Priceline Hotel: 3* Victoria Red Lion

[chasman]

I was expecting to get either the Laurel Point or the Harborside Hotels by bidding on a 3* in Victoria. However, I got the Red Lion which is about 3 miles north of town and nowhere near as good as Laurel Point or Harborside. It accepted my first bid at $55. I had seen that someone had gotten the Harborside for $60 in the past. I really don't think the Red Lion is a 3* hotel and now have no idea how someone would get the Harborside. I had never seen the Red Lion listed on this bulletin board as a winning bid. Perhaps they just signed up with priceline. It's a shame that more info is not known about Hotwire hotels in Victoria.

;-(

[WillTravel]

Sorry chasman. I agree that for the vast majority of people, this is an inferior location to the other 3* hotels in Victoria. Last time I looked, the zone is drawn in such a way so that this hotel falls just at the edge.

On TOBB, there was a report of someone getting this hotel for $60. However, Orbitz has this hotel for $51, so the bidder was eligible for a small refund under Priceline's rules. Take a look at Orbitz and Priceline's rules and see if you can get a partial refund.

[chasman]

thanks for the info willtravel!

i just sent off an email to priceline to try to get $8 back from them.

what is frustrating about the victoria, bc hotel market is -

1. no way that the red lion should be classified as a 3*. it's not just the location. the rooms at the harbourside and laurel point are much better.

2. who knows what it takes to get a room at the empress. even then, i have read that the empress gives priceline.com customers small rooms.

3. there seems very little info out there on hotwire hotels in victoria.

4. given that the red lion is classified as a 3* there is no way one can hedge against getting the red lion when one really would rather have the harborside or laurel point.

5. one of the nicer hotels - the grand pacific - does not seem to appear on priceline or hotwire.

there simply does not appear to be an easy way to get a good deal in victoria. if i had to do it again i would bid up to $90 US on a 4* and try to get the empress and then try to fanagle an upgrade upon check in.

thanks for your help.

[WillTravel]

chasman, what date was this bid for?

I agree - the bidding situation is not ideal for midrange bids.

Victoria does have reasonable conventional rates at times, particularly considering the exchange rate.

Scorp has mentioned the James Bay Inn as a nice, convenient hotel. http://www.jamesbayinn.com

My daughter and I have stayed at the Dominion Hotel, which often has reasonable rates on weekend packages. http://www.dominion-hotel.com

Tourism BC sometimes offers some good deals:

http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Content/EN/496.asp

[Scorp]

Have you completed this stay yet? I understand your frustration about location, because most Victoria hotels have been right in the area of the Inner Harbour, but we know we take our chances because new hotels can be added at any time, blah, blah, blah ... :) :)

The map certainly does include a larger region than the small Inner Harbour area, though. I could name a few places that could be included but haven't shown up yet (such as the Comfort Inn and Suites on the Gorge waterway, off Highway 1A or the Howard Johnson further north on Highway 17). And lots of cities have this problem -- it is hard to know how close to 'downtown' you will be with Priceline in Seattle or San Diego. People complain about the location of downtown hotels in Vancouver sometimes when they get the Westin Bayshore or the Coast on Denman. But they have some redeeming qualities!

There are some positives about the Red Lion, though. While you can't walk out your door to the Inner Harbour, you are very near the Galloping Goose Trail and if you are into bike riding or walking, this is a scenic and pleasant way to get to the downtown area or for a walk to South Bay or the Harbour Canoe Club (two very fine pub/restaurants with outdoor patios). Bus service is also very good right in front of the hotel and it will only take a few minutes to get downtown. The rooms have all been recently renovated and each has at least a fridge and microwave. If they aren't too busy, you could try for an upgrade to a King with kitchenette or a one-bedroom suite. Their fitness facility is excellent - I think they have a deal with the Fitness World centre across the street, and they have an outdoor pool, I believe, which is very rare in Victoria. They have a decent restaurant and pub on-site. They recently redid the property and I think they are trying very hard to please their customers.

Even saying all this, I realize this may not be the hotel you wanted. But I hope you can still enjoy your stay there and that you will let us know how it goes. I hope I am not being too much of a 'pollyanna' here... :o

I do wonder what the lowest Priceline rate for this hotel would be, since their own best rate is only $80 Cdn or about $57 US. I would probably recommend that people start bidding a bit lower when they are bidding for 3* here.

By the way, I did venture some guesses on the Victoria Hotwire hotels in this post. May not be much help, though!

For the last 10 years that I have lived here, Victoria has enjoyed such a strong tourist trade that they could charge very high rates during the peak 4 - 6 months. Apparently this year, though, hotel bookings have fallen by at least 10%. There are more B&B's than ever, which seem to be a very popular choice in this town. The Hotel Grand Pacific just completed a huge addition and you would think the hotel market would be a bit more competitive. I think that is what we saw with the $60 Empress Priceline rates. But you just don't seem to get the same Priceline or Hotwire bargains in Victoria as you do in Vancouver or other larger cities.

There is a new Marriott being built and scheduled for completion for Spring, 2004. They may well show up on Priceline/Hotwire. I know that doesn't help you, though.

Also, the James Bay Inn is cute and inexpensive, but the rooms are small and it is still a walk to the Inner Harbour. If I can provide any help or further information, let me know!

[chasman]

Thank you Scorp and WillTravel -

Great posts by both of you. Really appreciate it. I booked the room for a friend with a wife and a 2 yr old. They are planning on staying there 7th and 8th of Sep.

I grew up in Victoria, but now live in the States. I am currently in Victoria for a few months and will have friends come up to visit. Will take all your good advice when booking for others.

In priceline's defense they did make good on the price guarantee and are going to refund me $8. However, my initial beef still stands - I just don't think that the Red Lion is on par with Harborside or Laurel Point. Oh well. I'm not going to win that arguement.

It was my mistake in the first place, because I did not correctly read the post on this bulletin board that listed Red Lion as a 3* possibility.

The way to do it is to bid on the 4* Empress up to your personal limit (you might even be able to get it for less than $60 come Sep or Oct). Then only bid on a 3* if you don't mind getting the Red Lion, but otherwise look for deals elsewhere or try the unknown "boutique" Victoria hotel on Hotwire.

Will let you know if my friends stay at the Red Lion and if they liked it. Thanks again for all your help!!!

:)