strip than the Luxor. Because of not being able to guarantee rooms with two beds, I'm not sure if PL or HW is an option. In addition, I know your thoughts about why you don't use these PL or HW for Vegas. Are there any non opaque deals in Vegas for a 4* property in the $100 range? Also, I thought I saw on the board that the Venetian and Bellagio (both 5*) release inventory to PL and HW about one week before dates of travel.
when you can get a Hyatt 3* Hotel at a price lower than a 1* Econo Lodge, that is sweet!! That is BetterBidding!!!
This used to be a Wyndham and before that a Marriott. I have stayed here several times, and it is a nice property. In Islip, there is a great little restaurant called Tango Argentinian Steakhouse, very reasonable. Try the skirt steak, it is thin, and about one cubit in length (distance from tip of pinky to elbow) really good potatoes, have a Quilmes Cristal, similar to Heineken.
Desirees, first of all, my condolences to you and your family at this time. The following link will take you to a list of the top management and board members at Priceline. You may want to send an email or a letter to Lisa Gillingham, Senior VP of Customer Service and carbon copy Jeffrey Boyd, President. Best of luck to you and your family.
corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=pcln&script=2260
NY Waterway also operated a water taxi to the Yankees games from NJ, but I have read that they are having financial problems...I thought it would be pretty cool to take a water taxi to the House that Ruth built!!!
made another same day reservation using savingsbarn.com to get to the Priceline website. Checked out Hotwire before I bid and it showed a 3.5* Customer Favorite in the Moristown-Parsippany area for $76, which I suspect was the Hilton.
Selected Florham Park, bid $66 for a 3*, rejected. Added 2.5* and increased bid to $67, rejected. Added Parsippany-Hanover zone and bid $69 and won!
Congratulations, you got your price of $69 for a hotel room, and we've upgraded your hotel quality level to a 3-star hotel!
Your Offer Price: $69.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $69.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $17.57
Total Charges: $86.57
The "Best Available Rate" on the Hilton Website was $229 a savings of 70% using PL. This is a big property with an indoor pool, with a hot Tub Spa, a decent sized fitness center, two tennis courts, and a basketball court. The Hilton has 3 shuttle busses to take you around to area business. Hi Speed internet is also available at $9.95 a day through Wayport, but somehow I got online for free. There is also a Ruth's Chris Steak House in the hotel, but I was so close to Arthur's Tavern in Morris Plains, I had to make the short 10 minute drive to get my Arthur's fix. Upon check in, the clerk would not take my HHonors number, apparently points will no longer be issued for incidentals, only for hotel stays booked directly through Hilton. Heck, had I dined at Ruth's Chris, my bill would have been around $100 or 1000 points.
You probably can get this without going the whole $17 counter. If you raised it by $5 you might score!
in your example, Hotel "A" may have availability, but all of the Hotwire rates might be sold out. Unfortunately, that is the risk of booking on PL and HW and not directly with the Hotel, the trade off is a savings of maybe 50% off rack rates.
That's a great price considering that there is a big trade show at McCormack this week, it runs until the 13th. I suspect that there may have been a lot of trade show-related cancellations that caused the Hyatt released its inventory. The trade show rate is $149.00 !!! Way to go!
I would add Newark, NJ zone including the areas of Jersey City, Newark Airport, Secaucus-Meadowlands. The risk is minimal due to the postings on this board and the rewards are great, I typically save 40% or more. Better yet, I get to stay in a nicer property. I typically make same day reservations which minimizes the PL/HW risk of making a non-cancellable booking.
The 1* Econo Lodge in Islip is $72. You might want to consider the JFK area, closer to Islip than Newark. The travel time to get to Islip from Newark by car could be a 2 hour or more trip. I used Hotwire to stay at the Best Western JFK, and a hotel with a similar profile is available for $64. Hotwire is also showing a 3* in the Ronkonkoma-Holtsville area for $67. This may be a be a fallback if your bid is not successful at $50.00.
Have you considered renting a condomium for part of your stay??
Jello, I think that was the Rihga Royal......you have stayed in some nice hotels!!!
Alas, too many adult beverages over the Holidays have forced me to knuckle down and dust off my fading 1980's copy of the Scarsdale Diet.....I got lost trying to find the Summerfield Suites hotel, and when I called for directions, I was informed that the name of the property is Sunrise Suites. I had driven past this place three times trying to find the hotel. I complained to PL customer service, but the robotic responses from customer service reminded me that I bid for a 2.5* property no matter what the name on the hotel was. These hotel chains are both owned by Wyndham, so I got High Speed Internet at no charge, normally a $9.95 charge. This is an all suite hotel, with a door between rooms, but my room was really worn around the edges and in need of a good cleaning. The rooms feature a two burner cooking surface, microwave oven big enough for one bag of popcorn, and a refrigerator. The managers reception looked pretty decent with beer, wine and snacks, but I abstained. Free breakfast is also included. The indoor pool looked good and had a whirlpool spa adjoining the pool. There is a small fitness center with a lone treadmill and a few bikes, a step machine and a Universal Gym that was straight out of the late 70's. One unusual feature of this property is that many rooms face an outdoor courtyard, so you need to put your coat on, walk outside, then back inside to get to the elevator to get to the lobby. Maybe OK in the Sunshine state, but it is a pain in the Garden State during January!! All in all, for $48, this is not too bad and if you had to stay in this area for any length of time, this is a good choice. Also, this is not too far from some of the Jersey Beaches, I may have to return in the summer to show off my 6 pack abs; on second thought, maybe just a 6 pack!!!
made a same day bid for a hotel using Savingsbarn.com for the Eatontown, NJ area. I checked out Hotwire and it showed a 2.5* Suite Hotel @ $52 plus taxes of $13.95. Thought this might be the Residence Inn. Went over to Priceline, with no free re-bid zones, I bid $51 for a 3* and was rejected, added 2.5* zone and re-bid $48 and was accepted.
Your Offer Price: $48.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $48.00
Taxes & Service Fees: $14.08
Total Charges: $62.08
Considering that the Summerfield Suites does not get the whole $48 from PL, the taxes and fees amount to over 30%!! WOW! :)
The Best Rate for this property was $99.00 on the Wyndham web site, it looks like it has a pool, free breakfast and some kind of manager's reception during the week. Does this mean free adult beverages? :)
3* Newark (Jersey City) Hyatt Regency on Hudson
in Priceline Hotels - New Jersey
Posted
if you stay near JFK, you may be spending too much time on public transportation going back and forth and not enough time doing the things that brought you to NYC in the first place! The 2* may be the Best Western, this hotel's best features (good coffee at the breakfast bar, free HS internet, close proximity to the airport, and free shuttle) will not be appreciated on a weekend stay with your wife. The 3* may be the Ramada Inn. I think that you may need to increase your budget or you might want to think about staying in Jersey City, NJ.