Priceline Hotel: 3* DC (White House-Downtown) Doubletree Washington

[alsk]

My husband and I found a great flight price, and are planning to go on these dates if we can get a good hotel deal as well!

We would like a 2.5* or 3* hotel for these dates. We are willing to split our stay if necessary. This would be our first trip to DC, so we need to stay in a zone with good metro access. We prefer Dupont Circle, Convention/Capitol Hill, or White House/Downtown.

We would like to keep it at $70 or below if possible.

Any suggestions?

[thereuare]

Please follow-up what you did for your NEW YORK CITY STAY.

[thereuare]

Did you want to try for a 3* first and then for a 2.5*... or is price most important?

[alsk]

Price and location are most important. We are willing to stay in other areas as long as they have good access to the metro and downtown. Thanks for your help!

[thereuare]

I understand that you only want to be in one of the three zones you listed above, but from there, i don't know if you are willing to spend more to be in a higher rated hotel (ie- 3* vs. 2.5*) or if lowest price is most important (while still being in one of the three zones above)

[alsk]

Oh, sorry. Lower price is more important.

[thereuare]

Rates are very high for these dates and i'm doubtful you'll be successful at $70 or less. You said you would consider SPLITTING YOUR BID, but do you want to try for what will more likely be the difficult dates first? (since this is a discretionary trip) If so, i would try the following for 10/18-10/20 (you can try the complete stay first if you'd like and then try the previously mentioned lone two dates):

Select 2.5* Dupont

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Convention

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* White House

Bid $60, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Dupont and Convention

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Dupont and White House

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Dupont and White House and Convention

Bid $70.

Let us know how it goes.

[alsk]

After more research, we also decided that we'd be wasting bids at $70 or less.

We used your strategy, but started at $75 and went to $90. No luck in any of these areas.

Are there other areas we could try that would still put us close to transportation into the city?

Any help is appreciated!

[thereuare]

Hopefully board member Travelguy (or somebody else knowledgable about the area) can comment, but the problem is that your hotel can be anywhere within the shaded region, and while some hotels in the zone may be walkable to the Metro, others may not.

[TravelGuy]

After more research, we also decided that we'd be wasting bids at $70 or less.

We used your strategy, but started at $75 and went to $90. No luck in any of these areas.

Are there other areas we could try that would still put us close to transportation into the city?

Any help is appreciated!

All the hotels in the Crysal City zone are Metro accessible. The next best zone would be Arlington, where all but one hotel, which rarely comes up, is near a Metro stop (and that one hotel has a Metro shuttle). Those zones would definately not be as pleasant as staying in town, however, with Arlington being somewhat the better of the two. The 2.5*'s in those zones are as good as the 3*'s.

You might also try for 3* in the Georgetown/Foggy Bottom zone. The 3*'s that come up there are in the Foggy Bottom/West End part of town and a bit of a hike to the Metro, but they would be a cheap cab ride to one, as well as to Dupont and Georgetown.

[alsk]

Thanks for the advice! I think I'm going to add Crystal City and Arlington to my bidding options. I also read that Silver Spring is a good place to stay because of access to the metro. Would you agree, Travelguy? I REALLY appreciate it!

[alsk]

All of the following bids were just rejected for 2.5* October 19 - 22 :)

Crystal City (CC): 60

CC + Convention Center/Capitol Hill (CCCH): 65

CC + Dupont/Woodley Park (DWP): 70

CC + White House/Downtown (WHDT): 75

CC + WHDT + CCCH: 80

CC + CCCH + DWP: 85

CC + DWP + WHDT: 90

As you can see, I was targeting Crystal City with this assault, but to no avail!

I suppose I'll try a similar approach with the Arlington and perhaps Silver Spring zones, but I'm not too optimistic.

Perhaps we'll change our destination as it seems we've chosen a bad week. :)

[TravelGuy]

I also read that Silver Spring is a good place to stay because of access to the metro. Would you agree, Travelguy?

I wouldn't recommend Silver Spring because it's lumped together in the same zone with College Park. There are two 3*'s that have come up in that zone, and one is the Sheraton College Park, which requires using the hotel shuttle to get to the Metro. In addition, both cities are substantially farther away from DC than either Crystal City and Arlington. In the past I've highly recommended Bethesda, but that was until Priceline combined Bethesda with South Rockville.

I should also amend what I said about bidding for a 3* in the Georgetown/Foggy Bottom zone, as I forgot that there's a 3* Marriott located on the campus of Georgetown Univ. that would not at all be convenient to Metro. It very rarely comes up, but is a theoretical possibility.

[alsk]

Bid 3* 10/20-22:

White House/Downtown (WHDT): 70

Convention Center/Capitol Hill (CCCH):70

Dupont /Woodley Park (DWP): 70

DWP + WHDT: 80

WHDT + CCCH: 85

WHDT + CCCH + DWP: 90, Accepted

Taxes/Fees: 33.82

Total Charges: 213.82

Thanks for the help!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your partial win... i see your other half of your stay here: PRICELINE WASHINGTON DC.

Have a great trip.