Need to head to Virginia / DC at the beginning of the new year. Also needed a Pet Friendly hotel so Priceline was out. Amenities matched up perfectly with Lorien so I was pretty confident (wouldn't mind Morrison House nor Monaco if it came down to that) and took it. All worked out quite well I think. Amenities: Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa Edit: Yes, used the site HOTWIRE link for booking :D
Bid 75, 80, 85, 90 one night, no counteroffers. Next night, started at $85, immediately got a +28 ($113) counteroffer, Bid $95, +18 ($113) counteroffer, Bid $98, no counteroffer Bid $99, Score!
So finally got around to bidding and figured I'll stay in Hollywood for Saturday / Sunday (12/13th) and bid via priceline for Santa Monica. Ended up with the Sheraton Delfina for $93 + fees/taxes for the night of the 14th. Bid $85 for 3.5* in Santa Monica and got a you can rebid for $110 if you want. Added Lawndale and bumped up to $93 successfully. Used the site's PRICELINE links as always. Next step is to book San Diego for our one day back on the 27th, but I'll make a separate thread for that.
Just booked Le Montrose Suite Hotel for CAD $123 a night through Hotels.com as I noticed they had some super special this morning. Applied a 10% off coupon on top and ended up paying CAD $384 for the 3 nights. The booking is fully refundable till March 9th so I now have my backup while I bid something that would come out cheaper, although I'm not sure if I'll get anything. Deal is on until 9PM tonight apparently.
Given you must've bid 3.5* in the Santa Monica area, were you not concerned with potentially getting the marriott or the doubletree or did it not matter?
Only reason for not wanting the sofitel is due to what seems to be a significant amount of negative reviews of the place, whereas L'ermitage seems to always get a great review (also they have absinthe happy hour every day :)). But then again, who knows. I'm kind of preoccupied with other things right now so I'll start bidding again Monday to see where I land. But definitely thank you for your input. I'd love the W, but it seems there was just a posted priceline win for the Roosevelt on that night so I'm pretty sure I'll get that if I start bidding myself.
So many questions indeed, but the answer to all of them is really: it depends. Like I said, I'm planning out 3 nights (3/12 - 3/15) in the LA area, which could include places like Santa Monica as far as San Diego. Was concentrating on the first night initially but if the price to hotel ratio is right I'd consider doing all 3 days in one spot. Do I have a price limit? Probably around 130 a night. Will I bump it to 170 a night for L'Ermitage (Hotwire is looking possible for L'Ermitage but I can't tell if its that or Sofitel so I don't really want to get stuck there)? Most definitely. I'm quite open to suggestions, particularly from people that have done the LA travel bit. The luxe was a mistake on my part as I didnt look into the location just as a general indicator of West Hollywood pricing. But no, I dont want westwood.
Technically we're in the area for 3 nights. 12-15. Currently looking for the 12th as I actually wouldn't mind staying in a couple areas, maybe even hit up San Diego for a night. I'm quite open to ideas. Hollywood, Santa Monica/ Venice Beach and San Diego? :) Mind you, L'Ermitage has buy 2 get 1 free on their site which averages the rate to about $310 a night. If i could score a priceline or hotwire bid on that hotel for 3 nights at about $150 a night I'd definitely go for it. Alas 150 and 160 were declined by Priceline for 5*.
Yea, I didnt notice the location of Luxe. I'm using the proper way of checking which rebid zones to use, (use name your own price then tick off the zone on its own and make sure it doesn't hit that star level or higher). So while I'm not really using the number as an indication of actual price for a hotel in that zone, I would expect the algorithm they use to only make use of hotels that are actually in that zone. Hence for two of them, the median price stays the same (since there wouldn't be any 4*'s in the other zones so the median would stay the same), whereas when I add Culver City, it changes to the $99 giving a sort of indication that this zone would include a 4* for some reason. I just don't want to bid with that zone and end up with a surprise. By the way, I also added Hollywood on a bid last night at $115 (Yes, they have 4* but I doubt I'd get any of them and even if I did, I'd be ok with it) and was declined. Should I wait closer to the travel date for better pricing?
So I'm looking to get a 4*+ in West Hollywood on March 12-13. Lowest retail is showing $168 for Luxe hotel So far...bid $100 with no success... So i'm looking for rebid zones. Based on the priceline map, the following rebid zones should be good for a 4*. Culver City (3* and lower) Lawndale (2.5* and lower) Redondo (3.5* and lower) When bidding, the 4* in Hollywood zone is listing the "median retail price" as $287. When I add Lawndale or Redondo as a second zone, the price remains at $287 as expected (no hotels in that area). However, when I add Culver City (Something that shouldn't have a 4*), the median price changes to $99. How is this possible? Is there a 4* in there somewhere for uber cheap? Is this a glitch? I'm afraid to rebid with that zone for fear of getting something in there...
Continuing my tour across America, my next stop being Memphis I tried the following to no avail. $5 increments from 50 to 70 for 4* Downtown $2 increments from 60 to 66 for 3.5* Downtown. Ended up with the Downtown Mariott at $66. Wondering if I could've had a 4* for $75... Oh well...BB PRICELINE link as always...
Started at $55, nope. $60 gave me an "Add $17 popup". $65 was declined. $67 was accepted. I was hoping for something a bit more contemporary as The Adolphus looks somewhat old-fashioned, but this is good anyway. Used the BB PRICELINE link as always :)
