jrk

After adding the taxes and fees the price turned out only minimally ($5/night) lower than that offered on the hotel site. Bidding on PRICELINE was no success either. Amenities: Pet friendly Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Self-service laundry Internet access

Used standard method, increasing the price while adding zones.

The good deals in Orlando from the past 2-3 years seem to be over. I used to quite routinely get a 4-star hotel in my preferred area (International Drive - Convention Center) for ca. $50. No more. Any weekend I looked at in January and February, the Express Deal on Priceline was way over $100. Bidding attempt to lower this number significantly failed. So I went for Lake Buena Vista instead. Hotwire listed (most probably, since it was a Hot Deal) Sheraton at $75 on this weekend. Bidding on Priceline lowered it to $71. The hotel does not have great reviews or ranking. We'll see. BTW Disney Downtown changed name to Disney Springs. jrk

The PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for this property was $84 / night. Started bidding low at $60, adding zones. Not surprisingly, the bids were refused until I hit $80. Pretty hefty hotel fees, though, so the total will be about $120 per night plus parking.

That was quick: started with $50, bid rejected; raised to $55 adding one zone, bid accepted. With fees, taxes, and $15 hotel fee, the full cost comes to $82.13 per night. Still pretty good. jrk

Tried bidding in the same area on Price.line, and went up to $65 with no success (they had a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal at $90). Went with Hot.wire instead.

Bidding didn't really work out well in this case. Started with $80, reject. There aren't many zones in Madrid with no 4-star hotels, so had only 3 zones to add. Went to $120 in three consecutive bids. This is only $5 lower than a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal (probably the same hotel) and the regular Priceline price for the same property. The hotel sites quotes $147 but including taxes, which means about $130 net.

I'm in Orlando on average 4 times a year, and always staying in the same area (Convention Center). The lowest I ever got for Hilton was $80. Best, jrk

Started with $45, apparently a bit low. But $57 is satisfactory for the Labor Day weekend. Used the betterbidding.com [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=40]PRICELINE[/url] link portal, and always appreciate this service. jrk

We did enjoy our stay. The hotel is very good, corresponding to the 4-star denomination. The only problem was, upon checkin the front office could not find our reservation. It turned out Priceline had canceled it. It took a half-hour phone call to Priceline to bring it back. Fortunately, the hotel was not full, so we got our room OK. This is the first time it happened to us, and nobody -- least of all Priceline -- could tell how it happened. jrk

Started bidding with $60. Added zones; ended up with Renaissance for $70 + taxes & fees. Always using the bettebidding.com portal to access PRICELINE / HOTWIRE and appreciate this service. Regards, JK

Correction: the fee is $15 (+tax) not 20. Self-parking fee of $18(+ tax) also adds to the price. Altogether, however, the hotel is adequate for its 4-star rating. jrk

Westin started charging $20/night resort fee, which is not-so-welcome news, adding to the final price, which will be $106.81/night, taxes & fees included. Still not too bad. Hotel Amenities Smoke-free rooms Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Accessibility Accessible for visually impaired Accessible for hearing impaired Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking Roll-in shower

Just got back from Orlando. This is not the place for reviews, but let me say Hyatt Regency was the best hotel I've ever stayed at in Orlando, and at the price of $90 (+taxes and fees) it was a very good bargain. Also, no resort fee, although I was prepared for it (since it was mentioned on the hotel's web site). Self-park, $16 per day, which is the norm in this area. jrk

There is only one 4 1/2 star hotel in that zone, and the PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal price was $96. I started bidding with $70 and went up to $85, no success. The next day I started with $80 and my $90 bid was accepted. Used betterbidding.com [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=40]PRICELINE[/url] link and appreciate this service. jrk

Found a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for $44 in the North Heathrow zone for a 4-star hotel. Started with a bid of $35 in the South Heathrow zone. Got refused. Increased to $40 adding the North Heathrow zone, and was accepted. Taxes & fees about $15. Used the BB portal [url=http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=40]PRICELINE[/url] link and appreciate this service. jrk

Started with $50. Got a counteroffer of $71, declined. Added the zones while increasing the price by$3.00, ended up with Westin for $64.00 (+ ca. 25% tax and Priceline fees). Used betterbidding.com portal to connect to priceline and appreciate this service. jrk

Yes, some: Accessibility Accessible path of travel In-room accessibility Accessible bathroom Accessible parking jrk

Tried Priceline bidding and went up to $54; no success. Went for Hotwire's Hot Deal instead for $56. Priceline had the same Express Deal and possibly the same hotel but I got a little upset that I couldn't lower the price by bidding. Rosen Plaza's amenities: Free Internet Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Golf nearby Reserved duly through the betterbidding.com portal. jrk

Sorry, keep forgetting about the amenities: Free parking Free Internet Smoke-free rooms Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Self-service laundry Internet access (jrk)

Tuscaloosa is not on everyone's top list and probably right so, at least from the point of view of available hotels. The Capstone is former Sheraton that was already dingy 5 years ago when I last visited it. It's no better now. Yet it is the only 3.5-star hotel in town, which says a lot about the others. There are no 4-stars or higher in Tuscaloosa. Interestingly, they handed me upon checkout an invoice, although I had prepaid by Hotwire, and didn't expect it. Probably by mistake as they are not exactly very competent. I understand the numbers reflect those the hotel received from Hotwire: Charged by Hotwire (per night): $104.00 + $24.10 taxes and fees; $128.10 total The hotel invoice: $96.75 + $14.51 tax; $111.26 total This represents ca. 15% markup by Hotwire. I'd say, healthy but reasonable, particularly since the hotel web price for the given days was $135; quite appalling given the hotel standard. (jrk)

Started low at $45; added zones incrementing the price by $3.00 each time. Ended up with Hilton Orlando for $69.00 + taxes and fees, which is my favorite hotel in the area. Mind you, they add $20 or so resort fee, but it's still a decent deal, I think. Used the betterbidding.com portal to PRICELINE and always appreciate this service. jrk

Sure: Resort Free Parking Free Internet Smoke Free Rooms Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business Center Self service laundry Internet access Golf Nearby Tennis Nearby Spa Services ---------- (jrk)

Beware of the following Hotwire "Secret Hot Rate" trick: it makes you think you'll be staying at Hilton Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, as this is the only 4-star hotel that shows up when you do the standard rate search. Instead, you'll be staying at one of many locations of the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, which sell for much less than Hilton. So actually, this was not a deal at all, since for example Expedia advertised the resort for the same price of $139, and with no fees that Hot.wire charges. Lesson learned but not a big deal - the stay was actually very nice. jrk

Started with $50, increased by $3 while adding zones, ended up with $77.00 + $19.32 taxes and fees. The same hotel (probably but not certainly) was listed on Hot.wire as a "secret hot rate" for $78, so not much gain from the hassle of bidding on Priceline, if at all. Used the betterbidding.com portal to enter Price.line, and appreciate this service. (jrk)