colormecolorado

It was great to be able to narrow the mystery hotel down to the Sheraton, based on posts here & by filtering the hotel amenities on Priceline's website. After my initial $60 bid was rejected, I went ahead and booked through Express Deals for $66 since i had an offer for an extra 10% off, so I actually only ended up paying $74 with taxes! Win!

Tried 5*, 4.5* & 4* in the Inner Harbor area, starting at $65. This was the closest I could get to my price range (under $100, including tax). Reviews of hotel are decent and I am still in my preferred location, so overall, a success!

Tried every possible combination of star levels (3.5+) in the downtown/convention center area for $100 or less. No luck. Being cheap and impatient, I tried 3* in convention center area, hoping for the Courtyard by Marriott - Convention Center. Got this one instead, and was originally a little disappointed just because the location was a bit far from the center of the city. However, still an excellent hotel for a great price, with a metro station <2 min from hotel. And a pool! Sweet!! If you do have a thread of patience, unlike myself, I would suggest trying back in 2-3 days to see if you can get a higher star level for cheap. I've seen them come across from time to time, and they can be worth waiting for!

Definitely go through with the HOTWIRE booking and then call the hotel. I have done this a few times for our stays in Annapolis and Baltimore - both times, the hotel was more than happy to accommodate our king size bed request. They don't care if you paid $200 or $50 for your stay - they want to provide great service and repeat customers! Good luck!

Narrowed it down to the Sheraton and the Hyatt...turned out to be the Sheraton Society Hill! Looks like a great hotel...plus you got a bed choice on Hotwire! $99 + taxes = $112 Excellent!