Priceline Hotel: 3* Philadelphia Suburbs (Plymouth Meeting)Marriott

[freecia]

Please advise:

Dates: Fri 9/9/2005- Sun 9/11/2005

Starting Bid:

4* $60- downtown, rejected

Added University Area, upped bid to $65, rejected.

Signed out.

Second bid:

bid for Downtown 3* at $50

Rejected

Added Stadium Area and upped bid to $55

Rejected

Rack Rates for stay:

Marriott Downtown : 199/night

Crowne Plaza: 159.95/night

Average rate on Expedia for 4* seems to be about $200 and it doesn't show any hotels being "sold out" at this time.

What gives? Please advise. Bid at 12:38 am on Sunday, is this a horrid time to bid?

I'm willing to go up to $60 but considering others have been able to get weekend stays for $50 recently, and there's no shortage of rooms I'm aware of, do I really need to up my bid?

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your MONTEREY POST and then we'll look at the above in more detail.

Thanks.

[freecia]

I've updated the other thread.

We are going for a weekend of basic tourist stuff. Are there any other zones that would also work well as a home base?

[dahammer]

With Priceline, the main tourist zone in Philly is Downtown Philadelphia. The University zone is a bit west of the historic spots and you would need to take the Market-Frankford line into Center City to do the tourist stuff. I'm not sure what is going on that weekend, but even rates on Hotwire seem to be high or not available. For example there are no rooms available in the Hotwire "Historic Distirct-Waterfront", but there appears to be a 3.5* "Best Value" available in the Philadelphia West zone for $93 with the following amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business Center. This appears to be the Sheraton University City Hotel at 36th and Chestnut Sts., not an ideal location for the purpose of your trip. (Independence Hall is at 5th street, so you're 31 blocks away!) So, it looks like you will need to increase your bid, or look to another zone that will require driving into town each day. These would include the Airport, Stadium, or Cherry Hill-Mt. Laurel (NJ) zones. I think those $50 winning bids were during August a time of high heat and humidity; why do you think the Declaration of Independance was signed on July 4th??? Those guys didn't want to hang around Philly in August without any air conditioning...... :)

[thereuare]

Let us know your thoughts after dahammer's comments.

[freecia]

Thanks for all your work and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Right now I'm wondering if I should just take a suburb and which one. Are they far commutes on a weekend? I recall reading a thread about a suburb which had a marriott which was quite nice.

Also, would I have a better chance of getting a 3*/4* downtown for Fri night or Sat night only? Maybe I can alter my plans a bit to save some cash.

Again, thanks.

[dahammer]

Will you have a car? I assumed this, but without one, this will make all the difference as to your location

recall reading a thread about a suburb which had a marriott which was quite nice.

this would be the Philadelphia Marriott West in West Conshohocken, PA....why they even have "Philadelphia" in the title of this hotel is beyond me, its about 15 miles from Center City....some folks on this board have stayed here and commuted into the city, on weekends, traffic should not be a problem in the morning, before 9:00 am or so. In the evening, folks in the 'burbs drive on in to the city, so it could be a half hour or more plus a search for a parking spot. This property is located in the Plymouth Meeting-Norristown zone. So far, this is the only 3* reported in this zone. The City Line zone is a little closer to Philadelphia, but I think the only property here is a Holiday Inn, but it has not been reported.

Another zone to check out is in the Cherry Hill-Mt. Laurel zones. The best hotel for this area is the 3* Cherry Hill Hilton. It is about a 15 Minute drive into the historic area of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, you might end up at the Mt. Laurel Radisson, another 3* in this zone, and the commute into the city could be 30 minutes. There is also a 2.5* Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill just a bit east of the Hilton, but has had reported wins of $40 or less.

Another zone is the Philadelphia Airport, plenty of hotels, an easy commute into the city, but the only reason to stay here is if you're flying into PHL or if you plan on using the hotel room to crash, there is nothing in this area except an airport and an industrial park.

The commute from any of these areas is not difficult by car, I think the lowest priced rooms will be in the Cherry Hill zone, followed by the airport zone. I also think that Saturday night has high occupancy levels, you might bid for Friday, but you will need to check out and drive to your new hotel and for a two day getaway, this will take time away from the reason that brings you to the City of Brotherly Love...... :)

[freecia]

Thanks for all the help and advice. Here's what it came down to:

$65 at the Marriott West in Norristown Suburb for ONE Sat. night 9/10-9/11

After much trial and error on Priceline for downtown

up to $100 for 4* (rejected using free rebid zones)

and up to $85 for 3* (rejected for the two free rebid zones of Stadium and Deptford - Runnemede)

all Rejected.

At this point, I figured I'd probably need to go to $90+ for a 3*, in which case easyclicktravel would have been a better bet @106 for the Crowne Plaza but we have 3 people and the rooms are small. Plus, I wouldn't have been too happy paying $106 when most people are merely "satisfied" paying less than $75/night.

Decided that I'd rather just save the money and take the commute in.

Bid $55 for 3* in Norristown Suburb since there have been good reviews

rejected

Added the free rebid zone Horsham - Willow Grove

Bid $65 since there was only 1 free rebid zone.

ACCEPTED :)

If you want a good close-in suburban hotel with easy access to downtown sometime, that I have gotten for a good price on Priceline, try the Marriott West in West Conshohocken (PL's Pymouth Meeting-Norristown area, although I think there may be one other 3* in that area.) Not such imposing and beautiful public areas as the Downtown Marriott, but our room was even better than the one Downtown. And a big Philly plus--cheap, short walk self-parking, the charge waived entirely the Saturday night we were there.

from this thread

All in all, I think we were able to get a good deal. There must be high occupancy this weekend downtown and I just didn't feel it was worth the $100+ and possible valet parking fees (what are they averaging now, $25-35?!) to avoid a 20/30 minute drive. Additionally, nothing on hotwire and Expedia seemed to indicate a good chance of getting a 3*/4* downtown centrally located hotel for less than $130+. If I need to drive, I might as well drive 10 more minutes and save $30. Lastly, if there is high occupancy, we're a 3 person priceline party, which we know is the first to get "no, sorry, priceline only guarantees 1 bed for 2 people" when a hotel fills up.

Thanks to this board, I was able to get a good hotel at a price I don't mind paying with full knowledge of all the tradeoffs. I would have felt so lost without the kind advice. Used the savingsbarn link.

Also, if you're wondering what we did about Friday night, we decided to take a small road-trip detour to Harrisburg, $50 Harrisburg Crowne Plaza Win for some sightseeing. Or rather, we're going for Amish food :)

Our trip may be hurried but our wallets and tummies will be happy in the City of Brotherly Love. And yes, we do have a car.

[thereuare]

Nice post... and a great example of how being flexible can really make or break your ability to get a great deal.

Glad to hear the board was helpful in educating your and giving you the confidence to make alternate plans.

Thanks for taking the time to share the details of your bidding history and thought process.... and for using the SavingsBarn.com links to begin your purchase(s).

Have a great trip.

[dahammer]

Also, if you're wondering what we did about Friday night, we decided to take a small road-trip detour to Harrisburg, $50 Harrisburg Crowne Plaza Win for some sightseeing. Or rather, we're going for Amish food

It would be great to read a review of this property, I might be in that area in the fall, $50 is a great rate! The following might be a bit out of the way, but it is a great place to tie on the feed-bag and try some Pennsylvania Dutch food Shady Maple Smorgasbord

While in Philly, here is a list of parking lots operated by the Philadelphia Parking Authority . Some of these have reduced rates on weekends.