Priceline Hotel: 4* Los Angeles (Westwood - Century City) Intercontinental Los Angeles Century City

[Royce8919]

Just new to this forum. Planning to stay in LA for the weekend with my girlfriend, 5/26-5/28.

Ideally, I want to stay close to Hollywood for the views. But the rates might be high. One of my friend told me that Westwood (close to UCLA) is a nice place and I should try that. So my options would be either the two places.

I am expecting at least a 4-star hotel and am willing to pay in the 100-150 range (200 is acceptable if the hotel is well deserved).

As to the website that I should use, my friend says that I should use Hotwire for pre-planned bids and use Priceline for next-day bids. Any advice on which site to use according to my situation? And what would be the appropriate bidding strategy?

I have clicked the link provided:

Priceline

Hotwire

Please let me know if there is anything more that I need to do and I look forward to any help from you guys. Thanks.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Whether PRICELINE or HOTWIRE is 'better' depends upon your needs/plans for the stay. Generally speaking, PRICELINE usually costs a little less but you need to be willing to accept any hotel in the zone at the star level (or higher) that you choose... HOTWIRE usually costs a little more but you're told the amenities that the hotel offers beforehand (which also gives you the ability to take a guess as the hotel being offered). Therefore if price is the most important factor PRICELINE is usually the 'better' option... if you're looking for a specific amenity (ie- knowing for certain the the hotel has a Pool or is located on the Beach) or want to take a guess as to the hotel you may receive, then HOTWIRE can be a better option.

For your dates i am seeing what appears to be the Hotel Palomar in Westwood-Century City zone for ~$135/nite... it's gets GREAT reviews from Tripadvisor and being a Kimpton property offers an evening wine reception each nite which is a nice way to end the day or start a nite out on the town.

Based upon the above let us know if you're interested in this HOTWIRE property OR you'd prefer to 'roll the dice' in hopes for a lower price for any hotel in the zone(s) that you select and we'll take it from there.

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

[Royce8919]

Thank you so much, thereuare! Hotel Palomar looks awesome to me. If there is no other better choices, I will definitely take this one.

I am also willing to bid on on similar hotels like this Hotel Palomar on PRICELINE if prices are lower. Just not sure if there is a chance for me to get a hotel which is still 4 star but overall just so-so. I would like to hear from any strategies on bidding.

One question is that since I am going to rent a car, does hotels on PRICELINE guarantee free parking facilities or does it still depend on the hotel? Thank you so much.

[thereuare]

I am also willing to bid on on similar hotels like this Hotel Palomar on PRICELINE if prices are lower. Just not sure if there is a chance for me to get a hotel which is still 4 star but overall just so-so.

That's the trade-off... with HOTWIRE you have a 'pretty good' guess that this is the Palomar, and if by chance this guess is wrong, you still know that the hotel you're about to receive is 4.5/5.0 rated on TA (which is excellent) and recommend by 95% of previous HOTWIRE guests... with PRICELINE you may get a slightly lower rate, but it could be any 4* hotel in the zone(s) that you bid (so it may be the Palomar for a little less OR it may be some other 4* hotel not be as highly rated). Ultimately it comes down to what is most important to you for this stay... the lowest price or the type/quality of the hotel you receive?

One question is that since I am going to rent a car, does hotels on PRICELINE guarantee free parking facilities or does it still depend on the hotel?

Parking fees are set by and paid directly to the hotel, and i suspect that this in this are most places will charge for parking.

Let us know your thoughts and how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

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

[Royce8919]

Thank you so much thereuare. According what you have said, I think I will go for Hotel Palomar. Your reply is really appreciated.

As long as trying to get Palomar, is there any strategy for me to take on HOTWIRE to make sure that this is Palomar or something close.

Thank you again, and I will post my results if I succeed.

[thereuare]

Look for the exact same amenities above and after clicking the red continue button (with the price in it) on the next page look for the 4.5/5.0 Tripadvisor rating... these would be confirming factors and increase the likelihood of receiving the Palomar (and as per above, if it should by chance be some other property, you have the assurance that it's a 'good one' given the high TA rating)

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Royce8919]

Thanks a lot.

I've been busy these days so I am only able to book my hotel until today. The hotel showing on Hotwire seems to be changed, and it didn't seemed to be Palomar anymore (I don't know if there are any ways to let me see other choices in the same region, if there are, please do tell me).

Anyway, since I realized that parking may cost a lot, I decided to cut my budget on the hotel and instead bit on Priceline. I used the PRICELINE link and went all the way to 120 and won Intercontinental LA Century City. Then I checked Hotwire and I guess the one priced 117 might just be Intercontinental LA as well. Anyway, first time trying bid and am quite satisfied. Could do better tho.

Thanks for the tip, and I will come back for help in the future.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Still not a bad deal for this Intercontinental property - hope you are pleased with the result and are looking forward to your stay.

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

Enjoy your stay.