lindabobhat

There is a site called Travelaxe.com - they have a program you can download that searches multiple sites for the best price. I used it a lot at first, but removed it from my desktop recently; now I prefer going to Sidestep.com, or my personal favorite is Kayak.com (just like the design of the site better.) I'm sure all three will give you the results you're looking for.

Yes, I thought the downgrade was significant as well (but refrained from using that exact word in my post as to not diminish the value of my purchase - lol!) Thanks for consolidating my posts into one topic - wasn't quite sure if I should continue with the old one or not - next time I'll know what to do. Glad that the link worked, too - it's the least I can do to support Better Bidding! Thanks again for this terrific site and all the personal assistance - it's very much appreciated.

The Westin Chicago River North "Customer Favorite" Amenities: Restaurant(s)/Fitness Center/Business Center 1 room/1 Night (4/30) - $118 per room; total with taxes/fees $140.95 (already have my $30 Hotwire/Entertainment rebate form ready to send out, bringing my total down to $110.95!) Best rate on Westin.com was $199. I was very excited to find this rate - been trying for days to get something downtown in the $100 range and had struck out on Priceline going all the way down to 2.5*. When I first saw this I assumed it was the Hyatt Regency and wasn't thrilled, but since it was right in the ballpark and just for one night, I figured I could live with it. Was really pleased when I saw the Westin logo pop-up on the screen after my purchase! So it appears that the Westin and the Hyatt Regency are identical on Hotwire now - thought that would be especially interesting to the other users on this board. BY the way, I used the link you provided in a previous post - please confirm that it worked as I changed over to the special Entertainment deal URL once I got to the main page.

The 1st property appears to be the W City Center. And I think you are right that the 2nd one is the Allegro.

What zones are these in? That's essential for ID'ing a property.

Yes, I did a search on Easy Click Travel a few minutes ago - didn't see anything too intriguing in the O'Hare area. And the better rated downtown "opaque" properties were all over $150, which is more than I want to spend. I played around a little on Priceline tonight, too - went up to $80 for 4 stars for NMA and added all my free bid zones in the process - even added River North on my last bid no takers (which didn't surprise me.) Might try Priceline again for 3* in the city or 4* for O'Hare area - but I admit that it's not my strong suit. Sometimes I read bidding strategies and my head just spins....seem to have better luck with HOTWIRE.

I'm looking for this Saturday, 4/30. Hotel comes up at $62. I have a sneaking suspicion that this might be the new Renaissance O'Hare. Another post on the Priceline section here says that this came up as a 3* but the user felt like it was more like a 4* property. I know 3.5* hotels need certain amenities just to get that rating, so I'm thinking this hotel is so new that they might not have listed any yet. We were really looking to stay downtown (NMA or River North) this Saturday, but there are just no deals! The Renaissance would be a great alternative since it's very short walking distance to the Cumberland El station.

We stayed at the Hyatt Lodge on 4/9, thru Priceline on a $35 bid. What a steal! This hotel is in a heavily wooded, resort-like setting with severals ponds. Made us feel like we were far away from the city. Parking is a bit inconvenient, but free (or you can use the valet for like $14, but I wouldn't bother - the walk to the lot is probably the equivalent of a city block. Perhaps I'd feel differently in the winter!) Check in was a breeze; no mention of Priceline booking, our request for a non-smoking king room was gladly accommodated. Our room was in the section of the hotel that was furthest away from the front desk - we were in the Hyatt Gold Passport section and it surprised me that they'd make their best customers walk so far. But I got over the long walk very quickly when I saw the room. It was beautifully renovated - light colored wood/laminate furnishings, nice big desk; platform bed with premium linens and lightweight down comforter. Did I mention the lovely wooded view and the 27" LCD televisions? The bathroom vanity (separate from tub/toilet) had double sinks, granite tops and Kohler fixtures, along with lighted magnifying mirror and a blow dryer. This was probably the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in - this hotel should definitely get a higher star rating than 3*. We did not visit the restaurants or use room service so I can't comment on them. We were planning on indulging on breakfast from room service, but the bed was SO comfortable I decided I'd rather sleep some more instead of eating. After sleeping til after 11AM, we requested and were granted a 2PM check-out, which gave us time to use the pool and hot tub. Another long walk, but well worth it. The beautifully maintained pool is huge, as is the hot tub. The ceiling of the enclosure is mostly glass, allowing light to pour into the facility. It made it feel like we were outside even though it was a warm, indoor facility. I highly recommend this hotel - we have already booked another stay (this time thru Hotwire as I was easily able to identify it thru the use of this forum.) I can honestly say that the Hyatt.com rate (usually $99 or more) would be more than a fair price for this lovely property.

This is for a previous stay, but thought the amenity/star info might be useful for future ID assistance: Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel 4* City: Nashville Sub-Zone (Downtown/Vanderbilt University/Metrocenter) Price: $52 for 2 rooms; total with taxes/fees was $124.95 (best rate I saw on other sites was $149/room) Date: 4/2 Amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, HSIA, Business Center Please note that since booking and staying at this hotel, it appears that Hotwire has done some re-zoning in Nashville. I seem to recall that the sub-zone at the time I booked was Opryland/Metrocenter (and that Downtown/Vanderbilt U was another zone.) Now Opryland is zoned with the airport. I almost complained when I saw I had gotten a downtown hotel but decided to deal with it and enjoy the fact that we could walk to restaurants, etc. After staying at this Sheraton, I'm really glad we didn't say anything! We had a great experience. This hotel has been upgraded from 3.5* to 4* (perhaps due to a recent renovation?) Rooms were very nice with Sweet Sleeper Beds; but baths were tiny and renovation didn't do much to cover their age. Customer service was EXCELLENT. No mention at check-in that we booked thru Hotwire. Upon request, we were given adjoining, non-smoking rooms. After asking for sofa-bed to be made up, guest services called to offer us a free movie for the inconvenience. I also applied for and received the Entertainment $30 rebate on this stay after the fact, bringing my grand total down to $94.95 for 2 rooms. What an incredible value!

Just thought I'd mention that after reading this thread I decided to try and get a rebate for a Hotwire stay from earlier this month. I did not purchase it through the special webpage as I forgot the coupon was even in my Entertainment Book. I also believe that my rebate request was probably received a few days late (when I found this website and thread it was already 28 days after I booked.) But I got an email yesterday telling me my rebate had been approved and posted! Thanks for this great website - I'm hooked! Linda

Sybil, Hope you didn't think I'd deserted you - just been away for a few days. I checked HOTWIRE again for your dates and I don't see any real "bargains" any more for the Loop. Since you are booked at the same hotel as your friends and you have a reasonable rate, you will probably just want to hold onto that reservation, unless you happen to come across any last minute deals. FYI, the Crowne Plaza Silversmith gets great reviews on Trip Advisor - it may not be a really well known hotel, but people seem to be very pleased with it. As far as ID'ing specific hotels on Hotwire is concerned, each post for a purchase is supposed to note the hotel you got, along with the city, area, star rating, price & amenities that you saw before you decided to buy, and also if the hotel came up as a "customer favorite." So you need to write all that info down before you hit "continue" to make your purchase. Once you post this info, someone else can see it and potentially make the same purchase, pretty much knowing what hotel they will get. Those posts are also compiled into hotel lists for each state - obviously the prices will vary from date to date, but you can see all the other data for each hotel, and compare it to the choices that come up in your Hotwire search. Those lists were what I was using to help you ID specific properties. The only drawback to this is that Hotwire occasionally changes star ratings (hence the recent post about downgrades) and hotels sometimes add or remove amenities. Consequently, while the lists are helpful, they are not 100% accurate. The lists most certainly depend on the users of this board to post their recent purchases accurately and timely (much as this site depends on the users to utilize links when they intend to make a hotel reservation at various sites. I, too am pretty new to Better Bidding, and didn't realize just how many links there were. I saved that page in my "favorites" and will use it frequently now (thanks for pointing it out, thereuare!) Linda

I will definitely post a hotel review - and thanks for fixing the star rating on my topic line! Really love this website and appreciate all your advice and input!

Sybil's first post referred to a midscale property, so I looked at Hotwire's star ratings and saw that they use 3 stars to decribe midscale. That's why I thought it might be Club Quarters based on the amenities listed. Sybil, are your friends at the Crowne Plaza on Madison? That's probably the closest major hotel to the United Center - checked the Inter-Continental website and, as might be expected, they have no availability for the days you are looking for. The Loop probably is the best region for you to look in if you want to be relatively close to the rest of your group. I looked at your search dates again and there is a 3.5* hotel, also in the Loop, with amenities of restaurant, pool, business center and fitness center - it's priced at $87 per night. Comparing it to the Hotwire hotel list, I think it may be the Chicago Hilton (recently downgraded from 4* as per AaronJB's recent post?) Guess we'd find out if it's the Hilton or the Palmer House if you booked it, huh? If it's the Hilton, you'd be about 2 miles from the Crowne Plaza; if it's the Palmer House, you're just 1 mile away. The Club Quarters is also about a mile from the Crowne Plaza. Either way, you're not "walking distance" close, so I might just go for the least expensive option (or I might try a Priceline bid for a 4* and try to get the "W" for somewhere in the same price range. Perhaps Thereuare could comment and offer you a bidding strategy.)

Sybil, I'm new to this, but after reviewing the Hotwire hotel lists, I suspect the property you referred to is the Club Quarters. If this is your first visit to the city, I think you might be underwhelmed with this property. And you don't necessarily want to limit your search to the Loop. The users of this board might be able to help you decide which area is right for you if you can tell us a little more about your visit. What is the purpose of your trip? Are there certain attractions you would like to be close to? The Loop generally refers to an area that encompasses the theatre and business districts. I think most tourists prefer North Michigan Avenue and it has the best access to shopping. Mag Mile/Wacker Drive is somewhere in between and is close to Navy Pier. Looks to me that there are several properties listed for your dates in the other two areas with better prices and more amenities (and likely to be more impressive to a first time visitor.) Hope this helped you. Linda

First time posting a purchase; hope I get it right: The Hyatt Lodge at McDonald's Campus Amenities: Restaurant(s)/Pool/Golf Nearby/Tennis Nearby/Business Center/Laundry 2 rooms/1 Night (5/14) - $56 per room; total with taxes/fees $125.95 (already have my $30 Hotwire/Entertainment rebate form ready to send out.) Prevailing rate on Hyatt.com is $99. Just an FYI, we stayed at this Hyatt last Saturday 4/9 (3* Priceline bid/win at $35, accepted on 1st try.) I didn't post the win because I only found this site a few days ago, inspired in part my desire to stay at this hotel again. Was able to successfully ID the hotel on Hotwire thru info I found here, so THANKS! I thought about bidding $35 on Priceline again for it, but absolutely wanted this particular hotel and didn't want to end up somewhere else. Am very happy paying what ends up as $41 per room after rebate, and being about 99% sure I would get the Lodge. If anyone wants more details or a mini-review of this newly-renovated hotel, just post a request and I'll reply.

Just a suggestion, but have you thought about bidding on a 3* in the Oak Brook/Downers Grove area instead? It's not too far north of the area you are looking at and, in my opinion, many of the hotels are nicer. We had an event to attend in Hinsdale last Saturday (4/9) and none of the motels in Willowbrook appealed to us - so we decided to bid $35 on 3* for Oak Brook and got the Hyatt Lodge on our first try (the prevailing rate on Hyatt.com was $99.) This hotel was AMAZING (so much so I'm almost afraid to rave about it online for fear it will get too popular!) The drive to Hinsdale was barely 5 minutes as the hotel is south of the Oak Brook mall. Please note that I just discovered this website a few days ago; that's why I didn't post my win. Anyway, I see that this hotel is currently showing on Hotwire for May 7th at $58 (I liked it so much I sought out this website and used it to figure out exactly which hotel it was on Hotwire!) So it would seem that the hotel has discounted rooms available that night - might want to try that 3*bid for Oak Brook in the same range you've been using for 2* Willowbrook. Worst case scenario is you end up at another 3* property in Oak Brook and have to drive another few minutes. If you end up with the Lodge, I think you'll be quite happy. A more experienced user might want to comment on this strategy...I admit to being a pretty regular Hotwire customer, but have only used Priceline twice and am still a bit of a novice.