Phaelon56

Started at $47 for Bethesda zone. No luck on first bid. Bumped to $55 and used my only free rebid (Laurel). Hotwire had a 3* for $58 that appeared highly likely to be this property. Very happy to get this property - am visiting friends in nearby MD town and this is said to be a very good property.

Needed two rooms for this date range. The property showed as a "Customer Favorite" with the following amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry and High Speed Internet. Had already tried Priceline 4* in this zone at $80 bid for same date range but no luck on that one. Cheapest direct booking web rate for these dates is $179 per night.

Started bids off for 4* at $70 downtown (for two rooms) and used up all free rebids in $5 increments ending at $95. No luck. Had already spotted a 4* Hotwire "Customer Favorite" for $97 in Rancho Cordova so I added that zone to the bid and dropped back to $80 for the final Priceline bid. Still no luck. Went to Hotwire for the above referenced hotel and snagged the Marriott Sacramento at 1121 East Point Drive in Rancho Cordvoia for the $97 price. Will post the Hotwire detaisl separately in the appropriate forum section.

Started my 4* bids at $65 with Dupont Circle and the Omni as my desired target. Worked through three free rebids up to $75 but no luck. At that point PL offered me a 4* for $92 if I accepted. Decided to start again at 3* and bid $65 for Dupont Circle. But then I saw some very mixed reviews for the 3* Churchill Hotel and decided to start my 3* bidding in Georgetown - Foggy Bottom instead. Got the University Conference Center - a Marriott property - for what appears to be a decent rate. The lowest direct booking rate through Marriott for the special "weekend leisure rate" was $119.

Wow. Must be somethign going on in town during those dates or perhaps the lenght of my stay and the included weekend was an issue. Had to work a bit on this one. Started with Union Square East 4* at $60 and used multiple free rebids until I finally added Union Square West and topped out at $85 (did not add Fisherman's Wharf which has 4* as I have no desire to stay there). Started again with 3* at $45 for USW, added Civic Ctr (2.5 *) for free rebid at $52 and then tried USE at $60 and failed again (did not want to risk 3* Cathedral Hill zone after reading reviews for Cathedral Hill Hotel). Thought about waiting 72 hours and starting again but decided to open up my earlier 4* bid to add Boutique rating and drop offer to $70 - this would get me USW or USE. Score!!! Got the Villa Florence on Powell Street. Great location and the lowest Web Special rate they ahve for direct booking those dates is $149. This is a Kimpton Group property - I've stayed on their Union Square Hotel Triton property previously and also at their Vintage Park location in Seattle. Kimpton does a great hjob and has consistently good and friendly service. This trip unlike much of my travel is strictly R & R - very glad for this win!

I have a friend who works for the BUffalo-Niagara Marriott. The parent company that owns this hotel also owns and operates Radisson, Courtyard, Doubletree, Embassy Suite and Best Western properties - quite a range.

$20 is a good price for SF parking. I recall seeing $18 or so for 24 hours on Sutter Street near Union Square about four years ago and was advised that it was a great deal at the time. I'm sure it's gone up since then. But that was central downtown in/near business district.

I stayed in the Monte Carlo this past may for five nights. It's a stretch to call it a 4* relative to 4* Pl properties I've stayed in elsewhere. But it's not a bad hotel - the rooms are along the lines of what you could expect to find in a Marriott Courtyard. But no coffee maker in the room, they had none to lend at the front desk and the hotle coffee bar was lame.

This is the property on the service road of Rte 1/9 South just across from the EWR airport property. It was formerly a Wyndham until quite recently. There's a Shula's 2 Steakhouse on the groudn level but I didn't try the food. $12 per day for parking. Easy check-in and very courteous desk staff. Put me in a nice quiet room on a high floor. King bed was new mattress pillow-top style with high quality linen and loads of very good soft pillows. Clean... coffee-maker i the room and it's about a 20 minute drive to Manhattan if traffic is not backed up. The $65 I paid on Priceline is very fair and at this time of year when 2* Hotwire hotels were $450 per night in Manhattan I think this was a bargain. Very nice property.

Yes there was a shuttle icon. How much is the parking and does it include unlimited in/out privileges?

I've been using the free version of Ispell for all my various discussion forum postings and it's great. I prefer it to nearly every native spellchecker I've tried thus far. Ispell Homepage

Last minute trip to NYC. Prices too high in the city and even Meadowlands was high. Checked Hotwire and they show a "3 star customer favorite" at $64 at Newark Airport. Amenities listed for that include pool, restaurant and fitness center. It may well be the Doubletree but after a bad Hotwire experience recently (really bad hotel that they claimed was a 2*).... I'm a bit gun shy. Started PL bid at $65 for 3* Jersey City, added Secaucus-Meadowlands and moved to $67. Still no luck - stayed at $67 and won the Doubletree when I added Airport zone. I think I could have layed around with rebids and gotten this a few $ cheaper but in a hurry as usual and this wotrks for me

This was a last minute Hotwire purchase to replace a previous booking that had been cancelled and refunded by Hotwire at the last minute - due to hurrican damage issues. My original booking had been less than $60 plus taxes and fees for a Best Western in Hallandale (the far edge of the "airport zone"). Hotwire emailed me on the 26th offering a refund and suggesting I cancel. I called them on the 27th to arrange the refund and inquired about inventory they were showing that very day. The agent checked with his supervisor and assured me that this was definitely confirmed and current inventory - the hotel would be open and accepting guests. It was the only thing I found under $175 so I purchased. The only amenity showing inthe listing was a pool. I arrived by cab at 6 PM on the 28th to discover a rund-down property that had obviously been closed all week. No valid contact info listed on the front door etc. - not even a sign to say that they were closed. The tiles and furniture surrounding the pool were covered with a sort of moldy slime that was definitely not due to the hurricane - this was and is a very poorly maintained property - very run-down and looked like a total dump on the outside. I'm not sure I would have stayed even if they were open. I called Hotwire's customer service number immediately - they advised that after I got home I should fax them the info and a receipt from wherever I stayed as an alternate (if I could even find somethign!) and they'd refund me my $94.42. Interestingly enough.... I checked my email mid-week when I was on my cruise and they had already issued a refund - unsolicited. This dump was not even a 1* in anyone's book as far as I'm concerned. Not only that.... there are far nicer properties in the neighborhood for under $70 per night regular rate! This is definitely my last Hotwire hotel purchase - never again.

I was there on the weekend of Oct 27th and 28th - just a few days after the hurricane passed through. There was both major and minor damage to much property including hotels and many are still without power until next week. There are at least a few large properties that suffered more sever damage and may be closed for awhile. The Embassy Suites (downtown or the beach area - not sure which) had the entire glass skylight fall in and is closed until further notice. I had great difficulty bidding for that weekend when I started back in August due to the Boat Show, which was originally scheduled for that weekend. Couldn't get anything on PL, resorted to Hotwire and a Best Western in Hallandale was the best I could do for under $100. That one got canceled and refunded. I rebooked on Oct 26th through Hotwire (who assured me by phone that it was current inventory and that this one was really open for business despite the storm) and arrived on Friday at sunset to discover that my prebooked hotel had been closed all week! There are many, many people form places like Florida Power & Light who have booked blocks of rooms in available hotels and will be staying until the repairs are complete and there may be homewoners who have enough damage that they must stay in hotels until their homes are repaired. It's not conveneint but West Palm Beach, about 45 minutes south, was apparently spared much of the damage. Also check Holllywood - much closer and they had power that weekend when most of Fort Lauderale did not. Could have been a real nightmare but I found this place http://www.sanssoucihotel.com down the block at $69 per night. The owners live on premises and let me stay even though there was no power (most hotels will not accept guests if there's no power due to liability issues). The Sans Souci is far from fancy - it's a basic 1.5 star or perhaps 2 star old fashioned beach motel but it's clean, safe, the bed was good, the pool is nice and the owners were very helpful. If you just need a bed to crash in before departing on a cruise (that's what I needed) it's not a bad choice. It's about $20 ride from FLL and about $10 - $12 back down to Port Everglades. If you're several weeks away from your anticipated arrival date in FLL I suggest waiting and rebidding. But do not under any circumstances accept a Hotwire "Fort Lauderdale Beach Area" 2 star choice that shows a pool as the amenity. You're likely to get the Monte Carlo Beach Resort Motel (which is not on a beach nor is it a resort). It's the place that was closed when I arrived and on the outside it's a filthy dump. I can't imagine that the rooms are much better. And Hotwire charged me $80 plus taxes and fees - the Sans Souci is two blocks away and it's a Taj Mahal in comparison - and for less money! Hotwire did refund my money when I returned from my cruise but the evening had all the potential for being a total nightmare.

In need of lodging for a full week in downtown Seattle (with Lake Union as Plan B ) I did an exhaustive set of bids with no succees. Rather than spell out the details I'll just touch on the bid ranges. I think the Bumbershoot Festival (which I'm attending in addition to staying over an extra two days for business reasons) may be a contribnuting factor in addition to the short term nature of the bids. A few years ago (2002) I won the Seattle Elliott Grand Hyatt for $40 or $45 per night for a five night stay - definitely my best PL win ever! Last year my collegues bid PL for the same period and was forced to go to about $100 per night for 4* and received the Sheraton Towers (which he describes as less than 4*). This years longer stay requires more careful budgeting.... Bids for 2 rooms Bid 4* dwntn and all free rebids up to $95 Bid 3* dwntn and all free rebids up to $65 then added lake Union at $82 Bid 2.5* dwntn and all fre rebids up to $68 and then added Lake Union at $80 Bid 2* dwntn and then added Lake Union at $75 No luck but availability was spotty for an entire one week period, prices were high through the usual suspects (VERY high through Hotwire) and we weren't willing to split the stay. Ultimately ended up at Sea To Sky Rentalsvia Vacation Rentals By Owner and got the very last unit they had available (of the dozen more listed). It's just a few blocks from the edge of downtown- on the east side of I5. Not a bad deal at about $110 per night split between two guys. We'll flip a coin to see who gets the bedroom and who sleeps on the airbed in the LR but with a kitchen, sattelite TV and DSL it's a good pad for the week.

Last summer (July 2004) I took the 194 both into downtown Seattle from SEATAC and then back to the airport after my visit. It was fast and easy and most people on the bus had luggage. I had one 22" roll-on and that was not problem. I think a 26" - 28" roll-on would also work but I'd hesiatsate to bring two bags per person or a really big suitcase - might be awkward. Itw as just about as fast as the Grayline and about $2 each way.

I'll be heading out on a cruise in late October and arriving at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport the night prior to departure. We'll be looking for someplace nice and prefer that it be within reasonable cab distance to the cruise ship pier. Cab ride form the airport to the pier is only $10 - $11 with tip and I assume the airport hotels will pick us up from our flight with a free shuttle. Are there other zones close enough that we should consider them instead - even if we have to pay for a cab ride to the hotel and then to the pier?

I just returned from five nights at this property and concur with the previous posts. I wil add that our carpeting was not worn and our bathroom fixtures were totally up to snuff and appeared to be either relatively new or in great shape. But the rooms are 3* all the way. For a point of comparison, I stayed at the Marriott on 4th by Market several weeks ago (also a PL stay) and found the room to be larger, the bathroom nicer and the bed/pillows mch plusher and more deluxe. The staff at this hotel were very nice - courteous and helpful. The location was okay and we had a fantastic view of the bay and the Oakland Bay Bridge but there's not too much activity in that area on weekends.

Quick one day business trip. I started bidding for 4* for this zone at $53 and used up all six of my free rebids in $3 to $5 increments until I ended up at $79. No luck. I have specific business reasons for wanting to stay only in this zone if at all possible. Started over at $49 for 3* knowing that I'd only have two free rebid opportunities when starting at this quality level. Hit it on the first try. Offer price: $49.00 Taxes and Service fees: $12.55 Total Charges: $61.55

I should note that this hotel gets somewhat mixed reviews both here and on tripadvisor.com as to the quality of the rooms (some describe them as a bit worn and dated) but the location is great. I checked with the hotel web site - the absolute lowest Web rate for these dates is $255 per night. I think we did okay :)

Based on recent posts showing winning bids and bid histories.... I made the mistake of starting right out at $68 expecting to do a few rebids before getting a win. Got this on the first try. Drat!!! It's a great price but I'll remain curious as to whether I might have shaved a few $$ off and still gotten this property. Hyatt Regency San Francisco 5 Embarcadero Center Your Offer Price: $68.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 5 Subtotal: $340.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $60.16 Total Charges: $400.16

Quick two day business trip. I bid immediately after a colleague had won the Westin at $75 for a longer stay starting and ending a few days before and after my visit. I was hoping to also get the Westin but would be okay with anything decent in this part of town. Started at $68, did one rebid at $70 and hit for the Marriott at $72. I'm a bit late posting this - have already returned from the trip and the hotel was delightful. Way, way above average for a Marriott Hotel - it really is a 4* property.

Posting this bid result for a colleague who used my guidance (courtesy of the knowledge i gain from this forum!) to bid. She used three freerebids, starting at $67 with USE as the target and moving in $2 increments. She hit at $75 with the Westin St. Francis and reports having been very pleased with the hotel. On the down side.... valet parkgin with in/out privileges was $44 per day, high speed Internet access was $15 for 24 hours (noon to noon) and they charged her $30 to deliver three boxes to her room on a hand cart. These were trade show items that had come in by Fed Ex and the front desk "offered" to deliver them to the room but never mentioned the fee. It showed up at check-out time.

You'll love this place. It's by far the nicest Marriott I've ever stayed in.

When I stayed at the Hotel Triton on Grant Street a few years (a great PL win at about $63 per night back then)... I recall seeing a parking garage a block or two west of the Chinatown Gate on Bush Street. It was on the left heading up the hill. At that time the 24 hour rate was about $18 - far cheaper than any other garages in the area. I'm sure it's gone up but would still be worth looking into. Sorry I can't offer a specific address or phone number.