What is this HOTWIRE-like site?
Didn't know if I can mention the site here (@thereuare: feel free to delete this, if it's against the policy of this site), it was on lastminute.com - they apparently have some opaque-version offers sometimes too within the hotel lists - though it was quite easy to discover which hotels are hidden behind the descriptions.. as the descriptions are the same as in the usual regular offers, just not mentioning the hotel's name. The Sheraton was listed as "5star" there.
Top Hotel in central Brussels - 5* - Brussels
Treat your sweetheart to a romantic break with a stay in this luxurious hotel located in central Brussels. Ideally located in the heart of the business district, this deluxe property provides travellers with exquisite style and exceptional service and facilities.
Business facilities
* Business Centre
Children facilities
* Babysitting
Hotel facilities
* Parking*
* Concierge
* Night Porter
* Air Conditioning
* Safety Deposit Boxes
* Laundry
* Free newspaper
* Car rental desk
* Reception desk
* Luggage room
*May incur an additional cost
Leisure facilities
* Indoor swimming pool
* Sauna
* Fitness centre
Room facilities
* Hairdryer
* Safe
* Television
* Cable/satellite
* Mini-bar
* Work desk with lamp
Restaurant
* Restaurant: A unique, mouth watering, anti-pasti buffet awaits your arrival at Restaurant, offering all-day Mediterranean dining.
* Coffee Bar: For those who cannot resist outrageous pastries, deluxe sandwiches and exquisite coffees - Espresso, the new Italian coffee bar is a must.
Bar
* Bar: The Bar will surprise everyone with its light play, chic furniture and lounge music and its all set to make its mark as a sophisticated bar that radiates a feeling of well-being.
Children policy
* Children welcome
Cancellation policy
* Cancellation charge is 100%
Check-in time: 15:00 Check-out time: 13:00
Local Attractions
* Espace Louise Shops
* Grand Place
* Congress Palace
* Royal Palace
* King Baudouin Stadium
* Heysel Convention/Exhibition Centre
* Bruparck attractions complex
* Waterloo
* Atomium
Location
* Nearest airport: Brussels National Airport
* Nearest train station: Brussels North train station
* Nearest metro: Rogier metro station
* Nearest other: City centre - Hotel is located in the city centre
Credit cards accepted by hotel
* Diners
* MasterCard
* FOURB
* Amex
* Visa
* Carte Bleue
* Switch
* Maestro
* Delta
* Solo
* Visa Electron
An offer of $80 for 5 star Brussels, May 17th, was rejected without counteroffer, another offer of $40 for 4star (central Brussels too) was rejected either (without counteroffer). Didn't want to go higher for 4star because the CP Europe had an prepaid rate of 64 Eur for that night on their website.
Ended up in booking the Hilton City Centre for 84 Euro prepaid on their website. (After succesfully gotten the Sheraton Brussels - just opposite of the Hilton - for the weekend after, 75 Euro per night, via a hotwire-like European opaque site).
It may be that the Le Meridien Stillhorn is no longer participating, but it's also possible that they have chosen not to participate in the 'non-opaque' version of priceline... the two services operate as completely different entities and work off of a different universe of hotels.
Yepp.. sorry, I didn't express myself clearly enough.. - I wanted to say that the Le Meridien Stillhorn is still listed in the non-opaque-version of Priceline, but not with the location "Hamburg central", but only "Hamburg" - While all the other known opaqe-hotels for Hamburg are listed in the non-opaque-version as "Hamburg central". So I think the geographical attribution of the hotels should be coherent between the non-opaque and the opaque versions.. ?!
Ooops... just wanted to play around a little bit for Hamburg.. (I want to see the upcoming Titanic exposition in Kiel in June.. but decent hotels in Kiel are rather fully booked for the june-weekends), and didn't expect to get a good deal on PL as the regular rates for Hamburg were quite high too... anyway, as being flexible in dates, just started "lowballing" with a 55$ and was immediately accepted (after a reject @75$ for 5star):
Renaissance Hamburg Hotel
Grosse Bleichen
Hamburg, Germany
49 40 349180
Offer price: US$55.00
Number of rooms: 1
Number of nights: 2
Subtotal: US$110.00
Taxes and service fees: US$26.26
Total charges: US$136.26
Marriott.com says 165,-- EUR per night for these dates!!! Quite some very decent savings :)
Used savingsbarn.com, of course.
ps.: I assume the Le Meridien Stillhorn is not anymore a 4star for central Hamburg - as it's not listed unter "central Hamburg" anymore within the 4stars for Hamburg in Priceline (regular booking).
Riverside doesn't offer 5star level, so it's what we call a "free rebid" (you don't risk getting a 5star there).
Yepp.. I saw that too "somewhere".. looks fine.. but you might have ended up in an upgrade to 3 star level.. so you're probably lucky in that case :-).
I think the MO's Internet rate seems cancelable, too.. otherwise I assume it should have been mentionend in the conditions ("Terms & Conditions:
hmm.. seems like a rather expensive date..
the Marina Mandrin has a cancelable rate of 260SG$ for that night
Rate Plan:
Advance Purchase
Book Early To Enjoy Best Rates
Room Type:
Premier Room King Bed 3 hrs Free Internet Usage, Tea/Coffee Maker
Rates Information
Avg Nightly Rate:
260.00 (per room)
Total Cost:
260.00 (per room)
Taxes:
Rates Exclude Tax and Service Charges
Total Taxes and Service Charge:
43.03 (per room) 6.55 percent per room per night
Total Cost Inclusive:
303.03 (per room)
Currency:
Singapore Dollar
Service:
10.00 P
Rate Changes: None
Policy Information
Guarantee Policy:
Credit Card Gtd Required
Cancellation Policy:
To avoid cancellation charges, booking must be cancelled before 4PM local hotel time on 02 April 2007.
While this 4* property may well match the amenities of the Sheraton Hotel & Towers, I still think it is highely unlikely for the Sheraton to sell their rooms at such a low rate.
Sheraton's lowest rate for these dates is $290 plus tax. I don't think Sheraton Hotel & Towers needs to sell their rooms so cheaply since they are the only Frankfurt Airport Hotel that is directly connected to the airport terminals.
I agree.. and usually the Sheraton is rated above the Steigenberger Airport... so I don't believe it'll be listed as 4 star in Hotwire.. Maybe the NH Frankfurt Airport, or the Holiday Inn or ....
At least you might benefit from the Air France Bus which stops directly in front of the hotel :-) Enjoy your stay.
So, should be a 4 star rating in the title, not 3 star, I assume?
Hard fight! But indeed, you can be happy with the Swiss
You might try for 3-star level.. as I've seen the Marriott Cologne coming up as 3-star for Cologne...
but might be risky anyway.. won't be the only 3-star for Cologne..
Usually, it's not the same crowd which takes part in the carnival festivities as the usual weekend-customers that a hotel like the Renaissance (at least a 5-star hotel in Cologne, by German classification) can attract for leisure travel. And still, most of the participants of the Carnival come from the local (or regional) area, so usually not in need for a hotel. That's why I assume there's not a huge interference between the Carnival and PL-Availability for the Renaissance..
As you're not in a hurry in terms of time, I'd start lowballing for 4-star. The Holiday Inn seems to be graded as 4star for Warsaw (not sure about that, but it appears in the regular PL booking list for these dates) and shows rates of around 80$. So you could try starting with +/- 50$ for 4star Warsaw.
Was rejected up to $60 for West, added East zone and got it for $61.
Hotel Name:
Frankfurt Marriott Hotel
West
Hamburger Allee 2-10
Frankfurt, Germany
49 6979550
Check-In Date: Friday, January 5, 2007
Check-Out Date: Monday, January 8, 2007
Your Offer Price: US$61.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 3
Subtotal: US$183.00
Total Charges: US$220.11
Used savingsbarn.com
Marriott.com says 129 Euro per night (weekend rate).
Did you try 5-star, too?
I stayed for one night in the Moevenpick which is located just opposite of the airport. They have a shuttle service (every 15 minutes during the day I think) to/from the hotel which takes only some minutes to get to the hotel. Walking is fine too, takes you about 10 minutes to/from the hotel.
Check-in was very friendly and no priceline-mention. Got a superior room (standard for double room; single rooms are only 18sqm!) in the 11th floor. The room was really huge (around 30sqm) but very outdated in terms of design (1980s). Only the executive rooms are renovated (but of same size). They offered me an upgrade to executive (including lounge benefits) for 100 CHF but I denied. There was a seating area with a small couch near the window and a comfortable king-size bed. Unfortunately only a quite tiny TV (hard to see from the seating area, better from the bed). The room was however very clean, especially the bathroom. No small bottles of shampoo/lotion etc, no soaps, only these wall-mounted refill-boxes for fluid soap, no really what I expect from a 5star hotel (it's rated as a 5 star in Swiss classification). A lot of towels, no seperate shower cubicle, only a tub/shower-combination, but ok, no complains here.
The minibar was of course expensive (5 CHF for a coke of can), but well, it's Switzerland, everything is expensive here. TV offered several cable channels (and Pay-TV). The large desk had broadband internet access, but for a decent charge only (don't remember the sum anymore).
I ordered room-service dinner and breakfast, and both was of excellent taste and delivered on time by a friendly waiter (but expensive again, of course).
Check-out went smooth and friendly again.
As I didn't stay longtime in the hotel, I didn't check out the facilities of the hotel, of course there's a restaurant (2 I think, one of these a Japanese restaurant) and a bar, and there's a hotel casino in the annex of the building. There's a fitness center too with sauna, hairdresser and beauty-shop, but I didn't use these.
Allover, a comfortable hotel with a high service level. Just the design of the standard rooms looks very tired (I assume they will renovate the standard rooms too soon). The location is ok, well, it's an airport hotel, but the train takes you in just less than 10 minutes from the hotel to the central station (city centre), so it's still ok (and I went on business trip, so didn't do any sightseeing, so it was ok for me).
Got rejected up to $120 on Priceline US for 4star Geneva; changed to PL SG and got it for 190SG$ (after having received a counteroffer by Priceline SG by e-mail for SG$214 for 4star).
Hotel Name: Moevenpick Hotel Geneva
20 Route de Pre-bois
Case Postale 556
Geneva, Gen
The Meridien Orchard seems already quite run-down and the Elizabeth seems not to be worth the 4 PL stars, according to what I've read in some reviews.
I was quite impressed with the Conrad Centennial; before arrival I emailed the hotel to ask for a smoking room with harbour view in the higher floors and upon check-in my wishes were respected and I got one of the few rooms with the large window front facing the harbour, in 23nd floor! Great. The room was quite large and from the bed one could enjoy the view over Marina Bay and the skyline, wonderful. Nice warm and light colours, very clean room. They had provided a fruit plate, chocolates and the small teddybear for welcome. The room, as well as the bathroom, was very clean (though a smoking room, as requested). Efficient and quiet aircondition (which didn't blow the cold air directly to the beds, which was nice). The bathroom is very large and elegant, with a separate shower cubicle. The large mirrors are heated, so no fog on the mirrors after taking a shower.
Check-in was very friendly, no Priceline attitude at all. They even wanted my FF number / HHonors for any mileage credits (nothing credited yet anyway). We were escorted to the room; they only forgot to deliver the suitcase, we had to call front desk later to check. They provide a turndown service in the evening.
The lobby is really nice and elegant, the location of the hotel is quite nice, you can just cross the street to enter the Marina Square Mall via the Pan Pacific next door. There's a pool which we didn't check out due to rainy weather. The next MRT station is City Hall, which is a about 10-minute walk through Suntec Mall away, but well taxis are cheap in Singapore.
Allover, a very nice stay with excellent staff! For the around 80 bucks per night a real deal on priceline, if you can get it.
I was very impressed with the Holiday Inn Bangkok - the former Le Meridien President. The recent total makeover of the hotel makes the Holiday Inn shine in a modern und elegant design. The lobby is very large and the connecting restaurants and bars are all well integrated with as few walls as necessary - which gives the whole ground floor of the hotel a very nice, light and open feeling. The design is very well done, IMO, and might even surpass the one of the Westin Grande Sukhumvit; very modern design with Thai accents.
The welcome and check-in was excellent, very friendly, very fast, no Priceline-mention, even upgraded to a superior room. No credit card wanted upon check-in; we got a room in the backwards tower of the hotel which is probably more quiet than the building facing chidlom. The room was in 1st floor but had a nice view of the inner courtyard with the hotel pool (small but nice and seldomly crowded). The room was of nice size and the design - once again - was very well done, light colours, comfortable bed, good work desk (high speed internet for charge), cable TV, minibar, in-room-safe, quiet and efficient aircondition. The bathroom was not less attractive, with a window towards the living area. There was no bath tub in the bathroom, but a large rainbow shower which was great. The room was in excellent condition (no wonder after the recent renovation) and very clean.
The location of the hotel is quite nice too, directly opposite of the Intercontinental and just in front of the BTS Skytrain Station Chidlom (one stop to Siam), Gaysorn Shopping Mall right next door. I might even consider this hotel worth of a 5-star-rating in Priceline (though I don't know the standard room) - if I compare it to the Westin Grande b. ex.; consider yourself lucky if you get the Holiday Inn in Priceline - but check the official rates before on Internet.
Thanks. Forgot to say that I used savingsbarn.com, of course.
Booked this for a friend: accepted at first bid, only Berlin-East Zone:
Art Otel Berlin Mitte
Wallstrasse 70 30
Berlin, Germany
49-30-240620
Check-In Date: Saturday, November 18, 2006
Check-Out Date: Sunday, November 19, 2006
Your Offer Price: US$65.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: US$65.00
Taxes and Service Fees: US$18.11
Total Charges: US$83.11
4* Hamburg Renaissance
in Priceline Hotels - Other Countries
Posted
Got it on first offer
Check-In Date:
Sun, Jun 24, 2007 / After 02:00 PM
Check-Out Date:
Mon, Jun 25, 2007 / 12:00 PM
Renaissance Hamburg Hotel
Hamburg
Grosse Bleichen
Hamburg, Germany
Rate on marriott.com: 189 EUR
Used savingsbarn.com