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This was through Hotwire so didn't have to bid but it did show me $65 at first because I was logged in to my account. I logged out of my account and re-ran the search and it showed $64 - so I booked as a Guest then logged in and they had to give me $64.

Ottawa (Downtown) 4* - The Westin Ottawa Check In: 4/14/2006 Check Out: 4/17/2006 $64 / Night x 3 Taxes $33.90 Total $225.90 Hotel website has C$182 the cheapest.

Location: McCarran Int'l, Las Vegas Company: National Car Rental $12 / Day Total with taxes $66 Accepted on first bid. Pickup: 2/27 (10PM) Return: 3/2 (10PM) Duration: 3 Days

Didn't really want to chance it with Priceline because I wanted a hotel in south strip and didn't want to spend more than $60 a night. Was pretty confident this was the Excalibur, which may not be the most exciting hotel but is pretty decent and a great location. I checked Excalibur and they were showing $50 for the first 2 nights and $60 for the 3rd night. Booked on Hotwire for 3 nights at $64 each, submitted a Double the Difference request, and just received confirmation for a refund of $64, lowering the total cost to $150. Very happy since my other option was the Sahara which is $45 a night after tax. Here are the amenities: Customer Favourite (this is really what gave it away) Casino, Restaurant, Pool, Gym, Spa, Golf, Tennis Hotwire is still showing $64 for those dates but Excalibur has gone up to $60, $60, and $70 for the 3 nights.

Accepted on first bid: Ottawa 3* 12/23 to 12/26 (3 nights) $45 / night Total with taxes and fees = $155.75 Was expecting I would have to rebid. Not complaining. :)

Hi all, Just wondering if anyone has noticed / experienced "targeted" pricing on hotel bookings on Hotwire? What I mean by that is my partner and I each have an account on Hotwire. Just now I was checking for a hotel in Ottawa over the Christmas period and for some reason, the everything is $2 cheaper when I do a search using my partner's account then when I use my own account. This isn't sitting too well with me as I have booked over 9 trips with Hotwire using my account, and only 1 with my partner's account. If anything you think I should get the better rates? I'm curious to see if anyone else has experienced this. :)

Same here. Very upset someone is taking advantage of such a wonderful site such as this one for a phishing scheme. The stupidest thing is you would think they should find a site that has some connection to PayPal! So mad. I've notified thereuare as well as PayPal. :)

Just a followup... Checked Hotwire again just now, and the rate for the 2* in Ottawa West is once again showing $38... looks like they have opened up additional inventory. Either that or there was a glitch in the Hotwire system. In any case I have booked the Courtyard for $42 thru PL (posted separately) so too late now. Guess there is nothing special going on in Ottawa that weekend after all.

Bid 1: $42 / Ottawa / 3* - Rejected Bid 2: $42 / Ottawa / 2.5* - Accepted Courtyard by Marriott 350 Dalhousie Street

Need a hotel for Ottawa from 9/9 to 9/11 (2 nights)... bid up to $28, $30, $32 for 2* no luck. Checked Hotwire for reference rates and even the 2* in Ottawa West is charging $60! A couple days ago the same hotel was showing $37 on Hotwire. Anyone with any idea what's going that weekend on all of a sudden? Currently booked Comfort Inn refundable rate at C$99 (approx. $82). Need some insight on whether I should book something thru PL right now or if there's a chance rate will come back down. I've never seen rates almost doubling for the same hotel in a couple days. Thanks all for any suggestions.

2* Ottawa West - Comfort Inn Kanata 222 Hearst Way Kanata, Ontario Bid 1: $27 - Ottawa West - 2* Rejected - Counteroffer of $34 Bid 2: $28 - Ottawa West & Ottawa - 2* Accepted Total with taxes and fees for 2 nights = $68.54 P.S. This is the hotel I was hoping for. It's not a luxury hotel but it's right by the highway into downtown Ottawa. It's clean and quiet. I've stayed here before and it's a great deal. Good location if you're going to a Senators game too. Very happy. (Coming to think of it, $28 a night is less than what I'm paying in rent for my 1-bedroom apartment!!!)

I have to side with PL on this one. I looked at what PL considers the Vancouver zone and it's got a map that clearly indicates the area that is covered. Plus, PL only calls this the Vancouver zone, not the Downtown Vancouver zone, whereas if you were booking for Toronto PL does have a zone called Downtown Toronto. I don't think anyone can honestly say PL has done anything wrong in this case.

Hi, I'm guessing when you say Parliament Centre you're referring to the Parliament buildings, in which case you would not want to bid anything BUT the Ottawa zone. Anything that comes up in the Ottawa zone should be within walking distance or a short bus ride to the Parliament buildings. I would not bid anything below 3* as that may put you in the outskirt of the zone which is less desirable (this from having lived in Ottawa for 8 years). Hotwire has a 3-star in the Downtown Ottawa zone (which is basically the same area as the Ottawa zone on PL) for $89, so probably should start around $60. Good luck on your bid.

I would recommend sticking to the Downtown zone only - this way you can be guaranteed you'll be close to the subway. All the spots you want to see are close to each other anyway. Hotwire is showing $78 for a 3.5 stars for those dates, so you may want to try bidding on PL at $60 or so. Good luck bidding. :) Albert

Hi Canbiz, I don't think there is a Priceline Canada site. In fact I have contacted Priceline and officially they don't accpet bids from Canadian customers because they are not "licenced to do business in Canada". This being said their system accepts Canadian credit cards nonetheless - you just have to fool it when it comes to State and Zip Code. As for flights, I believe all Priceline flights must originate from the US. So if you want to fly out of Canada you're out of luck. What city are you in? If you're in Toronto there are some good travel agents up in the Markham / Richmond Hill area that should be able to get you very good prices. Flights to Hong Kong right now are going for $1100 + taxes. Try First Markham Place or Market Village if you are in Toronto. Good luck. :) Albert

Used 'giftcard06' promo for $20 off. Total came to $106.95 with taxes, translating to $44 a night. Holiday Inn Select Windsor (Ambassador Bridge) 1855 Huron Church Road 3.5* Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, High Speed Internet, Golf, Tennis, Business, Laundry.

Just a followup... Tried Priceline for 3* in the Windsor zone at US$40 and was rejected. Received a counter-offer of US$52. I didn't want to pay US$52 (since Hotwire has a 3* for US$54 and I can get $20 off with the 'giftcard06' promo) and didn't want to go down to a 2.5*, so I gave up on PL and went with Hotwire instead (which I will also post separately in the Hotwire forum). Used the 'giftcard06' as thereuare suggested for the 3* on Hotwire, which was showing at US$54. Total after $20 off came to US$106.95, which effectively trnaslates to US$44 a night if you take out the fees. The only thing is I thought I was going to get the Hilton downtown as I had booked a 3.5* last year and it was the Hilton. It turned out to be the Holiday Inn Select on Huron Church road, which is a bit out of the way. I am going to a Tigers game and was going to take the Windsor bus there, so Hilton would have been perfect since it's right downtown. Oh well. You live and learn. At least parking is free at the hotel. HaHa. Speaking of which, does anyone know if I am better off driving to the game or just take the bus? I'm just going to have an early dinner in Detroit and go the game then back to Windsor. Thanks again. Albert

Hi all, Need a room in Windsor, Ontario for 2 nights (7/22 to 7/24). Checked Hotwire and a 3.5 star (which I'm quite certain is the Hilton) is coming up $55. I know Priceline usually has better rates - so I'm thinking of trying PL first. Any suggestion on what I might want starting bidding at (PL only has up to 3* in Windsor - and I know that may not be a Hilton). I also don't want to go below 2.5* and since PL only has 1 area in Windsor and also the time limit I don't have too many chances. Any help is appreciated. :) Albert

Gald to see you finally got that sorted out. This is by far the most expensive weekend I have ever seen in Toronto. It's utterly insane. Is this the one on Argentia Road? If it is I would definitely recommend driving downtown rather than take the subway. It's much easier. All you need to do is hop on the 401, change to 427 South, then QEW Toronto and that's it. Have a great time!

Mississauga is really not part of "Toronto" officially - it's immediately to the west of the city proper. The subway doesn't actually go to Missisauga, but just before. You can drive your car to the commuter lot (Kipling station, I believe) and take the subway from there. Since it'll be a weekend you can get the day pass for $8 which will cover unlimited travel on the TTC (Toronto Transit) for 2 adults. I would strongly recommend against taking the shuttle from the airport 'coz it's ridiculously expensive. In any case, I would actually recommend if you are staying in Mississauga you just drive downtown. It's about 25KM from downtown. Parking is fairly cheap in downtown Toronto on weekends. From the airport, take the 427 South from the airport, then QEW East which will take you right downtown. On a good day (and it being Canada Day weekend) you should get there in 20 to 25 minutes. By the looks of it you'll have to settle for a place in the suburb. If you do prefer to take the subway North York & Markham / Richmond Hill are better areas. You can park at the Finch subway station which is much closer to downtown than Kipling. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a whole lot left on Hotwire, so Priceline may have to be it. Good luck. :)

Also another area worth trying, if you don't mind driving a bit more, is Markham / Richmond Hill. It is also right off the DVP (which is known as the 404 in that area) and it's about twice the distance, but hotels are definitely cheaper there. It's a very nice suburban area and is home to some of the most popular Chinese shopping plazas in the city (if that interests you). I was checking Hotwire and it doesn't look like there's much of anything left so you have to wonder if Priceline has a much better supply of rooms, so I'd make sure I book something real soon. Good luck. :)

I would suggest trying the Don Valley area. It's close to the Don Valley Parkway which is the main highway downtown. It's a decent area and it's about a 10 to 15 minute drive to downtown. Hotels in that area are usually cheaper. Plus parking in downtown Toronto on weekends are pretty good. Simcoe Place which is across from the convention centre and within walking distance to SkyDome and CN Tower charges $5 on weekends for parking. Do remember it's also Canada Day weekend so that's probably another reason why rooms are so hard to come by. Good luck in your bidding.

City: Kingston, Ontario Hotel: Kingston Holiday Inn Waterfront Date: 7/1 to 7/3 (2 nights) Price: $70 / night, total with fees $161.26 I knew this was going to be tough. For one thing, Hotwire does not have hotels in this area. Secondly, Priceline shows Kingston as a single area, with only 2 hotel classes, so I can only have 2 bid attempts really. Thirdly, it's Canada Day / Independence Day long weekend, so hotels in this area are hot! I mean hot! Comfort Inn is charging C$105 for a promo rate. Nonetheless here are my bids: Bid #1 - Kingston, 3 Stars, $45 - Rejected Bid #2 - Kingston, 2+3 Stars, $50 - Rejected Bid #3 - Kingston, 3 Stars, $55 - Rejected Bid #4 - Kingston, 2+3 Stars, $60 - Rejcted At this point I have booked the Comfort Inn promo rate mentioned above as a backup, and I'm not willing to pay anything higher than US$60 for a 2 star, so I'm only going to try the 3 Star (which I was quite sure was going to be the Holiday Inn). Bid #5 - Kingston, 3 Stars, $70 - Accepted Not sure if I could have had this for $65 but I guess I'm not going to worry about it. It still comes out to cheaper than the Comfort Inn and it's a much better location. Parking on site is C$5.50 a night which is nothing. In any case I'm happy I got what I wanted. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Take care all.

Yes I posted this right after I won the bid on 5/25. Looks like the hotel reserves a block of rooms for Priceline? They better or else I'd be rather ticked if they don't have a room. :)

Sorry title should read $44... typo! City: Ottawa (Downtown) Date: 5/27 to 5/29 Hotel: Courtyard Marriott Price: $44 / night (Total with taxes and fees = $103.87) Bid #1: Ottawa Downtown 2.5* Plus $39 Rejected with counter offer of $50 - passed on counter offer Bid #2: Ottawa Downtown + Ottawa West 2.5* Plus $40 Rejected Bid #3: Ottawa Downtown + Ottawa West 2* Plus $42 Rejected Bid #4: Ottawa Downtown + Ottawa West + Gloucester 2* Plus $44 Accepted