Priceline Hotel: 3* Durango Holiday Inn

[hcm]

I never expected to pay this much but chalk it up to a very busy summer vacation season and the fact this was a Saturday night stay.

I made so many bids on so many star levels that I will summarize my bids instead of give them all exactly - suffice it to say that this was the best possible price.

I could see that all the hotels in Durango were quite expensive, with no bargains in town at all. This was true on Priceline as well as Expedia. 3*s were retailing for $209 and up (Residence and Doubletree), 2.5* for $169 (Hampton), and 2* for $149 (Ramada) - so I hoped I could buy for 1/3 to 1/2 the retail price. I ended up paying 38% below retail, which is alright but not as good as I'm used to.

Each day I would bid a given price for a 3*, then add star levels down if I couldn't at least get a counteroffer. I started two weeks early, and started low: $70 for a 3*, then $70 for a 2.5*, then $70 for a 2*. The next day I would move up $5. Bottom line, I never even got a bite until I got to $115 for a 3*, where I got a $135 counteroffer. I then continued raising the bid $5 at a time and finally got it at $130 about 3 days before we arrived.

So basically, at least for a Saturday in the height of tourist season, $130 is as low as it goes.

As for the quality of the hotel: the Holiday Inn was fine. It is not fancy, but it was clean and well managed. The property was totally sold out when we arrived, so we had no choice in room, but our room was quiet and faced the river behind the hotel. The hotel pool was not as clear as it should have been, but the kids loved it, and it was a nice pool area and hot tub. There is an Applebees restaurant in the hotel and it was busy - we didn't eat there but the folks looked happy and well fed :). The hotel is VERY convenient. It is about two blocks from the famous Durango-Silverton train station, and one block from Main Street. The Strater Theater, where they have an extremely well performed melodrama and vaudeville show for the family, is about 2 blocks away. We saw the other hotels, like the Residence Inn, and though they were more modern than the Holiday Inn, they were much further away, so I would prefer this hotel for that reason.

I hope this is helpful. I don't usually write long reviews, but there was nothing at all posted when I did my research, so I wanted to "leave the forum a richer place than I found it."

And I used the PRICELINE link on this forum to make my bids.

Details:

Check-In Date: Saturday, August 7, 2010

Check-Out Date: Sunday, August 8, 2010

Priceline Hotel Request Number: 840-459-361-02

Priceline Customer Service Number: 1-800-657-9168

Hotel Name: Holiday Inn Durango

800 Camino Del Rio

Durango, Colorado 81301

Your Offer Price: $130.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 1

Subtotal: $130.00

Taxes and Fees: $22.45

Total Charges*: $152.45

[yellowdog]

Congratulations on your success!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding :)

Also thanx for the addition for this new property to the BetterBidding Priceline Hotel List

Good to see that you enjoyed the stay.

Yellowdog.