Priceline Hotel: Resort San Juan Intercontinental San Juan Resort Spa And Casino

[sgrd0q]

Got a post-cruise hotel though PRICELINE (reported in a separate priceline hotel thread on this board) about a week ago.

At the same time I was looking for a pre-cruise hotel too. Bid up to $105 on Priceline without success for the following:

• 4*
  
• San Juan PR
  
• 11/18-11/20
  

At the same time (about a week ago) Hotwire had a 4* hotel (fitting the description of Intercontinental) for San Juan PR for the above dates in the range of $104 - $115. (I really should have acted then, but did not.)

The last few days the price on HOTWIRE for the above went up to $160 - $169. Also had no bites as of yesterday on PRICELINE for up to $135. My pre cruise stay is Fri-Sun. Out of interest I checked the Fri-Sun availability the week before and the week before that. While those were available initially in the $110 range on Hotwire for a while, they also went up and are now completely gone. What is more alarming is that the Intercontinental website itself has no availability for those dates either (though other 4 and 5 * hotels seem to have more availability).

I have an interesting dilemma - pay the $160+ now at Hotwire, or risk it and wait longer for the prices to drop. In the worst case I can pay retail for a 4 or 5 * hotel in the $200-$300 range.

Any thoughts? Is there a conference going on or is PR truly that busy on weekends?

[thereuare]

I just searched HOTWIRE for your dates and (at least on my search) isn't the Inter-Continental the 4* hotel currently offered at ~$165?

What is the $200 hotel you can get thru traditional booking channels? If just as good as the InterContinental (although the IC is one of the properties on the island, imo) and fully refundable i don't think i would lock in a non-refundable rate now in order to save $35... if the equivalent hotels are near $300/nite then it would be worth locking in $165/nite.

HOWEVER, i would likely sooner increase your PRICELINE bid... $105 is still a 'good amount' away from $165, and given the tighter demand you're currently seeing, if you could get something at ~$140 or below i would be comfortable locking that in now, given the risk/reward ratio you're facing.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[sgrd0q]

Thanks for the reply. The retail rate at the Intercontinental web site for my dates 11/18-11/20 is $207.

I just went back to PRICELINE and started increasing my bids by $2 (using San Juan plus permutations or areas that do not offer resorts or 4 * hotels). I figured I'd stop at $151 but got a winning bid at $149 for the Intercontinental. Almost 30% off, and borderline worth it compared to booking retail. Thanks!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Given that visible inventory was drying up i think this is a pretty good deal for what is one of the better rated hotels on the island... it has a great pool and is on a great section of the beach.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.