CrazyOne

Ah, 24 hours, had forgotten that revision! Cool. So don't wait a week, wait a day and try again. I noticed after my post that someone else did a 4-night stay that included April 14, and they had the Ren at $62. So it has either filled up since then, or it's an off day and you'll get a better price another day. That's always possible. I also went to Priceline and see that they have 2.5* bidding and even 2*. Can't think of anything undesirable that would fall into the 2.5*. I'm guessing it would be the Courtyard and Springhill. Not sure what the 2* would be, apart from the Holiday Inn Express on 10th Street on the South Side. Even that is new and wouldn't be bad at all, but it's a bit out of their zone map if that's what they're thinking of. Anyway, I don't think you'll get them at a significantly lower rate. Priceline suggests 4* as "best deal", and they're probably right. Give it another shot and good luck.

I was surprised to get a win here on a last minute bid for a one-night stay. There are a few Westins in DC, this is the Westin Grand at 2350 M Street (really 24th and M) in the midst of a cluster of hotels that would fall into Priceline's Foggy Bottom/Georgetown area. Not a bad location, very quiet at night unlike stuff closer to Dupont Circle, etc. (Also translates into nothing much to do around there at night, but it wouldn't be that far to get into G-Town or Dupont or whatever.) I can't give too many details about different parts of the hotel because I arrived at 1am, went out to the office at about 8am, didn't get back until almost noon and checked right out at that point. (I was hoping to spend less time at the office.) I called ahead to say I was arriving after 1am, and the woman at the front desk said she would check me in at that time so anyone else would know I was arriving. Very helpful. Upon arriving the guy working the late night at the checkin desk was pleasant and efficient (no mention of Priceline from either front desk worker I talked to), and there was one porter/valet I guess for the late night shift who dealt with the car. They were cleaning up in the lobby at the time, vacuum, etc. Hey, gotta do it sometime! The lobby seemed small to me, really. I didn't explore, but I thought the only things off the lobby were a restaurant and another restaurant, not sure. I didn't ask for a certain room type, and it wasn't disclosed at any point, but upon arriving at the 4th floor room I discovered a king bed. Fine by me. (Note: smoking is not an issue as Westins are all non-smoking.) Room was not near ice, housekeeping or elevator and faced the outside street I'm pretty sure (some must face the inner courtyard). The room was smallish given what was in it. Was crammed with a narrowish desk and a chair for that, the bed, a big combination unit which served to hold the TV, a wardrobe and some drawers (no real closet), two easy chairs of dubious looking comfort (I never actually sat in them though) and the king bed. Bedside tables were small oval tables with open shelf and were on wheels, which could be useful I guess. The clock radio had a CD player in it (didn't look for a line in for your iPod, but it may have had one). There is an iron and ironing board in the room. Westin's highly touted "Heavenly Bed" does deliver for the quality of the bed linens, and I guess I slept fine although I only got about 5 hours sleep. More amazing was the bathroom, the largest I've gotten for a while even in other 4* properties. This baby has separate tub and shower, all marble and really well lit (amazing how bad the lighting can be in some bathrooms). The double headed "Heavenly Shower" was great, best hotel shower ever probably. Lots of towels in there for a room that could never have slept more than 2 people. There was shampoo, conditioner, bar soap (2) and lotion for supplies, nice enough but no fancy names to report that I know of. Hair dryer and shaving mirror are part of the equipment on a nice wide vanity. The closed off area with the toilet, however, was in a state of slight disrepair. One of the toilet roll holders was broken, and the real thing was apparent water damage from above that had not yet been fully remedied. I mean, it wasn't leaking, but the stains on the ceiling were apparent. This plus some fraying touches in the main room (again the ceiling, oddly) and the size of the room (cramped, plus the position of the TV was not good for watching from bed because it was on the side) made me wonder if it was a less desirable room that would be the last to be sold to a regular customer, if ever. Still, the bed and the bath were good, and that's all I really needed this time, plus the high speed internet. Still the problem at most 4* hotels, always nickel and diming you with stuff like $9.95 for the wired high speed internet, but it worked fine, and on this trip it's just an expense I get reimbursed for. All the staff I dealt with were helpful, doorman in the morning, front desk at noon, etc. Didn't call anyone with any troubles, didn't try room service, restaurants or other facilities. (There is an outdoor pool, apparently, which seems an odd choice, and I'm not sure about the workout facilities.) Curiously, I have no idea how much the parking is. The guy at night knew I was parking, and the woman in the morning also knew as she's the one who called for the car to be pulled around. But it's not on my bill, just the internet. (Actually, the internet was billed twice, and I had to have that adjusted.) I didn't spend a lot of time messing with these things as I needed to get out of there. It may work out in the end, and I might need to call and get a copy or whatever. Parking can be as high as $30/night in downtown DC, so I kinda doubt I'll get out without paying for it! (It's happened before, though, sorta. Paid for one night of parking instead of two one time, was not on a Priceline stay though.) $75/night Priceline stay March 8, 2007. Good deal all around, despite what may be a blemished room. Outstanding bathroom and bedding, worthy 4* though you may get a smallish room.

Trying to think of what would be going on then. The Pittsburgh downtown 3-stars really aren't that bad, although the Marriott could be seen as sorta inconvenient. Well, the Hilton is maybe still kinda bad until they're done renovating. But the Westin Convention Center isn't worthy of 4* anyway. The Ren is the one to get. As you say, lots of rebidding options. Do they offer 2.5* bidding for downtown? The Courtyard downtown is only a couple years old, newly constructed (out of an old building, but a new hotel, not a conversion of a different hotel) and wouldn't be a bad option if they offer 2.5* bids. There are no other hotels downtown that could be offered as such. Maybe the Springhill Suites on the north shore by PNC Park, but that's it (and it's also new and would be a nice example of 2.5* which I assume would be its rating). Most city areas could be iffy for this level, but if offered for downtown Pittsburgh I can't really see a downside. I didn't realize it was a weekend, which makes it all the stranger to me. Quick Travelocity shows Westin $249, Omni $249, Ren shows nothing available, Marriott, Hilton show nothing, Doubletree $259, Sheraton Station Sq at $229. $80 and $70 just might be a bit too low. Springhill North Shore is $169, Courtyard Downtown is $189. Trying to dig around here. I see a bit of a perfect storm perhaps. Christina Aguilera at Mellon Arena, Jerry Seinfeld at Benedum Center (he's on for two shows on the same night) and a union solidarity night for the Pirates game http://www.iww.org/en/node/3221 (not sure if there's enough draw for the big hotels downtown, but it could draw some I suppose) Still doesn't seem like a lot, but there aren't that many rooms downtown, and these might be just enough to fill some hotels and jack rates at others. You only need to let 2 days go by to try bidding the same thing again, so don't wait too long. My guess (not that I bid rooms in Pittsburgh, just based on various experiences) is that you could get a room with a few more bucks on either bid.

$75 bid for one night 3/8/07 $93.06 total with taxes and fee Included offer to extend for same rate (not surprising, given it's going into a weekend) It was a whirlwind Thursday afternoon and Friday, with this drive to DC late at night, stay, work a few hours, drive up to Baltimore, work an hour, drive back. But here's the bid I got late Thursday for same night, for help in determining your future bidding tries. It was already past 6pm when I started bidding, not even sure that my plan would be to drive down on Thursday night. I was hoping, but not too hopeful to find a place at reasonable cost. I started with 4* Dupont-Woodley thinking of the Omni I had gotten last time. $65, no. Added Foggy Bottom, $70, no. Added Crystal City (no 4* as far as we know), $75, a hit! I scrolled down expecting the Omni and was really shocked that it was the Westin Grand. I see it has gone for even lower, but the one I see was a weekend. Midweek is tougher, although of midweek, Thursday is probably easier than most. Still, prices seemed typical of the $200+ midweek rates for even a Courtyard or similar. And athough I couldn't tell just how booked it was, arriving after 1am, if they only put out USA Todays in front of occupied rooms, the others I passed on my floor all seemed occupied. I'll write up a review that explains a bit more. I think I got a slightly undesirable room, but it was still great for the price, wish I could have enjoyed it longer by arriving earlier.

One bid, one night, $45, $57.53 all in with tax and fee. Had 2.5* selected and only Auburn Hills-Pontiac. Result is 3* Detroit Marriott Pontiac at Centerpoint Well, looks like I'm in for a decent stay at a decent price, even if it's not exactly what I might have expected. I bid only this zone, but I had 2.5* selected. Maybe I bid too high! If I bid $43, would I have gotten the Amerisuites soon to be Hyatt Place? That one looked kinda cool. This Marriott should be good, though, judging by the reviews. Just need a place to sleep after a concert up at the Palace. The only downer is that some of the others would be a little closer, but really, I'm sure the longest part of the drive back will be getting out of the parking lot! Given the regular rates of everything I've been checking this evening, this still seems like a great deal. Everything comparable appeared to be over $100, even the 2.5* places. I was tempted a bit by the Westin Southfield which might be had for just a bit more (looks like it was $62 on Hotwire that night), but it's really kinda far away and inconvenient. I'm not that desperate to try the Westin. (Interestingly, the Westin had a price of $209, but if I asked for the AAA rate, it was 99 bucks! Never seen AAA give half off before.) It's very good to keep the price of the hotel down (and still get a decent room, not the Motel 6) given the price of concerts these days! Thanks for keeping up the useful info here everyone.

The place is pretty full. There is some kind of event, with people beginning to arrive today and checking out Friday. So I don't really know why I have a PL room except that perhaps the last minute worked in my favor. (Take all they can at 300 bucks and try to fill a few final scattered rooms at the last minute for 100 bucks.) I don't know how worn my room is compared to others, but it has a few imperfections, so maybe they are known less desirable rooms. (It's also on a low floor, overlooking mainly the parking lot though behind it I can see the Taft Bridge and such.) Still, it's fine for the price. And the wireless internet is free, unlike some other places at this level which still ding you $10 or more per day. Just goes to show the Priceline can still net you some insane savings in certain circumstances. This is the kind of circumstance that makes it worthwhile.

Time for some more bidding, it seems. I was making these arrangements at last minute, checked and checked the crazy hotel rates from regular sources. When I kept finding things like $300 for the (nice, granted, but still) Courtyard I stayed at for 99 bucks direct from Marriott last December, I figured I'd bid. I couldn't find anything I wanted through standard booking places for under $200, which is the threshold that pushes me towards using Priceline even for this biz travel. All this bidding was last night, late on 5/1 eastern time and spilling past midnight so that my billing date is actually 5/2. I started playing with 4* Arlington trying to get the new Westin (I've still never stayed in one), but when I bid up to $103 with no hit, I backed off and started trying with 4* Dupont-Woodley instead (ultimately including both). I think once I started with Dupont-Woodley I bid $85, then $92, then $99. I went in big chunks because it'll still be work paying, and I don't have time to wait for bidding again. I was actually kinda hoping for the Westin Embassy Row, but I'll take this, should be fine for a couple nights. Omni is new to me as well. And with any luck (read: as long as I don't need to lug anything heavy) I can hop the Metro a couple stops to the office each morning. (BTW, I can't 100% remember the convention for listing the dates in the thread title. It's two nights beginning on 5/3. Hotels usually say 5/3-5/5, or they say 5/3 for 2 nights. So I guess this is okay.) Subtotal: $198 Tax/Fee: $36.60 Total: $234.60 Omni's booking has been down this morning, but on Travelocity"]Travelocity they're trying to hawk a "Good Buy" low rate guarantee of $369/night for this place on these dates!

Stayed one night at Benson, Thursday 6/24/05, at $83 bid price. A little surprised at the negatives here, but I guess the rooms must vary somewhat. Here's what I remember: We did have a car, and we parked in the garage of the next building down. Perhaps the hotel parks its cars in here too. This didn't save a whole lot vs valet, but we knew we wouldn't move the car until the following afternoon. This garage cost $17 max for 24 hours, I think quite possibly pricey by Portland standards. But it did have a direct connection under the street into the lower level of the hotel. We found a parking spot right next to that door. Nice bonus for retrieving a few things later and also dropping stuff off there upon checkout (but leaving the car there a bit longer). Check-in was fine, the woman at the desk was very friendly and efficient. No mention of Priceline, just a standard room/tax prepaid line. Other staff we encountered were also friendly, though there weren't that many of them that we really talked to. We did not dine in the hotel at all. Common areas are decorated with lots of dark wood and coordinating materials. Looks like a fancy-ish old hotel, basically. Room was fine I thought, I think 9th floor, no smoking. Had a running laugh about in-room coffee being in the bathroom in many hotels during our trip. That was not the case here. The main part of the room was a little tight perhaps with the desk, bed, nightstands, armoire with TV and at least one chair. Certainly there wouldn't have been room for another bed in there. (We had one queen.) The layouts probably vary depending upon where you are on the floor and would have much more variance than a more modern hotel. Some space in this particular room was wasted as a sort of entryway off of which were the closet and the bathroom. Because of this sort of T-shaped layout, I didn't count that space in my observation of the "main" part of the room. Judging vs some other 4* properties (and I just stayed at one last week), it may well be a little small, but it did not bother us. Bathroom again was fine, stocked with all manner of toiletry stuff and everything placed just so. Not a lot of room for your own junk, but it's not a huge bother to us. Fixtures seemed modern. Robes were in the room too, in the closet. In our room layout there is not a window in the bath; there were two windows in the main part of the room. I don't recall anything looking particularly worn in the room. Not sure if this is due to any renovations which are either slowly happening or recently happened. The doors and their hardware appeared to be original (apart from the modern electronic lock on the main door). The windows had old-fashioned roll up blinds behind the sheer curtains. Funny, but they work. As always, difficult to get them to roll up in the morning. :) I don't remember the bedding that much, but there was a brochure for the Tempur-Pedic mattress in the room. (I suspect it is a joint venture, offsetting some or all of the mattress price with the in-room ad placement.) There was a handwritten welcome note on the note pad. And right after we checked in, a guy from maintenance came back with a new lightbulb for one of the lamps, apologizing for the interruption. (This is not insignificant; both rooms I stayed in last week including a 4* Marriott had at least one nonfunctional lamp.) Hm, not sure what else. The location was great. We did of course go over to Powell's, just a few blocks away. Had dinner at the excellent Typhoon! just down the street. http://www.typhoonrestaurants.com/ It says Thai cuisine, but this is not your average Thai restaurant at all. Highly recommended. Can't remember the name of the place we ate breakfast, a little further away and in a different direction but also really good. Overall my impression of the hotel remains quite positive. I wouldn't hesitate to bid this area again and hope for the Benson.

Hint, hint, eh? :) Yes, I'll add my review. I forgot to search through there for the Benson. Too bad others have had mediocre rooms it looks like, but I thought ours was fine. I'm sure it's not the only place with some widely varying opinions. Will detail over there.

Stayed here for one night last week, Tuesday, July 12, 2005, $70 Priceline bid (really good deal in the summer seems to me). First time at this place. For me, this is a bit far from the office I need to visit in Baltimore. In the heat of last week, that was not much fun when I walked over there in the morning (and back in the afternoon to get my car). But for sightseeing this should be fine. There's a garage here that's connected to the hotel. You can self-park for $20 as noted above, or you can valet I'm sure for a bit more. I was going to test the price of paying the garage directly vs the hotel price, but I decided to keep it simple on my hotel bill to ensure I could use my credit card. (Other garage I used was cash only and drained my cash. Good thing I did this too, because the next day I discovered my ATM card was dead!) I wish I had caught the posted prices. I think if you don't need to go in and out like the hotel parking allows you would get a cheaper 24-hour max rate from the garage directly. The other garage I park in near the office is only $12 max per 24 hours. Checkin was efficient and friendly. I got a room on the 6th floor with 2 doubles. (Happened twice on this trip. I clearly indicated each time I was only one person, but each time they gave me a room with two beds. Seems so easy, but then I know there must be disappointed bidders sometimes who can't seem to get these places to specify a room with 2 beds.) My view might be considered slightly better than the previous one: straight out was the parking garage, but looking to the right I could see the water at least. :) Stuff in the room seemed newish to me. Judging by the outside of the building and some interior features I think it's because the hotel is still fairly new (few years old) vs any recent renovation. Even though I travel to Baltimore regularly, I simply can't remember when they put this building up. Either way, the room furnishings are good, and I really like Marriott's new bedding. Comfy beds and nicer bed coverings, plus they have a pledge to wash all that stuff frequently. (Bedspreads at most places are notoriously not cleaned often.) Marriott still rips you off $9.95 for high speed internet access in your room, and it's still with a wire. If I read the info right, you can go down to the lobby and use wireless for free. I didn't notice the ice coldness of the common areas, but that may be because any ice coldness there would be welcome given the swampy humidity outside. :) I guess this rates as a 4*. It's hard to tell sometimes, and it's also been a while since I stayed in a 3*. I keep doing 2.5* and 4*. Certainly this place is on par with the Hyatt Regency 4* I've also stayed at in Baltimore and the Hyatt on Capitol Square I stayed at in Columbus, Ohio, in service level and amenities. Friendlier people at the Hyatts I think, but then they are less hurried during those winter and early spring months when I stayed there.

Your Offer Price: $35.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $35.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $11.56 Total Charges: $46.56 Stay date back on Thursday 6/24/05 Bid date way back on 6/4/05 Argh! I had to go from the Benson to this place. Sad, sad. Should've just stayed downtown and had the nicer room. But it did seem prudent to go out to the airport because our flight was at 6am the next morning. Between repacking and trying to get out on time, I think I slept about 3 hours if that. Standard 2* room I suppose, but I'm spoiled and don't want to see those anymore. :) Plus, it was several dollars above 2* rates, and some had gotten 3* for that much or a couple more. But I had no luck. I tried all kinds of stuff including bidding 2.5* and 3*, and I let 72 hours go by at least twice before getting this one. It is pretty close to the airport, though, have to admit. Very easy drive to return the car. No problems there. 2* is correct rating I'm sure, and the people were friendly enough.

Ack, got the date wrong there, supposed to be 6/23/05. Your Offer Price: $83.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $83.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $18.33 Total Charges: $101.33 Stay date back on Thursday 6/23/05 Bid date way back on 5/31/05 Between SF and here we did other stuff, no Pricelines. It cost us more that way, but we also had some flexibility a couple nights (drive up coast between SF and Portland) and chose a couple of specific places for other nights. Anyway, this one was full of rebids that ticked me off. Others have gotten this for I think below $70 at times, but I had to pay $83 before I finally got it. I think I was going in about $3 increments, so I couldn't be too far off. Again, sometimes it costs more to bid further out too it seems. Doesn't matter though, this place is totally worth it. It's a great old hotel building, great service and great people there. Most stocked bathroom I've seen in a long time. Hehe. Highly recommended. I find it hard to see how you could be disappointed if you get this one even if it does take 80-odd bucks to get it.

Your Offer Price: $75.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $225.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $42.21 Total Charges: $267.21 Stay was back in June, Wednesday 6/15/05 thru Saturday 6/18/05. Bid was way back on 4/17/05 Hey, someone else got this much lower than I did for around the same time. So I guess I bid too early? Heh. Oh, well. Either way this was great. We debated for a while what to do for SF, and while the 4* is pretty good value there, I didn't like the variance in locations and such. It's just the two of us anyway, and we liked the idea of boutique. Fine, just bid for that. And that's what we did, and this is where we ended up. I don't remember the rejection details if there were any. Villa Florence is a great place, really ideal location I think for SF sightseeing and I'd stay there again anytime. I didn't find the room amenities nor the service to be below that of many 4* places I've stayed in.

If you need to go into DC from Baltimore there is a reasonable train option on the weekdays run by the State of Maryland. Some info at http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/marc/ The MARC Camden Line runs from a station at Camden Yards by the baseball stadium (not too far from this hotel, longish walk or maybe the hotel could run you over there) to Union Station in DC. This would not be much fun if it is before your check in or after check out with all your luggage, but if just in the middle of your trip I think it would be fine, certainly more economical even for three of you than most other options and far simpler and more comfortable than any of the cheaper ones. Transit from the airport to the same station area at Camden Yards is also possible on the light rail, but with three of you and all your stuff it may be more inconvenient than the cost savings is worth. I suppose you may be thinking of renting a car, but a car is somewhat of a liability in both cities. In addition to the rental rate it will cost you $20/night at the Marriott (that's the self-park rate, not the valet) plus whatever it will cost to park in DC. Then again, if you add all that up and compare it with a cab from BWI to the hotel and back and the train to DC, it might come out close to a wash. (I don't know what cab fare from BWI to Inner Harbor is.) Driving in either place or between them is not much fun (and I travel to both by car fairly regularly), but it's certainly doable if you must. I would be surprised if the Marriott could not handle any of your special food needs. I didn't make any special requests of them, but I think they would be accommodating.

Your Offer Price: $70.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $70.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $$16.6 Total Charges: $86.61 Bid and stay was Tuesday 7/12/05 After having no luck for another BWI stay (bid up to $65 for 2.5* with no hits) I decided I'd just bid Inner Harbor 4* instead. I was running out of time with another same-day bid. Too bad, really. Based on what I actually did after leaving work, it would have been much better logistically if these hotel nights had been reversed (downtown on Mon, BWI on Tues), but oh, well. This was another one-shot deal. Put in $70 not expecting a hit, but got this one right away. Considering that in the dead of winter I was staying for only $10 less (and one night the same price), this seems like a great deal. Perhaps it is because of (rather than despite) the last-minute nature of the bid. A lot of people seemed to be checking in there, so it wasn't that empty at all. You other folks who got this should be reasonably happy I think. The Marriott Waterfront is a nice hotel, fairly new I think (because it doesn't look old enough to have just been renovated, which would be the other explanation). I like the new Marriott bedding standard. (Will post more in Reviews section.)

Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $45.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $13.06 Total Charges: $58.06 Bid and stay was Monday 7/11/05 Catching up on some old stuff here. This is just last week, but I'll put up a couple of west coast ones from last month too. One shot deal here, I think. As I recall I put in 2.5*, BWI and $45 and hit right away. Always leaves me wondering if I bid too much, but in this case it's a fairly common rate and should be close to best deal if not right at it. Holiday Inn BWI is adequate 2.5*. Free wireless internet now. The following day BWI bidding was crap. Up to $65 in 2.5* got nothing. This is not that uncommon for BWI, so it's more likely I got lucky on Monday.

Down in Baltimore again today, and this was on my mind. Been a couple years since I stayed there I think (can't remember exactly), but my room was pretty sub-par that stay, just worn and had trouble controlling the temp (in the winter, but I think it was too hot all the time), generally not up to standards of other Wyndhams I've stayed at and a bit shabby for a 3*. (Common areas are fine as I recall.) I've been avoiding downtown 3* bids since. Please give us a report after your stay if you can, and I hope it turns out better than my last stay. Unfortunately, I haven't heard of any indication that they are renovating rooms.... All the stuff about the location, etc. is widely subjective. I walked over there at night and didn't really have a problem with that aspect. Few blocks uphill from the harbor if that's your focus.

Got this one on my work trip out there earlier this week. Bid on it early Monday morning for that night. I kept trying to get it lower; I thought maybe the change of day from Sunday to Monday would help that, but I couldn't get it lower than this. I tried other bids within a couple bucks, so $62 was the bottom at this point. Some have gotten it lower in the past, though. Going for $109 on the Hyatt site. If you need to be in downtown Columbus, though, this is the place. It's a great location, and I'm sure it's the only thing that will ever come up as 4*. 3* bidding in Downtown Columbus is iffy because you might get one of the places up by the convention center. This may be fine for many, but it makes for a bit of a walk to the statehouse area where our office is. The hotel is quite good too. I didn't sample many services, but the front desk staff were extraordinarily friendly and efficient I thought, both when checking in and checking out. There has been some level of renovation here that should be complete by the end of this weekend as I understand it. Based upon my room I'd say that the carpet is new, at least some of the furniture may be new or recent, and the bathroom looked to be all brand new except for maybe the toilet. I love the tub/shower setup. They have the curved shower curtain rod plus a few extra inches of ledge between the tub proper and the vertical wall opposite the curtain. It makes for a much more spacious showering area. Had a nifty new shower head too. I was impressed with the bathroom, nice layout and plenty of space in there. The bed appeared to have a substantial pillow top mattress or mattress topper, and there was a duvet with cover instead of a blanket (though the whole thing was still topped with a nasty standard bedspread, though in this case they're fairly new I think). I found it plenty comfortable. The room felt quite spacious, perhaps because they had the head of the bed against the bathroom (short side of rectangle) wall instead of the longer wall. Lots of space between the bed and window. The easy chairs looked like they might not have been as new as some of the other furniture, and the wall that the bed was against looked like it wasn't changed in the renovation. Maybe none of that was. As is often the case, it was darned near impossible to find a useful outlet to plug in the laptop.... Didn't try any food services this time. They also have a fitness center that's on the top floor with a good view, apparently. Rooms on the right side of this hotel would look right out onto the Ohio Statehouse. Valet parking is I think $18, but you can self-park in the Statehouse garage across the street. That came out to $13 for the overnight stay, so not a big savings. Overall: highly recommended! You bid 4* in Columbus, you'll get this place, and it's good and totally worth it.

It takes a bit of clever walking, but it's certainly walkable in, oh, 10 minutes I should think. It'll be downhill getting to the convention center but all uphill going back. It's a bit of an odd walk because you have to bridge a sort of sunken freeway there, but it can certainly be done. I suspect the hotel folks will be familiar with the route. Explaining it here is probably getting in a bit too deep. Plus, I probably can't do it. ;-) Not sure how the cabs will be. Pittsburgh is a notoriously terrible cab town, but downtown hotels and the convention center are usually places where you can get a cab without having to arrange it all in advance. Not that they'll want your dinky little fare, but they're stupid like that. Sigh. Don't know if they would run a shuttle over there or anything. Possibly for a particularly big convention.

Here we go again. So after getting this place for $60 on the first try on 2/1, I decided to go lower. I started at $55, and I got one of those "increase your price" screens. They wanted $15 more. I knew better because for 4* bidding in Balt there's just the one zone, and about 8 other zones worth of free rebid for 4*. So I inched up. Went for $57: rejected. $59 was accepted. So the target price right now is $58 or $59 to get the Hyatt. Maybe it'll only be this week, but it's been a great run. So the succession was: $55 bid for 4* Inner Harbor: rejected, countered with $70 $57 for 4* Inner Harbor + Hanover: rejected $59 for 4* Inner Harbor + Hanover + Balt SW: accepted Tax and fees: $15.13 Tax and fees are 12 cents less than my $60 bid, for whatever that's worth. The tax if I recall is 12.45%, so I guess that difference is all tax. Come to the Inner Harbor for $60! :)

Well, I've reached low for this one. Because I'm here longer than I expected, I wanted to bid for a place that had coin laundry. I fished a bit downtown, but I was afraid of being upgraded. The 2.5* Holiday Inn or Courtyard would have done well, but since I got the 4* Hyatt for $60 last night, I figured I could end up at the Wyndham or something for $50ish. So I went for BWI. I was shooting for 2.5* (and the 3* Marriott would have worked as well), but I ran out of rebids before getting the price high enough. So I went for this on Hotwire, where it said laundry right on it. Price was $52 plus tax/fee of $12.95. Amenities are as noted for Homestead on the hotel list, kitchenette and laundry, but it was rated 2.5* by Hotwire now. Clearly a 2* in Priceline terms. It's fairly new, but basic. The kitchen includes microwave, good sized fridge/freezer, stovetop, sink, toaster and some dishes/utensils/pots. Would be a basic but usable place to spend extended time. BWI is one of the few zones where Priceline 2* is not a bad bid, and 2.5* is really quite good. Of course, the prices are higher because of that, or because it is desirable anyway. And yes, I'm a real stickler about this laundry stuff. If I had gone back to the Hyatt, for instance, I dunno what it would have cost, and if it would be done in time. And published rates for tonight were astronomical even as I suspect I would still have gotten the Hyatt for dirt cheap. Weird. There were some cheaper published rates, but not at anyplace that had a coin laundry. At least if I have to stay tomorrow night (and I might), I won't have to worry about that again. Lemmee know if I need to give more bid info.

Heh, that probably would have been a good idea, but I went to bed right after I posted that. Anyway, it was no problem getting it done about 7:45 this morning down at the front desk. I just stopped there on my way out. I did need to get a new room key as my current one was to expire later that day she said. But I had no trouble using the new one when I got back tonight. Very friendly and efficient staff here, well, the contact I've had with them anyway. (No food service at all in my case.) And nobody who knew I was on a Priceline bid seemed to have any attitude about it at all. It might help that I have nothing to complain about (except that their guide in the room had the wrong hours of the shop, which affected me last night. Oh, well, BFD.) BTW, I guess I should say my reference to "previous thread" meant my thread where for the previous night I had bid $70 and got on the first try, and worried that I bid too much. That's just in case these threads someday get out of whack, which they could I suppose. :) I'm not bidding for a third night yet. Going to check out tomorrow in the hopes that I'll be heading for home at the end of the day, or maybe heading for my mother's house which is just a small detour on the way home. (Yes, have to drive home to PIT, not fly. Waste to fly for only 4-4.5 hour drive.)

See previous thread. Damned if I wasn't right. 60 bucks! One room, one night 4* with only Inner Harbor zone $60 (Tax and fees $15.25) Win on first try I can't believe $10 less hit on first try. I was researching other zones for free rebids, sure that $60 would be rejected. How low could it have gone? I don't think I'll be staying a third night to find out, but it sure must be a slow week. Now, the trick will be if I can get them to let me stay over in this room vs checking out and checking in again. Some people have apparently gotten bad rooms here in the past, but I'm content with this one. It's an odd shape here in the far back corner, but it's just me in here, can't complain at all. I'll let you know how it goes. (Anyone else ever tried this and succeeded at any hotel?)

New Year's Resolution: Post winning Priceline bids on Better Bidding! :) I've been forgetting to in the past, and it's been a while since I PL'd a room anyway. Now I'll put them on here. I'm here in the room now, actually. Not a bad place at all for the $70 bid. My room doesn't face the harbor, but oh, well. Staff friendly, convenient to where I'm working here. Very weak signal from the T-Mobile Hotspot, but hey, it works, and I already have unlimited monthly account, so it's "free". I'm going to be staying in Balt until Wednesday, so I'll bid again and maybe get it again. Anyway, not sure if we need big details on this hotel which has been mentioned before. Particulars of my bid: One room, one night 4* with only Inner Harbor zone $70 (Tax and fees $16.68) Win on first try I hate that, really, because now I wonder if I bid too high. I'm not paying personally, but still, the point of the game is to get the best price. :) Seems rather quiet here tonight, so makes me wonder if they would have taken less. Still, though, can't complain. Certainly worth bidding 4* here so I don't get the crappy Wyndham. I stayed there last time (dunno how long ago, maybe a year ago), and it was pretty bad, which sucks, because I like Wyndhams usually. This was maybe $15-20 higher bid if I recall (over 3* in this zone which got me Wyndham before) and so worth it.