chasman

can you tell me what hotel the IP is? i, too, am trying to book a Fri and Sat room on the strip for a friend. they did not realize it was superbowl weekend either. have fun!

Thanks, Thereuare - Good ideas. Thank you. Any idea what hotel on Hotwire is the 3* Las Vegas Strip with - Casino, Restaurants, Pool, Business Center? It come up for $73 for 6-9 of Feb. It has the same amenities as the Sahara, less the Golf. Gracias.

Thanks so much for your help, bbbb. Appreciate it. Did not see the Westin avail for 6-9 Feb on Hotwire. What I might do is bid 4* on the Strip on PL and hope to get the Westin or Treasure Island. Although, I read the Westin was noisy (www.tripadvisor.com) and not completed. I don't mind walking a block to to strip. I am a bit nervous about splitting up my bid (Fri and Sat) and then another bid on Sunday - because I don't want to move hotels on Sunday morning. I have no idea how low I can go on bidding on a Fri and Sat on a 5* or 4* Strip hotel - fortunately there is a lot of rebidding avail. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks a lot!

FYI - just for fun I bid 5* PL on a Fri and Sat night (6, 7 of Feb) from $79 to $109 without any luck. I did not expect to get a room at the Venetian because I have read here that they do not release cheap rooms until 7 days beforehand. I am still trying to figure out what to do. I believe there will be 4 guys on this trip. So... I don't mind bidding about $150 at the Venetian for Fri and Sat and then $100 on Sunday night for a total of $400. Plus I was going to try and "tip" the check-in clerk $50 to upgrade us to a "Concierge" Suite. That would only be $112.50 per guy for the 3 nights - or $37.50/per night. (i have left out taxes and charges for simplicity.) Any idea how high the Venetian could get on a Fri and Sat on PL? However, I am also considering getting 2 rooms at another 4.5* or 4* instead. The tough part is that the MGM and Cesaers appear to have the exact same amenities offered. Also you can wind up at the Westin off the strip, I think. If I go this route I was going to bid 2 rooms on Fri and Sat and then another 2 rooms for Sunday. Obviously, I would rather not change hotels on Sun night either. Any advice? Thanks!

Thanks to all that replied! Really appreciated it. Not too concerned about the keys - looks like now there will be just 4 of us, but I know what you mean - it might make more sense for us to get 2 rooms at a place like the MGM instead. If I do stay at the Venetian I was actually leaning towards trying the $20 (or $50?) trick and upgrading to a bigger room in the older tower. I read somewhere that the newer tower is a long walk away and not all that much better. Thoughts? Will let you know what I decide to do and how it all works out. I do plan on checking in early and do not mind paying the extra $35 for 2 rooms. Thanks again!

I am planning a guys trip to sin city on 6-9 of Feb. (friday - sun nights) - one week after SuperBowl Sunday. I stayed at the Venetian a couple years back. Here is my plan - I am going to use PL and split up FRI & SAT and then bid separately on SUN night. I will start at $79 and bid up by $10 increments. Was planning on doing this one week before my trip. Does this plan make sense? Here are my questions - Is it worth tipping the check-in clerk $20 to get a room upgrade? Seems like the best rooms are called "Venezia Concierge Bella Suites" with a view. Any other 'upgrades' avail. that i should know about? Is there a big difference between the "Venetian Tower" and the newer? "Venezia Tower"? I think the room can hold 4 guys somehow, but what about a 5th? (We won't be sleeping much). I was planning on saying only 2 adults are staying in the room, but would like to get 4 key cards. Advice? Using PL does it matter if you tell them 2,3,4, or even 5 folks are staying in the room? I am hoping to get 2 Queen beds by checking in early in the day. Any advice on stuff to do on the outskirts (hoover dam trip) and under $50 golf courses?? (FYI - www.ezlinks.com has discount green fees in some areas.) Thanks.

Yes! You are correct. Union Square West Restaurant Pool Fitness Center Business No. of Rooms: 1 No. of Nights: 1 Price Per Night: $80.00 Subtotal: $80.00 Taxes / Booking Fees: $19.95 Total Price: $99.95

4* San Francisco $80 Hilton Towers Saturday night - 3rd of Jan 2004 One Night At 5pm on the 3rd of Jan I tried Priceline for a 4* in SF from $40-$80 with no luck. I thought it was unusual because folks have gotten $50 rooms in the past. Maybe there was a convention or because it was only one hour from 6pm (the deadline), it did not want to take my bids. Oh well. So I moved over to Hotwire. Got the Hilton Towers for $80 + fees. I was in a hurry so I do not recall the amenities listed. Keep in mind that Union Square West is a bit dodgy. It is in the theater district, but the Tenderloin is a bad neighborhood. Next time I will bid on Union Square East. There is a difference. Also, parking is $33 at the hotel per night. I found a lot on Ellis St for only $18 right across the street. The hotel is nice although there were some wild anthropologists partying till dawn and made a lot of noise in the hallway. ;-) We managed to get a nice room on the 21st floor away from the elevators facing SW. There are probably better views facing NE towards the Embarcadero. All in all I was satisfied. Had a great dinner at Ponzu across the street (asian fusion food) and then drinks at the Red Wood Room at the Clift? up the street. BTW off topic: The charges for using 1-800-COLLECT are $5 connection plus $1 /min. Outrageous, I think. They never advertise the cost on the TV ads. I got burned making 3 calls last month. FYI.

Yes. Downtown - Pike Place. Thanks.

I knew I would get this hotel thanks to you guys! Amenities = Restaurant(s), Fitness Center, High Speed Internet Access, Business Center. There aren't very many (if any at all) 3.5* Downtown Seattle hotels with Internet Access on Hotwire. I used Hotwire after not getting a 4* on Priceline. Crowne Plaza Hotel Seattle-Downtown Area, WA 1113 Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 464-1980 No. of Rooms: 1 No. of Nights: 1 - 24 of Nov 2003 Price Per Night: $61.00 Subtotal: $61.00 Taxes / Booking Fees: $16.95 Total Price: $77.95

No luck tonight getting a 4* room in Seattle on 24 of Nov 2003. Started at $40 and rebid all the way up to $80. I had seen winning bids on this BB in the $60-$90 range in Seattle for a 4* hotel. Thought I would definitely get one as it is November (not tourist season). Hmmm. Weird. Will try again in 72 hours and start with $60. Perhaps they will release more rooms this week. Any other ideas? Thanks.

Thank you Scorp and WillTravel - Great posts by both of you. Really appreciate it. I booked the room for a friend with a wife and a 2 yr old. They are planning on staying there 7th and 8th of Sep. I grew up in Victoria, but now live in the States. I am currently in Victoria for a few months and will have friends come up to visit. Will take all your good advice when booking for others. In priceline's defense they did make good on the price guarantee and are going to refund me $8. However, my initial beef still stands - I just don't think that the Red Lion is on par with Harborside or Laurel Point. Oh well. I'm not going to win that arguement. It was my mistake in the first place, because I did not correctly read the post on this bulletin board that listed Red Lion as a 3* possibility. The way to do it is to bid on the 4* Empress up to your personal limit (you might even be able to get it for less than $60 come Sep or Oct). Then only bid on a 3* if you don't mind getting the Red Lion, but otherwise look for deals elsewhere or try the unknown "boutique" Victoria hotel on Hotwire. Will let you know if my friends stay at the Red Lion and if they liked it. Thanks again for all your help!!! :)

thanks for the info willtravel! i just sent off an email to priceline to try to get $8 back from them. what is frustrating about the victoria, bc hotel market is - 1. no way that the red lion should be classified as a 3*. it's not just the location. the rooms at the harbourside and laurel point are much better. 2. who knows what it takes to get a room at the empress. even then, i have read that the empress gives priceline.com customers small rooms. 3. there seems very little info out there on hotwire hotels in victoria. 4. given that the red lion is classified as a 3* there is no way one can hedge against getting the red lion when one really would rather have the harborside or laurel point. 5. one of the nicer hotels - the grand pacific - does not seem to appear on priceline or hotwire. there simply does not appear to be an easy way to get a good deal in victoria. if i had to do it again i would bid up to $90 US on a 4* and try to get the empress and then try to fanagle an upgrade upon check in. thanks for your help.

I was expecting to get either the Laurel Point or the Harborside Hotels by bidding on a 3* in Victoria. However, I got the Red Lion which is about 3 miles north of town and nowhere near as good as Laurel Point or Harborside. It accepted my first bid at $55. I had seen that someone had gotten the Harborside for $60 in the past. I really don't think the Red Lion is a 3* hotel and now have no idea how someone would get the Harborside. I had never seen the Red Lion listed on this bulletin board as a winning bid. Perhaps they just signed up with priceline. It's a shame that more info is not known about Hotwire hotels in Victoria. ;-(

Wanted to see if I could get a 4* in downtown Portland, Oregon for less than $55 on a Sunday night. I didn't. $40 bid rejected $45 bid rejected $50 bid rejected Went across the bridge to Vancouver, WA to a 3* $39 bid accepted on first try (could have started lower, but wife is telling me dinner is getting cold). Red Lion Inn At The Quay Vancouver 100 Columbia Street Vancouver, Washington 98660 360-694-8341

Thanks to your advice and that of the latest post, I got - 3* Doubletree Seattle Airport One Night 28 July 2003 One Room $37 (one first bid) $11 taxes $48 total woo hoo! thanks a lot!!!

Was trying to get the Hyatt or the DoubleTree in Bellevue for one night for Monday, 28th of July 2003. Had checked the Hyatt website and apparently they are all booked up that night. Assumed I could get the DoubleTree because still rooms avail on their website, however even there they are $199. Had seen people on this board get rooms for as low as $29 historically (maybe that was on a weekend). $29 bid - rejected $39 bid - rejected $44 bid - rejected $49 bid - rejected gave up for now Perhaps there is a big conference in town. Might try again in 72 hours. I am just driving in from Oregon to catch a Mariners game and then off early to Canada the next day so I don't really care where I stay, but it's nice to stay at a 3* for less than $50. Advice welcomed. Thanks.

Thanks much! Based on your comments, I think I will wait until late Jan/early Feb to start bidding at $79/night for the Sun and Mon dates and realize that I will have to go way up above $125 for the Sat stay. Any idea how high I will have to go for the Sat stay? Thanks for setting expectations. I stayed at the Venetian once and, if I recall correctly, the rooms were huge. Perhaps 3 guys can stay in one room rather comfortably - we probably won't even be sleeping much. I am also hoping that the weekend after the SuperBowl many hotels will have good deals to be had. Thanks a lot for your help!

Hi. Could you please advise on a betting strategy: I realize this is absurdly early planning, but here is what I am trying to do

D'oh! Sorry! June 2003. :)

Stayed there 16 and 17 of July 2003. Last week. I probably bid about a week before that.

15 July 2003 15 June 2003 Resort Priceline 2 nights $60 - accepted Hyatt Regency I was actually surprised that my first bid was accepted. I guess, in retrospect I should have started a bit lower. Taxes were about another $15. I'm not complaining for only $75/night on the beach. It also is "off season". PL lists this hotel as a "Resort", but it seemed more like a 3.5* to me. There is not much extra that makes it feel like an all-inclusive resort - no golf course nearby, no tennis courts, etc. Lobby is nothing special. It rained the entire time we were there - that put a "damper" on things. When we checked in we were put on the 3rd floor, but quickly asked for a change and they put us on the 15th floor with a patio and a great view of the ocean which was nice. Great fish tacos across the street. The hotel is in a nice location tucked at the far end of the Bay. But if you really want to have a nice day at the beach or enjoy a good meal hop into a taxi for the 20 min ride to the Princess Hotel. It's sweet. Best restaurant in town (IMHO) is "El Olvido" - check it out. Leave your golf clubs at home - every course is about $100+ when you add it all up (including mandatory caddy, lunch, etc).

Good eye! Yes, my plans changed. Only one room now. FYI - At the Westin web site they currently have an internet only price of $175. When you add in the taxes and do the math the savings are about $118 over 3 nights - not a ton, but that's enough for a few extra beers. I'm happy. Just thought I would mention that for folks that could use the frequent visitor points instead of going through HW to figure out the trade off themselves.

CONFIRMED ON HOTWIRE - The 4.5* New York Times Square Hotel with the "Spa" amenity is the Westin Times Square! Check-in: Thu, Jul 10, 2003 at 3:00 PM Check-out: Sun, Jul 13, 2003 at 12:00 PM No. of Rooms: 1 No. of Nights: 3 Price Per Night: $141.00 Subtotal: $423.00 Taxes / Booking Fees: $66.95 Total Price: $489.95 ps Feel free to copy and paste this info on the HW Bulletin Board. Thanks for all your help!

Thanks for the info! Per your P.S. - I just did a HW search and I see a 4 1/2* in Times Square with the following amenities icons in left to right order: Restaurant(s) Fitness Center High-Speed Internet Access Business Center Spa Ref No. 6395122891 (does this # mean anything?) I will let you know if this is the Westin in a few days. I would think that the Spa amenity would be a differentiator as I have not seen too many hotels with that amenity. It is now avail. for $135. A bit weird that you are not seeing it and that the price has come down $4 from last night. Will report my findings soon. PS I was a bit surprised that my $95 bid was not accepted last night. Perhaps rates are up for the summer. I had seen that someone once got the Grand Hyatt in MTE for $75, but I don't recall the month or days of the week. I am trying to book Thurs-Sat and I bet Thurs is not the cheapest.