txgeekboy

Sorry. I don't know how to edit my original post. The hotel is Holiday Inn Downtown - Market Square.

Wanted downtown but cheap. I'm happy with the result, as this hotel has free parking and internet, is close to the Mercado or 1/2 mile from the heart of the Riverwalk (or a $1, 5 minute bus or trolley ride), and has just completed a multi-million dollar renovation. Bidding history: Downtown - $48 Downtown + East - $50 Downtown + South - $52 Downtown + West - $54 Downtown + East + South - $56 Downtown + East + West - $58 - they made a counteroffer to raise my bid by $17 Downtown + South + West - $61 Downtown + East + South + West - $65 - Accepted! Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $65.00 Subtotal: $195.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $42.32 Total Charges*: $237.32

Turns out to be the Clarion. Amenities: Airport shuttle, fitness center, pool, restaurant, business center, laundry facilities. Not a happy camper. Tried for 4 days to get the 3* S. CS at prices that varied from $56 to 62. It was a perfect match for Doubletree. Every time, it came up with an error ("We couldn't process your request. We're sorry, but we are unable to complete your request. We are currently experiencing problems exchanging information with our hotel partners. Your credit card has not been charged. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again in 10 minutes. etc., etc.). Twice I called Hotwire's Customer Care, they just sort of scratched their head, couldn't do anything or advise anything. They did help get multiple holds off the credit card. Other 3* were much more expensive. Decided to drop to 2.5*, have had good luck in the past getting rooms with kitchenettes in this class. Was very saddened to get Clarion. Hope its OK. Checked a few hours later, they'd dropped the price $4/night for the same property on Hotwire, just to pour salt on the wound. My consolation is that the best rate on the hotels website is $129/night for those dates. Also, checking multiple hotel sites (ICH, Hilton, Marriott, Choice) shows over half the hotels already full with high rates on those available for this holiday weekend. Also, the location is very convenient for most of the sights.

From Providence, you can catch Amtrak into South Station in Boston (a $10 shuttle bus from airport to train station), transfer to the Silver Line T to the airport. You can then do without the car - useless in Boston anyway.

Oops. You wanted a strategy. Fortunately, you have plenty of free rebid zones if you want 4* - Airport (A), Executive Center (EC), Diamondhead (D), even Ihilani (I) since I've never seen it awarded. With Waikiki North (WN) and Waikiki South (WS), you have lots of permutations of bids: 1. WN 2. WN + A close browser, start new session 3. WN + EC 4. WN + EC + A close browser, start new session 5. WN + D 6. WN + D + A close browser, start new session 8. WN + I 9. WN + I + A close browser, start new session 10. WN + EC + D close browser, start new session 11. WN + EC + I close browser, start new session 12. WN + D + I 13. WN + D + I + EC close browser, start new session 14. WN + A + EC + I close browser, start new session 15. WN + A + D + I close browser, start new session 16. WN + A + D + EC close browser, start new session 17. WN + A + D + EC + I You can then repeat the 17 bids with Waikiki South. Then do it all over again with WN + WS and each permutation. 51 bids, all in one day. If no luck, start all over the next day a few dollars higher. Sorry, I got carried away. Pretty silly, since it'd take you lots of time to do this much bidding, but it's possible. Seriously, If you start bidding in Waikiki North at $130, you've got a good shot of getting it on first bid. If not, start adding a few bucks and a free rebid zone. If you want Waikiki North, you'll probably have to start higher. And I wouldn't bid the two together if you don't want Hawaii Prince.

True - Hawaii Prince goes for $130, sometimes $140. Rarely see 4* in Waikiki South for that low - usually the Marriott goes for $160-180. So make sure if you are wanting the South and you are well above $130 that you don't include Waikiki North, else you might wind up with the Prince at $150 or more and will have overpaid.

Also, regarding your question about whether a week before would be to late to start bidding - possibly. I'd start bidding right away, with each session working its way up to a reasonable cap ($70 or so). If I had no success by a week before the trip, I'd start each session a little higher than the one before. While it's true some hotels don't release inventory until very late, it is also true that some sell out their inventory quite early. According to the convention checker, Siggraph expects to draw 20,000, one of the largest convention crowds of the year. Also, still at the height of the tourist seaon. I wouldn't wait too long.

Siggraph is 8/1 - 8/3, so there's a bit of vacation/exploration included in the timeframe. Unfortunately, you aren't going to find much, if any, in the $50-$60 range. The Revere/Logan area has lowest PL prices, sometimes in that range, and is quite convenient to WTC area by the MBTA Silver Line. I think you'd have to go to Peabody/Danvers, Waltham/Newton, or Woburn/Wakefield to find similar values. Consequently, I'd include the Revere/Logan in all free rebid permutations. You might get lucky and get DT, Copley, or WTC, but I'd bet almost any amount that you'd get acceptance from Revere/Logan first. If you wind up with anything other than DT/Financial, Copley/Back Bay, Revere/Logan, WTC, or Cambridge, you may be well outside your 20 minute commute. Brighton/Brookline, South Boston, and Medford/Somerville might be close. Good luck.

Just booked the second half of our trip (after 5 days in Boston). Could have probably done better by waiting, I'm just glad I've got it out of the way and can start planning activities. I bid $60 for Portland-Portland West - rejected. I bid $70 for South Portland-Scarborough - rejected. Added Portland-Portland West, bid $75 - rejected. Added Biddeford-Saco, bid $80 - accepted. Your Offer Price: $80.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $240.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $29.58 Total Charges: $269.58 I used the SavingsBarn link.

We really wanted to stay downtown or in Copley area. Perhaps could have gotten a better price if I'd waited until more inventory opened up, but I'd been tracking prices for my dates in a spreadsheet for about 2 months and some had started to go up. 3* downtown rates for my dates were $309 at Marriott Long Wharf, $250 at Holiday Inn Govt. Ctr., $243 at Radisson, $259 at Doubletree, and $253 at Park Plaza. I've read all the reviews here, "that other website", TripAdvisor, Yahoo Travel, both good & bad. I think we'll be very happy (we're not very demanding). The location is FABULOUS! I'd tried to lowball this ($60's & $70's) with weekly bids for a couple of months, decided to go up to $100. I bid $70 on Downtown-Charleston - rejected I bid $80, added Copley - rejected, but with a $22 higher counteroffer I bid $90, added South Boston - accepted Your Offer Price: $90.00 Extend Your Stay Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 5 Subtotal: $450.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $70.14 Total Charges: $520.14 I used SavingsBarn.com link.

Accepted on first bid :) , which means I paid more than I had to. This is a holiday weekend and the start of the high season for CS hotel rates. Several properties were already showing no vacancies on Expedia and Orbitz. So I bid about where I'd seen other successful bids and was prepared to go up with free rebids. Surprise. Best rate on Sheraton's website for those dates was $119/night. 2 nights @ $55 = $110 + $19.51 taxes & fees = $129.51.

Oops. The $30 rebate requires the Entertainment Book. The $50 credit only requires that you enter "GIFTCARD06" when making the Hotwire reservation (enter it as a coupon or discount code on the bottom half of the payment screen). Still, the Entertainment Book will pay for itself several times over with all its restaurant and attractions discounts and 2 for 1 offers, and you have plenty of time to get one before your trip.

Yes. I booked the same hotel for 9/24-10/1. We paid $78, but note it has gone down some. We saved an additional $50 ($10/night for up to 5 nights) by using the Entertainment Book link to HOTWIRE. The credit is given at purchase time. There is another $30 rebate you can file for after that. If you haven't gotten an Entertainment Book yet, do it - they only cost $10 + shipping, and coupons are valid until end of October. But back to your original question - yes, this is the exact amenity listing for the Radisson Prince Kuhio.

Just got back from our trip, thought I'd post a review on the La Quinta in San Angelo. We stayed 1 night, 6/1 - 6/2/2005 on our way to San Antonio. The La Quinta is on the far southwest end of town and would be convenient for Angelo State University, but not downtown San Angelo. This hotel looks old and run down from the outside, but was very clean and everything worked well mechanically, from the A/C to the TV to the shower and commode. They had free wireless internet, which I had not expected, as well as free local calls. The TV had Lodgenet with about 20 channels, including HBO. The sink and counter were outside the tub/commode area, and had lots of room for all my wife's stuff. Breakfast was assorted breads, pastries or cereal, apples or bananas, make-it-yourself waffles, juice, and coffee. It wasn't great, but it was free. Sheets and pillows were thin, but this is par for the hotel class. Noticed a slight smoke odor in our non-smoking room, but my wife thought it was just mustiness from the filter in the wall A/C. Checkin was simple. Since it was prepaid, they didn't even ask for a credit card for incidentals. All in all, an extremely pleasant stay from a budget hotel.

The title pretty much says it. Will be in San Antonio June 2-5, but decided we'd leave after work on Wednesday the 1st and take part of the drive before bedtime. That way we can spend a few hours in Fredericksburg before heading into San Antonio. Tried Abilene first, no luck with bids of $38 (for 2.5*) and $42 (for 2* - no free rebid zones). Decided to try San Angelo - it's about the same distance, just a different route. No bid history on this site or that other one. Priceline's Shop and Compare showed HoJo, Days Inn, & La Quinta as 2 star - nothing higher. I bid $38, accepted first bid. $50.35 with taxes & fees.

I chickened out. I have plenty of time, and have seen RWPK go for $58-65 on PL in the past. I've been making PL bids every 3 days for over a month, trying to get in that range. During that time, it had been holding steady on Hotwire at $76. Then on the weekend, the Radisson dissapeared from the PL packages list (it reappeared shortly after) and went up to $78 on Hotwire. I went into panic mode and picked it up on Hotwire. The $20/day difference between what I paid and the historic low bid on PL for the last year is mitigated by 1) the fact that it's only $140 over 7 days, 2) I got $50 of that back at booking time by using the "GIFTCARD06" code (yes, it still works as of 5/21), 3) I'll get another $30 back in the Entertainment Book rebate. So it's really only $60 more, or $9/day, and who knows if I would have ever gotten that rate from PL for my dates. A bird in the hand ... Also, since the Hotwire price was starting to move up, I checked several random dates on Hotwire, and it seems their formula varies the price according to the time till the stay. The same hotel can be had for $74 in mid-November, but costs over $150 in mid-June (more than the hotel's website). In any event, $78 for an excellent hotel who'se lowest web special rate is $129 is still quite good. I'm very happy with the rate, very happy to get the hotel portion of our trip finally settled. Anyway, for those wanting to book this hotel through Hotwire, the amenities list is: Near Beach, Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, High-Speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service). I'm pretty sure it's the only non-condo in Waikiki Central with High-Speed Internet Access listed.

Transportation from the airport to hotel is usually by shuttle. Major resorts have their own free ones (Park Shore doesn't), everybody else uses the ones operated by Roberts at the airport. $8/person one-way. Expect to pay $25 for taxi. Oahu's bus system is probably the best in the nation - it goes everywhere and costs $2 with one transfer. You can get a 4-day pass for $20 - good bargain. Here's the airport ground transportation link - it shows the shuttles, all the car rental places and taxis: http://www.hawaii.gov/dot/airports/oahu/hn...round_trans.htm For The Bus: http://www.thebus.org/. Click on "Fares and Passes", then scroll down to where it says "Visitor Pass" on the left. You can buy your Bus pass at the ABC store that's on virtually every corner. I don't know how much Park Shore charges for parking (it's not on their website), but most in Waikiki are $10-$14 a day. Give them a call at 1-800-367-2377 and ask. I've recently won a PL bid for an economy car from National for $14/day for late Sept. Rates vary dramatically between low and high season. While The Bus is great, car rental is really the way to go to see Kailua/Lanikai/Waimanolo beaches, Polynesian Cultural Center, North Shore, and tons of fun things outside Waikiki. You can do them with The Bus, but it might be crowded, and it won't be air conditioned. I'm happy to drive a tiny car because 1) they are rather fun if the drive is short and at moderate speed, and that's all they've got on Oahu, 2) it's less likely to tempt a thief, 3) it fits best in the small slots most Waikiki hotels have in their garages, and 4) I'm cheap. Aloha!

Thanks for posting. I looked up the dates on PL's packages page, found Park Shore is $21/night less than RWPK. That, and the fact that RWPK almost never goes for less than $58, explain why you got Park Shore. I've been studying the factors that result in RWPK vs Park Shore win in Waikiki South. Confirms some suspicions. When you look at dates that are months away during low occupancy times, RWPK seems to cost less. Park Shore wants to hold their price high, then as time gets really short, they drop way down. Re: the negative reviews - go and have fun. The hotel is basically a place to sleep. You'll want to spend most of your time on the beach or hiking, swimming, shopping, etc. Saturday and Sunday nights are Sunset On The Beach. They put up a big screen and show first-run movies, preceeded by local entertainers and food vendors. And Park Shore is the closest hotel - so close you can probably see the movie from your room (no sound, of course). I've read the negative reviews. Honestly, some seem to be written by some fairly snooty folks who don't seem to understand that most Waikiki hotels are 30+ years old, have small rooms with old furnishings, and may have the occasional insect or funky smell (it's the tropics). Plenty of folks have good reviews. Also, on the plus side, you are right on the beach, it's quieter at night than lots of Waikiki areas, and you found an astonishingly cheap rate (way to go). Enjoy yourself.

You were right to break it up. Package prices show Park Shore cheaper than RWPK for 6/1-6/4. Lowest available web booking for 6/1-6/4 from Radisson is $179, and $170 from placestostay.com. However, Hotwire shows RWPK for $120/night for those dates (reasonably certain that it's the RWPK - it's the only 3.5* in Waikiki Central with that amenities list). I know it's twice the rate of the first part of your stay, but you might consider using HOTWIRE for the second half if you are dead set against moving. It's still a great rate for a very good hotel during a high occupancy period.

I'm new to posting here, but have been studing bid history on Honolulu for months (for my own upcoming trip), and I have two observations: 1. For the specific dates listed, 5/19 to 5/22, Park Shore is $95 cheaper ($32/day) when viewing packages on Priceline. 2. I've not seen a winning bid for Radisson Prince Kuhio for less than $58/night for a long, long time. While nothing is a guarantee, every single bid in the last year that won Park Shore that have been posted on this board or that other one are either for less than $58, or when Park Shore is less expensive than Prince Kuhio on the packages page, or when Prince Kuhio doesn't appear at all on the packages list. Most of the time, especially when there's plenty of lead time and lots of available rooms, the Radisson is cheaper on the packages list than the Park Shore.

Sorry, exact dates are Sept. 24 - Oct. 1, Saturday to Saturday.

Oops, I forgot. In Priceline, this is Waikiki North.

I'll tell you exactly where it is. Ohana Waikiki Surf is on the NE corner of Kuhio and Lewers. Here's a map (if you can't find it, look for the bold words ALA WAI BLVD at top, then look right above in the canal to find your pointer): http://www.spotlighthawaii.com/oahu/waikikimap1.asp And here's a picture that shows how far you are from the beach: http://wizardpub.com/oahu/orohanawaikikisurf.html And here are visitor's reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g6...ahu_Hawaii.html Enjoy your stay!

3.5*, Waikiki Central Amenities listed: Near Beach, Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, High-Speed Internet Access, Golf Nearby, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service). Offered for $76 for last week in September, 2005. If not RWPK, what else could it be? Thanks.