Priceline Hotel: Resort San Juan El San Juan

[Clementyne]

My husband and I are taking a cruise out of San Juan on 2/26 and are looking for a pre-cruise night in a beach front hotel for 2/25.

I would like to bid on Priceline, but have never done it so if anyone could advise me on what criteria to type in, I would greatly appreciate it.

From all of my research, here's what I think I need to do:

select San Juan for region

select resort

starting bid around $110

We really want a hotel on the beach, so would we be safe with these criteria? If we're rejected, we figure we've got plenty of time to keep re-bidding, right? Is $110 too high for a starting bid? If we choose resort, is there a chance we might get a place not on the beach?

So many questions! THanks in advance for any help we can get!

Clem

[LoneStar]

Hi, while I'm very familiar with Priceline bidding, I'm still somewhat of a novice regarding Puerto Rico (in fact, I'm soon heading there for the first time in 15 years!). That said, I've already learned a few things that would probably be helpful to you in your bidding.

First, for several reasons -- including the cruise business -- Saturday night seems to be the toughest night to book in San Juan. February is also the heart of the tourist season. So if you put one and one together . . . .

Yup, your odds of snagging a great deal on a beachfront resort in San Juan for a Saturday night in February are, well, grim. Not to say impossible, just extremely improbable.

From what I can tell, Hotwire and Priceline's San Juan inventory are quite similar. So you can log onto Hotwire and see what's coming up at what price. Priceline still tends to be about $10 cheaper a night, but if you've got plenty of time and are willing to rebid every 3 days, you can "test" this. Right now, if you look, you won't find a San Juan resort anywhere near $110 for that night on hotwire.

Personally, I would try to snag a "conventional" hotel booking at the best price you can -- hopefully one that has no cancellation fee. You can then periodically look at hotwire/priceline and see if any deals come up. You may not get an inexpensive resort, but maybe you can get something cheaper than a conventional booking. And since it's only for one night, it's probably no big deal. Let us know how it goes, and good luck.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I'll add to the above...

A resort class hotel will not guarantee you what most consider to be 'beachfront'. As an example, the Hilton and the Condado Plaza are both considered 'Resort', but both have man-made beaches and are not what most would consider to be a 'true' beach (the Condado area does not have much real beach... you want to be near Isla Verde for the 'real' beach)

San Juan is notorious for releasing inventory close to arrival date, but as Lonestar pointed out above, this is part of peak season, so i wouldn't want until the last minute without a back-up reservation.

Please look in our SUPPORT PAGE for hotel-direct links to Marriott, Radisson, Hilton, Wyndham, and many other properties which have hotels in San Juan.

[LoneStar]

I would particularly highlight the "Saturday night" aspect of this stay. From what I can tell, you are far more likely to find a deal (including a last minute deal) if you need a midweek day. Maybe a "cruise specialist" can fill us in more, but my impression is that most of the ships dump pax into San Juan on the weekend, making Sat. night stays particularly tough to get.

[thereuare]

In my experience the San Juan hotel market can easily handle the cruise ship passengers and still offer availability to the opaque suppliers... but during high season, availability seems to drastically decrease no matter what day of the week it is.

Combine high season and cruise ship passengers together, and it makes for significantly higher prices/

[Clementyne]

So is it feasible to think I may not get anything under $200?

Last year we stayed at ESJ Towers and it was only ok - but it was right on the beach. I think we paid about $200/night. I looked at Hotwire and they only had 3 listed - 2 under , 1 over $200.

Should I throw out a bid on Priceline just for the heck of it? If you think so, what would you start bidding at? Or will I just be wasting my time?

Clem

[thereuare]

I would sit tight and be patient... have a back-up and randomly check Hotwire to see if higher rated hotels begin to get offered. I'd be looking more serviously after Thanksgiving and into the beginning of the New Year.

[LoneStar]

To book conventionally, it might be worth checking with Wyndham. Both their Condado Plaza Hotel and El San Juan Hotel reportedly offer the Entertainment 50% off discount rate. Not sure how high the rack rates are in season, however, but it's worth a try.

[Clementyne]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try to book something now and wait to try Priceline after the 1st of the year.

Clem

[Clementyne]

Guess what!!! I just threw a bid out on Priceline for the heck of it of $100 and got El San Juan Resort & Casino! Total cost $121.75. My dates were for 2/25/06, one night pre-cruise.

Yea for me! I totally expected to get rejected - and this was my first bid ever. I'm kind of scared I messed up or something.

Did I do ok?

Clem

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win.

Glad you gave it a try and had success.

Enjoy your stay.

[sparks]

That is incredible! This is a wonderful hotel. The grounds are beautiful, the pools are great, close to restaurants, bus stop in front of hotel takes you to the center of town for 25 cents, what more could you ask for that price? I'd try, but I would get another hotel & this one is the best in the area. Lucky you.