Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Orange County (Disneyland-Anaheim) Red Lion

[Jasette]

I am trying to book a two-night stay with my friends for 6/6/11-6/8/11. Priceline seems the best way to go. Please help me achieve success!

I am worried that the "Garden Grove" set of hotels might include some that are too far away (as in, more than 3/4-1 mile) from Disneyland, and may not provide shuttle service. Am I right to worry?

Additionally, does anyone have any more information on the 3.5* hotels available in this region? Are the Red Lion and Sheraton it?

From posts on this forum it seems I can aim for somewhere between $40 and $60 per night? Is that about accurate?

This will be my second time using this bidding process so I am still a bit wet behind the ears. I did use your provided PRICELINE link, and will continue to do so...

Somewhat unrelated: we were hoping to, if possible, find somewhere that offers free breakfast. I know Hotwire is the the place to go for specific amenities but I couldn't find that one listen anywhere. Am I blind or just not looking in the right place? On similar note, does Hotwire have shuttle service listed as an amenity? (If so, I could possibly widen my parameters on there...)

Thank you for your help, and sorry if this was a bit disconnected... I should go to bed soon.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I am trying to book a two-night stay with my friends...

How many guests will you be in total and how many rooms did you intend to bid for? Keep in mind that PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, after that it's at the discretion of the hotel, and you could receive a room with only one bed. While you can call the hotel you win and request a room with two beds, the hotel may not be able, or willing, to honor your request. Is this a risk you're willing to accept? If not, HOTWIRE may still be an option as they allow you to search for up to quad occupancy and ensure sleeping accommodations for everyone you include in your search (although this usually means two beds, the second 'bed' could be a sofabed, rollaway, etc)

I am worried that the "Garden Grove" set of hotels might include some that are too far away (as in, more than 3/4-1 mile) from Disneyland, and may not provide shuttle service. Am I right to worry?

You can look at the Priceline Hotel List to see the 'known' hotels reported to the board in each zone and then determine if they are close enough to the park for you and/or if they offer shuttle service. You can also use this link in conjunction with MAPSandHOTELS.com to gauge the location and distance to disneyland.

Additionally, does anyone have any more information on the 3.5* hotels available in this region? Are the Red Lion and Sheraton it?

These are currently the only two 3.5* rated hotels reported to the board, but there could always be others as new hotels are added, and others are upgraded/downgraded, often. As well, remember that the star rating you select is the minimum that you are willing to accept, and PRICELINE could always upgrade your 3.5* bid to a 4* rated hotel.

From posts on this forum it seems I can aim for somewhere between $40 and $60 per night? Is that about accurate?

Perhaps near the high end of this range, or it may take a little more.

Somewhat unrelated: we were hoping to, if possible, find somewhere that offers free breakfast. I know Hotwire is the the place to go for specific amenities but I couldn't find that one listen anywhere. Am I blind or just not looking in the right place? On similar note, does Hotwire have shuttle service listed as an amenity? (If so, I could possibly widen my parameters on there...)

HOTWIRE will only show one hotel at each star rating per zone, so the hotel(s) being offered for your particular dates may not offer this amenity. I did a quick search for 1room/2adults (again, you didn't list the number of rooms/guests you need which can alter the offerings) and hotels with Complimentary Breakfast don't appear until you hit the 2.5* rating. HOTWIRE does use a Shuttle icon, but it represents an AIRPORT shuttle, not shuttles to the disney parks.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Jasette]

Thank you for your response!

The people staying in the room are 2 adults (myself included) and one 17-year-old, who seems to qualify as a "child."

I'm going to do a bunch of research on both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE and get back to you on what I decide... thank you again for your help. :)

[yellowdog]

Jasette

Keep us updated and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.

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

Yellowdog.

[Jasette]

After some discussion with my trip mates and researching both priceline and hotwire, I've decided that 3.5*+ on Priceline is the way to go. It seems I can save much more on Priceline than on Hotwire most of the time and I think I like the hotel choices on the priceline list more than those available on the Hotwire...

Additionally, we have decided that if we can get a room for a nice cheap price we can always just bring muffins or something for breakfast with us.

So. How low do you think I should start?

EDIT: Thought I should add. Long story short, after telling my trip mates about the deals I could make on Priceline, we decided to stay four days at the hotel instead of two - so the dates are now 6/6/11-6/10/11.

[yellowdog]

Jasette

Is Garden Grove the only zone you're willing to accept?

Also please post your budget/night before tax/fee for a 3.5* and 4* if you want to try that.

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

Yellowdog.

[Jasette]

Yellowdog -- I actually only want hotels in the "Disneyland - Anaheim" region. I decided against Garden Grove -- too much reliance on shuttles there.

Of course, I really just want the lowest price possible for these hotels. However, I will say that I would prefer not to pay more than say, about $70 a night without taxes and fees. Give or take a couple dollars. My price there would have been more like $80 were it not for the risk of 4* hotels with exorbitant parking fees...

Ideally I'd like a 3.5* hotel from anywhere between $50-75 per night. I know I don't really have a choice of whether I get a 3.5 or 4 star hotel, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

[thereuare]

The people staying in the room are 2 adults (myself included) and one 17-year-old, who seems to qualify as a "child."

Note that PRICELINE doesn't differentiate between adults and children... all they guarantee is double occupancy. This area is used to accommodating families so the risk of landing a room with only one bed is less here then say in a large city such as NYC or Chicago, but it's still a risk you need to be aware of.

If you still want to to move forward with PRICELINE you can try as follows:

At the 3.5* level you have FOUR re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 3.5* Disneyland-Anaheim...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Jasette]

Thank you so much for your help! Using your bid scheme I was able to book the Red Lion Hotel Anaheim at $70 a night. Not bad, I think.

[yellowdog]

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Enjoy your stay.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.