thesqueegeekid Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 WillTravel I know for sure you'll like seeing this post!!!Bid this for a friend of a friend... their request was to find something that has two beds so I will check right now to make sure. I bid $43 first hoping to get the Laurel Point Inn but rejected. I jumped up to $60 after seeing how high the rates in Hotwire were ($170-something 3.5*) .... now, I will not now the bottom price with these new fees and taxes!!!Taxes and fees are $15.37.In Canadian, this works out to $71 per night total. Link to comment
thesqueegeekid Posted June 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Looks good ... free parking, free shuttle to downtown, right on the water and an indoor/outdoor pool. Expedia lists it as a 4-star and is charging $148 CAN per night. The hotel website's cheapest rate is $169 CAN. Link to comment
WillTravel Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 WillTravel I know for sure you'll like seeing this post!!! Yep, I sure do :).One thing that might make me try for a higher star level than my normal 1* level in Victoria would be a strong likelihood of a swimming pool, particularly both an indoor and outdoor pool. I don't think this bid would work out to $71 in Canadian, though. The $60 US part (pre-tax/fee) works out to about $82 Canadian, and then taxes/fees on top of that. Still way cheaper than any other price you could get for this place.Let us know how the request for 2 beds goes.Given that a 1* seems to be going for about $34-35 US right now at least, it's not surprising you had to go up some for a 3*. Link to comment
thesqueegeekid Posted June 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 I don't think this bid would work out to $71 in Canadian, though. The $60 US part (pre-tax/fee) works out to about $82 Canadian, and then taxes/fees on top of that. Still way cheaper than any other price you could get for this place. I always post 'after bonus' amounts .... but in this case, the $71 Can was the net result. Link to comment
WillTravel Posted June 22, 2003 Report Share Posted June 22, 2003 thesqueegeekid, how did it go for your friends? Did they like this hotel? Did they get their two beds? Link to comment
thesqueegeekid Posted June 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 I only got second hand info .... but my friend said her friends loved it. There is free internet and they have a great room. The only problem is that she found it difficult to bill her company using a print out of PL's acceptance.I am eager to go back to Van myself ... I remember seeing posts on TOBB for Whistler's summer 4* rates ... $40US. I would however bid for the Empress in Vic as Expedia lists it as a 5* but that would have to be in the off-season ... I couldn't pay mad dollars for it after all your boasting about Paul's Motor Inn ... and I could always just have some tea at the Fairmont. Link to comment
WillTravel Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 Whistler is very nice to visit during the summer particularly if you like hiking. I notice Squamish is also available as a zone. I have tried really lowballing those for various summer dates, and haven't succeeded, but no surprise there. Victoria has had gorgeous weather on each of my May and June visits. I am a cheapskate - but I can definitely see the value for a hotel like the one in this thread over Paul's if it's a family vacation or special family occasion, for example. We've been to Victoria so many times and have our favorite places throughout the city, so it doesn't matter to us much where we stay, so long as it's clean and comfortable. I do think the Coast hotel might provide better value than the Empress - I've heard the rooms are small. The lobby where you go for tea was not that impressive. But who knows - maybe the lobby for registered guests only is much better :). My daughter did say she prefers Paul's over Accent Inn, even though I think Accent Inn is a bit nicer, because it's closer to several of her favorite spots on Yates Street. I asked her which hotel she preferred of the dozen or so hotels we've stayed at together in the past two or three years, ranging from 1* to 3*. Her response was that she preferred the ones across from Disneyland! (There's the location issue again.) She also liked the free breakfast at the Hampton Inn in Bellingham. But in general I agree there's not a great deal of difference among the Doubletree in downtown Portland (3*) or the Best Western Anaheim (2*) or Paul's Motor Inn (1*), except that the first has a pool and fitness center and the second one has a pool. For what it's worth, the first and third both have similar summer Priceline rates in the low-mid $30s, as do many Disney-area hotels. Differentiation at the low-moderate end of the market is difficult, in my opinion. Link to comment
Scorp Posted June 28, 2003 Report Share Posted June 28, 2003 I am eager to go back to Van myself ... I remember seeing posts on TOBB for Whistler's summer 4* rates ... $40US. I would however bid for the Empress in Vic as Expedia lists it as a 5* but that would have to be in the off-season ... I couldn't pay mad dollars for it after all your boasting about Paul's Motor Inn ... and I could always just have some tea at the Fairmont.Hey squeegee, would be happy to help you with any details of Victoria and Vancouver and area, as would WillTravel, I am sure! A couple of thoughts or comments (some of which you probably know, but just for general info)...It is called the Fairmont Empress now, since Canadian Pacific Hotels bought out Fairmont, and the company chose to go with the Fairmont label rather than CP, because they thought it was more recognizable, especially for the US properties they acquired! They also manage Delta hotels in Canada as a wholly owned subsidiary. FHR is their trading symbol and I think they are due to report quarterly earnings mid-July. I agree with WillTravel that in some cases, it is better to bid 3* in Victoria and get either the Coast Harbourside or Laurel Point rather than the Empress. Haven't heard of Laurel Point coming up lately, though. I have stayed at the Coast and go there from time to time for drinks, appies, etc. The rooms are quite nice but not exceptional. Some can seem a bit dark, but you can get some lovely harbour views if you don't mind the seaplanes taking off and landing, and the different ferries and their whistles, etc. The Coast is a little further from downtown than the Empress, but the James Bay neighbourhood it borders on is a very nice area. The Coast is closer to the Dallas Road seawall area which is one of my favourite walks. I really like the lounge and restaurant at the Coast, and it has an indoor-outdoor pool. But I have seen some reports of the Empress lately going for around $60 on Priceline. Some of the tourist traffic has slowed here in Victoria, especially the Asian business, which is a large component most years. So you might try it for $55-$60. I do think many of the Empress rooms are on the small side, but the hotel is charming and the service and staff are the best. Probably easiest to get a larger room if you can live without the harbour view. Personally, I think the tea thing is a bit over-rated, but I really LOVE to go to the Bengal Lounge for drinks and dessert or for their curry buffet. In winter, they light the huge fireplace and in summer the big wood-framed windows can be opened to let the seabreeze flow through. If you drink wine, make sure to ask to see the wine list, it is just incredible. You could try joining the Fairmont President's Club, and inquire about an upgrade at check-in. Check the web-site at:http://www.fairmont.comWe recently stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (a spectacular place to stay) and they upgraded us from a basic room to a spacious suite with deck and lake-view when I gave them my President's Club card. (Although that was not a Priceline stay....)Whistler had some great deals in June, the prices look a bit higher in July and August. We are waiting to hear if Vancouver/Whistler win the Olympic bid, they will announce it on July 2. Would be interesting to see if the $40 rooms are still available this year. One thing to keep in mind with Whistler is that Hotwire includes them in their Vacation Packages, so you can pretty much determine which hotels you might get through Hotwire. thereuare has included the Whistler hotels on the Hotwire Pinned Hotel List. I checked for a friend a few weeks ago for some dates in mid to late June and was betting that the US$54 3.5* was the Summit Lodge, and the US$76 3* was the Best Western Listel. They sometimes have the Westin Whistler Resort on Hotwire. We just stayed at the Westin Whistler a few nights ago. It is a beautiful property, and they upgraded us to an impressive one-bedroom suite with our Starwood Gold status. Again, not a Priceline/Hotwire stay, though...Thank you for all of your posts! Link to comment
thesqueegeekid Posted June 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2003 I had done some fiddling with Hotwire's vacation package when they started it and what amazed me is ...Lets say you put in 7 days the price would come up $1019 with a Whistler resort. When you changed it to 10 days, the price increased slightly to $1100 and than for like 19 days, the price was only $1200. This was months ago and I have not checked iagain since.I can't believe the $60 for the Empress ... I bid Victoria left and right for a 4* when I went there recently in March .... and nothing up to $70. I read one of the posts that mentioned they were given the smallest room in the house but I imagne, even if you paid $150 on Priceline ... you would still get that room.Thanks for all the info Scorp .... I am about to look up their "curry buffet" right now. Link to comment
Scorp Posted June 29, 2003 Report Share Posted June 29, 2003 I am about to look up their "curry buffet" right now.There is some information on their web site, I think they give some details and the hours of service, etc. Fairmont has an excellent Image Gallery of all their properties, by the way. http://www.fairmontimagegallery.com/?SOURCE=ETOOLSYou can look under the Victoria Empress and see photos of the various room types, as well as a couple of photos of my beloved Bengal Lounge (they rearrange or replace the furnishings from time to time). The photos are exceptionally high quality, for the most part. (I once reserved The Library Lounge for a work function for my spouse. Those who attended loved the furnishings and the ambience!) Link to comment
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