lindisfarne

To clarify: go to Transport for London to get bus info (The London Transit website has info for other buses (another bus system?) it seems). Here's the link for the 222 bus schedule: www.tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/222

Yes, you are correct. It was the Holiday Inn M4/J4. As a warning to others: it turns out there are at least 4 or 5 Holiday Inns in the Heathrow area, and even the bus/shuttle drivers can get a little confused about which one you need. Have the exact address and name of the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn M4/J4 can be reached on public transit quite easily. You'll need an Oyster Card to pay for the bus; they don't take cash; you can purchase it at (almost?) any tube station, including Heathrow underground station, in the ticket machines (you may be able to purchase it at Central Bus Station but I didn't verify; the tube & bus station are connected via an underground tunnel). Go to the London Transit website for more information. The 222 bus goes by the Holiday Inn M4/J4 hotel quite often - every 10 minutes or more frequently until 8 pm, then less frequently (but still fairly frequently) until 11 pm or midnight. You end up walking about a block from bus stop to hotel, but it's through a parking area and the hotel is easily seen; the stop is by the "Plough" pub. Just be sure you're waiting for bus on the correct side of the street - you wait in front of the Plough pub to get to Heathrow; bus drops you off on the opposite side of street when coming from Heathrow.. From Heathrow Central Bus station (just ask someone there where you catch the bus), you can take the 105 (or a few other buses) to a stop (I believe it was Nenes street, but double check) where you transfer to the 222 (the area is very safe); you'll need to walk about 100 ft to the stop where you catch the next bus (first bus seems to be free, but then you'll pay for the 222; check with bus driver of first bus to be sure). If you're coming from central London, you can go to the Hounslow West tube station, then catch the 222 across the street from the station (just make sure you're going in the correct direction to get to the Holiday Inn). Do the opposite if you are going into Central London. The ride is about 18-20 minutes between the hotel and the tube station. Ask the bus driver to let you know where to get off and they'll be happy to point out where you go to make the transfer. You can also take the Hoppa Bus from Heathrow to the Holiday Inn; check that site for more info. It is a private bus shuttle that goes to area hotels. It costs a little more than the public bus, but goes straight to the door so would be nice if you have a lot of luggage. The Holiday Inn M4/J4 is just a bit marginal as a 4* - I'd consider it more of a 3 1/2*. The room was functional but fairly small. It feels cramped with 2 people. Priceline books you into rooms with two single beds - you can ask at hotel whether you can get a double bed, but it's not guaranteed. Room had a safe, but no outlets on either side of bed (only outlet was about 10 feet from head of bed) Hotel fitness area is quite limited. There are a few on-site eating options (an Asian-style restaurant plus a more general restaurant). The lounge area seems to get quite noisy in the evening, although perhaps that depends on what conferences are being held there. Wifi is free if you're an IHG member (Holiday Inn's loyalty program) although connecting can be a headache (you may have to get the front desk to give you free vouchers to connect to the wifi). The hotel is in a quiet location - lots of open space around the hotel (well, for London, it was "lots").

A friend recently booked this; I thought I'd report it because it shows the Holiday Inn London Heathrow (Sipson Road, West Drayton) is now considered a 4 star by Priceline. 38 pounds for one night (Jan 29, 2015); taxes/fees are 11.26 pounds. Initial bid: 34 pounds, North Heathrow 2nd bid accepted: 38 pounds (increased price), added South Heathrow area. Didn't use a perfect bidding strategy but still got a good price, other than the fact the Holiday Inn was a bit of a surprise.

4* Minneapolis - St. Paul (Downtown Minneapolis) The Westin Minneapolis $61/night for 2 nights, then added a 3rd 11/15, 11.16, then 11/17. $122 + $26, then $61 + $17. I didn't think it would accept $61, based on the previous report of a much higher rate.

I had a huge amount of trouble trying to get anything downtown Boston - I ended up expanding to the airport zone for 5/25 - 5/27 and dropping to 3*. I bid up to $150 (excluding airport) and no go. See my priceline winning bid thread.

Bid was $100/night. I did originally include that. This hotel is a 3*, although based on the reviews at the TripReview website, it probably should not even be this. I also did begin using the links to PRICELINE from here.

It took forever to get this one. I did not want to bid less than 4*s in the airport zone because some of the 3* (no 3.5*s are listed in the list of airport zone hotels at BetterBidding). So, I alternated between bidding at 4* only and including the airport zone (lots of free rebid areas) and 3* or higher, but not including the airport zone. I went up to $150 for both kinds of bids (starting lower & building up by adding zones) and still, no success. I decided to risk a 3* in the airport zone - starting out lower. I was one bid away from my max bid for 3*s in the airport zone (because some of the 3* airport hotels can be directly reserved for as little as $120-$125 esp. if you prepay) and I got this one. It worked out well in the end. PRICELINE definitely was not interested in accepting bids below $150/night for 3* or higher downtown - maybe only one of the nights is really bad in terms of availability and if I didn't need both, it might have been easier. Perhaps closer to the actual stay date would make it easier - hotels might give up rooms that haven't sold by then. I actually needed 4 nights, but; I had split the reservation in 2 because I was not succeeding at getting all 4 nights initially (5/25 - 5/29). I thought the Memorial Day weekend might be the problem, but it turns out, I had much more difficulty getting the 5/25 - 5/27 reservation. Some of the higher star downtown Boston hotels have no availability so something is going on - it might be commencement spillover from the preceding weekend, or some big convention. I've pretty much been bidding daily for over 2 weeks! TripReview has some pretty awful reviews of this hotel. Maybe not such a good deal. :) I'll file a review once I return.

Got this one fairly easily for $105/night (once I split the 4 nights I needed into 2 separate PRICELINE bids). Started out low with 3* or above (Copley Square -Theater District would have been ideal), kept adding areas (Faneul, Boston Waterfront, [Fenway & N. Cambridge were free rebids while I was bidding as they did not have 3* or higher). I also have a 5/25 - 5/27 reservation at a different hotel in the airport zone (see separate Pricleine hotel thread); I had split the reservation in 2 because I was not succeeding at getting all 4 nights. I thought the Memorial Day weekend might be the problem, but it turns out, I had much more difficulty getting the 5/25 - 5/27 reservation. Some of the higher star downtown Boston hotels have no availability so something is going on - it might be commencement spillover from the preceding weekend, or some big convention.

Why do you think the first night or two will be very expensive? I thought it would be the last night or two that would be expensive. I'm willing to add the airport area if I have to to get the cheaper rate. I think $100/night will be my max (averaged across the 4 nights - I'd be willing to pay more for 1-2 nights as long as the other nights were cheaper). Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for a 3* or higher for Boston May 25 (Tues) - May 29 (Saturday) bidding advice: split into 2? (Memorial Day weekend) - preferably Copley Square, but Quincy Market, Waterfront, or Harbor Front would be ok too. Since this is the Memorial Day weekend, what is the likelihood of me getting a reasonably low price on this reservation? Would I be better off splitting the date (5/25 - 5/28? plus 5/29, or 5/25 - 5/26 plus 5/28 - 5/29)? (I know this could result in changing hotels, but that would be ok). I started bidding today, lowballing it at $70, first adding the "free" areas (without 3* or higher) and increasing to $75 & $80. Then I tried changing the dates to 5/25 - 5/28, dropping back to $70, then adding each of the 3 other neighborhoods I'd be ok with ($70 each). Am I more likely to get an overall better price if I split into 2 reservations (with the Friday night, or Thursday/Friday night) likely being more than the Tues/Wed? I'm assuming hotels have higher occupancy on the Memorial Day weekend. Any advice people can offer would be welcome. I'll keep trying daily, increasing my bids.

I had copied down the amenities but deleted the file after comparing them to what was listed online. Do you mean the amenities hotwire gave me for the 3* hotels in Winona, or the hotel amenities?

Express Suites Riverport Inn, 900 Bruski Drive, Winona, MN - this used to be a Best Western but recently has been switched to a Holiday Inn Express. Hopefully someone else will find this information useful. My account at Hotwire is giving me an error message when I click on the reservation so I'm not sure of the final price, but I think it was $138 with taxes & fees. After the reservation was made, I saw that I could have gotten $62/night with a reservation through one of the online sites (I can't remember which, but maybe Hotels.com) - so not much of a savings. I made this reservation for someone else and have not heard back yet on how it was. However, based on reviews at various sites, I'm surprised Hotwire made this a 3 star hotel. This was my first time using Hotwire (I've used Priceline a few times and have always been happy) and am not impressed they consider this a 3* hotel (I'm hoping Holiday Inn improved it greatly but I doubt it). There are a couple of other Holiday Inns in Winona which are reviewed more favorably; I was expecting one of those (and didn't know of this one recently switching to Holiday Inn). I didn't go with Priceline because their highest rating was a 2*. This is what you get in towns where there is little competition and few nice hotels - I could have gotten a 4* in Minneapolis for the same rate (or slightly higher). Rochester is an hour away & La Crosse, WI about 45 miles- but the people I made the reservation for wanted to be in Winona.

You're going to pay through the nose to park in downtown Minneapolis - meters are enforced in many DT areas on Sundays and until 10 pm on other days. You could park somewhere along the light rail line (further out is better for your car) and take that in (I'm not sure how close the Westin is to that line) or even, take Nicollet south and after you get south of about 40th Street, you could park in an ok neighborhood (not great - don't leave anything of value sitting in your car). Just read the signs carefully. There's a bus that goes down Nicollet that will get you back into town. (In the area around Hennepin, the parking is much more restricted and permit controlled). You might find parking on the north side of the Stone Arch bridge that's free on Sat and Sun - I've parked there but not overnight - it's kind of isolated so your car might be ok but might not.

The Hilton airport (right across from the Seattle airport) is rated a 3* and in my experience, is a pretty good hotel for that level (and for the rate we got -$65; the priceline rate for the hotel was much higher, as was the lowest rate on the Hilton web page). The airport shuttle is free and was quick for us, with a great driver who was very helpful with all our luggage. He was also great about answering questions, giving helpful advice, and so on. The hotel was very nice, although the layout was not terrific: there are two different buildings with rooms, and the pool and fitness rooms are in the center of one. To get to them from the other building, you have to walk back through the lobby, past the restaurant, and past the conference rooms. The pool is fairly decent for a hotel pool ( lap swimming would be possible - it's rectangular) although it's probably only about 10-12 yards long); the hottub as well. Towels were provided at the pool. I didn't use the (free) fitness room but there seemed to be a large number of machines as I walked past (didn't look closely so can't comment on quality). The rooms around the pool likely suffer from pool noise, but we were in the other building. I suspect the rooms in the building without the pool get a lot of traffic noise - we were on the backside, away from International Blvd, but the loading dock was outside our window. We left fairly early but there were already a couple of trucks. Other than that, however, noise was non-existent. We were able to pick up free wireless, although it wasn't the Hilton's (they charge). Obviously, any time you use any wireless, you shouldn't be putting in credit card numbers and other sensitive information. The rooms were fine - we didn't get a mini-bar (which we appreciated) but there was a refrigerator. The furnishings seemed pretty new - at least, they didn't look old and dreary. The Hilton's shampoo/conditioner/shower gel were very perfumed which wasn't a plus - I was glad I brought my own (why they think most customers would want such perfumed toiletries is beyond me). The sheets were very nice and soft, with a duvet over the comforter (either down or down-alternative). The rooms weren't overly spacious but were fine, unless someone wanted to hold a business meeting or something (iif we had had a king-size bed (we requested 2 doubles), there might have been a bit more space). Housekeeping was helpful. The Hilton was quick to bring up a suitcase (as soon as the airline delivered it) that the airline had failed to get onto our flight. We paid $65 plus about $17 in extra taxes and fees, which was a decent deal, given that the Motel 6's in the area charge close to that per night. We didn't try the restaurant or the coffee cart. One of the coffee cups in the little coffee maker in the room was obviously not clean (a few coffee drips right on the top edge, so the housekeeper had failed to check it!) but that was the only negative for the room. Parking at the Hilton will set you back $18/night (that may not include about $3 in taxes) but we were able to park at the Clarion right next door for about $7.50 plus almost $3 in taxes (they advertise that they allow "airport" parking). They do fill up (morning seminars need parking) so get there as early as possible; you do have in-and-out privileges (not sure if you have that at the Hilton) as they give you a card to put on your dashboard; the card is not time stamped so you should have until midnight of the last day you pay for. The Clarion's parking is pretty close and for some rooms, is likely closer than the Hilton's.

A friend got the rate of $65 for one night at the Hilton Convention Center at the SEA airport on 8/14/07 (Hilton Seattle Airport And Conference Center, Seattle Airport (SEA), 17620 Pacific Highway South, Seattle, Washington 98188-4001). They have a free shuttle from the airport (free bottled water was on board) and the driver was very friendly and helpful with luggage). Preference was for Lake Union or Bothell, but bids up to $70/night (starting in the low 40s and increasing in $3-$5 increments) weren't accepted for those areas (using DT as a "free" zone under assumption that hotels would cost more (plus DT would also have been acceptable) so she tried adding the airport district, beginning bidding in the high $50s. Sorry I don't have more details but she didn't keep track - she had lots of time to wait so she bid over a period of about 2 weeks and raised bids slowly. The Hilton was quite nice, although parking is going to set you back $18/night. The Clarion Hotel is right next door and allows for "airport parking" (for some Hilton rooms, their lot may be closer) and will charge about $10.50/night (with taxes), but they do limit it (seminars the next day need the parking) and so get there as early as possible. They give you a card to put on your dashboard so you do have "in and out" privileges. They didn't time-stamp the card, only put the date on it, so you would have until midnight of the last day to park.

A friend just got a 3* hotel in the Seattle airport zone for $65 for 1 night in August (midweek). He started out at about $58 and his 3rd bid was accepted. I'll try to find out the details and post separately, but thought this might help you estimate what bid would likely be accepted.

Marriott San Francisco (on Market Street) April 2006 This hotel is quite nice. It's a convention hotel so you get what comes with that: a huge impersonal lobby, hordes of people going/coming from the convention, and so on. Location is in the middle of the shops on Market Street, right near a BART station, a nice walk down to the Embarcadero. Parking at hotel is very expensive but there are nearby municipal lots for about $22 per 24-hours (no in/out privileges). If you can, park at one of the east-bay BART stations ($5 per 24 hour period but reservations for long-term parking need to be made in advance; instructions at the BART website) and ride BART in. Pretty much anything you could want is near-by: drug store, office depot, radio shack, all the shops you'd find in a mall, cafes, restaurants (from cheap to expensive), a copy place just a block or two away on Market Street with fairly cheap internet access (10 cents/minute with $1.50 minimum charge - hotel internet is $13 per 24 hour period (noon to noon, I believe), or, at the business center (limited hours), $4 for 15 minutes). We couldn't find an internet cafe nearby. The reception staff were quite competent; I checked in before the "rush" so there wasn't much of a wait. I requested a later check-out which was granted so check-out didn't involve a wait, either. I requested that no newspapers be delivered but USA Today was delivered anyhow. When I checked out, I left my luggage at the luggage check. Luggage drop-off was quite quick, but luggage pick-up involved a long wait. To add insult to injury, there were a number of us in line, but when the employee came back from retrieving someone else's items, he went to a businessman who had just arrived and who was standing on the other side of the podium, well outside the line, and helped him before helping those of us who were standing in line. Needless to say, I didn't give him the tip I had prepared. The rooms were acceptable. Clean, recently renovated, but impersonal. The hotel has gone to duvets which I wholly approve of, and beds have a nice selection of pillows (4) of varying firmness. No mini-bar in the room (I usually store my drinks in the refrigerator), so I requested a refrigerator be delivered, which was quite loud and ugly. The bed was fairly comfortable - a bit soft for my liking - I didn't tear the bed apart but the mattress was either a pillow top mattress or had a feather bed under the sheet. Bathroom floors were marble tile which was quite a nice touch and the vanity was wooden with built-in shelves for the towels. The office chair at the desk was a little ratty. There was no fan in the bathroom although ventilation seemed fairly strong (but no way to turn it off if you wanted to steam up the bathroom to remove wrinkles from clothes). I asked for a room in the highest tower as I had read that rooms closest to the street could be noisy. Street noise was not a problem if the windows were closed. I also asked for a room well away from elevators, ice machines, traffic, etc. and did not have any problems with hallway noise. I was on the 24th floor on the St. Patrick's Cathedral side ("city" view) which had as good a view as any of the higher floors as surrounding buildings were high enough to block the view from them as well as from the 24th floor. The room overall was quite clean although it was clear under the bed had not been vacuumed in quite some time, which is really surprising seeing as it shouldn't take much time at all to run a vacuum under the bed (assuming the Marriott has purchased vacuums which fit under the bed - if they haven't, that is pretty stupid). Marriott's policy is to NOT change bedsheets for guests staying multiple nights unless a card is placed on the bed - I highly approve of this policy as it's much better for the environment. In addition to the Gideon Bible, the Marriott is providing the Book of Mormon. In my opinion, all religious material should be removed from the rooms and only delivered upon guest request. The room had a hair dryer which almost burst into flames the first time I tried using it. It kept dying and I thought it was a problem with the outlet, but then a bit of smoke started coming out of the exhaust vent and I quickly unplugged it. It was replaced in about 15 minutes by housekeeping by the same model which worked fine. Marriott probably buys extremely cheap hair dryers (who can blame them as people are probably careless with them) which eventually short out as mine did. The best part of the hotel was the fitness center. There was no additional charge for using the equipment, although use of the shower room/locker involved a $5 additional charge. There was quite a range of machines to use and an adequate number. The pool was small - not good for lap swimming, although the hot tub was huge. I don't trust the cleanliness of hotel pools/hot tubs (due to all the kids) so did not use them. In the reception area of the fitness center, they had ice water with lime or lemon, plus a variety of fruits (apples, bananas, oranges) and plenty of towels. Other hotels I have stayed at have charged to use fitness centers that are this nice. The tread mills and recumbent bikes are hooked up to the hotel's cable, although you do need to bring your own headphones. The concierge line was quite long every time I passed by; the one night when we wanted information and were in line, the bellboy came over and offered to help. We wanted information about the Mission District: best burrito place and help finding an ice cream place I had been to before but didn't recall the name of. He was quite helpful: he knew the ice cream place and provided directions but couldn't recall the name (we found it and it's called Bombay - I strongly recommend it although it closes relatively early), and sent us to Pancho Villa for burritos which had fantastic and cheap burritos. I think we got better information from him than we would have from the concierge, who was probably used to sending guests to far pricier restaurants. The bellboy, in contrast, lived in the Mission District. I had previously stayed at the Grand Hyatt on Union Square and thought it was nice, but the Marriott's fitness center and somewhat better location make it the better hotel, in my opinion. The Hyatt's top-floor bar is nice (but pricey); the Marriott is supposed to have a nice view from their top-floor bar, but I never made it up there.

Oh, sorry; I wasn't asking for anyone to research (I thought I had done what research I could and found out no one had reported a successful bid for this city). I just wanted anyone's input who's bid in other similar small cities. I think I have a pretty good feeling of how to bid this one though - I'll just start at $50 and go up in $5 increments.

I'd go for USE - Fisherman's Wharf is noisy and I don't think the area is as nice. Fisherman's Wharf is a one-day visit so you don't necessarily have to stay in that area; I believe there are buses that go from USE to FW area - it would be a nice but long walk along the Embarcadero (although perhaps not for an 8 year old). (I'm not a big FW fan!) I wouldn't be afraid to be out at night in USE, although along the western edge of it, I think there are some shady areas. Ask at the hotel though. Between Union Square and the Financial District, it's perfectly safe, in my opinion. With an 8 year old, you're not likely to be out really late.

4* have been going for about $85 or more lately, at least in the Union Square area. If you're willing to walk a few blocks, Union Square East is fairly near BART lines and a nice area. Some San Fran areas can become unsafe at night so ask at the hotel if you're out at night.

I'm probably going to try a fairly late bid for South Bend, IN for April 30 (one night) on a three star. Only saw one bidding attempt here: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=20695& Where would you advise starting the bid if I wanted to get it in just a few tries (since the re=bid wait time is now 24 hours, it's a little easier to do more rebids), but the plans could change last minute so I won't be trying more than a few days in advance. (Since there are no 4* in South Bend, I can get a free re-bid by adding a four star, correct?). When I look at the hotels priceline has listed as 3* (when you go through their retail hotel price listings), only the marriott is listed. i know this doesn't necessarily mean the marriott is what i'd get, but does it mean anything as far as where i should start bidding? there probably are just a few 3*s in south bend ... (Expedia includes marriott, marriott residence, and comfort suites - which doesn't necessarily mean much as priceline goes)

I was hoping to get the Grand Hyatt as I'd stayed there before and was happy but got the Marriott SF DT (next to Moscone Center). The Marriott could end up being ok though - looks like they have a much better health center. Was hoping to get something for about $10/night less, but based on prior bids, knew it was not very likely. I could have waited until closer to the trip and perhaps would have been cheaper, but for a total of $20 difference, it wasn't worth delaying. Bidding attempts: all bids for 4* Bid on March 12: 1. $68 USE 2. $71 USE + CH 3. $75 USE + CH + CC 4. $80 USE + CH + CC + SSF Bid on March 13: 5. $75 USE 6. $81 USE + CH 7. $86 USE + CH + CC accepted Subtotal: $172.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $33.45 Total Charges: $205.45

You can park at a city garage near Moscone Center for $22/night (no in/out privileges). The Moscone Center lists its address on its website.

Priceline has dropped the wait time to 24 hours Priceline Pointer - Put your best foot forward when using our Name Your Own Price

This is a very old review: I stayed at the Grand Hyatt 2 years ago in early April for 2 nights; won it through Priceline $69/night (although I probably didn't bid as well as I should have). I requested a view of the Coit Tower, if possible; I got it; I think we were on the 24th floor. The room was very quiet; we were at the end of the hall so that might have helped. In short, this was a fantastic hotel; located in a great area of San Francisco; Nob Hill (a place I always walk to in San Fran) is just a short walk up the hill. About my only complaint was the fitness center (which was free) was small; if you didn't get there by 6:45 am, you'd be waiting for a machine (luckily, I got there early my first morning and realized this was the case). There was a small TV in the bath (although I would have preferred a bathrobe instead - it was a 7 or 9" TV so not very visible while soaking in the tub). Martinis up on the top floor were delicious as was the view. We walked to the St. Marks later for martinis as well - less than a mile. Staff were wonderful. Had a minibar mischarge (I must have rearranged something when storing my own things in the frig!) but that was promptly corrected. Of course, as with all hotels, they charge you a fortune for phone calls, internet access, etc.