Pthomas156

The list of amenities is so long, I can't see why pet-friendly wouldn't be one of them. It's at least as important to many travelers as free breakfast is to others. Hear us, HOTWIRE!

Did a same-day Priceline bid on a 4-star hotel in the Newton-Waltham area. Hotwire had 4-stars in that area for $100, so I bid $75 and got the Westin Waltham right away. I had also gotten this hotel a few months ago under similar same-day circumstances. The hotel charges $11 a day for parking, fyi. I believe the hotel was going for well over $200 a night that weekend, but when I looked it up just now it's $189 for next Saturday, so who knows.

Thank you, I never realized that only some of the amenities are listed on the first page! After I hit "continue" and then "see all," I see for the Waikiki Beach area hotel, Near beach, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, Internet, Golf. For the Waikiki Marina, I see Near beach, Oceanfront, Fitness center, Pool, Restaurant, Business center, Internet, Spa. Thanks for your help. Pam

I very carefully copied them exactly. Today, however, the hotels offered sound like they are different from yesterday. Both the 4-star Waikiki Beach and the 4-star Waikiki Marina have the symbols for restaurants (which they did not have yesterday), and the Beach one does not have the golf amenity and the Marina one does not have the spa amenity. I had not seen a reference in these posts to a hotel with the golf amenity, so I was wondering what you thought that might be. Today, it's moot, but I guess tomorrow it might not be! I could care less about golf, but I was surprised to see that symbol. Today, the Waikiki Beach hotel has Always smoke-free rooms, Near beach, Restaurant, Hi-speed Internet, Business center and Fitness Center. The Marina hotel has Oceanfront, Near Beach, Restaurant, Hi-speed Internet, Business center and Fitness Center. Thanks. Pam

I am eyeing a 4-star and above Waikiki Beach hotel for 10/6-10/8. Hotwire has a 4-star for $136 for high-speed internet, fitness center, business center, golf nearby, all smoke-free rooms and near beach. Any thoughts on what that might be? There are no resort hotels offered for that time on Hotwire. There's also a 4-star Waikiki marina hotel with high-speed internet, fitness center, business center, spa services, oceanfront property, and near beach. Any clue what that could be? (Hawaii Prince?) Pam

I decided to do a last-minute that-night bid 7/12/11 (Thursday) on a hotel in the Newton, Mass., area, which is about 7 miles west of Boston. On my iphone, the priceline site suggested someone had just won a 3-star in the Waltham-Newton area for $75. Since everything on regular search engines was close to $200 (and Hotwire at 3-stars was offering $80), I bid the $75 and got the Waltham Westin. Downside: the suburban hotel charges $11 a night to do self-parking in their garage and charges for wi-fi.

I bagged this Boston-area hotel last-minute on a Thursday night in July. When I pulled up Priceline on my iphone, it suggested someone had just gotten a 3-star hotel for $75 in the Newton-Waltham area, which is the area I was looking for. So I tried that too, and ended up with the Westin Waltham. Typically nice Westin room with great king bed. The two irritations: $11 for overnight self-park IN THE SUBURBS, which is really robbery, and no free wi-fi. While this is close to the interstate, it's isolated in terms of being able to walk anywhere. Seemed more like a business hotel, but it served my one-night purpose as I arrived at 10 p.m. and left the next day at 8 a.m. It's less than 10 miles from Boston.

I have stayed at this Hilton several times in the past two years, through both Priceline and Hotwire, and can say that it's easily the most convenient hotel to the CSU campus (it's basically on campus) and to Old Town. The breakfast is reasonably priced and a Starbucks is available also. The only down sides: an in-room wifi charge and they might charge you $10 extra if you ask for two beds if you've booked through Hotwire or Priceline (or they might not; I've had it both ways). Rooms are a nice size and linens are very comfy. Pay-per-view movies are available if expensive. USA Today delivered to your door every morning. Coffee-maker but no fridge. The personnel are also very nice.

Saw what sounded like the Fort Collins Hilton going for almost $60 on Hotwire, so bid $50 on Priceline and got it right off the bat for the 11/20 stay and then again on 11/27. FYI, pool was shut down and being redone.

The amenities were complimentary breakfast, fitness center, pool, laundry facilities, business center and possibly high-speed internet access.

On Nov. 18 booked 2.5 star hotel for 3 people via Hotline for $39 a night for 11/21-11/28. Had watched the price for a few days and it was mostly $43 but occasionally dropped to $39, so the next time it dropped I booked it. Turned out to be the Quality Suites on S. College. This hotel was not on any Hotwire advice list; all lists said 2.5 star via Hotwire would be the Holiday Inn Express. One trick is to use the package builder on Hotwire and see what hotel you get, and that showed Holiday Inn Express also. So, we were surprised by the Quality Suites but the reviews on it are great and the location is good so we'll see if we agree. Search engines are showing Quality Suites going for $88 for double-bedded rooms. We decided to go for the 2.5 star instead of the 3 star ($45) because when we stayed at the 3.5 star Marriott Fort Collins via Hotwire in September, they wanted us to pay $13 a day for internet in the room (if you paid the regular going price you got it for free); plus there was no free breakfast. So we figured the Holiday Inn Express or the Comfort Suites, each rated 2 star or 2.5 star depending on which list you're on, would be more economical because they both have free Wifi in rooms as well as free breakfast (which is helpful when you're staying for 7 nights and have a teenager). Sometimes the cushier hotel at a cheap price is not the deal it seems!

If you are staying in Fort Collins and looking to save money, both the Holiday Inn Express and the Comfort Suites, which are rated 2 1/2 stars, are almost as nice as the Marriott, 3 1/2 stars, and provide free breakfast and free internet in the rooms (the Marriott charges about $12 a night for internet access if you book their rock-bottom price or book on Priceline or Hotwire). And both the Marriott and the hotels in the area where the other two are require you to get in your car for just about everything, so it doesn't make that much difference in location. The only advantage I saw to the Marriott was the Starbucks in the gift shop, and it closed sometimes during the day, which I found weird.

Started bidding a week ago at $33 for Tampa Airport 3 star. Went up a couple of dollars each day until 11/4 when I got the Doubletree Hotel Tampa Westshore for $43 when Hotwire was at $49. (However, one day during that time Hotwire had a 3-star for $39! I was bidding below that then.) Just called the Doubletree to see if they'd reserve a room with two beds, and they said they'd request it but couldn't guarantee. Said I should call Priceline ("my travel agent") if I wanted to modify (right!). The one-king-bed rooms are going on their site for $99 while their two-bedded rooms are going for $149. Another poster to this site said they'd called and were told it was no problem. So maybe I just got a reservation agent who resents Priceline and people who get good deals. We'll see what happens when I get to the hotel. There's just my daughter and myself, so it doesn't matter, but it's always interesting to see what happens with these special deals.

South Beach is very tricky for families. A LOT of smaller hotels there only have one bed in their rooms, intended for 2 people. And many that do accommodate more than 2 in a room charge extra for each extra person. So it's not the same situation as in an area with mostly big chain hotels where most of the rooms are double-bedded and they really don't care whether you have 1 person or 4 people. (New York City is like this too.) I'd go with Hotwire, where you can say exactly how many people you need to sleep. It's worth it for the peace of mind. And sometimes a hotel's own web site can offer the best deal. My family is staying at the Essex Hotel and Suites in Sobe next week for $81 a day (before taxes), which was cheaper than any travel web site (except one I'd never seen before, bookit.com). The farther north you go on Miami Beach, the more likely you are to have big hotels with 2 beds. But the kids would really like all the action in South Beach.