TravelGuy

Nice deal! $259/night on hyatt.com. Something tells me you're going to have a Grand time while attending the Cherry Blossom Festival. :)

Well, might as well test the waters for a 4* since that would provide the most pleasant experience most likely. This is how I would do it: Choose Dupont/Woodley Park at 4* Bid $65, if rejected, add Alexandria/Mt. Vernon Bid $70, if rejected, add Alexandria/Pentagon Bid $75, if rejected, add Arlington Bid $80, if rejected, close your browser and start a new bid. Choose Downtown/White House and Convention Center/Capital Hill zones at 4* Bid $65, if rejected, add Alexandria/Mt. Vernon Bid $70, if rejected add Alexandria/Pentagon Bid $75, if rejected add Arlington Bid $80 If 4* doesn't pan out and you'd like to try 3*, I would suggest: Close your browser, start a brand new bid & choose Dupont Circle/Woodley Park at 3* Bid $65, if rejected add Springfield Bid $70, if rejected, close your browser and start another bid Choose Downtown/White House and Convention Center/Capital Hill at 3* Bid $55, if rejected add Springfield Bid $60 Please note there may be other takes on this, and your mileage may vary :)

Rates look high for your dates. I think $80 will very probably be too low for a 4* in Dupont/Woodley Park, although it might be enough for a 3*. If you'd prefer an in-town location, the other two most frequently bid zones for Washington DC, and zones that I would also recommend, are Downtown/White House and Convention Center/Capital Hill. I would suggest trying those zones up to your limit and see what happens. If nothing pans out, you might consider raising your limit, or there are usually less costly alternatives across the river in Virginia. Will you have a car or do you need to be near a Metro?

Four story brick mixed-use structure connected with office suites. Fairly nice lobby, larger than average room, Colonial style furniture and accents throughout, with definitely a Holiday Inn feel. Not really within walking distance to the main action of Old Town - I would guess 15-20 minutes. Looked like a fair amount of free non-zoned off street parking available along one side of N. Pitt St., and probably elsewhere too, so free parking looks very doable. Atypical, unusually large exercise area with attendant and indoor/outdoor pool combo. For fitness buffs, enough weight equipment to get a complete work-out and avoid $10-25 per visit gym/health club fees. Giant Food store directly across the street (area's best general supermarket). ABC store, Starbuck's, fast food and some restaurants within easy walking distance. Free shuttle to Metro and airport. Clearly not as desirable as the Sheraton Suites or even the Radisson, but not a bad place to stay either, and a good value.

Worked out fine. I went for a visit and did a review.

Or the Flamingo @ $126/night+ through their website. You could break it up into two reservations and cancel as necessary.

Makana, could you check to see if your wnning bid said 4*? Priceline currently doesn't offer 4* in that zone.

My best deal may be in the works - as I mentioned elswhere on the board, I got the U.S. Grant in San Diego for late August for $40 at 3*. The place is going to close in a couple of weeks for renovations and is supposed to reopen July 4th after morphing into a 5* Starwood Luxory Collection hotel. Strangely, it looks like there's still Priceline availability at $40 for dates through the end of the year. Other than that, I would definately agree that I've gotten my best deals at the Hyatt JC.

I would definately add Toronto to the list, and Montreal is quite good too. Portland, OR seems to have consistenty excellent deals on 4*'s for such a highly desirable city, among the best going, and dirt cheap 3*'s. Washington, DC - definately a no brainer to try Priceline first.

Glad things worked out satisfactorily.

I think you have a good strategy, although this far out, if I were bidding I'd try a lowball of $40 for the hell of it. Priceline vacation packages is showing 3* availability in Crystal City for your dates, including the Hyatt, so that's encouraging. I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to get all 5 nights in one bid.

$129 on ichotels.com Got this for a relative on the first bid. Holiday Inn Hotel And Suites Alexandria 625 First Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Check-In Date: Thursday, January 13, 2005 Check-Out Date: Friday, January 14, 2005 Your Offer Price: $44.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $44.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $13.37 Total Charges: $57.37

Le Parker Meridien is On Request.

Did they every get back to you with a confirmation?

As Omni Hotels Select Guest members are eliglble for Select Guest Benefits during Priceline stays, I would highly recommend signing up for membership in their program prior to your stay at the Omni Shoreham. I believe they are also giving out one complementary upgrade certificate for new members, which also may be applied to a Priceline stay. (Sorry it didn't occur to me to post this earlier.)

I'm very glad that things worked out for you. I don't know why I haven't thought of this until know - which is unfortunate for the people who I've helped steer into the Omni in the past - but Omni Hotels Select Guest members are eligible for Select Guest benefits during Priceline stays. If you've not already signed up, I would definately recommend doing so. You should be able to add your Select Guest number to your Priceline reservation over the phone.

First the easy question: Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), which has a Metro stop, would clearly be the most convenient airport. Dulles (IAD) would be the next best, then BWI (which is doable, but substantially more of a hassle). You might want to base your decision on which airport offers the cheapest fare. US Airways is currently offering a r/t into DCA of only $119 for you dates, so you may want to go with that, unless you're worried about their continued viability between then and now. The only two Priceline 4*'s that have come up in the Dupont Circle/Woodley Park zone are the Omni and Westin Embassy Row - and it's usually the Omni. The 3*'s that have come up are the Washington Hilton, Churchill, Radisson Barcelo, Marriott Wardman Park and Hilton Embassy Row. Jurys does not participate in Priceline. Although I'm fond of the Dupont Circle/Woodley Park zone at the 4* level, the Downtown/White House and Convention Center/Capital Hill zones are good too. I think you're probably looking at around $80 for a 4* on Priceline, and I would guess $55-60 for a 3*, although I've not checked prevailing rates. I would definitely try Priceline over Hotwire at this point, as you'll very probably do better, even with the discount coupon. I think you're wise to plan in advance given you dates. However, if you're not 100% sure if you're going right now, you may want to book something on easyclicktravel.com, which is cancelable, then try Priceline when you're sure.

It's got to be a pop-up blocker. Try pressing the Control key on your keyboard before you click search and keep it pressed until the EasyClick page gets established as a new window in your browser. Great new tool BTW!

craigslist is an excellent resource for NYC sublets if the hotel option doesn't work out.

The word now from their website is that the Grant will be closed from January 31, 2005 until sometime in July 2005, and that the cost of renovations has jumped from $10 million to $26 million. I'm hoping that all the work will be wrapped up before my reservations in late August, so that I can enjoy the soon to be 5* luxury hotel for my $40 winning Priceline bid @3*. :)

I find the Frommer's reviews to be usually quite accurate, and it looks like they love it. I was in there myself a year ago to look around in the public areas and was impressed. Definately a nice New York buzz going on inside. But if you begin to have second thoughts, you can always cancel your Easyclicktravel.com reservation - up to 72 hours before your stay, I believe.

A good friend who is also a designer (cars mostly) highly recommends Le Parker Meridien. It's available on easyclicktravel.com as an "Off the Record" hotel starting at $149 - a really excellent rate - although "By Request", so you have to wait up to 48 hours for a confirmation. If you're interested, thereuare should be able to give you a direct link to the property listing at easyclicktravel.com.

By staying at the Red Roof Inn they're unfortunately only going to get one thing on their wish, which is #3. Perhaps they would consider the Econolodge Arlington, where for just a few dollars more they could get within walking distance of a Metro as well as a free continental breakfast, in addition to free parking. The main benefit of Priceline as I see it would be to get a higher quality room for somewhat less than the RRI. If they would be into that, I think their best bet would be to bid either 2.5* and/or 3* in the Arlington zone - or even 2* actually. There's a chance however that they could get the Sheraton National, which probably wouldn't be that bad, but wouldn't be ideal, as it wouldn't be within walking distance of a Metro, although they have a shuttle. All the other hotels that have come in that zone would be within walking distance of a Metro. The Old Town/Alexandria zone would be nice to stay in, as that area has a good deal of historical charm and character, although it's farther out than Arlington. I believe all the 3*'s in that zone would be a maximum 10-15 minutes walk from a Metro, and would be substantially nicer than the Red Roof. The 2.5*'s in that zone are good as well. Another option would be the Crystal City zone. This is kind of a dull area IMO, but it does offer convenience, relatively inexpensive and high quality hotels, and is where Fashion Centre Mall is located, probably the best mall in the DC Metro area. I think they should be able to get something in one of the above 3 zones on Priceline for somewhere in the $40-50 range.

Well, the Red Roof Inn wants $68.50 for those nights, so they could definately do better both price and qualitywise on Priceline. Would they prefer to stay in the VA suburbs, or would some area within Washington be even better?

$170 on hilton.com I stayed there once, although a long time ago, and was very impressed. I did notice this message though on their website - Please Note: The Health Club and Pool at this hotel will be closed for renovation from November 1, 2004 until January 31, 2005. If you'd like a place to swim and/or exercise, I'd bet they'd let you use the facilities at their sister property, the Doubletree Tysons Corner, which is just a short drive. (That Doubletree has an unusually good pool for a hotel and a decent exercise room.) Or they may have made alternative arrangements somewhere else.