Also....as far as flights go. If you have trouble finding cheap international flights to Italian cities, you may consider flying to London, then flying to Italy on RyanAir. (www.ryanair.com) If you fly mid-week, you can get fares for about 20 Pounds each way (around $35-40).
Check vrbo.com (Vacation rentals by owner). You can rent private apartments and condos and can save a lot of money when you are talking about 3 weeks. There are quite a few really well located places available in Rome. For traditional hotels, check venere.com. If you go to Florence, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY reccomend the Villa Antea ( http://en.venere.com/hotels_florence/forte...illa_antea.html )...it is the nicest hotel I have stayed in EVER and generally affordable when booked through venere. (at least as compared to other Florence hotels)
New hotel to add to the list...bid this for my mom.
Bid up to $46 for 2.5*. $40 was first bid for 2* (no free rebids available)
Apparently this hotel allows you to leave your car for the length of your trip as long as you stay at least one night...which should save some $$ from airport parking.
Extendedstay America Indianapolis Airport
Check-In Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Check-Out Date: Thursday, June 16, 2005
Indianapolis Airport (IND)
5350 West Southern Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46241
317-241-0700
See Hotel Website
View Map and Directions
Your Offer Price: $40.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $40.00
Taxes & Service Fees:
$12.15
Total Charges: $52.15
Bid this for my dad, who will be driving through Nashville this weekend. There must be something going on this weekend as most hotels were sold out or had very high rates. $40 bid was rejected, added North Nashville (not a free rebid) to win at $45. I got the Holiday Inn Express which is new to the list. best available rate through the hotel's website is $75.
Holiday Inn Express La Vergne
109 Enterprise Boulevard
La Vergne, Tennessee 37086
615-793-9100
Check-In Date: Friday, June 10, 2005
Check-Out Date: Saturday, June 11, 2005
Your Offer Price: $45.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 1
Subtotal: $45.00
Taxes and Service Fees: $14.05
Total Charges: $59.05
FYI - Bid up to $65 for 3* Airport, Metro, and Opryland zones. Bid up to $53 for 2.5* in Antioch-Smyrna, Metro, Airport, and Opryland zones.
Yeah, they were REALLY excited. They're grad students on a budget and were looking at hostels for $50/person/night. I can't imagine a better location and the standard rooms look uber-plush...plasma tvs and marble foyers....quite different from bunk beds and a shared bathroom, yet unbelievably, the same price! Unfortunately, it falls right at the beginning of their 6 week European trip, so it will probably be all downhill from this place.
Bid this for a friend.
Started with the Mayfair-Soho zone at $100, then added Westminster and raised to $125. I know that wasn't the smartest way to bid, but my friend was in a hurry and just wanted to get something quickly.
Bid this for some friends. Failed bid at $95.
I was travelling in Europe last summer and bid for 3 nights (2 rooms) for myself and some friends in Venice at an internet cafe. I cheked my dates using the Windows calendar like I always do at home, but not realizing that in Italy their calendar starts with Monday (instead of Sunday), our reservations were for a day later than we thought.
Also, if it's just a matter of an extra $10-15 extra per night to get the Venetian (priceline) over Bally's (conventional booking), I think it's a no brainer to go for it....especially on your Honeymoon. You won't be dissappointed!
While parking on the strip is usually free, driving from one end of the strip to the other is NOT fun.
tmmirza-
On your winning bid acceptance page did it tell you that you had been upgraded to a 3* hotel? The reason I ask is that the Executive Tower has always been rated as a 3* on Priceline. I'm wondering if it's been downgraded to a 2.5* or if you were upgraded.
You'll probably definately be able to get the 5/17-20 dates cheaper since Vegas weedkday rates are typically MUCH cheaper than Weekend rates.....especially when using Priceline.
If I were you, I'd try Priceline for the Venetian (5* strip). The rooms and location don't get any better in my opinion. Midweek Priceline bids for the Venetian can usually be had for $99 - $125.
Just got my confirmation for the DTD through Hotwire. I was getting a little worried because: 1) It has been three business days, 2) The hotel is now sold out during my stay, so the lower rate is unavailable, 3) Check-in is tomorrow and most importantly 4) Since I was booking this room for my mother, it was not my money. I was ready to fire back with screen shots of the room rates that I took a few days ago, but didn't need them.
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Thank you for your message regarding the Hotwire Hotel Low Price
Guarantee for your reservation at the New York New York Hotel & Casino,
Hotwire Itinerary Number xxxx.
Hotwire works hard to get you the best hotel deals. We hope you'll
continue to check Hotwire when planning future trips.
You are entitled to a refund of $336.06. We will issue a credit to the
card used for your Hotwire purchase within 10 business days.
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I just tried pulling up some random dates in PL Vacation Packages and sure enough, the Westin is now a 3*. Great news for 4 * bidding in Vegas!
Yeah, Treasure Island would have been even better. They had rates for $136 avg during my dates.
No, it wasn't a customer favorite.
Just got the 4* NYNY for Fri-Mon 3/4-3/7 for $206.
Amenities listed were:
Casino, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Spa, Golf Nearby, Business Center
The available rate through the hotel's website is $149, so I submitted a Double the Difference request and should get a refund of $112.02 per night bringing the effective rate to $93.94/night.
This is the first time I've done a DTD request. Does it usually take the stated three days before you get a reply? What happens if the rate changes before they are able to verify it? I did take a screenshot, but am still worried since it's such a large refund amount.
No, I haven't tried bidding for just the 6th because I don't want my mom to have to switch hotels twice. Plus, I think it's doubtful that I'd be able to beat Excalibur's rate (for a 3*) even if I did split the remaining days.
Are you positive that Priceline doesn't average the rates for days with different rates like Hotwire does? The reason I ask is that when I bid for Thurs and Friday (5*), I was offered a counter-offer of $160. Then, when I bid for Friday alone, I was offered a counteroffer of $230. If they do average the rates, then splitting the bid would increase the total cost because of additional Priceline fees.
Got the Venetian for $99 on Thursday 3/3. Still trying for Fri/Sat/Sun.
I have bid for a 4* up to $95 for 3/4-3/7 (Fri-Mon) and up to $85 for a 3*.
I also bid up to $156 for a 5* on 3/4 only.
Currently have the Excalibur booked as a backup for $95/$135/$41
Is the Mirage rate a special promotion of some kind? Site shows a rate of $139 for me...
Right now, I have a backup reservation at the Excalibur for about $90 a night.
Bidding for my mom in Vegas for Thurs-Mon 3/3-3/7. She would prefer to be directly on the strip rather than in the Westin because she's travelling alone. Since Hotwire's rate for the Alladdin ($117) for these dates is substantially lower than their rate for the Westin ($141), do I have a better shot than normal of getting the Alladdin over the Westin using Priceline?
The Hyatt Regency downtown was recently renovated and upgraded to the Grand Hyatt brand. There is a second Hyatt near the convention Center (about 4-5 blocks from the current Grand Hyatt) that is supposed to open in December of this year.
I needed to add a room to the 4 I booked a few weeks ago (with slightly different dates). Bid the same $49 hoping to increase chances of getting the Hyatt again. Unfortunately got the Hilton, so this was probably an overbid. Still a great deal though... best available rate was around $160.
Started at $45. Bid was for 4 rooms.
3* Ypsilanti Marriott
in Priceline Hotels - Michigan
Posted
Bid this for my mom. $65 was first bid. Lowest rate from hotel's website was $150 or so.
I bid for Sat night (7/16) at $58 for 2* after failing at 3* and was counteroffered a rate of $75. Available rates were much lower on Sat night ($89), so I'm a little surprised to have won at $65 for a 3*.
FYI... I also bid the Ann rbor zone for 7/16 up to $45 for a 2* and $40 for a 1* with no bites.