MIChessGuy

Sorry, I did not know it took extra steps to see all the amenities in Hotwire. Their interface could use some cleaning up, in my opinion. Anyway, as it turns out, I went in a completely different direction: I used a coupon code for cheaptickets.com to book Universal's Cabana Bay Resort instead. The breakdown for seven nights: 7 nights (Jan 17-24, 2015) $663.02 Discount applied -132.60 Taxes and fees 86.20 Total due at booking $616.62 This works out to less than $100 per night (including the $10 nightly parking fee) for a brand new, on-site resort that includes early entry to the Universal theme parks. I couldn't resist. :D Thanks for all your help. I will take another look at Hot.wire soon to make sure I know how to see all the information for a particular property.

I am considering a "Hot Rate" hotel, $43/night, for January 17-24, 2015 with these amenities: 3* Orlando/Universal Orlando I-Drive North Free Parking Fitness Center Self Service Laundry Free Internet Pool(s) Resort Restaurant(s) Smoke Free Rooms Business Center Also says it is "70% recommended" and has a resort fee of "about $0.00" which seems like an odd way of saying there is no resort fee. Any guesses?

I wasn't too happy with the PRICELINE EXPRESS deals currently on offer. So, I utilized a 5%-off coupon they sent me (expiring tonight) and won the following Name Your Own Price deal instead: Bid $32.00 for 2.5* Universal Orlando Resort Area - Intl. Drive North, 5 nights (Jan. 26-31, 2014) Waited a loooooooong time with Bill Shatner staring at me....finally got a strange message about the search taking longer than expected and please wait 15 minutes or some such, which I've never seen before. I assume tons of people were slamming the site at once. Anyhoo, after doing a 'check status,' I found that I had been upgraded to the 3* Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City! Even with the $10.00 nightly "facilities fee" they charge , it is still a very good deal. Free parking, free internet, and according to mousesavers, some rooms even have views of Universal. Looking forward to it. Below are the details. As always, thanks for all your help. Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $32.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 5 Room Subtotal: $160.00 Taxes & Fees: $30.10 Priceline Hotel Coupon: -$8.00 Congratulations! Your 5% coupon successfully applied! Total Charged to Card: $182.10

Hmm, I thought I saw it again when re-doing the same search a moment ago, but upon selecting it all I got was "Pricing and inventory changes often and the deal you selected is no longer available." D'oh. Anyway, at least I remembered to use the PRICELINE link both times. :)

I do not know the Maingate West area that well and was wondering what property this 2.5* Priceline Express might be -- "$33/night for Jan. 26-31, 2014 Additional mandatory fee: $19.75 [i take that to mean $3.95 nightly resort fee] Free Breakfast Free Internet in room Outdoor Swimming Pool Free Parking Restaurant Guest Score: rated 7.0/10" Thanks for your help!

As of 14 December 2013, Expedia reports that the resort fee at the Wyndham Orlando Resort is $15.95 per night (!). Ouch. I believe this is the "Wyndham" listed under the Universal-I Drive North header.

Yellowdog was spot on: this was indeed the Extended Stay Deluxe Lake Buena Vista. It gets a good rating in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. I am quite pleased. Here are the details: Price: avg. per room, per night $39.00 Rooms: 1 Bed Type: Deluxe Studio 2 Queen Beds Sleeper Sofa Kitchen Dining And Work Area Nights: 5 Room Subtotal: $195.00 Taxes & Fees: $34.95 Priceline Hotel Coupon: -$9.75 Congratulations! Your 5% coupon applied! Total Charged to Card: $220.20 I did use the board's link to PRICELINE Express, but I've forgotten how to reproduce that link correctly in this post. Sorry about that.

Hmm, you're right, now the Universal zone listing has vanished. These listings are more dynamic than I thought. I will need to mull this over a bit more; my last visit to an Extended Stay was not so great, though I believe the LBV location is better than average. I will remember to post the final outcome here, whether it involves PRICELINE, booking direct, cancellation, etc. Thanks for your help.

Yes, I just took another look and the same listing is offered. When I click on it, the "Review Important Information" section on the info page references a mandatory $3.00 fee. That sounds low for a resort fee -- maybe some kind of energy surcharge or something. While I'm here, could I also inquire about another listing for a 2* in Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista with the following amenities (same dates, $39/night): Free breakfast, internet and parking Indoor or outdoor pool Pets allowed Fitness center "Guest Favorite 8.0" Deluxe Studio 2 Queen Beds Sleeper Sofa/Kitchen Dining and Work Area And I did click on the links.

I have never used the PRICELINE EXPRESS side of the service and was wondering which hotel this might be -- Free internet and parking Indoor or outdoor pool Restaurant Airport Shuttle Business Center Fitness Center Bed Choice Available $37 per night Check-in 8/18/13; check-out 8/23/13 Thanks for any input!

PRICELINE emailed me $7.00 per night bonus cash early this morning. I bid $33.00 for a total offer price of $40.00 and got the LaQuinta, which I thought was most likely. I stayed there once before and it was quite good: free parking, free internet, free breakfast, and no resort fee. Used the board's PRICELINE link. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $33.00 [plus $7.00 bonus cash] Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $33.00 Taxes and Fees: $13.25 Total Charged to Card: $46.25

It will be interesting to see if this results in any significant reform. Some of these cockamamie 'resort fees' are getting totally out of hand, approaching $20 or $25 per night at some Orlando hotels for example. It has forced me to limit my Priceline bidding to those zones where (so far as I can tell) there is a minimum of resort fee-charging hotels. It's one thing if you really are a resort-category accommodation, which in Orlando would be places like the Grand Cypress, Omni Resort at ChampionsGate and the like. But come on: Econo-Lodge is a 'resort'?? The fees have trickled down to accommodations that obviously have very few, if not zero resort offerings. I would very much like to see this practice stopped. Then again, I'm still amazed that the airlines got away with their nonsensical 'baggage fees', so I am not optimistic.

I was trying for the Hyatt Place or the Four Points Sheraton with a bid of $43 plus $7 Cyber Monday "Bonus Cash." My board research indicated that some bidders had won these hotels around this bid level. However, I got the Holiday Inn Maingate/Universal instead. This is actually a very good lodging that I've used before: no parking fee, no resort fee, high-speed internet included, fridge in room, and walking distance to Universal. I suspect that I'll need to come up to the 50s or 60s in future bidding to have a real chance at the more premium lodgings. (Avoiding MLK Jr. Day weekend would probably help, too.) I did use the PRICELINE link. Bonus cash: $7.00 Offer price: $43.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 5 Room subtotal: $215.00 Taxes & fees: $43.00 Total: $258.00

I agree with this assessment. Resort and parking fees have burned me up for a while now, but they aren't going anywhere. You can still get a pretty good deal with PRICELINE even if you happen to win a hotel with fees. I try to stick with zones that have a relatively low number of such properties, going by the list in this thread, and it usually works out pretty well. The really colossal resort/parking fees are limited (for now! heh) to high-end properties that I would not bid on directly -- keeping in mind that PRICELINE can upgrade you as many star levels as they wish.

I have one more update for the Rosen Plaza. When I stayed there last month (June 24-29), the front desk guy advised me upon check-in that he would "reduce" the self parking fee to $7.00/night. The fee is clearly posted at the main entrance drive as $13.00/night, so this was quite a deal. Of course I cannot say how often this reduction is offered, but if you should win the Rosen Plaza for your next Orlando visit, keep your fingers crossed!

The Rosen Plaza's self-parking fee is $13. I checked into it after winning this hotel the other day for my June trip (see report of that win). I did not find any indication of a resort fee, though.

I bid $38 plus $7 Bonus Cash (Facebook promotion) for a 3*. Somewhat to my surprise, Priceline upgraded me to the 3.5* Rosen Plaza. This hotel gets an excellent quality rating in the 2012 Unofficial Guide to Disney World. My only quibble is the fees for parking ($13, last I heard) and internet access. But that's always a gamble; this is the first time I've won a hotel that charged substantial add-on fees. They were bound to find me sooner or later. :) I am still quite satisfied on the whole, since the total cost should be a lot better than the rack rates. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $38.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Guests Per Room: 2 Number of Nights: 5 Room Subtotal: $190.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $39.35 (USD) Total Room Cost: $229.35 (USD) Remembered to use the PRICELINE link.

PRICELINE emailed me $5.00/night bonus cash, valid today only. My first bid was $36.00, plus $5.00 bonus cash, for 2.5* in St. Louis (West - Chesterfield). Rejected. At this point I could have added the Hazelwood zone, which tops out at 2*, and tried a slightly higher bid. But I was feeling kinda unmotivated for some reason. So, I added the Westport zone, where I have stayed several times before, and boosted my bid to $38.00. Accepted! Offer Price: $38.00 Bonus Cash: $5.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 2 Room Subtotal: $76.00 Taxes & Fees: $21.92 Total Charged: $97.92 I was expecting the Doubletree/Westport, but the Courtyard is also very good. Free parking, free wi-fi, indoor pool. This is the first time I've ever won a Courtyard in years of PRICELINE bidding. Nice! Incidentally, after depositing my bonus cash, I exited and then re-accessed PRICELINE via the board link to bid. I hope that was the correct way to utilize bonus cash while making sure the board gets credit.

Oh sorry, I thought I had done just that. I clicked on the BB's PRICELINE link while perusing the list of Florida hotels, accessed my Bonus Cash, then went from there. I'll make sure to mention that I did use the board's PRICELINE link when posting my next win.

I was on fire to win the Holiday Inn Maingate East, but worried about possibly getting the Radisson Resort Celebration and its $12.50 per night resort fee Here's the play by play: Bid $29 + $5 Bonus Cash for total bid of $34/night -- rejected. Priceline suggests increasing my bid by $11 to get an immediate rebid without additional changes. Fat chance! I note that Winter Park has no lodgings at or above the 3* level. So I add that zone and boost my bid to $31 + $5 Bonus Cash -- accepted! And I got the exact hotel I had been shooting for!! B) The instructions given here for getting an immediate rebid helped me a lot. Bonus Cash: $5.00 Offer Price: $31.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 5 Room Subtotal: $155.00 Taxes & Fees: $32.95 Total Charged: $187.95 Final note: I think this Holiday Inn has a $4.95 resort fee, but as hotel fees go, that's not too bad. Also they get a pretty good quality rating in the 2012 Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

I understand that the Imperial Swan, a budget lodging in Orlando, recently became the Rodeway Inn Universal. FYI

One more follow-up: This hotel officially becomes a Fairfield Inn on October 15, 2011. I believe it already appears in the marriott.com reservation system. You may want to update the list of Priceline hotels for Orlando/LBV on October 15.

I have a few comments regarding my stay at this property earlier this month: (1) Construction is ongoing both inside and outside the hotel. Generally, the work is limited to the daytime hours when guests are visiting the area attractions, thus not much of a problem. It was not apparent to me when the construction might finish. (2) There was a sign inside with a reference to "Fairfield Inn." I didn't take the time to ask, but possibly this lodging may be turning into a Fairfield. (3) As other guests have noted many times, this particular Country Inn & Suites has a somewhat odd parking lot. There are a few hotel-specific spaces on the side of the building -- no more than a dozen or so. (Construction was taking up some of these spots, but there aren't many regardless.) The rest of the parking lot is shared with the adjacent strip mall, which includes a FedEx Office, Steak & Shake, Giordano's, and a few other places. Most hotel guests have to park in the shared lot and then walk over to the hotel. At first I was a bit unhappy with this arrangement, as I am accustomed to a hotel having its own parking lot where they can keep an eye on things with their own staff. There were no problems, though. (4) In-room fridge worked great. I put a ton of bottled water in there, and it stayed cold. All in all, a pretty good hotel. I'll try to remember to eyeball it again next year to see if it has indeed turned into a Fairfield, and report back.

Two bids tonight got me an excellent result close to Downtown Disney. This Country Inn & Suites gets a good room rating in the Unofficial Guide's current edition of Beyond Disney. The hotel's website states that they offer free parking, free wireless internet and a fridge in the room. Bidding history and details below; as always, PRICELINE link used for bidding. First bid of $38 for a 3* in LBV-Downtown Disney...rejected, PRICELINE presented some sort of counter-offer in the 50s that I barely glanced at Second bid of $38, star level adjusted down to 2.5* despite worry about getting the Orlando Vista which I know nothing about...accepted Your offer price: $38.00 Number of rooms: 1 Number of nights: 6 Subtotal: $228.00 Taxes and Fees: $39.90 Total Charges: $267.90

My one-night stay at the Homestead Studio Suites-Westport went better than I had anticipated. I arrived shortly after 10:00 p.m., and it turned out their front desk hours were 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Check-in went fine. I did notice that the hotel's reservation slip had the handwritten notation "PRICELINE CUSTOMER" at the bottom, so no foolin' them! :) The no-smoking room was in pretty good shape. I got a queen studio with a full-size refrigerator, a microwave oven (manufactured in 1999, the sticker inside said), two burners, a toaster and a coffeemaker. I didn't really use any of that stuff for my brief stay, but it all looked functional if a bit old. There was also a LG-brand LCD HDTV with a good channel selection, including three different Showtime's and ESPN-U. The wireless internet service worked fine. There was a $4.99 per stay charge for that, which I initialed upon check-in, but I just remembered that I didn't show a credit card then and nobody said anything at check-out. Maybe they can tell Priceline to remit the $4.99 via the card I used for my bid? (By the way, in my experience it is VERY unusual for a hotel not to ask for a credit card imprint or a cash deposit at check-in. Motel 6 is the only other chain I can think of with that policy.) The bathroom was fine. They supply soap but no shampoo. I had brought some shampoo with me anyway, though. A/C worked well.