Priceline Hotel: More failed bids in Philly Nov/Dec

[mini__me]

Hey there :)

I'm looking to visit Philly from the UK for my 5th time and go there using priceline for the 4th time :)

The dates I'm after are:

Nov 19th through Nov 28th

and

Dec 2nd through Dec 12th

The gap in between is for a short break in Miami that I have already sorted for ~$42 a night with a nice cheap flight from US Airways for $158 return inc tax :o

I tried 4* Downtown using all free rebid zones up to

[thereuare]

It is still very early.

Rates for the first part of your stay are not low, but also not outside of the range where we typically see reasonable bids accepted. The second half of your stay rates are a bit higher... but for both i wouldn't rush this. If you're concerned book a cancellable back-up in the meantime.

I don't know the full range of your plans, but almost 20 days in Philadelphia (for a pure leisure trip) seems like a long time. Maybe you would want to consider spending some of that time in NYC or Washington DC, both of which can be reached from Philadelphia fairly inexpensively.

Keep us updated as to your progress and/or if any additional questions arise.

PS- going forward please use this thread for your first set of dates and start a NEW TOPIC for your second set of dates (as different hotels, prices, etc may be had for each set of dates)

[mini__me]

Thx for the reply :)

No worries with splitting it up when I win something :)

The reason for the long stay in Philly is so I can watch the Eagles :o

I fly in to Philly Nov 19th and want somewhere to dump off my junk and shower before I hit a bar to catch up with a few friends. I'm then going to get up early the next day to catch the Greyhound to NY for the Eagles @ Giants. I did think of staying in NY that night, however last year I got a Hotel in Secaucase (spelling) and so have done the whole day thing in NY. I just got the NJ Transit in instead of waking up in the city. Plus it means I can catch the Greyhound back to Philly night of the game and hopefully celebrate with a bunch of Birds fans.

Week after I there's thx giving and stuff which is cool in Philly as I know a bar that does free food and is v.friendly, then the Packers game....

Then I hit Miami as the post above says for 4 nights and back into Philly Friday for Army v. Navy on Saturday, Sunday rest and then MNF :)

I guess that then I have a few day spare that I could visit other places.....or I could just get drunk and hang out with friends in Philly.....then Giants again on Sunday and fly back Monday.

So I don't really have much time to play with, lol

Just to stray back onto topic, the prices on hotwire for both sets of dates aren't too different for what I believe are the Crown Plaza (Downtown East) and the Holiday Inn (Historic) with the Crown Plaza being the more expensive of the two. Although as you say when you check the hotel websites there is quite a difference.

I'll keep you updated as to how it goes, thx again

[dahammer]

Off topic, but the Eagles owner, Jeff Laurie said NO to renegotiating the contract of Terrill Owens.... if you go to see the Eagles beat the Giants in the Meadowlands, you might not want to wear too much "midnight green" the colors of the Eagles......

On topic, I like the location of the Holiday Inn at 4th and Chestnut, it's a block away from some really good watering holes, plus the Bus Terminal is a block off 8th and Market. Finally, you will be close to Chinatown, there are several independant bus companies that go from Philly to NYC for $12 each way.

[mini__me]

Yeah it is in a good position, and is going pretty cheap on HOTWIRE at the moment so that's always an option if I need to use it.

Every time I've been over people tell me about the "China Bus" that goes to NYC for $12 but no one I have actually spoken to seems to know exactly where it departs from! If you have any further info I would appreciate it, as it will mean I'll have an extra $14 for two more beers at the Meadowlands :o

I'm not bothered about wearing the Green away, well not in NY anyways! I was given a few beers by some Giants fans last season just for being from the UK and flying out to watch the Eagles play.

As a sort of update to this thread, there is a website over here in the UK called lastminute.com that you can book cheap getaways and other stuff. On there in Philly they only have dates roughly 5 months in advance....

This got me thinking perhaps they use the same channels as hotwire and priceline use to book the hotels, so I tried the last dates that they had availability for in hotwire and boom the prices were cheap as chips. They had the Hyatt for $68 a night :) Just to check that this was working I tried a few days in advance and the prices were the normal ~$120 again. So I waited a few days then checked it out again and it was down to $68 :)

Based on the dates that lastminute.com run in Philly, I figure that I should start my priceline bidding Friday June 3rd for the first 9 days in Philly and Sat June 18th for the second 10. Although that may change as I'll regularly check lastminute.com for there last available dates and when it matches the last day of my stay for each I'll start my bidding :)

[thereuare]

This is the address of at least one pick-up/drop-off point in Philadelphia:

121 N 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

[dahammer]

Mini,

not sure if you can get off at the Meadowlands on one of the "Chinatown" busses, they may just go from Philly to NYC direct, no stops. By the By, if you go with Lastminute.com, can you please use the following link? Support BetterBidding This will help to support this great message board.

[dahammer]

As far as waiting until June to start bidding, I don't know if that will make any difference. Lastminute might only get rooms within 5 months, but Hotwire and Priceline do not have this restriction. You have lots of time, you might want to start low, toss some bread on the water and see if they bite :)

We went to the Army-Navy game last year for the first time, and it was a spectacular event, just make sure you hit the loo before you que up to get into the stadium. Security was pretty tight and I was in line for about 45 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity after quaffing a few.... :) This is a big weekend for Philly hotels, and it might be difficult to get lower priced accomodations for Friday and Saturday night, so these are the dates you will need to consider splitting your bid.

Don't forget to hit the Dickens Inn while in town for Bangers and Mash, washed down with a Newcastle, you'll think you were over 'ome.

[mini__me]

Yeah I don't think that any of the China buses will actually stop by the meadowlands I 'm happy to pay $24 return to NY then the $7 return to the Meadowlands on the NJ Transit :)

When I have been bidding up till yesterday, but nothing cheap as yet I've bid upto

[Shea77]

Besides the Chinatown bus, for a few dollars more (I think $17. each way) you can take the train. Take the Septa R7 train from Philly to Trenton, NJ, then in Trenton hop on the NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Train, which goes into New York Penn Station. This is so much cheaper than Amtrak, which is a complete rip off.

www.njtransit.com

www.septa.com

Have fun - Go Eagles!

[dahammer]

The Doubletree is a nice hotel but its location is on Broad Street/Avenue of the Arts, close to several theaters and easy access to the Broad Street Subway to Lincoln Financial Field. You will also be close to the oldest, continuously operated bar in the city: McGillins Old Ale House established in 1860. You'll be close to the Nodding Head brewpub as well.