rlibkind

Report added to Hotel Reviews section. In a word (two words): going downhill.

I was told by a friend this is an ex-Hilton property. It is rapidly going downhill. I successfully bid on this alleged 3* property for a Nov. 30-Dec. 1 2005 stay. Beware a resort fee: $12 as of this writing. The room was okay, beds fine. Because we were Priceline they stuck us on the second floor, which meant we didn't have a clear view of the ocean because it was obscured by the meeting room annex. The desk telephone didn't work and the toilet seat was missing a bolt; we called to have them fixed; the toilet seat was fixed, the telephone not. The next morning we strolled to the end of the hall to the second floor "mezzanine" which was a small viewing room and two conference rooms on either side, all with fine views out the windows. That is, if you could see out the windows. They hadn't been cleaned since at least the spring. There were even dust bunnies on the sills! Definitely seems like a property going downhill.

Failed on 2.5* Red Bank (Middletown) at $63 Won on 3* Eatontown (Tinton Falls) at $79 Hotel is actually in Long Branch, right on the ocean.

One night stay. First bid, 4* Downtown, $62, rejected. Second bid, 4*, Downtown & Gloucester/Runnemede, $65, rejected. That was as high as I was going to go for a 4*. Third bid, 3* Downtown, $44, rejected. However, Priceline offered me an opportunity to rebid with no zone or date changes if I upped bid to $12. I declined. Instead, I extended the zone to include Stadium Area and raised bid to $50. Got the Crowne Plaza at 18th & Market.

Won this with a "Downtown and City Line" district request. Previous bids of $35 (2.5* Downtown only), $46 (3* Downtown only, 3*) and $31 (3* City Line only) had been rejected. Bid made Aug. 27 for one night, Aug. 28. Winning bid of $47 did not include taxes and fee of $14.04, so total price is $61.04. Pretty decent for downtown Phila. during the height of tourist season.

Won this with a "Downtown and City Line" district rfequest. Previous bids of $35 (2.5* Downtown only), $46 (3* Downtown only, 3*) and $31 (3* City Line only) had been rejected.

Thanks. We did the PATH to WTC and then subways/cabs. As for the Hyatt, a good bargain anytime you can get it for anything under $100 on short notice or under $60 with long-range planning, IMHO. I'd rather be in Manhattan near where I'm going, whether that be the theater district, Lincoln Center, etc., but if the bidding won't let me stay there at a reasonabled price, then I'm Hudson County bound. Alas, didn't get a chance to get back to Hoboken. I was there about five years ago and caught up with a former neighbor who, at that time, ran an antiques/collectibles shop on Washington Ave., and the changes were striking.

I had no rejected bids -- I looked at the price on Hotwire for what I presumed was this hotel, then bid a bit under that. I simply didn't have enough time to bid and then wait three days, so I crafted my bid to get it first time; since this was for a single weeknight stay, I thought the odds of a $48 or so bid being accepted were not great. Generally, it looks like low bids work better here on weekends, since this is predominantly a business hotel. Since this hotel is right atop the PATH, I figure we'll use that to get to Manhattan. But how is the new light rail like to Hoboken? We could transfer to the bus there to go to Port Authority, since we will be heading to 45th & 8th for a show. It's been 26 years since I moved from Hoboken to Phila., so, needless to say, things have changed.

I successfully bid this morning $81 for Jersey City, one night, Thursday, April 7 on a 3*. This is what I got: Hyatt Regency $81 bid $19.35 taxes and fees $100.35 total On hotline, a 3-1/2* in JC, presumably the same hotel, quoted as going for $87 for same date, IIRC.

Tough to find any bargains in the Red Bank area, but Wyndham's best website rate is $89 for this property. I've stayed at this property before and it's more than adequate. Bid made Dec. 21.

Iselin is a neighborhood (post office) within Woodbridge Township, not a separate municipality. I've stayed at this hotel under Priceline and was very satisfied. My wife sometimes uses a cane and when the desk noticed that they gave us a handicapped room, which was very large with an extra large and convenient bathroom. The hotel lobby and environs was quite noisy on a Saturday night because of numerous functions, some of which were rowdy, but the room itself was reasonably quiet.