sush

The price with taxes for 2 nights came out to be 274.57 and I also used a mail in rebate through the Entertainment Book. Looking forward to this trip and I think its a fanastic deal for a Beachfront property in Cabo that's all inclusive (all meals + alcohol covered) too. Here are the amenities they offer. The only thing I'm not sure about is if we'd end up getting a garden view room as opposed to an oceanview one at this price. The hotel at full price on Expedia was about 172 for a garden view room. Amenities Resort Free Parking Free Breakfast Oceanfront Property Food and Beverages Included A la Carte Dining Options Water Sports/Ocean Activities Included Evening Entertainment Included Daily Activities Included Children's Activity Program Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities (self-service) High-Speed Internet Access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Spa Services

This was a hotel I won through the Expedia Unpublished rates. Surprisingly, priceline lists the same hotel as a 2 star for the same 49 bucks in their regular booking section. I'm not quite sure if I really won any deals here but I did save 8 bucks in taxes by going the Expedia route compared to priceline. I really thought that it would be Best Western, HI Express or Crystal SUites since they were the only 3 3 star hotels in this area. The amenities at this place are great though - swimming pool, fridge/microwave, free breakfast, complimentary airport shuttle service. Atleast Expedia seems to have upgraded this hotel from a 2 to a 3 star. Thanks Sushmita

Just a quick update I cancelled the hotel above and went with a 4 star non-opaque hotel on Lido de Venice Island that hotwire was offering (with the hotel name visible for 103 a night). I actually booked it via Expedia though using the 'RELAX10' coupon (10 off per night expires Sep 30). This hotel booking is from 15-17Sep for a double bedroom including breakfast. It also has spa facilities on site and a short walk to the vaporetto. Total amount I paid after coupon including taxes was $203.66. Hotel Russo Palace Riviera San Nicolo 11/A Venice VE 30126 This hotel had good reviews as long as you don't end up with a room without a view under the ceiling. A lot of other travellers requested for a better room when they ended up with a bad room.

I finally booked 18-19 Sep in Hotel Blume (B&B in Interlaken) for a double bed with shared bathroom for 110CHF directly from their website. I did find it listed on Expedia, PRICELINE and Hotels.com. For 19-20Sep booked Hotel Tschuggen (B&B in Grindelwald) via Expedia.com for a double bed with shared bathroom for 116CHF a night. These were the best hotels I could find in the area for a non-hostel type hotel and still get a nice home cooked breakfast. Both had great reviews on tripadvisor.com Also they included free wifi and free parking which was an added bonus to save on costs. Most 4* hotels charge $20-25 just for parking and an additional fee for breakfast.

Thanks for the response on Bern hotels on hotwire, I need to check on Bern for 18-20Sep for 1 room. I just realised in my search for a hotel in Zurich for 17-18 Sep that even if I bid for a 100 dollars for a 4 star I have to take into account that I'd be paying an additional 20 just for parking my car. I also tried my searches for european sites thru a website called www.travelsupermarket.com which basically consolidates a lot of european hotel sites ( like kayak ) and gives the prices in GBP. Expedia for now seems to be giving out good prices for switzerland hotels but even the hotels directly on their sites seem to offer lower prices, if I go the non refundable route. For Zurich I finally might to go for a 3 star 'Hostellerie Geroldswil Swiss Quality Hotel' (59 + 12 parking) in Geroldswil which is about 13 miles from downtown Zurich which also seems to include breakfast through hotelpronto.com Your inputs on the other search sites are appreciated. Thanks

This seems like a good price coz with the service fees it hikes the price up. I'm planning on bidding for the same for the 17 Sep-18Sep. My second choice would be Park Inn 4 star hotel in Zurich which is available currently for $103 non refundable from hotelstravel.com . With taxes it comes to 108.8 so I don't see why Priceline and Hotwire can't bring down their 4 star hotel prices at this point.

Hi Romelle Also would appreciate if you could mention a few good restaurants to eat at in Venice. Thanks

For my last day stay in Rome 23 Sep to 24 Sep I needed a single room in Central Rome so I can have easy access to the airport for an early morning flight, I decided to book 'Best Place Rome' B&B via Expedia for $79 incl tax (62 euros payable in cash at check-in). It has good reviews and it is a 3 min walk to Termini Station. I checked out the 2.5 * option on hotwire for Hotel Emona Aquaeductus which is priced at 128+ tax ($153 total). It is also much further away from Termini than I would have liked and decided to go for the B&B option. Priceline rejected my bids for a 2* upto 90 in Central Rome and I didn't want to try a different zone for that particular day. This B&B is full refundable upto 2 days before so if any new deals so pop up on priceline for central Rome I might still try bidding close to the date. The only disadvantage to staying in this hotel is that parking is 20 euros a day and you have to depends on the bus (20 min ride) to get into Central Rome.

I won the Holiday Inn Express in Port d'Italie in Paris for 96 a night for 12-15 Sep. Really excited about my trip now and wanted to thank the forum for listing the hotels reported till to date. It really helped me to make a calculate call on whether to keep bidding on Priceline or pick up this hotwire property before it goes. The prices on the hotwire hotel seemed to be increasing everyday so I decided to just book it today.

Look through my thread on bidding. I have been bidding upto $100 starting from 70 in Paris for September. You might get a last minute deal if you're lucky, but I really liked the hotwire deal I picked up for a 2.5* in the Latin Quarter area for 96 a night. It was the Holiday Inn Express there and you might want to check hotwire for that particular deal. There have been other members who have posted bidding strategies you might want to refer to while bidding so you get the most chances. And yes 4* in that budget does seem a little unrealistic. Hotwire actually has some good deals on 3 and 4 stars also which might give you an idea of what the going rate is. You could try bidding 15% lower than hotwire in the Paris zones. Good luck!

Won 2.5* HOTWIRE Hotel Express By Holiday Inn PARIS-PORTE D'ITALIE for 12-15 Sep 2010. Just wanted to confirm that I did make the booking and it was the same hotel in the Hotwire list on this forum. Thanks a lot. I paid 96 a night (Total 318.85 incl taxes and fees).

No I haven't picked up the 2.5 star hotel yet so yes I'll be taking a chance. But it looks like the best price out there for a decent rating hotel in Paris. The only other option is to book an etaphotel for 79 and I don't think that's worth it. I did check that the HI Express is right next to a metro station which will make it easier for us to deal with our luggage also. Also the 2.5* hotel in hotwire already went up 2 dollars today so looks like I need to act fast on it.

Not sure what the counter offers on priceline are which I'm supposed to get but priceline does take me to an option of listing all their retail hotels when I fail. Today I tried 2* Venice upto 115 and yes I did check the consolidated list of Venice hotels and it only mentioned upto 3* level (Comfort Hotel Diana Venice). I tried Mestre upto 98 for a 3 star level and 100 for a 4 star (Hotel Tritone and Holiday Inn Marghera) and got rejected. I decided to go ahead and just book a hotel via Expedia which can be caneclled until 3 days before the check in date. I booked a 3 star hotel on Lido Island for 102 a night and it has good reviews also and is close to the vaporetto and public transport. Hotel Albergo Giardinetto Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta 3 Venice, VE 30126 Italy We will also be next to the beach on Lido Island which sounds like more fun than staying in Mestre, although the cost of hotels in Mestre for 3 star hotels were definitely lower (75+). It looks like priceline isn't working out very lucky for me where bidding is concerned but I am finding the hotwire hotel lists very useful to just book directly on hotwire. This forum definitely helps since I can take a very calculate risk in booking hotels and looking at reviews and locations before hand.

I need some help to identify a 3* hotel in Rome West priced at 89 for 23 to 24 Sep. The amenities listed are pool, fitness center,restaurant and High speed Internet. If this is a hotel that has a definite airport shuttle service then its something I can bid for on Hotwire. I did see a Holiday Inn in the Rome west area and wondered if that was a possibility.

This 2.5* restaurant has amenities like restaurant, business center and internet access. Its priced at $109 for 17-18 Sep. Please help identify this hotel.

Bid upto 100 for a 3*(All Paris Zones) and 96 for a 2* (st germain eiffel tower champs elysees) and gave up. I think I'm going to go with the hotwire option of Porte d'Italie - China Town area hotel - The Holiday Inn Express for 94 a night which includes breakfast and has good reviews. Don't think Priceline currently has enough hotels for those dates.

These are the bids I tried today and failed 4* venice -89 3* venice -80 4* -mestre + VENICE 90 3* -mestre and venice 78 I was wondering if the 2* option in Venice is like a free rebid option or have there been actual 2* hotels reported and also I need some help on what is the price I should bid for a 2* to start with. I definitely wouldn't try to pick up the 3* hotel in Mestre on Hotwire which seems to have some really bad reviews on Tripadvisor although I'm getting it for 58 a night presently.

Thanks for the insight. I think I'm willing to pay upto 85 a night for 3* (first option) but if it is a good 2* I'd be willing to pay upto 65. If I can get a hotel in this budget at Venice island itself I can bid for that or else I'd go for cheaper options in Maestre. The other thing is I won't have too many rebid options right with just two zones thru priceline so I'd have to do this carefully or keep waiting 24 hrs

I did pick up the Discover Europe Lonely Planet book and Europe for Dummies books from the library to get some insight but still looking at what are the other good hotel websites to go through to book hotels in Switzerland

I would try booking hotels in New Delhi via www.makemytrip.com/india They offer great deals on flights and hotels in India.

I would like your thoughts on the commute from mestre to central venice. How long and how much does it cost?

I have bid for all the zones for 3 star hotels till 88 with no luck. Don't think I'd like to go beyond that. I'm going to try again later in the week if maybe more hotels are willing to take up the bid offer at that stage. I would like a strategy on what ppl have done in the past and how close to the date do the deals get better?

This is some of the older thread info I received regarding this so information doesn't get repititive. Aug 14, 04:20 PM sush - You do want to start your very own post for your stay. When you are in Priceline - Other Countries, before you enter any of the specific posts, click on "New Topic" - right hand side, middle of page, above the solid blue bar. The rates I looked up were for NoviceTraveller's dates - Nov 26-30. For your September dates, the lowest number I saw was $133 for a Republique Novotel. La Defense was a lot higher. Thereuare gave NoviceTraveller a nice bidding pattern. When you get your own post started, providing dates, acceptable PRICELINE areas, desired star level and your budget, somebody here will provide you a bidding pattern custom tailored to your needs. Regarding where to start, maybe spend one bidding session just checking out 50% of the lowest Priceline number you can find. Highly unlikely it will be successful, but then when you work your way on up, you will be confident you aren't overbidding. Regarding when to bid, definitely don't wait any longer. Just don't run up to your absolute max right away, as you do have a little time. Romelle Aug 14, 03:27 PM Thanks for the wonderful advice Romelle. I am currently using the Entertainment Coupon of 10 off a night. I would also like to know at what point should I try rebidding since it looks like I'll be in Paris in a month's time. Should I try again the 1st of Sep? I will probably take your advice and stay with 3* hotels in the Paris area for now. What do you suggest as the starting bid for the La Defense area for the 3* hotels? I did try 80 (incl $10) coupon for a 4 star hotel in this area and got rejected. Sush QUOTE (Romelle @ Aug 14 2010, 03:00 PM) The lowest La Defense 3* on Priceline retail side is a Mercure at $125 per night for your dates. There weren't any 2 and 2 1/2*s. Mercure is a nice middle value chain in Europe. I think you'd be happy with it, and might get lucky with a 50% bid? For Republique, there were 2*s. The lowest one was $82, but I am not familiar with the line. The first one I know is a 3* Tryp at $97. Again, with a 50% bid you might land this one. I'll let someone else chime in on the Republique area, as I'm not familiar with it. You might look at hotel reviews from hotels in that area. Often people also comment on the area. 3* wins reported to this site (nobody has reported a 2* win for these areas): Republique: 3* Mercure Paris Montmarte 3* Mercure Terminus Est La Defense: 3* Courtyard 3* Mercure La Defense Esplanade 3* Mercure La Defense Parc REVIEW 3* Novotel La Defense I stayed in the La Defense area and was fine with it. There isn't night life as it is a business/commercial area, but a metro ride (Line #1) of about 10-15 minutes got us right in the middle of Paris. The area is very quiet, clean and safe feeling. A huge grocery store and shopping center were nearby, as well as a McDonalds (quite upscale and subtly different from US McDs). A fridge in the room also helped with the budget. I hope you explore getting that Entertainment $10 a night coupon. That will help your bidding. Also, before bidding, it is a good idea to regularly check your Rewards area. Sometimes when a person is not successful for a number of bids, one of those bonuses magically appears in the Rewards area. Also, don't get in too much of a hurry to get to the top of your budget (or drop to those 2*s). Sometimes hotels don't give rooms to Priceline until the last minute. Romelle Aug 14, 1:41pm Bid till $95 for a 2 star including Bastille and still no luck for 12th to 15th Sep 2010. I would like your recommendations on the other areas in Paris - Republique and La Defence - Neuille specificaly the 2* and 3* hotels via Priceline. Is it worth bidding in these areas? Sush

Priceline doesn't seem to say till when this coupon is valid. I think you just need to activate before Nov 2010 and use it. You might want to call customer service at PRICELINE and check with them or even entertianment.com customer sevice if that helps. But for $1 a coupon I'd just go ahead with the chance of just booking it before Nov 2010. My Entertainment Book says book by 12/31/2010 so I think you could even book something for next year as long as you book before that date. The physical card itself is useful for free entres at restaurants so as long as you get the number you can go ahead and use it.

Hi I needed help to identify an Priceline Name you own price hotels in Bern/ Interlaken area in Switzerland? I'm looking for a place to stay from 17-20Sep. Can I bid for any cities in this area and if so what is the bidding strategy I should use and the lowest I can go in each star category? I'm willing to even stay in 2* or 3* hotels. It looked like Priceline did list Zurich as a city for Name your own price option but I'm not familiar with other cities in Switzerland for this option. We will rent a car and drive around so I'm ok with any city in that area. Thanks