LoneStar

For several years, folks were getting generally nice 3-star hotels on Waikiki for less than $75. Unfortunately, Hawaii has gotten significantly more expensive lately and those deals seem to be gone. But, of course, you never know. While you wait for deals to (hopefully) pop up, you certainly should call ResortQuest (formerly Aston) and ask what you can get on the half-off Entertainment rate. I believe the Outrigger chain has a similar promotion. This will give you a good idea what it's worth bidding up to on priceline.

Glad you weren't hit at $61 for the 1 star! We don't have a lot of bidding history for the low-end properties (it seems that most people flying to Hawaii are looking for a little luxury), but I can easily imagine some less than ideal properties near Waikiki. If you want to continue your non-opaque search, I recommend calling ResortQuest (formerly Aston) and seeing what you can get for half-price using the Entertainment Card. If you're willing to spend another 20 bucks, I'd suspect you could get something quite decent. I'd also recommend waiting and rebidding. Just keep it at 3 star, or 2 1/2 star if you want to live on the edge. :)

This resort is in the final throes of what is billed as a $21 million "reinvention." Everything is pretty much complete except for the huge atrium lobby, which they say will be done by March (probably a little optimistic). While the lobby is a mess, it didn't really interfere with my stay, except perhaps in a modest aesthetic way -- the hotel currently feels a bit like a construction site. Work is purportedly done from 830 am to 630 pm, but I was away at the theme parks during that time. Rooms are quiet, oversized and nicely furnished, with widescreen plasma TVs (convincing this late technology adopter than I can continue to live without one!). Fancy soaps and nightly turndown service. Alas, the free room service coffee wake-up calls are gone, although there is a small coffeemaker in the room. Location is convenient. You can walk to SeaWorld, and it's about a 5-7 minute drive to Universal and 10-15 to Disney. The airport is an easy 15 minutes away on the Bee-Line toll road. They seem set-up to charge an $8 daily parking fee at the hotel, but the parking gates were up and no fees were being collected during my stay. All this said, I don't really understand this "resort," or why you'd particularly want to stay here. I've always had the suspicion that -- even at priceline prices -- Orlando resorts were a waste of money if you were going to be spending most of your time at the theme parks. Those suspicions were certainly confirmed. I actually enjoyed my stay here less than at the 3-star Sheraton Safari (where, admittedly, I was upgraded to their all-suites wing). Indeed, having to pay "resort prices" can be a bit annoying. At the Sheraton, for example, a nice buffet breakfast for 2 adults and 2 kids is 20 bucks (kids eat free). At the Renaissance, it will cost you $45. Your kids will likely be similarly disappointed. The pool area, while quite large and very elegant, has no "pizazz." No waterslides or other amusements for the kids (it looks like they might have some activities at peak times). Indeed, for a resort across the street from SeaWorld in the family vacation capital of the universe, the hotel isn't particularly kid friendly. It seems more like a resort for adults, which is a little surprising for Orlando. On a Sunday morning, you could see lawyers "relaxing" in their sport coats over a catered breakfast meeting. Indeed, most of the guests seemed to be attending conferences, for which the hotel would be well-suited for. So maybe vacationing couples wishing for a quieter place to stay would like this place. Of course, I'm not sure why such couples would be vacationing in Orlando in the first place!

Sorry, I'm not up-to-speed on Marriott's latest timeshare deals. But I know who is: the folks who read the Marriott board on Flyertalk.com. Just register there and post your question on the Marriott board. In a day or two, you'll certainly have the answer.

I'm glad it worked out. I don't think it's possible to do better in Kaanapali these days. Hopefully, they won't bother you too much to attend a time share presentation. :) I've heard conflicting reports. When you return, post your experience so that others may know.

Andrew Doughty, who writes the comprehensive Maui Revealed (I highly recommend buying the book) recommends 3 in Lahaina (808 tel. prefix) Goofy Foot Surf School -- 244-9283 Surf Dog Maui -- 250-7873 Hula Surf -- 280-0103

Here's one: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?...hlight=svo+maui

Once again, I must offer my usual (and not completely satisfactory) advice regarding Hawaii. Unfortunately, primo resorts on Kaanapali have gotten tough to get on priceline -- and you run the real risk of getting the Whaler. Thereuare's advice to bid on hotwire is a good idea but, as he said, the days seem unavailable. The alternatives are to try to get the Starwood timeshare promo (see my recent Maui posts), bid up to $160 in Wailea instead, call ResortQuest to see what's available at half-price with the Entertainment Card, settle for a non-resort hotel, or pay more and buy non-opaque. In Kauai, my suggestion (as always) is to consider the half-off deal at the Waimea Plantation Cottages if you're willing to stay "Old Hawaii style" (very romantic, btw, for most couples). ResortQuest also has some condo-like deals there, too. You could also try priceline/hotwire, but we haven't see much luck there lately.

For rookie surfers, I've heard it's better to learn to surf in Lahaina (Kaanapali) than in the Wailea (south Maui) area. If you want some instruction, I can dig up the names of a couple of decent surf schools in Maui. Two hour small group lessons are about $50 or $60.

One man's "secluded" is another man's parking lot. :) You're unlikely to get anything "secluded" in Maui on priceline, but it won't be Waikiki, either. You also won't get a surfing beach. High waves and mass tourism are somewhat inconsistent. :) No problem with your price range, however. The best deals in Maui on priceline this winter are likely to be in the Wailea section. The Rennaisance will be closing and will probably be happy to take about $160 most days (maybe less). You might get lucky on some of your days at a Kaanapali resort for less than $200, but that's always uncertain. Calling ResortQuest (formerly Aston) and asking them for the half-price Entertainment Card rate would probably also work well for you. These will be more likely 3 and 4 star properties. Bidding on priceline at less than "resort" for Hawaii can be a mixed bag. I'd be careful, as you might get something less than you want and you might not get a great price. Hotwire might be better in this category, as you'll likely have a better idea of what you're getting (even if you have to pay a few dollars more). You should also look at the Starwood page at flyertalk.com for the Starwood Vacation Ownership referral to the Westin Maui or Sheraton Maui. If you can tolerate being pestered to attend an "optional" timeshare presentation, you will save money over what those hotels are going for on priceline these days.

As an FYI, I understand this hotel will close sometime this year (the circumstances are vague, but some reports are that it will be redeveloped by Starwood into a vacation ownership property). This means, for better or worse, it's likely to show up frequently on priceline bidding as they will have rooms to fill before the actual closing date.

That sounds rather odd for a rebid when you're adding additional zones. While priceline could certainly ahve changed their rules, it's probably more likely human error or a one-time glitch.

That's a general rule of thumb, particularly relevant to this zone as there is an established pattern of HOTWIRE hotels being readily available on priceline here. I myself have used the technique 3 or 4 times in tampa in the past year!

Although I can certainly understand your desire to plan a March Disney vacation now, it is too early to bid aggressively on priceline for Orlando. Unlike many, many other markets, advance planners are generally NOT rewarded in Orlando bidding. Right now, I think you are bidding too high. I'd top out resort bidding at $80 and 3 star bidding at $48 (unless you get a specific report of a hotel for your dates that you'd like at a slightly higher price). You will be much better off making a completely refundable non-opaque reservation and waiting until 2 or 3 weeks before your arrival to bid. March can be a busy month, but with Easter late, demand should be spread out.

This is a very hit-or-miss zone: it seems to depend on occupany levels. You still have time to wait, but I suspect the odds are against you getting ALL those nights for that price. A good way to gauge what's available there is look on hotwire (most of the hotels list their distressed nights on both sites). Go day by day, and see if the rates change, and what price they're asking. Priceline is usually $7 to $10 less per night.

No, I'll have to pay the usual priceline fees/taxes. My recollection is that they're about 20%. I saw you were unsuccessful bidding on other days so far. Hopefully, it will work eventually. Frankly, I was a little astonished to get my days because there is a huge festival in Cologne that weekend. I suppose their regular clientele stays away, but you'd think the festival-goers would fill the rooms. You never know. My experience is that Marriott (of which Renaissance is a part) often loads very good rates in central Europe, so I wouldn't give up on snagging other days at this price.

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised by the recent successes people have had with priceline refunds. Maybe they're mellowing: in the past, they haven't been overly helpful in these circumstances. Here, it's particularly tricky because the definition of a "resort" is pretty vague. Reading these boards, folks expect to get an EXPENSIVE resort, but nothing in the rules prohibits them from adding cheaper properties to the "resort" category.

Strange that this would be considered 3 stars. Bad luck, but nobody seemed too crazy about the Hilton up there.

An easy way to guess is to run your result through their "packages" function for the same day (just add a car). Doing so, you can be pretty confident that this is the Wyndham Orlando Resort. The property gets mostly poor reviews on TripAdvisor, but you're unlikely to find a great 3-star hotwire property in Orlando. Don't know about the taxes. On priceline, for 2 nights, my taxes/fees in Orlando were a little less than 20%.

Curious the hotel tax is so low in France. In a non-opaque situation, you never notice it (like with so many other purchases) because the taxes (VAT) are usually included in the price in Europe.

This is an extraordinarily good price for this hotel. I've stayed there, albeit not on an opaque rate. The location is quite advantageous for tourists. It's hard for me to imagine you could do much better in Paris from a value standpoint. It makes me want to plan a visit! Interesting that the taxes/fees are so low. I haven't won anything in France in awhile, but in other EU countries it seems like my priceline fees/taxes(vat) are always at least 20%. Anyone know why these fees/taxes are so modest? It makes it an even better deal than most opaque bids.

The appearance of this property as a "resort" in the Kaanapali zone is a big problem for Maui bidders. From what I know about the Whaler (I've never stayed there), it's a good condo-style property offering somewhat less luxurious facilities and amenities from the other "traditional" resorts in Maui. Certainly, the published rates are MUCH lower than the resorts folks usually get in this zone. For example, for this bidder's dates, the ResortQuest site (which owns the hotel) has an online rate of $220 -- meaning the bidder got a zero discount on his or her room. And if you call ResortQuest and ask for the Entertainment Card 50% off discount, it's likely to be even cheaper. Obviously, this is not what priceline bidding is all about. Priceline is stupid to dilute the value of its "resort" bidding in Maui, and perhaps they'll eventually change their minds. A previous poster was apparently able to get a refund for her stay. I'd recommend this bidder try to do the same. In the meantime, unfortunately I think you have to avoid bidding in this important zone at the resort level.

The deal I purchased has apparently expired, but mousesavers still has links to similar good-value offers now. Universal seems to be doing plenty of discounting at the moment.

Nothing like "Corporate" to give out some misinformation. :) I called the hotel this morning to see what I could find out. I think I got some pretty candid information. First, the renovations will certainly NOT be completed by the end of this month. It's looking more like March or April. Second, it seems like most of the "major construction" is complete. In late fall, there was apparently lots of noise and dust. But that's all supposedly done now. About half the lobby is completed, and it's open to guests. The rest is more "finishing" work. The employee told me that "compared to what was going on in November, it's a breeze now." So it would seem like the situation is more than bearable. Would the Renaissance be my first choice of a resort in Orlando right now? Certainly not. At 80 bucks, is it a bad deal? Given that the rooms and pool area are done, and the noise and incovenience seem to be fairly modest, probably not. I'll report back on what I find next month.

This may or may not be a good win. I was actually bidding at the 4-star level hoping for the Peabody (the only known 4-star in the Universal zone). I was upgraded to this "resort," which traditionally hasn't shown up at this price point. So what's the problem? Well, it seems that the hotel is undergoing a major renovation. They've finished the rooms and the pool area (both are which are supposedly top-notch now), but the lobby is apparently closed and undergoing a complete overhaul. Noise has apparently been a significant issue, but I've heard that the "noisiest" work is now completed. I suppose I could complain to Priceline, but I've bid up to $85 in the Disney resort zone without success -- as well as up to $48 for a 3 star in both the Disney and Universal zones. Several of the 3-star hotels in the Universal zone (where I really want to stay on this trip) seem a bit dubious, too. So it's not like there's necessarily a great alternative. Published discount rates at the Renaissance Resort still start at $189 (which seems like an awful deal given the construction). As an FYI, $80 may be the minimum bid -- I was rejected at $78. I'll report what I find. In the meantime, keep in mind the risk of bidding "for" the Peabody.