Priceline Hotel: Seattle

[mytravels]

This is going to be my first time trying to place a hotel bid on Priceline, and I am hoping to get some good advice for Seattle.

There will be me and another woman travelling to Seattle on May 8-11, 2012 so a safe area is important. We will not have a car, so we want to have pretty easy access to public transportation, and being close to downtown would be ideal. We would likely not be interested in anything less than 2.5 stars. I have looked through the calendar of wins for some ideas and this was helpful. However, I am hoping to get some better ideas regarding zones from those who are familiar with Seattle, as well as suggestions for starting bid prices. And, yes, I will definitely post my bid through this website. Thanks!

[musicphan]

HI...I went to Seattle a year or so ago alone for a long weekend and targeted the area around Pike Market. I bid on a 4* (I think...maybe 3.5*) and got the Westin. I was happy as could be as I love Westin's beds. The location was GREAT - within walking distance to a LOT of great things. I never felt unsafe and walked around at night myself. That general area is great and you'll be fine checking things out on foot. If you're a walker, you can walk to the Space Needle to work off all the tasty vacation food.

Things to consider doing: Seattle Underground Tour - interesting! Dinner at the Pink Door - a cabaret restaurant in Post Alley off of Pike Market - EXCELLENT food; in my top 5 best meals. Get a strawberry & nutella crepe @ Crepe de France in Pike Market. Take the ferry to Bainbridge Island.

ENJOY - it's a great city!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

The Pike Place zone is generally considered the most central location for what you have in mind... the Space Needle zone is do-able, and although this area has improved over the last few years, it's still a distant second choice, imo.

Assuming both are available under your budget, are you willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel OR is your goal the least expensive 2.5* or better for this trip? So we can get a sense of what is possible for your dates, what is your expected target budget for this trip?

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board. (please click this PRICELINE link before replying)

[mytravels]

Thank you for the tips. We are walkers so this all sounds great. Strawberry and nutella crepes.....yummmmmm!

Yes, we are willing to pay higher for up to a 3.5 or 4 star. We just don't want to take a chance with going lower than a 2.5 star place. If $65-$85 is realistic for this time of year, that would be great - we would prefer to stay under $90/night.

[Romelle]

If it turns out your budget won't land the desired star level downtown, I think the Seattle airport hotels are pretty workable for a downtown visit. The light rail is a clean quick shot from the airport. And usually very reasonable too. Popping back to the hotel for an afternoon nap or to stash purchases won't be convenient, but the price might make that inconvenience worthwhile.

If you check Hotwire for your dates, it can give you at least an idea of the relative levels. Priceline tends to be less expensive than Hotwire. And also, Hotwire is a little more generous in awarding star levels (maybe 1/2*).

Have you found the list of hotels yet? The very first post in this Priceline - Washington State area. You can see just what hotels other bidders have reported as successful bids.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Your budget may be a bitm low based upon current prices at the moment, but to give it a try, did you want to:

-bid only for the Pike Place zone

-bid up to your limit for the Pike Place zone before trying for Space Needle

-bid for both the Pike Place and Space Needle zones, getting accepted at whichever is less expensive

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

[mytravels]

Thanks for the help - I will take a look at the HOTWIRE prices. We are not big shoppers or nappers, so the airport idea might be a possibility for us. I did find the list of hotels and have tried to do a lot of reading of the information on this site - all helpful. I hope I will be ready when I make my first bid!

[AaronJB]

Thank you for keeping us updated and please let us know what you decide and if you have any questions.

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