gleemonex

so sorry to hear about this. he was always very helpful and active in this community. he seemed like a great guy, who will certainly be missed.

dates of stay: (first part) april 19-22, 2004, (second part) may 2-4, 2004 i approached my stay at the palmer house hilton with a bit of apprehension, having read the stories of incredibly small rooms that are given to priceline guests. well, let me confirm that this is indeed true. the room i was given during the first part of my stay was tiny alright. there was barely enough room for me to pass between the bed and the armoire/tv to get to the bathroom (which was also a bit small). the walls were on the thin side; i found myself listening in on someone's telephone conversation in an adjacent room, and you will definitely hear hallway chatter. the room showed some definite signs of age also, with the carpet looking a bit haggard. still, the room was clean and comfortable. room amenities: neutrogena products in the bathroom, large-ish color tv with cable in the armoire, mini-bar, digital clock radio/alarm. the check-in was handled in a professional and courteous manner, with the clerk mentioning that the room had been "guaranteed for a three night stay", no attempt at upselling an upgrade. room grade for first part of stay: 2 stars. the second part of the stay was a little bit more comfy. at check-in, i tactfully asked whether there might be a larger room available, explaining that the room i'd had last time was very small. the very polite clerk did some checking and found me a much larger room with a king size bed. excellent! much nicer room and so much more comfortable. room grade for second part of stay: 3 stars. the real star of the palmer house hilton is the spectacular lobby, which is truly awe inspiring. this is a historic hotel (open since 1871 -- the oldest continually operating hotel in the US? -- in it's current form since the 1920s) with a great location at State & Monroe streets in the Loop. nearby attractions: grant park/buckingham fountain, art institute of chicago, chicago cultural center, state street shopping, theater district. it's also conveniently close to the "el", chicago's public transit elevated (and subway) train lines. in all, a very pleasant stay.

i've been back a few days now, so here's my impressions (which i'll also add to my forthcoming review). the room was clean, bathroom on the small side, bed not all that comfortable (but passable). the bottom two levels are outside corridors (motel-style), while the top level is interior -- weird. decent small free breakfast in the morning. very nice and accomodating staff. worth the $26. the la quinta is a nicer property, but i really didn't care much for the customer service there this most recent stay. i couldn't get a non-smoking room and the room literally stunk with that horrible stale smoke smell.

oh boy. i just called la quinta's national 800 number to confirm this reservation and to request a non-smoking room. the customer agent told me point-blank that because this was a priceline transaction, they can't make any changes whatsoever. i figured that i might have better luck contacting the hotel directly. their response: "we'll wait and see if priceline has any non-smoking rooms available when you get here." this is shaping up nicely so far... :)

yes, a weekly pass is $18 CAD. here's a few metro links for you: the official metro page a really great metro enthusiast's site

lots of options for montreal. you could take an evening walk down st. denis street in the latin quarter, lots of sidewalk bistros and funky shops. a stroll through the old town/port is nice. i enjoyed seeing the stunning interior of notre dame basilica. the botanical gardens are lovely and quite scenic. check out the views from mont-royale. take the subway to parc jean-drapeau and see the biosphere (geodesic dome). the metro is an excellent way to get around the city -- safe, clean and fast. montreal is a beautiful city. My travel pics from last year (chicago, toronto & montreal)

i don't see any rivalry here, but i do see the criticism about the TOBB's admin's attitude and tone. betterbidding just seemed the friendlier and more laid back of the two when i was first researching priceline, so i chose to contribute here, and everyone's been great so far. *raises a toast to betterbidding*

Dates of stay: aug 27 - sept 2, 2003 I got this for $35 a night via priceline and was very pleased. A lot of people seem to feel that this is one of the less desirable properties in Priceline's Toronto 3* category. However, it more than suited my basic needs, and I found the location to be excellent, with the College Subway station a mere block away, and College Street's streetcars as well. No mention of priceline at check-in, the clerk didn't try to upsell me an upgrade. I received a typical guestroom on the sixth floor with a view of Yonge Street. The room was very clean with typical appointments (19" color TV, cable, desk, coffee maker, iron, etc...). There's a pool and jacuzzi on the basement level (along with the fitness center), which seemed to be very popular with the families. The Staff were friendly and courteous, although I didn't have to interact with them all that much during my stay. There's lots of fast food available in the area (McDonald's right across the street, Pizza Hut around the corner at Carlton & Yonge, Fran's Diner, Tim Horton's), with even more further south on Yonge, towards Eaton Centre. You're also just a streetcar's ride from Little Italy, which has some fabulous dining. Need some last minute personal hygene items or some aspirin? No problem, there's a drug store right next door that's open until midnight. Would I stay here again? You bet! In fact, I've got another stay booked 4/22 to 5/1 2004 (again, through priceline, $31 a night).

might have to try the $20 trick at the palmer house hilton chicago during my stay there. supposedly their "priceline rooms" are REALLY small and dark. :)

woah! amazing find. very interesting insight into the behind the scenes at priceline.

if you're willing to do some planning, you can get up to 15 free rebids (including your original bid) in the 4* NMA zone. here's an example strategy: (notes: you must follow this EXACT order for this to work -- a new bid is defined here as closing out of the current failed bid browser and going back to the main priceline page and re-entering the dates and info. always check your rebid zones before making any bid. things can change at any time and you don't want any nasty surprises...) bid 01) NMA (your desired target zone) bid 02) NMA + Evanston (as a re-bid) bid 03) NMA + Lincoln Park (new bid) bid 04) NMA + Midway (new bid) bid 05) NMA + Skokie (new bid) bid 06) NMA + Evanston + Lincoln Park (new bid) bid 07) NMA + Evanston + Midway (new bid) bid 08) NMA + Evanston + Skokie (new bid) bid 09) NMA + Lincoln Park + Midway (new bid) bid 10) NMA + Lincoln Park + Skokie (new bid) bid 11) NMA + Midway + Skokie (new bid) bid 12) NMA + Evanston + Lincoln Park + Midway (new bid) bid 13) NMA + Evanston + Lincoln Park + Skokie (new bid) bid 14) NMA + Lincoln Park + Midway + Skokie (new bid) bid 15) NMA + Evanston + Midway + Skokie (new bid) bid 16) NMA + Evanston + Lincoln Park + Midway + Skokie (new bid)

yep. $26 was my first bid. probably could've gotten it a few bucks cheaper, but since flagstaff has no free re-bid zones at this star level...

i snoozed and lost on this one too. maybe another deal like this will pop up again. you never know...

really? coming up as 1-stars? that's interesting. i will be sure to give a review when i return.

bid $26 for a 2* in flagstaff, accepted. bid through savingsbarn.com, of course. Congratulations, you got your price of $26 for a 2-star hotel room. Fairfield Inn Flagstaff Flagstaff 2005 South Milton Road Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 928-773-1300 Check-In Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Check-Out Date: Thursday, May 6, 2004 Your Offer Price: $26.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $26.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $8.96 Total Charges: $34.96

indeed, an excellent offering of advice, and just what i was looking for. unfortunately, since my amtrak ticket is already paid for, they say that i'm locked into disembarking at depew, since that's where the transfer to the chicago-bound train ocurrs. if i wanted to get off in niagara falls, ontario, they said that i'd have to change the tickets with an additional cost of $30, plus they noted that the train is almost sold out for that particular schedule. so... looks like i'll have to explore getting from depew to downtown buffalo, probably exploring there for a little bit, then catching a bus to niagara falls. i broke down and phoned the buffalo transit system yesterday. catching a bus from depew to downtown buffalo can be done. from there, take the #40 bus to niagara falls. apparently it stops a few blocks from the entrance to the park. of course, this will take some time. good thing i've got plenty of it! :) thanks so much for your advice and info.

i'll have a long layover at the buffalo-depew amtrak station on my trip from toronto to chicago in may. i was wondering if there's any easy way (public transportation, etc) to get from the station to niagara falls and back? i've got a good 8 hours to kill and would love to see the falls again and maybe some of buffalo too. any suggestions?

bid $50 for 4* loop/grant park, rejected counteroffer to add $14, rejected. added evanston and raised bid to $52, rejected. new bid loop + lincoln park, bid $53, rejected counteroffer to add $15, rejected. new bid loop + MDW, bid $54, rejected. new bid loop + Skokie, bid $55, accepted. bid through savingsbarn. Palmer House Hilton The Loop - Grant Park 17 East Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois 60603 312-726-7500 Check-In Date: Sun, May 2, 2004 Check-Out Date: Mon, May 3, 2004 Your Offer Price: $55.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $55.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $14.63 Total Charges: $69.63

bid $26 for 2* in flagstaff, rejected, but counteroffered to raise bid by $7. took $7 counteroffer (no rebid zones), $33, accepted. i stayed here last year, this is a really nice place. bid through the barn, of course. La Quinta Inn Flagstaff 2015 South Beulah Boulevard Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 520-556-8666 Check-In Date: Sat, Apr 17, 2004 Check-Out Date: Sun, Apr 18, 2004 Your Offer Price: $33.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $33.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $9.69 Total Charges: $42.69

i'd been bidding up to $70 in the NMA zone for these dates for the past week or so, decided to try my luck today in the loop/grant park zone, hoping specifically to land this hotel. i lucked out on my first bid. bid $55 for 4* in loop/grant park, accepted. Palmer House Hilton The Loop - Grant Park 17 East Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois 60603 312-726-7500 Check-In Date: Monday, April 19, 2004 Check-Out Date: Thursday, April 22, 2004 Your Offer Price: $55.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $165.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $32.57 Total Charges: $197.57

i'm still debating whether to bid the remaining part or not. i might use the add extra nights thing. how does that work? do they just bill you at the same rate that you bid at? thanks for all the help guys! now comes flagstaff and chicago... :)

bid $28 for 3* in DT Toronto, counteroffer to add $7. ignored counteroffer, added brampton, bid $31, accepted. Courtyard By Marriott Toronto Downtown Downtown Toronto 475 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1X7 416-924-0611 Check-In Date: Thursday, April 22, 2004 Check-Out Date: Saturday, May 1, 2004 Your Offer Price: $31.00 (US dollars) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 9 Subtotal: $279.00 (US dollars) Taxes & Service Fees: $34.85 (US dollars) Total Charges: $313.85 (US dollars)

excellent. i see what you mean now. thanks, i'll give this a shot tonight.

forgive me, but could you explain the date cycling strategy?

bid $50 for 4* NMA, rejected. added Evanston as free rebid, $55, rejected. new bid, NMA + Lincoln Park, $60, rejected. new bid, NMA + Midway, $65, rejected. new bid, NMA + Skokie, $70, rejected. decided to wait it out, possibly look at a 4* in the loop.