BEAV

Bidding for family members. Bids up to $150 in USE ... all denied. Started over in USW. Bids of $100, $110, $120 rejected. Accepted at $125. Hotel Monaco, A Kimpton Hotel Union Square West 501 Geary Street San Francisco Check-In Date: Sun, Jul 15, 2007 Check-Out Date: Tue, Jul 17, 2007 Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $125.00 Subtotal: $250.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $45.41 Total Charges*: $295.41 Bid placed through SavingsBarn.com link to PRICELINE.

FWIW, I just discovered the Grand Bohemian is no longer owned by Westin. It doesn't come up in an Orlando search at Westin.com. The change of ownership could help explain the downgraded status. I also did eight different date searches on Priceline's vacation package and it never came up. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2006_3r...ndBohemian.html kesslercollection.com At least it's still being sold by HOTWIRE!

Henrik, Thanks for confirming you saw the hotel listed as 3 stars in the vacation product. I did a number of date searches in the VP and it never came up for me, which fueled my suspicion they no longer participated w/Priceline. I hope we see some wins for this property, but I suspect RunNGun's analysis is correct with the other lower priced 3 star hotels in the zone. Now the million dollar question is why the Bohemian was downgraded. As I said earlier it was a solid 4 star by Priceline standards. Thanks again for clearing up the mystery in my mind. :)

Thanks. That was actually the post where I noticed the loss of 4 star bidding in the downtown zone. The question is did the poster assume the Bohemian was downgraded simply because there is no longer 4 star bidding in the zone? I did a search for the Bohemian on the Priceline Florida board and it's never been reported as a win at the 3 star level. It's a terrific hotel, and a solid 4 stars, so until someone reports an actual win at 3 stars, I'm inclined to believe they no longer participate w/Priceline. Just my opinion!

4 star bidding is no longer available in the downtown Orlando zone. Previous to this, the Westin Grand Bohemian was the only reported 4* hotel in the zone. This hotel is showing in the list as being downgraded to 3 stars, however I can't locate any threads where people have actually reported it as a 3 star win. So my question is .... has the hotel actually been reported as 3 stars (and I missed it), or is it possible they no longer participate with Priceline? I used to see the Grand Bohemian listed frequently in the Priceline Vacation package, however it didn't come up in a number of various date searches I performed today. I'm more inclined to think they no longer participate with Priceline as to having been downgraded to 3 stars. Just curious if anyone has any insight...

Per the Hotwire Vacation package for Aug 7-9, the amenities of the 3.5 Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco are now: Fitness Restaurant Business Hi-Speed Internet Spa

If you look at HOTWIRE's Vacation Package product (hotel & air) for your dates, you'll see the Sir Francis Drake is an exact match. HOTWIRE's Vacation Package is an excellent tool to aid in the unmasking of hotel identities. And now a suggestion from a local.....While the 3.5 is selling for $119 on your dates, also notice the 3 star "customer favorite" selling for $89 in the USE zone. The 3 star property is a match for the Crowne Plaza. In my opinion, the Crowne Plaza would be the best purchase here, not only because of the lower price, but rooms are more spacious than those of the Sir Francis Drake. The Sir Francis Drake has some very tiny rooms which are only 120 sq ft. I would expect/assume these rooms get assigned to Hotwire and/or Priceline guests. Just my opinion. As to location, it's a wash as the two hotels are right across the street from one another. As to hotel types, the Sir Francis Drake is owned by the Kimpton chain which owns/operates boutique style hotels. You'll probably find the rooms at the Sir Francis Drake much more colorfully decorated than the cookie-cutter standardization of a Crowne Plaza chain. My suggestion? Stay at the Crowne Plaza, but walk across the street for breakfast at Scalas, located on the ground floor of the Sir Francis Drake. Best eggs benedict you'll ever have! Good luck!

If Hotwire is also displaying this property as a "customer favorite" in your search, then it's a match with previous reported wins as the Crowne Plaza. As a SF area local, I doubt it's a different property, but that possibility always exists. This is an excellent rate, by the way, for a seven night stay. Although Priceline rates most often 'beat' Hotwire prices, it can sometimes be difficult achieving a successful seven night stay on Priceline. Good luck!

Nice score, slruud! You're back at your favorite hotel! Got to love those holiday weekends in SF. Hotwire hotels at Priceline rates!

Expedia is selling the Parc 55 hotel (located within both Priceline & Hotwire's Union Square West zone) as low as $89 this summer. With 4* Priceline & Hotwire hotels often exceeding $100 in this zone, it might be worth your while to check Expedia for your dates of travel before automatically assuming Priceline and/or Hotwire will be cheaper. You can still support this board by using the Expedia links to begin your purchases.

Thanks for the recap. Very helpful!

After performing a search on Expedia, specifically asking for hotels with complimentary breakfast and hi-speed Internet access, my best guess would be the Best Western Half Moon Bay Lodge. Just a guess!

We just returned from a 2-night stay. To alleviate any confusion, this hotel was originally a Park Hyatt property, however purchased by Le Meridien (Starwood) sometime in 2006. All previous reviews are when the hotel was owned by Hyatt. We enjoyed several Priceline/Hotwire/retail stays at this hotel while carrying the Park Hyatt flag. Rooms are very spacious, floor-to-ceiling windows, wonderful bathrooms and comfortable beds. Very nice CD players with good sound quality. As to the rooms, absolutely nothing has changed since the hotel was rebranded to Le Meridien. Same furnishings as before. What we did notice in terms of changes between Park Hyatt & Le Meridien was an overall downgrade of services offered. The hotel restaurant, the Park Grill, now only serves breakfast & lunch. When it was owned/operated by Hyatt it was open for dinner as well. The restaurant is spacious and quiet, boasts 300 different wines, however is closed for dinner! If you wish to have have dinner in this hotel, it will have to be by way of room service or eating in the lobby bar. Also, a cozy cocktail lounge with piano adjacent to the Park Grill restaurant appears to be permanently closed. We also remember evening turn down service with towels, etc replenished when the hotel was the Park Hyatt. Today, unfortunately, no such amenities under Le Meridien. We'll always be happy to obtain this hotel on either Priceline or Hotwire in the future, simply for the high quality rooms and we like the location. However, it just doesn't have the "wow" factor it once had as a Park Hyatt property. Because of the limited restaurant hours and reduction to just the one cocktail bar in the lobby, you come away with the feeling the hotel is underutilized.

Congratulations on your successful bid! Could you provide your bid history? Was $120 your first bid, or did you bid lesser amounts which were declined? Thanks......

Don't let the location diminish the thrill of your first successful Priceline bid. It's not that far from Union Square, being on the border of the Financial District. Aside from Le Meridien, Omni is probably the next best hotel in USE zone in terms of quality for price paid. I'm always happy to score the Omni whenever possible. Congratulations on your first of hopefully many Priceline hotel stays! Excellent use and understanding of the free rebid system for a newbie! And thanks also for posting your bid histroy .. it's very helpful. Enjoy your stay!

Wish I could help you out, but I've never stayed at this hotel. However, the location seems to be good and central for the Union Square area. Can you share your bidding history with us? Was $125 your first bid, or did you "work up" to that figure after being rejected at lower amounts? Did you bid any other category, like 3 or 4 stars before winding up with boutique category? Thanks, and enjoy your trip.

Per the Hotwire California hotel list this would be a match with both Parc55 and Clift.

With regard to the Embarcadero zone, the 4* you're seeing for both 7/4-7/8 and 7/4-7/9 appear to be the same hotel, since the customer service comments are identical to one another. If you're not familiar with the Hotwire hotel list here, this property would be a match for either the Omni or Hyatt Regency Embarcadero. Unfortunately, the customer favorite comments are too vague do differentiate which hotel this is. Both hotels, however, are of good quality. I suspect the reason you're seeing a higher price for the 7/4-7/9 stay is because you're including a regular, business weekday (Monday 7/9) into the mix. Although the 7/4-7/8 stay involves weekdays, it stands to reason this is actually a long, holiday weekend with little "business" travel expected.

Ever since Hyatt purchased the Vineyard Creek Hotel (4* Santa Rosa) back in 2003, there has been a fairly distinctive pattern where we rarely (if ever) see reported wins for this hotel during July, August and September. I've tried myself on a number of occasions during these months (in past years) and I've always struck out -or- Priceline came back with very high counteroffers near $200. I looked at HOTWIRE for your dates to try and gauge what their pricing was for this property, however it's not coming up at all. So I think it's safe to say it's going to take a bid higher than you might be willing to pay for 4 stars in this zone to be successful. That is if the hotel has even released inventory to Priceline at all. Good luck! All it takes is patience and more money! :)

This new 4.5 Hotwire entrant has been bugging me for better than a week. I hate unsolved mysteries. But after a little research, I'd bet money this is the Palace Hotel (Starwood Luxury Collection). There simply aren't many hotels left in this zone that aren't already Hotwire participants and would merit the 4.5 rating and have the amenities listed. Incidentally, Hotwire's vacation package product doesn't indicate that any of the current 4 star hotels have been upgraded to 4.5, so we can forget that possibility. As Bay Area locals we make overnight leisure trips to SF often. I'm tempted to purchase this property, as I'm seeing it priced in the $120 range for weekend/holiday dates. However, if it's the Palace Hotel, I'm a bit leery as the Trip Advisor reviews are quite mixed. Colfax makes a good point, however, in that Hotwire will guarantee you two beds if you plug 2 adults 2 children into your search.

Yes, laptop it was in a house that was heating up FAST. Had that option not been available, I simply would have walked into the hotel's business center and placed my bid from there! Lucikly, the hotel's power was out for only an hour, despite being less than a mile from my house where the power was down for 12 hours. :)

Same day bid at 6:00pm. Bids of $61, $66 and $68 rejected. Accepted at $71. Nice to have a 4 star hotel just up the street when the power goes out at home for 12 hours on a 100 degree day..... Renaissance Club Sport Walnut Creek Concord - Lafayette 2805 Jones Road Walnut Creek Check-In Date: Thu, Jun 14, 2007 Check-Out Date: Fri, Jun 15, 2007 Your Offer Price Per Room: $71.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $15.80 Total Charges*: $86.80 Bid placed through link to PRICELINE from SavingsBarn.com

Too late for me to edit my post, but the title should read June 13, not June 14. I'm a morning person, and this proves I shouldn't be posting so late at night!

Bids of $75, $79, $82 and $85 rejected. Accepted at $88. (No counteroffers along the twisted road to success). The Westin St. Francis Union Square East - Embarcadero 335 Powell Street San Francisco, California 94102 415-397-7000 Check-In Date: Wed, Jun 13, 2007 Check-Out Date: Thu, Jun 14, 2007 Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $88.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $20.34 Total Charges*: $108.34 Bid placed through SavingsBarn.com link to PRICELINE.

Agreed it would have been nice to get into the same hotel as your convention, however the Clift is very close to the Parc 55.