Priceline Hotel: Need Guidance - Help please!!

[Sweety2008]

Help Please! I'd like to book a hotel for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children ages 16 and10) in Virginia Beach...close to the beach would be nice. I'm afraid of not getting a nice hotel or worse yet, not being able to add my children to the stay or being able to add at a high cost. I had a chat with Priceline and they said that I can request it but it is not guaranteed. I've looked at Hotwire and Priceline both a little...not completely sure about them. I like the "name your price" feature, but I'm confused and unsure of which way to go...Hotwire or Priceline. I am on a very tight budget but would like to give my kiddos a getaway at the beach. Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking for the following:

Hotel: 3 stars (at least)

Dates: Memorial Day weekend 5/27/11-5/30/11 (Fri to Mon)

Location: Virginia Beach, VA (near beach area preferred)

Thank you!!!

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

PRICELINE guarantees 1 bed/double occupancy. You can request more than one bed with the hotel, but there is a chance that they are unable (policy, etc), unwilling (availability) or may upcharge (if two beds at the particular property are usually more expensive) for two beds vs. one. They certainly may be willing to work with you and it may not be a problem, but using the service for two beds is a risk (especially in some major cities like NYC). With HOTWIRE, you can indicate the number of people in the party, and that ensures some form of bedding (usually two beds but may be 1 + sofabed or other combination.) for the whole party.

If you search on HOTWIRE for your dates, are there any listings of interest?

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

[Sweety2008]

Thank you!! The one affordable listing was for $69 in Norfolk (can't remember the spelling) I guess close to the airport which is away from the area I'd like to book and it's a 2 star. I've stayed in 2 stars before, but I know what hotel. Not knowing is the scary part. I'm unsure of what to do. If I book through Orbitz or any like it I pay more than what I can afford. So I don't know if I should do PRICELINE or HOTWIRE. Have families with children done it through both and have they been okay at checking? Anyone with issues or bad experiences? If I end up in a hotel that won't take my two kids for one reason or another I'll be really screwed. So I don't know which would be best.

[AaronJB]

There's no way to guarantee, but with PRICELINE, I don't think there will be an occupancy max issue (party of four, max in room for code 2-3) as much as an issue of the hotel is fine with 4, but may not be willing or able (or may try to upcharge) to give you a room with two beds. You may have no trouble and they be very happy to work with you on bedding; there's no way to know for sure. If you are willing to take the risk and can "make it work" if you do wind up with one bed (and again, you may have no problems at all), then PRICELINE should be fine. What would be your desired budget per night?

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

[Sweety2008]

No more than $100 per night...I know it is low, but again...budget is very tight. I'm hoping to find something good and affordable close to the beach.

[manypims]

Sweety:

I just got a 3* priceline room on the beach at Virginia Beach for $75. Granted, it was during the week and not during the busy Memorial Day weekend. Still, you might be able to get something near the beach for about $100. Using your dates, I just pulled up the Priceline map and focused on the Virginia Beach (area) zone. I think 4* and 3 1/2* would be out of your price range, but you may be able to snag a 3* for around $100. The Wyndham Oceanfront is listed at $170 and the Doubletree is $161. Unfortunately, the Doubletree is near the convention center about a mile from the beach and the chances of getting that vs. the Wyndham are a little higher. But, you never know. Using the "Virginia Beach Area" zone for 3*, you get one bid plus three free re-bids. I'd start at $85 and work my way up to $100 in $5 increments and see what happens. Surprisingly, the 2 1/2* properties showing up in that zone are all more expensive than the two hotels above. But you could always give that a shot since you have one bid plus two free re-bids.

Looking at Hotwire, the lowest price for the "Virginia Beach Seaside" zone is a 2* for $118. However, if you add in "Virginia Beach Area" zone hotels, you can get a 3 1/2* for $110. From looking at the Hotwire hotel list, this is more than likely the Founders Inn and Spa, which is the exact same price on Hotels.com The bad news is that it is 15 miles from the beach.

It sounds like you are going to have to decide on price vs. proximity to the beach. Good luck.

[hankerka]

I reserved on hotwire what turned out to be the Founder's Inn a couple of weeks or so ago for $61/night for 5/27-5/29. Just days ago it remained at that price. Not sure that it will go back down. Note this also does not include a resort fee of ~ $15 - 20 per night.

You could split your stay if that seems to be an option. In that case you could get a 3.5* presumably the Sheraton Oceanfront for $116 for Friday night and then away from the beach for the other nights for cheaper since the Oceanfront costs goes up significantly for Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday also seems to be a big night for performers on the 3 stages of the beach which also explains the cost.