irobot

That is actually a good win for that area, which is one of my favorites. Parking, however.... That's a tough area. You're close to a University and to the Fox Theater. I've always had to suck it up and pay what they asked. Probably the most expensive parking in Atlanta, where a lot of places offer free parking. Glad to see somebody still having good luck with an opaque bidding site. Property managers have gotten smarter about gauging their rates, and maybe doing directly through their own websites. And maybe the economy had turned up a bit and business travelers are moving around more. Remember, that's the break and butter of most brands that use PL. That, and sadly I don't think people share their experiences as much as they used to. Frankly don't do as much PL as I used to myself.

Sorry for the delay in responding. Like I said; I don't frequent these sites much anymore. Fortunately, my PL itinerary email was still in my trashcan and I confirmed PL's rating of this property. It is in fact listed as 2.5 stars. Don't know why they downgraded it, but they did. BTW, it was sold out on the night we were there (my brother and I). I was lucky that I arrived early enough to get a room with a sofa bed. Otherwise, one of us would have been on the couch. Don't know why, but every time that I'm alone I seem to get defaulted to a double and every time that I'm with a buddy I get a single. Not complaining, though; I know the drill.

Don't frequent the boards much anymore (or use PL as much as I used to), but I have tickets to an upcoming show at the University in Gainesville, so I experimented around for a few days and ultimately got the Marriott Courtyard for $56. I started bidding a 3 star in the University zone at $51, failed, but was counter-offered for about $14 more. Since there were no 2.5 properties listed in that zone I added the 2.5 and raised my offer by $5, and was accepted. Not disappointed, since the rack rate for that night is $149 and the downside of most Marriott properties is pretty limited, although thee were some reviews on TripAdvisor talking about the need to renovate their rooms (which is supposed to happen this year). I'm sure it'll be fine.

Accepted on my first bid at $35/night for three nights. Total with fees and tax was $128.26. Includes one weekday (Thursday) and is on the weekend of Dragon*Con, which is why I'll be there. Very unusual to see the Marriott throw itself out there for this price. I actually prefer the Hyatt Suites in this same zone, by that's mostly because my company has a relationship with them, so I get free breakfast, etc. Still a bunch of value at this price.

Ironic. I just stopped by to post my winning bid for this same property at $35/night. Times must really be tough in the hospitality biz. I bid this zone all the time because my company has their HQ there, and it's VERY unusual to see the Marriott hit at this level. You'll almost always get the Hyatt Suites (also a fine property) or, less frequently, the Crowne Plaza (decent, but not up to the other two).

?? So what's the minimum acceptable bid amount now? It seems like that would be below the minimum for a 3.5 star.

I'm pretty familiar with this market, since my company has an office here. I started out at $42 for a 2.5* in the NW, which was declined. Bumped to $45 and added downtown, I was "upgraded" to a 3* for the Marriott Courtyard, which has been a 2.5 for like forever. I find this new PL re-rating scheme to move the business class hotels like Courtyard and Hyatt Place (and I assume Garden Inn, although I haven't won one of those lately) to 3*, is a VERY bad and misleading move. This makes the 3* rating so broad that it's virtually meaningless. I mean, look, saying that (for instance) the Hyatt Suites is a comparable property to the Marriott Courtyard in Columbia is laughable. This TOTALLY undermines the credibility of PL <end rant>.

I don't know if it's across the board, but I've seen wins for Courtyards in different locations coming in as 3*, when they have always been listed as 2.5 in the past. I just won a Courtyard in NW Columbia that I've gotten MANY times in the past as a 2.5, and they're calling it a 3* now. I'm here now, and nothing looks different to me. Wonder if this has something to do with the new 3.5* rating? (or did that just replace the Botique category?

I just recently saw wording like this for a US property (Columbia, SC, specifically). It was when I had used the "extend your stay" option. PL didn't accept the original accepted price, but came back with a higher one - with that wording.

Wanted to post a warning of a new hotel showing up in the 2.5* Louisville East zone. It's the Best Western Envoy Inn and Suites. It doesn't get bad reviews at Tripadvisor, but the rack rate for the day that I bid, August 11, was $59. With the PL fee, I probably paid basically retail. Needless to say, my PL bid of $39 was accepted immediately. I guess that I can say goodbye to the Marriott Courtyard and Hyatt Place in this zone. Too bad.

I wanted to share a possible PL hotel in the San Juan area that I hadn't seen posted anywhere yet. It's the La Concha, a Renaissance resort down the street (Ashford Avenue) from the Marriott resort already listed. Just got back from 4 days there. Although I was in San Juan on business, and reserved directly through their website for $179/night (since my company was picking up the tab), I overheard the lady at recpetion say to a couple standing next to me, "I see that you reserved your room directly through Priceline." Rather than give a full rundown, I'll just say that it was ok, although pretty pricey for what you got. Guess that I'm spoiled by PL. I posted a full review over at TripAdvisor, if anyone is interensted. Anyway, heads up.

Springhill Suites Chesapeake Suffolk (Gum Road) Didn't see this property listed. Regardless, was bidding for June 20-23 in the VB area (this weekend). Bid all around, since this area seemed to be playing hard to get. Started at $45 for the Norfolk Airport and moved up in $2 increments. Not actually sure where this property falls within PL zones, since I had bid various zones up to $57, where my offer was accepted. Never stayed at a Springhill before, but it get decent TA reviews and its a Marriott property, so the downside potential is probably limited. I'll post a review when I return. FYI, this place is listed on their site as Chesapeake Suffolk on Gum Road.

Noticed that this property hasn't been reviewed here in about 4 years. I stayed here a couple of weeks ago for three nights (Dec 29-31). There has been a remodel since the previous review and it helped the the overall condition of the rooms, etc. I agree with the previous poster's description with these additional comments. I'm a Diamond member and had an upgrade certificate so I was given a suite on the 10th floor (the 11th being the highest floor and Club level). Also received the welcome plate of wine and cheese/fruit, which was nice, along with complimentary breakfast buffet passes for myself and my brother. The buffet, by the way was very good, but VERY crowded; long lines both days we ate there. Service was clearly strained to keep up. The club lounge also had excellent evening hors d'oeuvers. That actually saved us an night out when it was raining and cold. All in all, I thought that we were treated very well. Some of that was clearly because of the fact that I'm a Diamond member though. Also used the fitness facility which is on the 2nd floor. very nice with treadmills and bikes with TV screens and headsets available when you come in the door. Layout is a little unusual, though. It's in the same aread as the pool, in two seperate areas. Also closes early for my needs, at 9:00 PM. My BIG complaint is their parking; only valet is available for $41/night (!!). I've stayed in a lot of places and this the the highest parking fee that I've ever seen. Really over the top. The other thing that I'd mention is that one side of the hotel faces a firestation, which got a bit of a workout during our stay. There are a lot of sirens in DC anyway, and if you are a light sleeper, you might want to avoid that side. My last comment is that there was a general lack of attention to details here. For instance, our welcome tray stayed in the hallway outside our door for two days before it was picked up.

Started DT 3* at 40 and went up starting with the East and Airport (which, BTW, shows a 3* property now, although I haven't seen any listed either here or at TOBB) in $2 increments. Got a hit at $46, so the minimum couldn't be any lower than $45. Hopefully this joint won't charge extra for the use of their fitness facility. I just reserved for the following night a Hyatt at the ORD airport (Chicago) - 4*, no less - that supposedly charges exttra for EVERYTHING: parking, internet, breakfast AND use of the fitness facility. Hyatt card holders get a "discounted" rate of only $5/night. And all of that stuff is free at a humble La Quinta! Jeez, some luxury!

Another thing about Hyatt Place properties - AFAIK, all of these should be the old Amerisuite Hotels, which Hyatt bought last year. I don't know whether or not it applied to all of them, but I recently stayed at one in Tampa, FL which was completing a major rennovation (I think that I already left a review here on it). All rooms had 42" Plasma TV's, new carpet, etc. Very nice. The only warning I would give is the place in Tampa (non-PL stay) was that the rennovation was still going on in a pretty major way downstairs. Bare sheetrock on all the walls, exposed metal studs, etc. They had nice but small exercise room - no weights though, just cardio, and were talking about have some sort of "shared kitchen facility." (??) Don't know what that meant, but it sounds vaguely communist to me.

Thanks. I'll do it that way next time.

I'd be happy to use your PRICELINE if I can do so without losing my bonus money from PL. Any way to do this through an affiliate link?

I've stayed that this property a number of times on PL stays and its a decent hotel (which by Columbia standards makes it very nice). This used to be an Adams Mark and (from what I've heard) they ran it into the ground. When Marriott bought it about 5 years ago, they invested significant money in rennovations and greatly improved the propoerty's condition. Here are the highlights: Good - Room standards are up to what one would expect from a 3* Marriott (although I did once get a weird shaped smallish room near an elevator, most are of adequate size. - Some rooms have a decent view (although Columbia is not a particularly scenic city, IMO), many just have a view of the convention area roof and A/C units, etc. - The lobby is very nice, although the carpet on the stairs down (if entering from the Parking Garage is starting to show a bit of wear. On some eveningsthey have a piano player there, which is a nice touch (that's were the restaraunt/bar, etc. is, too). - Servcie is reasonably good (which by Columbia, SC stardards equals outstanding). Not So Good - The hotel uses the City-owned parking garage which is located next to the property. The entrance and the spaces are narrow, service is TERRIBLE (I have personally had to get out of my vehicle and go track down an attendant to let me out - and this was around 8:30am on a weekday - because there was no one in the booth). If you park on level 2B, you can walk directly through an interconnecting corridor through to the hotel. I should mention that the Marriott shares the building with businesses (South Carolina Gas, or something like that), so you actually need to take a right once you get through the corridor and go down the stairs to reception, if you come in that way). Parking is something like $10/night. - Internet is wireless, not free (This is a personal sore spot with me. How can a Day's Inn offer free Internet, when a supposed "Upscale" accodation charge you? But in fairness, this isn't true just at this property, or even just at Marriotts - Hiltons, Hyatts, Westins, 3*, 4*, Resorts - are all guilty of this. What makes this fall into the "Not So Good" category is the fact that, expecially on the higher floors, the signal is so weak, it's vurtually unusable. The staff is aware of this, and I've received refunds becuase of this problem several times. - Coffee Machine. This is another peeve with me. Hotel rooms seem to always have problems trying to figure out what to do with the coffee machine. As I recall, this place has it located in a dark corner of the Entertainment unit. You have to pull out the tray with all the stuff on it and go looking for an available socket. Although Columbia doesn't exactly have a vibrant downtown area, the Vista district (ask at the desk) does have some decent restaraunts, and its within walking distance. I personally prefer the Five Points area (the college district), though, which is not within walking distance - unless you like a long walk. All in all, for the area, I would recommend this property.

Dates of my stay were May 9 & 10. First bid for the zone accepted at $61. Just about for sure an overbid. Netsaver rate for that night was $99 (and, as I said, my company picked up the tab anyway).

Jeez! I must have totally got hosed (although my company was paying for it, so not really). I was bidding Columbia last week for a Wed and Thurs night stay. Couldn't get any hits at the usual Mariott downtown (which normally either you can get for around $53-$56, or not at all - at least at any PL rate that I've been willing to try), and ended up getting this place for $61 on the first try in this zone. By the way this is a MUCH improved hotel from the old Sheraton Columbiana days (although its still dog ugly from the outside). They just spent $16 million to rennovate. I'll leave a review for others. Not a bad choice if you don't have to be downtown. That downtown Mariott parking garage (actually its owned by the City, I think) is a PITA, anyway.

I agree with the other two posters. Picking and choosing is not the reason the you choose PL or Hotwire; it's price. You want to end up with a room with just one bed? That usually doesn't happen, but it could. If you have to have specifics, go through other non-opaque channels.

Ok, maybe I'm not seeing the big picture here, but I have never tried priceline for a car rental because I've had the impression that it just didn't save you much (if anything) over renting directly. For example, I've got a reservation through Thrifty for Jan 10 - 18 in LAS for a mid-size car. Total cost was $181. That's without coupons, discounts or anything. Based on the best rates I've seen posted here, how would a PL reservation be worthwhile?

Bid accepted at $56/night for 3 nights Dec 21-24. Looks like this is a new property for this zone, since I didn't see it in either the listing here or over at TOBB. Located at 333 E Street, NW. I was actually trying for the Courtyard (largely because of its location), but I'm fine with this. Tripadvisor review are ok, the complaints generally focused on noise associated with proximity to the train tracks, "out of the way" location, price (which is not an issue with a PL win), and cost for parking (which is true for all downtown DC properties - try Chicago some time). This was essentially the lowest price for a win, since PL didn't bite on $55. One last thing. When I called the front desk to confirm my reservation, PL was mentioned 3 separate times - not exactly rolling out the red carpet, but I'll keep an open mind.

As has been posted before, bidding PL for Vegas can be problematic. Too many hotel sponsored deals out there. I'm going to Vegas myself January 10-18, and I tried PL for a 5* Strip property for the 10th through the 15th at $100 (one rebid) without any luck. After my first rebid, it foisted me off to the non "name your own price" screen, which tells me they don't have any inventory. Same deal with 4* up to $60. Probably end up going with the Las Vegas Club, since I've stayed there before, and its cheap through their own site. The Orleans can usually be had for a cheap price, too.

Is the Del Mar Inn now a Priceline hotel? Its not on the list. I'm trying to see the relevance of asking the question here :) However, although I haven't stayed there myself, I did google up a few reviews (seems ok): http://www.magicwandweddings.com/honeymoontravel.html http://ip.extension.ucsd.edu/Housing/delmarinn.html http://www.10kvacationrentals.com/mackey/delmarinn/