Priceline Hotel: Hotel at SF for 2 Adults and 2 Childred 23/8-27/8

[telegogo]

I am new at PL and prepare for the 1st bid.

I have not been to SF before. Can I have some suggestion on the choice of area in SF? I will do city tour for 2 days and may go somewhere near SF for 2 days. I will rent a car for that period - can be 2 or 4 days - knowing the parking fee is high at SF. is most of the hotel not include parking?

Any tips on bidding hotel for that period? I have not try yet.

i prefer 3 1/2 or 4* hotel.

thanks.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages and clicking these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links... then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at your stay above.

Thanks.

[telegogo]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages and clicking these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links... then reply to this thread and we'll have a look at your stay above.

Thanks.

read the message and click both link already.

[Colfax]

Have you decided which two nights you're staying in SF?

is most of the hotel not include parking?

Plan on paying to park at any 3.5* or 4*, maybe $35-50/night. If you're spending most of your two days around Downtown and Fisherman's Wharf you can probably take cabs everywhere for less than a rental car plus parking will cost.

Priceline only guarantees double occupancy, which could be a room with one bed. If you require two beds Hotwire is the better option because you can enter "2 adults/2 children" and be guaranteed bedding for four.

When you search 2/2 on HOTWIRE do you see any options you're interested in?

[telegogo]

i plan to stay all 4 nights in SF. i am not going too far, must be a day to Standford or UC Berkeley, or a day to Monterey. i don't want to change hotel for the 4 nights.

i am thinking of stay in downtown and rent a car for 2 or 4 days, or stay away from downtown and rent the car for 4 days.

based on that, what are the choices of the area?

thanks

[Colfax]

i am thinking of stay in downtown and rent a car for 2 or 4 days, or stay away from downtown and rent the car for 4 days.

Two beds in the City--either Downtown or Fisherman's Wharf--will probably cost in the $140-180 range.

There are zones outside the city, including Airport, San Mateo, Redwood City where you can often get a 4* or 3.5* for under $100. As a first-time visitor you'll probably have the best time staying Downtown or Fisherman's Wharf though, closer to the attractions.

HOTWIRE has a couple options with two beds guaranteed. (Search on 2 adults/2 children):

1) 3* Fisherman's Wharf $165: (Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Business, Laundry, Highspeed). This looks like the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf.

2) 4* USW-Nob Hill $159: (Fitness, Restaurant, Business, Highspeed). This could be any of Hotel Nikko, Clift, Hilton, or Mark Hopkins.

You can likely beat those HOTWIRE rates bidding the same zones on PRICELINE but two beds aren't guaranteed on Priceline.

Another option: the Hilton SF is a popular choice near Union Square and it's $177.65 prepaid for two beds on Hilton's website. All the car rental agencies are across the street from Hilton, so this would work out well those days you want to rent a car.

Do any of these interest you? Please use this HOTWIRE link if you buy one of those options. If you purchase the Hilton please use the Hilton link in the Support/Travel Link page. Thanks! Let us know if you have other questions.

[telegogo]

thanks.

if those area ( Fisherman's Wharf, USW-Nob Hill and Union Square) safe in the evening and close to public transfer? i won't go out in the midnight, but at least want to feel safe after dinner in the evening.

what if i stay out of downtown? which area worth to try? its seems not much choice of 3 1/2 and 4 star choice if i stay out of downtown.

by the way, i have decided the itin for the two out stay out of the downtown :

- Standford U and Carmel

- Theme park - Great Amercia

[Colfax]

Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square are considered safe areas to walk before midnight, and they're connected by cable car, or you can take a cab.

by the way, i have decided the itin for the two out stay out of the downtown :

- Standford U and Carmel

- Theme park - Great Amercia

I know you said you don't want to switch hotels but driving to Carmel and back from downtown SF, all in one day, won't be convenient. It's 115 miles each direction and heavy traffic the whole way. You could easily spend 4-5 hours in the car that day, not counting the time you'll spend driving around Carmel.

Since you're also visiting Stanford and Great America, which are on the way to Carmel, it makes more sense to me to spend two days in SF and two days closer to your other destinations, probably near San Jose/Santa Clara/Milpitas. Doing that will really cut down on your driving. San Jose area hotels also cost much less than SF, maybe less than half.

But we're happy to help whatever you decide. Let us know if you want help with a bidding strategy and where.

[telegogo]

Really great help.

May i know which area of San Jose is good to stay?

Should I take aras 2, 4, 9 as you mentioned? i have even less knowledge in San Jose.

[telegogo]

By the way, do you think it is also a good idea to stay all 4 nights near SFO airport, South San Francisco, or SFO North - San Bruno? Are these areas good to stay?

i simply drive and park near Bart station and go to the downtown with public transport.

[thereuare]

Should I take aras 2, 4, 9 as you mentioned?

Please provide the zone names, and not the numbers... the numbers will change as PRICELINE adds/removes/renames zones, and for those who know the area and are trying to assist, it saves them from having to look-up which zones you're referring to.

By the way, do you think it is also a good idea to stay all 4 nights near SFO airport, South San Francisco, or SFO North - San Bruno? Are these areas good to stay?

i simply drive and park near Bart station and go to the downtown with public transport.

Keep in mind that even if you stay near the airport many hotels there charge for parking, and you'll also need to find (pay?) for parking near the Bart station. If you intend to take the hotel shuttle to the airport and then BART from the airport, it's certainly do-able, but not convenient as a lot of time is spent waiting for shuttles/trains.

As far as your other questions i'll leave it to those on the board who are a bit more local and familiar with this area to comment.

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

PS- i know it's been mentioned in this thread, but you haven't acknowledged it, you'll be quad occupancy and PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy. To move forward with PRICELINE you'll need to accept the risk of only receiving one bed, which in this area, is potentially a legitimate concern, imo.

[slruud]

Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square are considered safe areas to walk before midnight, and they're connected by cable car, or you can take a cab.

Or the number 30 Stockton bus.

[Colfax]

The key question is: Are you willing to switch hotels once in order to be near Carmel one day?

If you're willing to move once my suggestion is stay the first three nights in SF City (by "SF City" I mean any of the Downtown zones or Fisherman's Wharf) and your last night in Monterey, which is on the route to Carmel.

You can drive to Stanford and/or Great America from Downtown SF in one day. It's only Carmel that's too far for a day trip and back.

If you don't want to switch hotels once then staying four nights at the Airport or San Jose will be more central to your scattered destinations than SF City, and also cost less than downtown SF, probably by about half. But Airport and San Jose aren't as interesting as staying in SF City, and staying at the airport will only shave about 10-15 miles off your 115 mile trip to Carmel.

Which of these basic structures appeals to you most:

1) 4 days SF City (either FW or Downtown)

2) 4 days outside SF City (either airport or San Jose area)

3) 3 days SF City + 1 day near Carmel (probably Monterey)

4) 3 days SF airport + 1 day near Carmel (probably Monterey)

After you decide on the basic structure we can talk more about the various zone options within each structure.

[telegogo]

I deceide to stay 4 nights near SFO and prefer 4 star hotel.

can you suggest the bidding stregery?

[telegogo]

If I choose 4* hotel at area SFO international Airport - Burlingame, will I most likely get one of the following hotels :

- Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront

- Marriott San Francisco Airport Waterfront

- Westin San Francisco Airport

- Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport

any other hotels come up before?

i also found Hyatt is offering at average of USD 147 per night (including all taxes and surcharges), and with double bed room. Do you think I can get a much better deal from Priceline?

[thereuare]

If you want to try bidding on PRICELINE, relative to the $147 rate you can book direct and ensure two beds, what would be your maximum bid for a 4*?

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

[telegogo]

If you want to try bidding on PRICELINE, relative to the $147 rate you can book direct and ensure two beds, what would be your maximum bid for a 4*?

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

May be around US110 (all inclusive)

[Colfax]

We give bid strategies in pre-tax dollars. What is your bidding limit for a 4*, pre-tax? Something like ~$90-95 pretax will be $110 inclusive.

You understand that on Priceline you can get a room with one bed, right?

Hotwire doesn't have any 4* near the airport for your dates, but they have a 3.5* in San Mateo-Redwood City zone, which is a good area close to the airport, with two beds guaranteed for $114. It looks like a match for the Crowne Plaza Foster City, which gets pretty good reviews and has free parking. (The hotels in SFO zone charge.)

Smokefree, Shuttle, Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Business, Laundry, Highspeed, Golf.

If this interests you be sure to search on 2 adults/2 children. The price is the same whether you search on 2/2 or 2/0, but only the 2/2 reservation guarantees two beds.

If you purchase please use this HOTWIRE link and let us know what you get.

Or if you'd rather gamble on two beds on PL let us know your pre-tax limit and someone will give strategy.

[telegogo]

The HOTWIRE offer ends up of USD 138 (all inclusive). In this case, I may prefer Hyatt whcih is few % more, but at least I am certain on the hotel.

I would like to bid at PL for a max of USD 85-90 (of course as low as possible), can I have the bidding strategy?

[Colfax]

At 4* level you have SIX rebid zones in SF. Those are zones that only have less than 4*. Let us know if you need help determining your rebid zones.

Please click this PRICELINE link, select SFO South-Burlingame, and bid $72 for 4*. Then add your rebids, one at a time, raising your bid $3 with each, up to $90.

Good luck and please let us know how your biddding goes.

[telegogo]

Nothing come up even put a max bid of US 95.

Any suggestion? Should I wait for few day? Or it is better to take Hyatt via Hotels.com

I used the PRICELINE link provided in the web-site.

[Colfax]

How about a 4* in PRICELINE's San Mateo zone? San Mateo's right next to the SFO South-Burlingame zone, and I think a 4* win might be possible there in the $60-90 range.

Or a 3.5* in SFO South-Burlingame? Doubletree and Embassy Suites are reported.

[nktravel]

keep in mind that

the SF has ALOT of hills so you may not want drive that much.

if your close to the pier 49 you can walk, ride the cable car.

Another thing to think about is the bart if you want to stay at hotel out side SF

you can take the bart and get off powell go to the cable car and it will take you to pier 49

to avoid traffic.

use google map to get an idea what the area looks like.

yes Carmel is too far.. those guy have good suggestion keep those in mind