Priceline Hotel: Rome in October

[vanpoodle]

I'll be staying in Rome for 2 nights in early October with my mother. I see that the zones have increased in number. Can anyone share wisdom as to which zones are suitable for us on the tourist trail (good metro links would be helpful) and a rough idea of which tend to be the cheaper and more expensive zones? That will help me to concoct a bidding strategy -- which will of course follow along the lines of "start low and work my way higher among the various zones". I know my London bidding very well and am comfortable being out from the centre of things for a good deal on a room (knowing which are not too far out to make it ridiculous), but I just don't know how Rome works. I have also been told to be wary of pickpockets in the Termini zone, not sure if we should stay away from there?

[thereuare]

Do you have specific dates in mind?

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

Thanks.

[Romelle]

So you are branching out from London? You'll love Rome also.

I don't think the pickpocket issue in Termini is any worse than that of any really busy area of most major cities. The usual precautions seem to work. Rick Steves has a really nice write-up of such things on his site. With my adult son, I've even caught a 3 AM airport bus from Termini. I was spooked at first, but it actually felt OK. An advantage to Termini is the way you can hop public transportation to anywhere else from there. I thought the area a little gritty and scruffy, but really not too bad. There even is a grocery store in the basement of the main train station.

Have you found the MAPS and HOTELS.com link under the Tools menu above? An amazing product I'm sure you will enjoy.

Rome doesn't have the wonderful metro service of London. It is basically just a big "X" of a red line crossing a blue line right at Termini. I understand they've wanted more lines for ages, but every time they start digging they run into more "antiquities". The bus system is confusing, but works if you spend a bit of time researching and studying.

There aren't as many Rome bidding successes as with London, but they do occur.

You will want more than 2 days, but it will be a good start.

Romelle

[vanpoodle]

Yes, I'm branching out from London! I have 2 nights booked (cancellable) for the 6&7 at an unbeatable price with a big chain (80 Euros), so I need 2 more for the 8&9 (that was kind of a flukey rate and tried a few permutations and that was as many nights as it would give me). If I do well with those I'll see if I can beat my cancellable rate and bid on those two nights as well. I just have no idea of which zones are desirable or which of those zones are usually less expensive than the others. Our flight routes through London so I'll do a night there on the way home, and I know my London bidding very well. Rome is a mystery though! We'll also be heading to Berlin for 3 nights, but that city looks easier and I am confident on how to bid there!

[thereuare]

For October 8-10 what is your desired star rating and budget?

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

[vanpoodle]

It's 4*, as I think 5* will be too expensive, though that would be fabulous. Budget, well, it's a matter of what I have to pay. We're going for sure, and hotel price won't stop the trip! Certainly if the bidding gets too high I might find something better priced using a non-opaque site (like what happened with Sydney Australia last year, no matter how hard I worked PL, the bids kept climbing up to the point where it was pretty much the same as what I was finding elsewhere online on non-opaque sites. Hopefully that doesn't happen again, that was awful!) That crazy 80 Euro deal is only for 2 of the 4 nights and from seeing some of the Rome history before the zones got completely overhauled, I am unlikely to get anything as good as that on PL.

[thereuare]

Using MAPS and HOTELS.com what is the best rate you're able to find at an acceptable 4* property, as you can then use this as the 'price to beat' and set your maximum bid amount accordingly.

[Romelle]

I tried Rome with MAPS and HOTELS.com. Started out with the default 5 mile radius, using Rome Termini as my center point. While it was great fun watching things gradually pop up, it took a quite a while to complete. The 5 mile radius is nicely within a main "ring road" around Rome, but if you use 3 miles or even 1 mile you will get faster results. Out on the edges there were 4*s in the $100 area, but the prices increased as one got more toward the center. Then 3* Best Westerns and Holiday Inn Expresses started showing up in the $100 range and 4*s were higher.

To get better definition, zoom in a bit and delete the star levels in which you are not interested. Then use the sort function on the list to do them by star level or price or whatever.

If you click on the hotel names it shows where they are on the map.

Its fun. And really helps one get a good general idea of the overall market.

Romelle

[vanpoodle]

ooooh, that is a good app, thanks for recommending it! I looked further at the zones and the known hotels and will throw bids at Spanish Steps, Termini, Vatican and Navona. I'll see if anything gets accepted sub-$100 for 4*. I have points that I can use for a Best Western depending on how high the bidding goes. I'm not crazy about Best Western, but Rome is a weird city hotel wise, the big chains don't seem to have great hotels there, Tripadvisor has a lot of complaints about them all being tired. It seems better to use the points there than for Berlin or London where I can probably get a bid accepted at a lower price while it would cost the same points for a hotel stay. The flight should get booked today and I'll start the bids after that.

[thereuare]

I tried Rome with MAPS and HOTELS.com.

ooooh, that is a good app, thanks for recommending it!

Glad you like it... most have the same reaction, but we still have trouble getting the word out about it (both on the board and elsewhere). Please feel free to share it with friends and others who travel.

The flight should get booked today and I'll start the bids after that.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know how we can be of further help.

[vanpoodle]

The flight is booked so now time to start bidding 4*. Used the link. Started low today at $50 for Spanish Steps, Coliseum/Termini, Vatican and Piazza Navona. Worked my way up painfully slowly with permutations using the 3 free re-bid zones, ending at $79. Will pick up again tomorrow and see if any lowballs get accepted, else it's the Best Western for us! But don't worry, I'll be using the site again to bid on Berlin! I'd been hoping there was a "cheap" zone in Rome not far from the action like London has at the moment, but sadly, doesn't look like it!

[thereuare]

... else it's the Best Western for us!

If you do end up booking this direct please use our Best Western link as found in our Support Page.

THANKS! Keep us updated on how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[shakiraa]

Hi Vanpoodle, found ur thread when i do similar search for Rome hotel around the same time frame :)

Looks like i will follow ur strategy, i'm also having hard time getting 4* or 5* hotel in Rome for 3 nights.

I have done many searches through non opaque hotel booking websites and one thing i want to share with you - beware with the 4* as i have see many hotels rated 4 star with very bad review, even when i look at the photo it looks way off from 4*.

What i'm trying now is hopefully i can bid for some 5* with around 100 - 120 USD that have higher chance of meeting the requirement of a standard 4* hotel.

[vanpoodle]

Ohhh yes, I'm well aware of the * ratings only being a "rough guide" in Europe. I think because Rome is such a tourist mecca, the big hotels just aren't the same as elsewhere. From what I understand, even the airlines use crappy planes to get there because it's just people on holiday and not people on business. I have a ton of air miles that I would use for the Best Western if it comes to that!

[shakiraa]

hi vanpoodle, any luck with ur search?

after much tries, i think i will stick with best western as well, i just register as their member and considering Best Western Premier Hotel Royal Santina.

[vanpoodle]

I put in another 18 bids this morning (using the PRICELINE link) with permutations and worked my way from $76-$93 with rejections and no sign of a counteroffer. I am guessing that a winning bid might be around $130 just looking at the history. I'm going to look further at the points for Best Western concept and see how much higher I should go before pursuing that route. But don't worry, even if PL isn't the best route for Rome I'll be back and bidding on other cities!

[thereuare]

Thanks for the update and still time for hopefully something to come up on PRICELINE or HOTWIRE... or maybe you'll find you'll like the Best Western.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know whatever you decide to do or how we can be of further help.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[shakiraa]

Oh, i bid from 90-125 last night with no success.

Good luck!

[shakiraa]

Hi, i have booked best western premier hotel royal santina using the link here. Fyi.

[vanpoodle]

Funny, that was the only Best Western of about 30 in Rome I could use points on for my stay, too! I'm all booked there.

[shakiraa]

Funny, that was the only Best Western of about 30 in Rome I could use points on for my stay, too! I'm all booked there.

Cool.

any thoughts of hotels in Milan & Venice. Still searching for hotels there. thanks

[seveniseggroll]

I too am having trouble booking the hotels in the area I wanted for the price I wanted. I was going to wing it and see how we go booking when we are in London but am a little scared now as a lot of the hotels seem to be booked out.

[yellowdog]

seveniseggroll

Welcome to BetterBidding!

The board would be happy to help you. But please start a new topic for your own stay as this thread will be used to reflect whatever the OP ultimately does for his/her stay.

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

Yellowdog.