Priceline Hotel: Any luck getting 3 people in a 4* room?

[Bluemoon71]

Hello,

I understand that there is no guarantee that a hotel will accommodate more than 2 people, but does anyone know of hotels where it is definitely not possible to have 3 people? Also, has anyone had luck with accommodating 3 people in a San Fran hotel? We do not mind doing a double/queen and a roll away. Also, we are planning to book only 4* and preferably in the Embarcadero area (meaning it is likely we would be looking at the following hotels: Omni San Francisco, Hyatt Regency, Hilton Financial District, and the Le Meridian). The deals are so much at Priceline, so I would prefer to use them over Hotwire, but maybe it is just too risky. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide!!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

The issue with PRICELINE is that it guarantees double occupancy/1 bed. I'm guessing the majority (if not all) San Fran hotels will allow 3 people in the room. However, the hotel could definitely say no to two beds.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Colfax]

Westin St Francis in USE and Nikko in USW are known for giving Priceline customers smaller rooms with one bed, and offering an upgrade to a larger room and/or two-bed room for an additional fee, on the order of $25-35/night. This isn't necessarily "Priceline attitude" as those two hotels (and others in downtown SF, though not all) charge more for two bed rooms to customers who book conventionally as well.

The 3* Chancellor in USE only permits two persons per room. Chancellor's two-bed rooms are two TWIN beds and they don't allow rollaways.

Also, we are planning to book only 4* and preferably in the Embarcadero area (meaning it is likely we would be looking at the following hotels: Omni San Francisco, Hyatt Regency, Hilton Financial District, and the Le Meridian).

My impression is it's easier to get two beds in Embarcadero and SOMA zones than in USE or USW. USE and USE have more of SF's early century and "classic" hotels, which tend to have smaller rooms, while Emb and SOMA have more modern hotels with larger rooms. I'm generalizing though, as there are modern hotels (Hilton, Parc55, Grand Hyatt) near Union Square too, and older hotels (like the Palace) in SOMA.

Bottom line: PRICELINE only guarantees one bed. To guarantee two beds use HOTWIRE or some other booking channel. If you want to gamble on getting two beds on PRICELINE then Embarcadero-Financial District zone is probably your best bet, at 4* level only.

What are your travel dates?

Please let us know what you come up with. Good luck!

[Bluemoon71]

Thanks for all of the replies!! We are traveling from August 20-27. Does that make a difference?

[AaronJB]

Dates would not have an effect on the bedding situation. If you do definitely need 2 beds, HOTWIRE would be a better choice.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

Based upon the above how would you like to proceed? If you search HOTWIRE for triple occupancy is there anything which apepars within your budget, zone and desired star rating?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Bluemoon71]

2-star hotel in Union Square East $109 8/20-8/27

This hotel features the following amenities:

Boutique Hotel

Smoke Free Rooms

Business Center

High-speed Internet Access

Recommended in 85% of Hotwire customer reviews

Overall satisfaction 4.5 on Trip Advisor

Thanks!!

[Bluemoon71]

Based upon the above how would you like to proceed? If you search HOTWIRE for triple occupancy is there anything which apepars within your budget, zone and desired star rating?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

I've taken another look at HOTWIRE, and we are still trying to decide if the risk is worth the potential to have a much nicer hotel at a cheaper price through PRICELINE. Sure is tempting :)

[yellowdog]

Bluemoon71

Please keep all posts in the same thread since posts are for the same dates. We will edit and move your thread in the end.

Best guess would be The Baldwin. I'll add the caveat that this HOTWIRE offering is showing a 4.5/5 Tripadvisor rating associated with this property, whereas the Baldwin currently showing a 4. The TA rating shown by HOTWIRE is not update in realtime (it's only updated about once a month) so it's possible that the rating has changed since HOTWIRE's last update. This does cast a shadow of doubt over this ID.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE link to start your purchase, and let us know how it goes or if you need any additional help with your stay.

Yellowdog.

[slruud]

Why mess around with a 2* for $109/nite, when you can get the 4* Parc 55 Wyndham for $101/nite on Lastminutetravel.com? This is for a room that sleeps 3. Location is great, and for a week long stay, great price. Good luck.

[Bluemoon71]

Why mess around with a 2* for $109/nite, when you can get the 4* Parc 55 Wyndham for $101/nite on Lastminutetravel.com? This is for a room that sleeps 3. Location is great, and for a week long stay, great price. Good luck.

Oooh, I hadn't even heard of lastminutetravel.com! That would be a great option! Silly question, but have people used them before? Are they reliable? When it says "Please note you are within cancellation penalty of 25 USD fee," does that mean you can cancel at least 7 days before and only pay a $25 cancellation fee?

The only reason I see now to chance it with Priceline is for a slightly nicer location and cheaper price. If we did do Priceline, here would be my plan: after winning a bid, call the hotel to request 2 beds (understanding that this request may not be fulfilled at the time of check in). At check in if 2 beds were not available, ask for a rollaway, and if that was not available, person #3 would sleep on the floor :) If it were you, would you take the chance and stay in the Embarcadero area? I have never been to San Fran before, but I have heard that Embarcadero is one of the nicest areas to stay.

Thanks!

[slruud]

Yes, you have the cancellation policy correct.

You can try Priceline and get a cheaper price, but most of the USE/USW hotels are not that far apart, with the exception of the Nob Hill properties, so you are pretty much in the same location.

I myself prefer the Fingancial District/Embarcadero area because of the Omni, which is my hotel of choice. I would accept any of the 4* hotels in the FD/E over some in the Union Square area. The Embarcadero area is not as busy as the Union Square area pedestrian wise, and the incidence of homelessness is less. Transportation is easy...a cable car goes back and forth on California Street, and the F-line trolley goes back and forth on Market to Fishermans Wharf. The Muni subway can get you to the outlying parts of the city easy enough, and a 7 day pass for unlimited use is $26. The ideal hotel transportation wise would be the Hyatt Embarcadero.

That's all for now, you still have plenty of time.

[Gallus50]

IN FD/E, the BART is really close, too.

For a week, I wouldn't risk someone not having a bed - especially when you could book somewhere for around $100 a night that would guarantee it. You might want to check Grosvenor House Suites or Gaylord Suites also - they have weekly rates, and since they have kitchens of some sort, you'd save some money that way. Possibly the Donatello as well.

[Bluemoon71]

IN FD/E, the BART is really close, too.

For a week, I wouldn't risk someone not having a bed - especially when you could book somewhere for around $100 a night that would guarantee it. You might want to check Grosvenor House Suites or Gaylord Suites also - they have weekly rates, and since they have kitchens of some sort, you'd save some money that way. Possibly the Donatello as well.

Thank you all for your help and advice! I booked the Parc 55 on lastminutetravel.com for $101/night with guaranteed beds for 3 people. Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

Thank you for closing the thread. Enjoy your stay.

[Colfax]

That's great, Bluemoon71! Parc55 is a very central location and now you don't have to worry about someone having to sleep on the floor.

Enjoy your stay.

p.s. Nice find, slruud!