tanyaviola

My first bid for this area at this star level...accepted at $40. Was my second day bidding for Dallas in general. Tried downtown but didn't get anything...tried Dallas East and didn't get anything. Then I tried 4* in this area...but decided I'd try for a 3* since I didn't see any winning hotels listed at 3 1/2* or 4* for Knox-Northpark. And I got it....looks like a decent hotel. And it has a free shuttle within a 5 mile radius. Works for me. Not sure how much parking is, but at least wifi is free. Used your link, of course! T.

Checked out the site. The lowest decent hotel was for $126/nt. When I clicked on it, it said all the rooms were sold out! Hahaha....tricky. The rest are too expensive or not anywhere near the city center. Thanks for the site link though....never been there before.

So you don't think that room prices will go down as they get desperate to book up all their rooms, the closer it gets??

Thanks for all the help. I think for now, I'm going to stick with my b&b reservation in Haarlem....right now it's around $120/night. We wanted to visit Haarlem anyway. Maybe I'll try again a week or two before and see if some hotels are desperate to get rid of hotel rooms cheaply. Otherwise......Haarlem. Of course, if you happen upon any amazing deals for city center Amsterdam....I'd most appreciate it :) T.

Well, I thought about the airport.....but first, with PL, I can't be guaranteed a free airport shuttle (to get to the airport, so we can take a train into Amsterdam from there), or a shuttle at all! I thought about maybe booking directly with an airport hotel, if I end up having to go that route. Then I can pick one that has a free shuttle. How much cheaper do you suppose it is out by the airport? I also checked out that NH hotel, way down somewhere south of the city. It's about $111 or something for a refundable fare. I'm just worried about trying to catch a bus when I don't know the area. Trains I don't mind, because they stop everywhere. Buses you usually have to ask them to stop! But I will keep it in mind. Thanks for pointing it out. Also, with the price of a bus & train ticket everyday....you could be paying that to stay in Amsterdam. Well, ok, probably not that much! I see that staying in Haarlem is already going to cost us a total of about $20/day for RT train tickets....if we go that route. Well I'll keep bidding for a while....maybe we should just splurge. I don't even think Switzerland is that expensive!! T.

I've now bid up to $155/nt for the full 3 night stay, all rejected. I've bid up to $125/nt for the 12-14th, and up to $135/nt for the 11th-13th, all rejected. Today, I started bidding on 3*'s starting at $100/nt. Rejected. What to do....??? How high do you think I'm going to need to go? I can't really afford $200/nt, or even close to that. But I know my husband doesn't want to stay in a hostel or anything with a shared bathroom. And I know that's a big thing there. I also don't want to book a non-refundable fare, which is cheaper.....just in case. Thoughts? T.

Well I tentatively booked a b&b in Haarlem for the three nights for around $130/night.....full refund if I cancel before. I've already bid up to $135 for Amsterdam. I may go up to $145....we'll see. The good thing with PRICELINE though is that your price stays the same! Hahaha.....with the exchange rates, you never know, booking directly with a hotel or any site where you don't have to prepay.

Ok, so far I'm up to $130/nt for the full 3 nights, all rejected. Did $115/nt for the 1st two nights, rejected. And $105/nt for the 2nd two nights, rejected. Guess I'll keep going up for a bit. Might consider getting a hotel in Haarlem, since it's pretty close and I wanted to see Haarlem anyway. Looks like some of the hotels by the airport don't have free shuttles, and they're pretty expensive each way. So if I bid, I may not get one with a free shuttle.

Thanks for the suggestions! We were trying to avoid youth hostels, although I did look at them when I started. My husband and I are traveling together and we'd want a private room with a bathroom, so that's already pretty expensive, even in a hostel! And they tend to be pretty noisy. We like to be able to sleep :) I was thinking about possibly adding the airport area to the list. The thing is, I got a 5 day train pass for Benelux. I don't want to have to use it everyday, just to get a short distance. I suppose I wouldn't use it anyway for a 15 minute train ride, but that's also an extra expense. We LOVE walking, so even if we were just outside the canal ring, we'd walk it....and not take any trams. I know I should book a hotel that can be canceled. Even though it can be canceled, I hate to see that price....but I should do it. I've pulled up the Google maps and just clicked on every possible hotel to see what the rates were. Is it really a straight shot from the airport to the center of town? I wonder though how close to the airport the hotels are and what that area is like. Is there anything walkable in that area? I guess I should do a bit more research. I think the plan should be to hang out in Amsterdam & surroundings on the 11th & 12th. I wonder if we should only stay 2 nights and try to add a night to our Brussels winning bid (if we can). And go there on the 13th, spending the day in Rotterdam, on the way. T.

I think I'm going to have to start bidding on a 3 star. I'm up to $115 for full stay for 4 & 5*. I can probably go up a little more. Well, it's not like I have a choice!! Splitting up the bids doesn't seem to be doing much thus far. I'm up to $95 for the last 2 nights and tried bidding $100 for the first 2.

Well, I just looked at Expedia, and the average rates for 4*'s during that time are between $300-$350. Ouch. 3*'s are around $200. Has anyone bid for a 3*? I see the listing for the Park Plaza Vondelpark. But I don't see anyone who's bid or one it for quite a while now. At least it's only 3 nights.....I got 5 nights in Brussels 4* for $90/night. What if I go the Rotterdam route for the last night? We have to travel through there anyway to get to Brussels and we did want to see it. Probably that first night is still going to get me though....darn Saturday night. Was originally going to be a Sunday night, but the overnight train was totally booked, so I had to go a day earlier.

Ok, here's where I am so far: Bidding on the complete stay: 06/11/11-06/14/11 up to $110 for 4 & 5*. Still rejected. Bidding on the 2nd two days: 06/12/11-06/14/11 up to $85 so far for 4 & 5*. Will keep going on this one. How far should I go with the full stay bid?? As well as the split bid? T.

Really? I thought it was only for after....thank you!! When I said stay in Rotterdam, I didn't actually mean STAY in Rotterdam...I meant, sleep in Rotterdam. But, maybe I should try the 2nd two nights first (cheaper)??? And then if I CAN, add the 1st night? Otherwise rebid for the first night once I win the 2nd two..?? Here's what I typed in to see what it would say was the "retail" price of a hotel for these nights: 06/11/11-06/12/11 5* 294, 4* $292 06/12/11-06/14/11 5* $320, 4* $292 06/11/11-06/13/11 5* $567, 4* $389 06/13/11-06/14/11 5* $389, 4* $281 So it looks like it's better to bid on the 1st night separately from the 2nd two nights. But which should I bid first? (So that I can try to add the extra nights after I win)

Now I see only a 4* hotel listed for Rotterdam on here. But at PL, you can only bid on 2 & 3*. Hmmm......wonder what the 3 star hotels could be. Anyone? Maybe we should just stay in Rotterdam the whole time....well, I'll keep on truckin' with Amsterdam for a few days and see.

Yeah, but since I was still around $95, I better go up a bit first before splitting up the dates. I probably won't get anything, split or not, for under $100 something. Just wondering at what price I should start bidding for the split. $110?

I know...my range is low! Hahaha.....will already be spending a ton on this trip. Seems Amsterdam is super expensive. Luckily, we'll only be there 3 nights. But still.... At what price point do you think I should start splitting up the trip? My latest bid was $95 for both 4* & 5* for the full trip. I can't bid again until tomorrow anyway. OR...since we're heading to Brussels afterwards, I wonder if I should just do the 11th to 13th in Amsterdam and try to book something in another town for the last night. Maybe Delft or Utrecht...???? Although I don't think PL has name your own price for either of those towns.

Ok I see. But the problem is which 2 nights would be cheaper?? I've seen it both ways on all different sites. Sometimes the 1st 2 nights are more expensive and sometimes it's the last 2 nights....if I bid the last 2 nights first, there's no way to extend, because obviously I'd then need only the night before. I know I'll have to move...unless I'm able to book the other nights with the 1st hotel I win, directly. PS-has anyone stayed at the 3* Park Plaza VondelPark that's listed?? I don't see any other 3* that's been won, but who knows.

I see that the pricing now is totally inconsistent. Some hotels are more expensive on the Sat & Sun, but cheaper on Monday. Some are much cheaper on Sat & Sun, but way more expensive on Monday. I can't win! Grrrrr.....

Have been bidding on a 4 & 5* hotel in the Amsterdam City Center/Museum Quarter for a while now. Always rejected. I got up to $95. I know hotels are expensive there. But I also see now that the first night can be up to $100 more than the next 2 nights (as it's a Saturday night). I'm not sure if I should try bidding in 2 parts, once for the 1st and then for the next two nights together. Could I get a nice hotel pretty cheaply for the 2nd two nights? If so, I might try to do that. Should I bid for that first, and then the first night? Or should I just try to find a hotel price on my own for the first night, since it's pretty pricey anyway. I see I can't really find anything under $120/night at least. Any suggestions? T.

Sorry! It's a 4* hotel!! Can you change it please? I couldn't find a way to edit the title. Thanks, T.

I started bidding early just to see....started a while ago at around $65. I know it was low, but I knew I had lots of time. And I kept looking at prices of hotels and they were SOOO expensive! The last couple of times, I bid at $82 and it said I could rebid right away if I rebid $102. I declined. Then last night I bid $85 and it said I could rebid right away if I bid $110. I declined. And today I bid first for a 5* (as I did every time), then to 4* at $90 and got it! Now to work on Amsterdam..... Renaissance Hotel Brussels Taxes & Fees: $59.95 Of course, I clicked through your PRICELINE link. Thank you! I love this board. T.

SO I started with 3.5* up to 200. Rejected. Did 4* up to 240 and on my VERY last bid on the very last zone.....I won the Intercontinental Barclay in Midtown East for $240(+$5 bonus cash, so $245). T.

I did ask in a previous post if I could bid for 3.5* first, or if that would mess it up for trying to bid for 4* right after. Sorry...I do know you have lives outside the computer! I made a tentative layout anyway, just in case. so yes, 3.5* first (as long as I can try for 4* immediately after, if I'm rejected)

No bid layout yet?? Ok I've got just under 2 hours. So I guess I'll do my own again...