Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Orlando (Lake Buena Vista-Downtown Disney) Fairfield Inn

[Thespian]

Needed a room near one of the Disney entrances (Maingate or LBV/Downtown Disney). Decided to bid on LBV as the zone is smaller and the winning hotel likely to be closer to the parks. Wanted a 2.5* for the free parking, free breakfast, and lack of attitude.

My guidelines: Priceline showed a "recent winning bid" of $40 for a 2.5* in LBV. This is a fairly new feature on PL; the amounts are probably high, but they look more helpful than PL's supposed retail prices, which are pure fantasy. Hotwire has been showing $49 for a 2.5* in LBV, and a popular semi-opaque site has two for $45 each and one at $39.

With plenty of lead time, I lowballed with an initial bid of $33. It was rejected with a counter-offer of $48. We all know what counter-offers are worth, so I ignored it, added Winter Park, and bid $35. I thought I might get the Orlando Vista, which gets mixed reviews but is really close to the Disney entrance. I was hoping for something a little nicer and praying I wouldn't be upgraded to one of the fee-happy 3* places on Hotel Plaza Boulevard.

BINGO! I got the Fairfield Inn and Suites in the Marriott Village. It was recently renovated and gets great reviews (got a TripAdvisor Top 10 award last year). Direct price for my dates is $79, so I'm paying less than half price. Am I happy? You bet!

Used the PRICELINE link from BetterBidding.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you're happy with the results and this property works well for your plans.

Thank you for using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding and sharing your win, helping us add this property to the Priceline Hotel List.

Enjoy your stay.