jaylee

So were you hoping for the Venetian and got lucky, or was any 5* central strip ok for you? I'd love to stay at the Venetian but the Wynn seems to be the one that is coming up a lot. I'm interested in staying 2/6 - 2/8. What zone did you bid?

My first preference is to be right on the strip, but of course I wouldn't sneeze at Trump if that was my best bet. So you don't think Venetian is do-able for under $200? I think I'd rather stay at the 4.5* Bellagio (presumably for less lol) than pay that much. I did read comments about trying consolidators, etc, but I'm leery of trying that.

Since things are on a down-turn everywhere, and I love Phantom of the Opera, thought I'd think about going to Vegas for the dates of 2/6 through 2/8. Staying at the Venetian would be super wonderful, if that is possible. So I'd appreciate any hints! Re: HOTWIRE, what appears to be the Wynn is now going for $143. I've read reviews on Tripadvisor, and people haven't been all that pleased there of late, so I thought maybe PRICELINE was my better bet? Any thoughts? I will be sure to use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links from this site.

Just a final follow-up. I ended up not going to NY, and I'm glad because from what other friends have told me it was blasted cold! Too cold for my sensitive SoCal sensibilities, lol. Now I'm looking at Vegas for the end of the month :) I did book Scottsdale, I think I did well through Southwest. :)

I just wanted to give a brief followup. I've been checking HOTWIRE and I am not coming up with what I need as yet. Since flights having gotten much cheaper from Southern California, I may end up scrapping my trip and go to the (huge) Arabian horse show in Scottsdale in February instead :) I'm not going to get a bargain there in terms of accommodations, but at least flights are about $100! I'm going to continue checking before completely make up my mind. Thanks for your help so far :)

Ok... your points are well-taken. I'll thoroughly investigate HOTWIRE and read that forum on NY. Thanks!

One king wouldn't be my first choice, but if there was a pull-out sofa that would probably be ok. One queen and a pull-out would work too-- again not my first choice. But, I went to the HOTWIRE forum and wasn't too excited by the way people complained of Hotwire's inflated star value, so I'm nervous about using them. From what I've read, PRICELINE seems to be more accurate with their ratings than HOTWIRE.

Great idea about HOTWIRE-- I am not familiar with them at all since I've always used PRICELINE-- so I'd better get myself educated :) The times I've been to NYC, I've stayed at 4+ star hotels and the ones I've stayed in have had 2 queen or 1 king accommodations... so it never occurred to me this wasn't widely available. I appreciate the heads up about that! Your advice, as always, is very appreciated!

I called several of the hotels directly and managed to get a really nice price at the Paris! I did change our reservation dates to include a Friday night arrival, which probably helped. I don't know why or how it happened, but since they offered us a very reasonable rate, that's what we did. It wasn't an advertised price, so I was surprised I got the low rate I did. Way lower than anything else I'd looked at. Luck of the draw I guess! Whew!

I called the hotel and talked to a manager-- after quite a bit of jumping through hoops to get to him-- and he corrected the problem and got a guaranteed king bed-- so it all worked out. phew! Thanks for all the advice. I think the fact I knew I had other options made my stance stronger and I think that probably came through in my attitude. I was pleasant but firm, and they even upgraded my parents to a higher floor and a really nice view.

I ended up not wanting to risk awkward sleeping accommodations, and got a reasonably good deal through a special at the hotel. We went to the Tropicana, which worked out pretty nice, as we got what we wanted. Thanks for all the advice!

You're quite right- I completely forgot to return afterward, and I apologize. I'll get my info and update my previous threads. Thanks, and sorry for not doing it sooner.

I'm looking for a room in NYC -- I would like it on Broadway/Times Square. One issue-- this time I'm going with a girlfriend so I need two beds. Last year I wasn't thinking so didn't get a room through Priceline... I'm going to try to be smarter this time! Last year I stayed at the Marriott Marquis and paid big bucks-- but I would LOVE to stay there again! Any advice/hints -- or is getting a room with two beds not going to happen? As always, I'll bid through the link on the board :) Thanks in advance for your help! I LOVE this board! :)

Hi. all. I first want to say I love this site. So much information and help, it's incredible! Now for my question: A good friend turns 25 tomorrow, and wants me and another (guy) friend to go to Vegas with him for the weekend. Because of it being two guys and me, we will need three beds (two queens or doubles and a roll-away), so we have not only the issue of finding a room this late in the game, but getting one that we can get our bed accommodations met. Just as challenging, we would like to stay in the under-$140-150 a night range, 4* or better, and of course we'd prefer to be on the strip. Help! Any advice would be very appreciated, and if it isn't reasonable and you all don't think it's going to happen, can you give me some other options? Thanks! :)

Coastal would be good. I need to check what the San Diego properties star values are, I guess.

Well of course the least amount possible lol. I think I'd prefer to stay under $150 a night if I could. I double checked with my mom to make sure I got all the facts straight, and she did call the hotel and they would NOT guarantee a king (or queen). In fact, they basically said that she'd be lucky to get it. Not exactly the best customer service, hm? She originally made her reservation June 12 btw.

Hi, all. I've only used this forum once for San Francisco and was very successful and happy with my win. My parents planned a San Diego trip, booking in early June for 8/2 to 8/5 for their anniversary. They checked their reservations today and it turns out they won't be guaranteed a king bed.. they may get two doubles as it said they were booked for their preference. Mom hadn't realized their original request somehow hadn't gone through. So now, they want to cancel the reservations they have and try to find someplace else since they are frustrated and unhappy with their first reservation (they did contact the hotel and were not promised their choice). I know this is really short notice, but I was wondering if anyone has suggestions and help for me. I'd love to get them a 4* or better. Anyone have advice or hints? Thanks for any help you can give! BTW I was surprised San Diego didn't have its own forum :)

A friend and I stayed here on 7/14 and 7/15. The lobby is really beautiful with a lot of high ceilings and mirrors, and the lounge areas as you walk in are wonderful.. very comfy and nicely appointed. Our check-in was very fast! I was amazed. We were there about 2:45 and no lines, a lot of hotel clerks available, etc. We knew the hotel was pretty well booked so I had emailed a request ahead of time for a room with two double beds. I asked what room we had been assigned, and the guy politely smiled and said that we hadn't been assigned yet. Then he gave us a small room in the older part of the hotel with one double bed. Since I was there to see the Smashing Pumpkins and the guy I was with is just a friend I've known since grade school, I wasn't very happy. I told the clerk that I'd emailed in advance (in which I mentioned I was a Starwood Preferred Guest) and that not having two doubles was a real issue since sleeping in the same bed wasn't an option. The clerk went back to the computer and messed around for a bit. He then said he could put us in a junior executive suite with a murphy bed and a roll-away if that would work. Anything with two beds was fine, and that satisfied us both. Later my friend laughed and said when I pulled out my credit card and ID and a lot of cash fell out, the guy had started looking in earnest, so he thinks the guy thought he was going to get a nice tip, lol! I hope I didn't disappoint him too bad! I was actually expecting to have to pay for an upgrade as I've read in this thread, so was pleasantly surprised when I didn't. On to the suite: It was very nice, with a generously sized main room, a hall, a small anteroom with the wetbar and coffee pot and a good sized closet that was next to the bathroom. It was very clean and the carpets looked new and the wallpaper and paint looked like it had been pretty recently redone. We were on a lower floor so we had quite a bit of street noise, but neither one of us was bothered by it at all. It overlooked Union Square and had a lot of room to walk around even with the roll-away there. The shower is great-- double-headed and plenty of pressure. The tub was a little dingy on the bottom so I opted to shower. All the staff were very attentive. The internet was 14.95, a bit pricier than most places but that was fine. I had done as snq8888 advised and parked my car in the Sutter-Stockton garage, although it cost us $26 a day. The prices were posted so I was aware of that price and it still beat the $50 a night at the Westin. We had a minor incident in the lounge. We went to get drinks (their mojitos and mai tais are excellent!) A patron had clearly been enjoying the good drinks for too long, and he came over to us and started patting my shoulder and saying he wanted to pay for our drinks; he kept talking to us, making no sense and being overly boisterous and too friendly. It was a minor unpleasantness but the bartender dealt with it very well, and later came over and apologized. The manager also came up to us later and said the bartender had informed her about the incident and wanted to apologize and make sure we were ok. That was very nicely handled. We had room service after returning late from the concert and it was quite good. They were out of our first choice, but what they did have was tasty and well prepared, and very prompt! Almost no wait at all. We went to Dotties True Blue Cafe a short walk away for breakfast the first morning and had probably the best pancakes I have ever had. Absolutely delicious! Be aware that every place you go you are going to get approached by the homeless asking for money. I definitely wouldn't want to be a female walking alone even in the nicer locations. For the first night we went to Gordon Bierch brewery which is right across from Pier 2. According to my friend, the beer was great. He enjoyed his meal of goat cheese ravioli; my fire roasted chicken and fettucini was uninspiring and very dry. The fried artichoke hearts were delicious, however. We did the typical tourist things and went on a cable car (fun!) and to the wharf and of course Pier 39. That was so much fun! I wish we had more time than we did for that because you can easily stay there the whole day. I love carousels, and the one on Pier 39 is beautiful. And they have plenty of shops to spend your money in :) All in all I really loved our stay (the Smashing Pumpkins were amazing!). Knowing I might not get such a great room next time, if I travel with a friend I might hesitate to stay here again via Priceline. The next time I go to San Francisco and don't use Priceline, I would definitely choose this hotel. I loved the location and it truly is a beautiful hotel.

Oh that was me that put it in the USW, I was probably typing too fast as usual! Sorry about that! It is USE. I'm not sure how to change it.

Hi all! This was my first time bidding, and I had a blast! I'm going to have to try bidding again for a car because this was so fun! The first thing I did was read over the forum carefully. It's very intimidating if you don't have the necessary information. Everything is quite clear, even for someone who doesn't do well with new things like me. The greatest hints were on the rebidding section. Very helpful. I also carefully studied the winning bid histories, specifically the dates the bids were for in my preferred area. I'm seeing the Smashing Pumpkins at the Fillmore on 7/15, so I wanted to stay preferably USE, and definitely wanted a four star hotel. That wasn't negotiable. I was a little worried because I saw another bidder wasn't having much success for that same week. My first bid was USE $85. Rejected. I added Civic Center area, since I had checked beforehand and the highest star rating available for my dates was 2-1/2 stars. I'd also noted another bidder got the Westin St. Francis for $96. That sounded great, so I bid $96.. ACCEPTED! I also got the Westin St. Francis (I love those Westin Heavenly beds *g*). Thanks to everyone for all the amazing advice, especially thereuare!

Does anyone know what district would be closest to the Fillmore? Im going to see the Smashing Pumpkins in July, and I'd love to get a nice four star. :)

<edited at the request of publisher> and it is case sensitive.

I am trying to find a really nice hotel on the above date for my office staff. I need three rooms; one for the doctor and two for staff members (4 staff). I checked Hotwire and the rates for a 4* was over $400 on the strip. The convention we are attending is at the Flamingo, and they also want over $400 per room/internet price. I'm the new office manager and would love to get everyone a nice 4* or better. Suggestions/advice all extremely appreciated! I know it is last minute, but I have taken over this office just recently and registered for this convention this week. It's a great doc and a great staff, and they have had a really tough time with the previous manager; I'd like to be able to do something nice for them, but really can't pay a total of $1200+ right now unfortunately. Thanks so much! ETA: I bid $95 for a 5* at Priceline, but the offer was rejected. How do I re-bid for this? I read thereuare's post answering xk1's question, but don't understand how I should be re-bidding. Thanks again! ETAA: looks like Bellagio and Venetian are sold out. Priceline doesn't offer 4.5*, so what do ya'll think about the 4*s listed: Aladdin, Treasure Island and NYNY? Any suggestions for starting my bidding? What about close to but off strip? Perhaps near airport? Suggestions and bidding help so appreciated!