Hotwire Hotel: 4* Boston (Quincy Market - Financial District) Omni Parker House

[awja86]

I have used priceline a couple of times in the past for one night and am now looking for a few nights in Boston. Here is our tentative trip: we have a guest certificate to use at the Sheraton in Needham for two nights. We will be in the Boston area from August 9th to 14th so 2 of the nights will be at the Sheraton. I need nights for the rest of the time.

My first question - will I get a better price by bidding for rooms on weekdays or weekends?

Second - we have a car. How does parking work if you bid for a room on Priceline? Am I going to get dinged so bad for parking in some areas that it really isn't going to be a deal (thinking of name your own price) or does it still save you money?

We have a number of things we'd like to do in Boston, ie. the Freedom trail, zoo, for sure. What areas of Boston are best for staying in that we can get on public transportation nearby. Any areas that would not suit this? THanks for your help.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

My first question - will I get a better price by bidding for rooms on weekdays or weekends?

What is the actual date range of your stay? (the free nites at the Sheraton can be used for any two nites in this range?) Are you looking to stay 'Downtown' for the other nites of your stay?

Second - we have a car. How does parking work if you bid for a room on Priceline? Am I going to get dinged so bad for parking in some areas that it really isn't going to be a deal (thinking of name your own price) or does it still save you money?

You pay the same rate as any other guest with a car. Is parking expensive at hotels, "YES", but nothing says you need to park at the hotel you're staying in. In most cities (Boston included) there are plenty of private and municipal owned garages that can be had for less than hotel rates... you can always drop your bags at the hotel and leave your car at an off-site garage for the duration of your stay (if there are any Park N Rides at suburb metro stations that allow overnite parking you could likely leave your car inexpensively there too).

We have a number of things we'd like to do in Boston, ie. the Freedom trail, zoo, for sure. What areas of Boston are best for staying in that we can get on public transportation nearby.

It's not clear from your post... for the non-Sheraton dates are you looking to stay in 'downtown' or in a suburb of the city?

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

[awja86]

We are arriving in the Boston area on Thursday (August 8th) and staying until the Monday or Tuesday. I can use those two nights at the Sheraton in Needham anytime during our stay and we were thinking at the beginning of our trip. Then we would like to stay in a more central area in Boston so I guess downtown is the spot. We don't want to be spending an hour on the subway getting into the city. There seem to be so many geographic areas on Priceline for Boston - Boston Commons, Quincy Market, Beacon Hill, etc. that I wondered which ones were good, convenient and safe to stay in.

Thanks for the idea about parking. I wish you parking could be something you could stipulate with name your own price on Priceline because it can sure add up. But then the deal wouldn't look as good.

[thereuare]

What is your target budget and star rating for the 'downtown' nites?

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

[crito]

Thursday is the 9th :D .

You can check prices by trying HOTWIRE for the various dates. It looks like you would save money by staying downtown first and taking your free Needham nights second, but plug in a few dates to see what you think. (Use the HOTWIRE form on the top left of this page!)

All the regions you mention plus Copley/Back Bay are good, convenient, safe, and all are going to have very good public transport access. For historical tourism, the Commons area is slightly better; for shopping Back Bay; but my recommendation is to include all the downtown zones and go for the best rate (or if you use HOTWIRE, best hotel buy since you might be able to id the hotel).

The commonly-won 3.5* hotels in the Back Bay/Copley area are excellent, by the way (Sheraton and Hilton) -- they both seem to me to be 4* hotels, not sure why they aren't.

Needham is not great for public transport, but Thereuare's suggestion is a good one: you could park-and-ride at Needham Heights on the MBTA commuter light rail, which would be about a half hour to Back Bay.

[awja86]

Our target price is up to $125 and would prefer anything 3 star and up, but would take 2 and a half.

[crito]

Just noticed that you mentioned wanting to visit the zoo. The zoo is in Franklin Park, which is not close to downtown and not accessible by T. (You can take the T plus a bus, but it's not exactly convenient.) So that would be a good expedition from Needham, since parking is fine and both are south of the city.

Hm, if you are bringing kids, you might want to use Hotwire rather than Priceline, to insure that you get enough beds...

[thereuare]

You may be able to get a 3.5* or 4* within your $125 budget... are you willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel (if still within your $125 budget) OR is your goal the least expensive 3* or better for this trip?

Also, have you confirmed if the PRICELINE leg of this trip will be for 8/11-8/13 or 8/11-8/14?

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

[awja86]

THanks for help on this one. We ended up using Hotwire and getting The Omni Parker House for $135. I spent too much time bidding up and changing things on Priceline and was getting nothing in the areas I wanted for up to $125. Hotwire was quick!

[awja86]

Thanks for helping me with the process of finding accommodation in Boston. We used Hotwire for this coming weekend - 4 star for $135 - the Omni Parker House. It looks really nice. We tried doing the name your own price on Priceline, but after $125 for central areas we decided to go with this one - and it will be good.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you found something that works well for your plans and thank you for sharing your win with the board.

Can you please add a reply to this thread confirming the dates you decided upon as well as the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[awja86]

Thanks to those who helped me out in selecting an area of Boston/pricing info. We got the Omni Parker House for $135 a night and it was great. Note that when we got there they told us that we had a traditional room and could upgrade for $30 a night from a double bed to a bigger one. We chose to stay with the traditional room and when we got up to the room it had a queen bed. If you sign up for Omni select (free) you get free WiFi in your room and beverages, ie. coffee, juice, delivered to your room every morning - a nice perk!

This hotel is in a perfect place - we walked everywhere and the subway is nearby. We ended up paying the $42 a night for their valet parking - pricey yes, but when I looked around on the net you have to be out so early from other parking lots and when you use hotel valet parking they are liable for anything happening, ie. break-ins. It also just simply took stress off finding another parking lot.

We had also stayed 2 nights at the Sheraton in Needham - it was very nice! I would recommend it to others, but not for commuting in for touristy stuff as it is a bit off the beaten track.