Raytech

A follow-up report on my stay at the W Hotel in Hoboken, NJ. Going to New York City by PATH train was a breeze! Walked south along the river for less than 10 minutes and bam! the PATH train station & the ferry dock appears. (Also with the NJ light rail station -- all three combined together) The staff was professional, nice, and kind. No coffee machine in the room -- free coffee is provided in the morning at the bar in the lobby. I was assigned to a room with a view to the Hudson river on the 3rd floor. My whole family was thrilled. But there was one question I had in my mind: 'what are those ear plugs on the side table for?' I found the answer on Friday night -- the club downstairs (right below my room) was playing music, like until 3am in the morning. Lucky that I was awake & the rest of the family were already sleeping. ;-) Bottomline: if you are sensitive to noise/sound, ask for a room that is more quiet. My guess is, a room on the west side of the building may be better. Getting a room at a higher level should definitely help. Thanks!

After a series of unsuccessful biddings for a Cambridge-East property, I went for a suburban area of Boston. Saw a nice review on a Four Points hotel (Three-star) with a winning report of $54/night. I went with $55/night. To my surprise, Priceline.com has 'automatically upgraded' my request by getting me a 3 & 1/2 star property, which is the Hilton Boston/Dedham one. Room Subtotal: $55.00 Taxes & Fees: $14.27 Total Charged to Card: $69.27 This works for me since I did not want to pay (much) for parking, and self parking here is provided for free. (Seems that you need to pay for parking at Four Points) Thanks, and good luck to other Betterbidding friends!

Just to share my experience bidding with priceline. Wanted the Holiday Inn Express in Cambridge, MA -- a 2.5 star property. The challenge was that I had to make the reservation at the last minute. Check-in date was June 1, 2013. It was for one night. (Bidding was done around 3am of that day) I saw a successful bidding post at $79. Tried my luck by starting from $60. $60, $69, $79, $89... even $99 failed. Perhaps there was some kind of event in that area? I dunno. I decided to change the zone and won a room. Will post in a second. Good luck to other betterbidding users!

Kept my options for 4-stars hotel only. Bid 100 - failed Bid 120 - failed Bid 140 - ACCEPTED! Offer Price: avg. per room, per night $140.00 Rooms: 1 Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $420.00 Taxes & Fees: $77.07 Total Charged to Card: $497.07 Yeah, almost 500 bucks, and with parking at $35/night, it's over $600. But it might be worth it. It's a W, after all. ;-) Thanks for all the helpful advice from this forum!

4* Chicago (Millenium Park - The Loop - Grant Park) Hyatt Regency Chicago Started at $60. Had an offer to try at $77. So I tried $67 instead. (Gut feeling that the offer was 10 bucks higher than the lowest-acceptable price) Bid through your PRICELINE link. As always, thanks for all the information provided by this forum! The administrator(s) is(are) doing such a great job!

I did a search on Schamburg hotels from this forum and could not find any recently. A minute ago, I just tried bidding a 3 & 1/2 star hotel for $47 and failed. So I lowered my bidding to a 3 star hotel for $45 and won this Hilton Garden Inn Schaumburg. Did use the PRICELINE link through betterbidding.com. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of betterbidding.com for their wonderful service. Cheers, Ray

I had a Hyatt in mind when I bid $50 but I ended up with a Crowne Plaza instead. I am so happy with this win! BTW, Priceline did NOT show any 3.5 star hotels or higher available in the Blue Ash area, suggesting that Crowne Plaza may have been downgraded to a 3-star hotel. Happy bidding! Ray

I tried getting one room at Schaumburg. Bid started at $35, and I raised it to $40 but still got rejected. So I raised it to $45 and finally got it at Radisson. (I was hoping to get a Hyatt) Well, that's life, I mean Priceline, I guess. Happy holidays and new year!

Although I posted this information under "2* Newark (Jersey City) Candlewood Suites," I am posting this here again under a new title so people looking for a 3* can find this info easily. I am still wondering -- "How much should I have bidden for the Hyatt?" *sigh* - Raytech from Indiana -------------------------------------------------------- Doubletree Club Jersey City Jersey City (Price Line's area category) 455 Washington Boulevard Jersey City, New Jersey 07310 201-499-2400 Check-In Date: Sun, May 29, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Tue, May 31, 2005 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $81.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $162.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $31.93 Total Charges: $193.93

For 5/26 - 5/30, in Jersey City area, Bid $50 for 2* (Candlewood Suites) and got rejected. Changed dates to 5/26 - 5/28, and bid all the way up to $75 for the same hotel and kept getting rejected. Again, changed the dates to 5/26 - 5/29, and bid $81 for the same hotel and FINALLY got accepted by Candlewood Suites. To stay even further (5/29 - 5/31), I bid $81 for a 3* (Hyatt or Double Tree) in the same area, and got accepted by the Doubletree Club Jersey City. I guess I'll enjoy the free parking for the first three days and then move to an upscale hotel, see what difference a star makes. Hope my wife will be satisfied. :) Oh, here's the details: A. the 2* hotel Candlewood Suites Jersey City Exchange Place Jersey City (Price Line's area category) 21 Second Street Jersey City, New Jersey 07302 201-659-2500 Check-In Date: Thu, May 26, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Sun, May 29, 2005 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $81.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $243.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $44.54 Total Charges: $287.54 B. the 3* hotel Doubletree Club Jersey City Jersey City (Price Line's area category) 455 Washington Boulevard Jersey City, New Jersey 07310 201-499-2400 Check-In Date: Sun, May 29, 2005 Check-In Time: After 03:00 PM Check-Out Date: Tue, May 31, 2005 Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM Your Offer Price: $81.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $162.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $31.93 Total Charges: $193.93 - Raytech from Indiana