inspiration100

quoted me per day :). Congrats on the win though. None the less, this is a great deal for a 4 star hotel in Seattle.

Lucky you! Best hotel in Seattle! Enjoy it and congrats on the win.

Your going to love this hotel :). Try to get a high floor because there is alot of road noise next to I5!

Got back from this vacation and was pretty disappointed in the Edgewater. It's going WAY downhill. Gave us a view of the dumpster because we were through priceline and wanted $30 to have any view of the water. Paid it, but don't feel it was worth that. The view was fairly good though. If anyone wants some info about the hotel, PM me :). Stayed here in the late 90's and was treated very well. Much different than this trip. I plan to compile a website with my hotel experiences in the Seattle area shortly. Let my mistakes be your gain :).

Is that $14, a fee per day or over your entire stay?

Haven't stayed here. Let me know what you think of this hotel :)

Nice job with the Grand, I think you'll enjoy that! Congrats!

Well done! Beats the Westin! I've heard this is the best hotel downtown. Please let me know what you think of this hotel, as I often go to downtown LA after riding the Coast Starlight from Seattle.

Victoria will be very nice in July, but probably fairly expensive. I'm curious how the bidding goes so please keep us updated :).

I also won this hotel on priceline for just a little more... $86. It seems like that is what priceline has been giving people lately. Your choice whether you want to book through PRICELINE or HOTWIRE. Priceline can give you anything in the star range but this hotel has been coming up frequently.

For about $85 I believe you have a shot at winning the 4* Westin Bonaventure downtown. I'd work your way up from $70. They seem to be putting lots of rooms on priceline. I'd ditch the hostel, I hate those, I dunno about you. Hollywood tends to be a little more $. Downtown probably has the better Metro also. If you did win the Westin, the bus service is one block down and only costs $0.25 per person to get to Union Station which has alot of buses going to and from. I'd give her a try!

Curious if anyone has statistics... for hotels that use priceline I wonder what percentage of guests purchased through priceline? Is it a high percent or fairly low? Just random thought I had.

NO kidding, a Holiday Inn for $27... especially in Vancouver. Now that's a steal. This is a great forum, kudos to the owner for keeping it so grand!

Decided I couldn't do the 1st since it conflicted with school so I tried for the 4th in Vancouver. Nice tips guys... I'm a winner! $86 WON the The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver for two nights. Check-In Date: Friday, July 3, 2009 Check-Out Date: Sunday, July 5, 2009 Bid 70, 75, 78, 84 then 86 was the WIN. Used the PRICELINE link.

With this economy you might be able to get something under $100, but I agree, summer in Seattle is pretty nice and probably the hardest time to get a good deal. I'd still kick her off around $70-$75 and work up in $5 incs until around $85. Are you willing to pay $100 + fees, or just $100 without fees? Another hint would be to take a night stay at the SEATAC airport which you can get a 3* hotel for $50, even during the Summer I believe. That shoots down your 4* idea though. Those are decent hotels too, except for the airplane noise. Then the next day you could bus into Seattle for $2.50/person or drive 30 minutes. Don't ever bid in the Kent/Renton zone (unless using it for a rebid zone)... those are generally poor hotels. Most of those hotels are on West Valley Highway which is one of the straightest roads in the State. This induces lots of street racing at night and makes it a somewhat unsafe area. Hope this helped.

Well that makes two of us that know the area believe it's Silver Cloud. I think you a probably going to get that. I didn't want to ruin your vacation without another confirmation from someone else though :) . Having stayed in both hotels though, I do prefer the Crown Plaza since you can get a decent view on the 30th floor... but the Silver Cloud is decent as well. It's far south of downtown though, quite a walk! Since I'm a local, I don't have to pay for parking since I bus to Seattle.

Time out there. Hope I'm not too late... I don't believe this is the Crown Plaza as I know Crown Plaza doesn't have a pool. Fits a little closer to Silver Cloud Inn Stadium but... to my knowledge, every hotel downtown is smoke free (Seattle law) so I am not 100% sure. I am however believing it's not the Crown Plaza because of the pool. I think your looking at one of the two Silver Cloud Inns (Stadium would be my first guess), which is located across the street from Safeco Field. Maybe the owner can give his opinion here. My guess is Silver Cloud Inn Stadium. Hotwire has recently been dropping some amenities. Last I heard parking was $23 here.

If I were you, I would kick the bid off around $65 for a 4 star... and increase. I have rarely seen anyone win a hotel for $65, so that's a good starting point. You may get a bite around $75-$80... but in July I would expect even a little higher. There are plenty of rebid zones as well for 4 stars. Take a couple of days and work your way up slowly.

Thinking about maybe going up to vancouver instead of Seattle for the 1st of July. I'm curious if I should expect to see heavily inflated prices during this time? I know this is Canadian day with the fireworks and all... I'm really shooting for the Westin Bayshore, but any 4 star would be okay. Do you think I could get a rough rate of around $85 for the 1st? Just trying to prepare myself if I make a bid. Thanks!

Dang, nice stuff for the Westin! Congrats and enjoy your stay :)

As much as I'm sure the BB staff wants you to get the hotel of your choice, PRICELINE is not the way to go if you FOR SURE want the Venetian. It's alot less common than other hotels that pop up here (Planet Hollywood, Trump, and Wynn for example). If you have your heart set to stay at the Venetian (and I don't blame you, I also want to stay in this hotel on my trip in August), you would probably be safest just booking through the hotels own website and trying to find the best promotion. Anyhow, I really hope you the best of luck in winning it... You can test your luck before hitting vegas :).

Interesting thread... I always wonder why people did NOT want to get the trump (afterall, it seemed like a nice place). Curious, on checkout couldn't you just ask not to pay the fee, saying that you felt that was a robbery? Most hotels are accommodating if you complain about extra charges. I remember one time I stayed in a hotel without a car and they wanted to force parking charges on me. I just said I felt this was unethical and they immediately removed it from my bill.

As far as downtown four star hotels -- Yes indeed, Seattle Center - Space Needle location does not show any four star hotels. Thus, if you need a four star hotel, will be in the downtown location if you select 4 stars (which I prefer the downtown myself anyways). Currently you can use the space needle area for a rebid since you know you won't get a 4* even if you select it... What are your dates? It seems lately the odds run that you probably will win the Edgewater (right on the water but a little walk from downtown) or the Hotel Monaco which is more centrally located if your bidding for the month of March. Another possibility is the Westin Seattle, but they usually don't accept your bid till you get into the 100+ range. My guess would be if your bidding that high, you may very well be bidding on the Westin Seattle, but I can't guarantee it. Downtown 3 star hotels-- Another nice downtown Seattle hotel that I like is the 3* Crowne Plaza (although I know you said you want only 4*). I really think it's closer to a four star myself when I stayed there... I don't study the 3* hotels as closely so I don't know what you might win if you go 3*. I know you run a risk of getting the Seattle Hotel Max and I personally can't stand modern artistic hotel style trash :) . I think your smarter sticking with the 4*. Anyhoo, don't back-click once you bid!! Also, always start lower and build your way up. My guess would be you might get a bite around $70-$75 for a 4* depending on your dates. Any other questions? I like to help. P.S... Seattle parking is really expensive. Make sure you set aside $20-30 a night for it!

Thank you for the great update! Yes, those hills in Seattle can indeed get steep. For a future hint to those traveling in Seattle, generally the farther north you go, the less steep the hills are to get up from the waterfront. So it's smarter to walk east on the north end rather than on the south side. I agree about your Westin thought... I'm a huge fan of the Westin Seattle. The location is great and the rooms are decent. The place could use a remodel and a lower price, but the views are to kill for. If you, or anyone reading this does decide to book the Westin Seattle sometime (not through priceline cause people rarely win it), I would suggest you plan your stay around the $100 gift card period. Basically you get the cheapest price through the Westin site ($199 for the stay) as well as a $100 gift card which you can use at the Pacific Place Mall. We had a great time using this since I got a nice room with a view, a ball game and 3 meals for 4 of us just over $220. On a side note, I am going to the edgewater as well this month to see how it's changed... I really enjoyed my last stay (but it was awhile back!).

I did some poking around and couldn't find a thread (although I don't doubt one exists) on how priceline fees work. Are the fees a set amount no matter what star, or do they differ (not including tax)? I know tax is included, but what chunk does priceline take out on a hotel? If the hotel's minimum accepting bid is $80 for example, does priceline pocket the rest of the money if I bid $90? Thanks a bunch!