BEZ

Thank you, very helpful as I was using the quick quote link, not the BiddingHelper.com. Not thrilled with that property, so I'll look around some more.

Edited to add: Oct 8-13, 2014 Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf 80% recommended $163 USD Thanks for any help!

Full list from the trip details page: Pet friendly Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Internet access Accessible for the blind Accessible for the deaf Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Handicapped parking Roll-in shower

Pet friendly Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Internet access One night stay 11/22/13 Thanks as always for the info here.

So the original priceline reservation was for May19-21, since we couldn't find availability for Saturday night. No availability on Hotwire, or on PL up to $140/nt right until we left Thurs morning. No laptop, so checked in at internet cafes until Friday night at midnight, nothing on Hotwire under $250! Saturday morning, just before checking out, I decided to try once more at the business center in the lobby, and lo and behold, was able to get another two nights at the Marriott via Priceline for $100. We didn't have to check out then back in- just went to the front desk and they re-keyed some cards, and we were good to go til Monday morning. A little stressful, but all's well that ends well! We loved the hotel and the location was perfect.

There's a 3* on Hotwire right now for 68/nt for the 13-16th. I think the Mississippi flooding news is making people cancel. I've been watching rates closely for weeks because I still need a hotel for 5/21, and availability and rates started getting better a couple of days ago, both on Hotwire and Expedia.

Actual dates in NO are May 19-22. Found out after I bought the plane tickets that there are 3 conventions that weekend, with potentially over 40,000 attendees :) First tried to make a direct reservation for the Thurs- Sun, and there were literally no cancelable rooms at any 3* or above in Downtown or FQ zones. Hotwire was showing downtown for $188/nt, and Priceline rejected everything up to $175. I realized it was the Saturday night screwing things up. I'll keep checking back to see if we can get *anything* for the Saturday night in downtown/FQ once the convention blocks are released in late April/early May. With so many convention goers that weekend, I didn't want to get blocked out completely for the weekend, so thought I'd hedge bets by buying Thu/Fri now. We don't mind switching hotels mid stay. Meanwhile, we have a very cheap cancelable reservation at a Garden District hostel for the Saturday. Worst comes to worst we'll stay out drinking til dawn and just use it to store bags and pass out. :o After getting the Marriott I also realized I probably could have gotten what I think is the Sheraton across the street for $75/nt on Hotwire, but if I had done that I would have been kicking myself for not trying for the French Quarter proper. :) It's all good. I'm very happy with the location and rate, considering the 3 *s are showing $170 and above booking directly with the hotels for these dates. Thanks to everyone who posts here, it was great info before I started bidding. (And yes, I used the priceline and HOTWIRE links from the board!)

Used the HOTWIRE link from this forum. Didn't try PRICELINE, since there are 4 of us and wanted to ensure 2 beds. The ameninites listed were: Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool Restaurant Business Center High-speed Internet Access Listed as recommended by 90% of customers. After reading a post here, tried checking on 2 different computers- my laptop gave $105 and the desktop gave $102 (all prices onscreen were $3 less on desktop). Weird. Thanks for all the info here- this was my first time trying any opaque reservation site.