RonJ

Hi everyone! Long time no "see." Started at 4* for $50, then 3.5* for $55. My bid of $60 for 3* around airport was accepted.

Got subject hotel for $72. Started bidding at $50 and went up slowly, adding areas and increasing increments by $5. Sometimes I waited a day before bidding again. Given some of the reviews of lower star level hotels, I wanted to stay 3*. Of course, I used the Betterbidding.com Priceline link. There may be a parking fee at this hotel, from what I gather. Let's see if we can eat breakfast for cheap around there also.

Worked our way from close in to outside and slowly increased from $50 to 65. Priceline gave us this Sheraton at $65. Yes, I used the Betterbidding [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=40]PRICELINE[/url] link.

Just wanted to update that we did have a great stay there. One recommendation for the rest of you better bidders who win this Courtyard Marriott or the nearby Sheraton: Since neither of these hotels give free breakfast, there is a great German bakery next to the Sheraton called Fritz's Bakery. Excellent stuff for less than what a hotel breakfast charges.

Bid $45 and got hotel on first try. I used the betterbidding.com link to PRICELINE, of course. We did add $5 trip insurance in this case. Thanks as always for providing this wonderful service!

Started with Langhorne/Newtown PA at $50/nt for 3.5* and kept adding areas, increasing price, and going down to 2.5*. Finally scored this. It goes for around $150/nt retail. Yes, I used your PRICELINE link.

Just a tip that might affect your listings: When we were at the hotel we noticed that there were no hotel information binders like most hotels have. We asked, and were told that the hotel is about to change ownership. So this same property may pop up under a new name soon. BTW, the hotel was nice, though it only offers rooms with either one king bed or two double beds. This gets a bit cramped for families. One nice thing is that there is a Wegmans down the street which makes for an inexpensive dining option. Let's just say that when these hotels do not offer free breakfast, we eat at supermarkets a lot. Wegmans has nice seating areas as well, so you do not have to carry out.

Got this for a $45 bid. With taxes and fees it comes to $58.76. I think this used to be a Marriott.

Was bidding around the Trenton area and got this one for $50. It has mixed reviews, but we've generally had good luck with Best Western. The Priceline hotel list for New Jersey does not seem to have Mt. Holly as an option, but there are definitely hotels in that area that Priceline offers. Yes, I used the BB PRICELINE link.

Sorry also to hear of your loss. May your friend's or loved one's memory be for a blessing. You might want to check the Hawthorn Suites in Holland, OH. We were planning a Midwest trip this summer and that hotel looked to be a good possibility. The reason we ended up not going for it was because my wife thought that traveling there from where we live was too far in one day. Anyway, the Hawthorn advertises a King Suite for $61/nt, and they give a free hot breakfast. AAA rate is about $55. Of course, you have to add tax, but you wouldn't have the Priceline or Hotwire surcharge. Check to see if this site's Support Page has a link to Hawthorn. Good luck!

Thanks for the good wishes. I called the hotel to confirm room type, and the desk clerk told me that construction should be finished up in a couple of weeks. They are apparently remodeling the lobby. The restaurant is supposedly going to offer smaller a la carte items instead of just the expensive buffet. They also said they are putting in a bar and that the restaurant will be open for dinner, not just breakfast.

BTW, OF COURSE I used the Betterbidding.com PRICELINE link! ;)

First tried $36 for a 3.5* around there. That was rejected, so I added Westlake 3* and bumped my bid to $40. Priceline gave me this Courtyard. Some of the Tripadvisor reviews are making me nervous, but they indicate that this hotel has some remodeling going on. Maybe it will be finished by summer.

Started bidding downtown 4* for $36 and worked my way up with varying prices and areas (Wauwatosa and then Brookfield). Admittedly, I was trying to get the Hyatt Place in Wauwatosa, but such was not to be. :( As luck would have it, Priceline gave me $5 extra bidding bucks for today only. This helped my bidding, so I think the real "bid" was $58, not $53. Now I have to make sure we get a king with a sofa bed instead of two double beds. Maybe I'll ask for a room with an "ocean view." :lol:

Tried $45 for 3*, but that didn't work. Added downtown zone and upped to $49, got the Best Western. Priceline didn't give a 3.5* option for downtown at all.

This one is 351 Milan Ave, Norwalk, OH 44857. Sorry if I messed you up a bit here.

Started at $40 for the area just south of Deerfield and worked my way up. Eventually, I had to wait a day to start over, so my $48 for a 4* got rejected, but they took my $52 bid for 3.5* in Deerfield. Thanks so much for providing this service as well as all your great advice.

Slight correction: The hotel should be Sadusky-Norwalk, not Sandusky-Huron. Just wanted to make that clear. Sorry about the error and confusion.

First tried bidding $40 for a 3* in Sandusky/Huron. When that didn't work I dropped to 2.5*, added Norwalk-Milan, and increased the bid to $45. It worked! Of course, I used the PRICELINE link at betterbidding.com. Don't tell my wife it's 60 miles west of Cleveland. Now on to Chicago area . . .

Thanks so much for the great information! We'll definitely check out the areas you mentioned as well as the websites. Now I have to hope that there isn't some big event in Chicago that eats up hotel space. One thing I did notice was that hotel chains are advertising big discounts, so maybe that's a help for Priceline bidders. Sorry for the delay in my response. I hurt my finger and I've been having a difficult time typing.

AaronJB, Thanks for your quick reply. We're looking at the June 21-24 time frame, part of a bigger Midwestern trip. Yes, we are looking at various places in Wisconsin, including the Dells (and if you have any recommended on getting discounted stays there, please pass that along). We're also looking at hitting Madison, Green Bay/Door County, and Milwaukee. In any case, we would like to check out downtown Chicago, as my wife has never been there, and I imagine at least one of the kids REALLY wants to go up the Sears Tower. Other suburban sites are a maybe, depending on what my wife and kids (aged 7 and 11, but the older one tends to provide more input) decide are interesting. We are mostly concerned with clean and comfortable, and having a hotel that doesn't stick us with two double beds (preferable to have two queens, a king and a sofabed, or a suite). If we can get away for under $60 or even $50/night before taxes and fees, so much the better. Then again, we would like to be able to get to downtown Chicago by El or Metra in an hour or less. If there is discounted parking in downtown Chicago on weekends we can do that too. Interestingly, I saw on the CTA website that the town of Skokie charges only $4/day for overnight parking at the El station there. Hotels that have a shuttle to the El or Metra would also be nice. I hope this is enough information. It does look like I missed the deeply discounted airfares (<$200/pp inc luggage charges from DC area to Chicago or Milwaukee), so we are doing the road trip thing.

Hi everyone! We are planning a family vacation to the Chicago area (and other places) at the beginning of summer. We'll need a room for two adults and two children, convenient to public transportation that won't take too long to get into the city (the El is preferable), and we would like free parking. It looks like some of the El-accessible locations (O'Hare area or Evanston/Skokie) are "maybe" when it comes to the parking. We are likely to pass through the area over a weekend (probably three nights total), rather than a weekday. Free breakfast would obviously be nice, but we can always go to a Dunkin Donuts type place if necessary. I know this is a bit open-ended, but any suggestions for doing this in a way to minimize cost and maximize convenience? Thanks in advance for your help. This is a great forum!

Thanks for the kind wishes. Not only do they offer free breakfast, but some sort of "light dinner" type reception three nights per week (Tue - Thur). Maybe we can save on dinner (and possibly wine or beer) also.

Amenities: Free breakfast, fitness center, pool, business center, laundry, high speed Internet access Taxes and fees for two nights push the price to $97.43. Good thing, too, because now we're stuck with several hundred dollars in plumbing repairs.

Bids below $60 for 3* didn't fly. We finally went to adding 2.5* and upped the bid to $65. That worked to get us the Staybridge Suites. I don't think it was on your list before. Of course, I used the PRICELINE link at Better Bidding. Thanks for providing this wonderful service!