Priceline Hotel: 3.5* San Diego (Mission Bay) The Dana On Mission Bay

[beckinney]

Looking at a Hotwire 'Secret hot Rate Hotel' for the weekend of 2/20-2/25.

I see a 4* for $145, standard rate $295, with the following amenities listed:

Free Internet

Resort

Pet friendly

Near Beach

Smoke Free Rooms

Fitness Center

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Center

When I look on your website of 4* Coronado Hotels I am not seeing a really close match, does anyone have any guesses?

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

I believe there are more amenities then what you have posted above as HOTWIRE has a new interface that does not show the complete set of amenities unless you click thru a few extra links.

If you repeat your search using our BiddingHelper.com.com tool... use the HOTWIRE EASY VIEW tab and then click the GREEN BUTTON next to this listing, do you see more amenities then what you have listed above?

Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[beckinney]

Oh wonderful ~ Thank you! I didn't know about this new site!

Here are the amenities listed, buy using your suggestions:

Free Internet, Resort, Pet friendly, Near Beach, Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Self service laundry, Internet access, Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Spa Services, Children's actvities, Accessible for the blind, Accessible for the deaf, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Handicapped parking, Roll-in shower

Thanks SO much for your guidance :)

[AaronJB]

This amenity set would be a potential match for the Loews.

Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[beckinney]

Thank you.... Clicking through again this morning, I see the price has dropped to $128/night. This will be my husband and my first visit to San Diego and we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary while there. Is this a hotel, neighborhood, that you would recommend for us? We are just looking at mostly relaxing while there, not visiting the zoo, aquarium, etc

[thereuare]

Best guess for this property would be the Loews Coronado Bay Resort.

I'm not local this area but afaik this area is a bit upscale and the hotels here are more geared towards relaxing. However, do note that if we're correct on the hotel above, they are undergoing some level of renovations but i'm not sure how extensive or if in areas that would effect guests.

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

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[beckinney]

I was originally looking at Loews, in Coronado, for our upcoming trip to San Diego February 20-25 on a Hotwire deal, but am now seriously considering bidding on a 3.5* location in Mission Beach area. After reviewing the list of 3.5* hotels in that area I only saw one listed, The Dana. So, please confirm for me that if I do indeed bid on that then it would be for that specific hotel, since it is the only 3.5* listed on the Price line hotel listed on your website.

Thank you!! :D

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread. When you win/purchase a hotel use the EDIT TO REPORT WIN button on the lower right corner of this page and the entire thread will be moved to the correct section of the board (if necessary).

After reviewing the list of 3.5* hotels in that area I only saw one listed, The Dana. So, please confirm for me that if I do indeed bid on that then it would be for that specific hotel, since it is the only 3.5* listed on the Price line hotel listed on your website.

Nope... few issues with your approach above:

1) as per the message at the top of the Priceline Hotel List, the lists only contain hotels reported to the board, there could always be others that have not yet been reported, recently added to the PRICELINE system, or whose star rating as changed since last reported.

2) the star rating you select is the minimum that you are willing to accept, and since there are 4* hotels in this area as well, your 3.5* bid could always be upgraded to a 4* rated hotel

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

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and how we can be of further help.

[beckinney]

Thank you for your guidance. I am still wanting to bid on a room in the Mission Beach area... Will let you know how it goes, and please let me know if you have any additional words of wisdom.

[thereuare]

To clarify, do you mean Mission Bay?

Are you willing to accept any hotel in this zone? What is your expected budget per nite for a hotel in this zone for your dates?

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

[beckinney]

Thank you Thereuare... yes, that would be correct, mission bay is the area I am looking at. I am going to bid on a 3.5* in that area, since after looking at each of those, and the 4*'s in that area, I feel confident I would be happy with any that I get. As for price, I will see what the median asking price is for those 5 days and then decide. And yes, I most certainly will use your links. Thanks!

[thereuare]

When researching rates don't bother using the 'median rate' that PRICELINE suggests when placing a bid as this figure it usually meaningless... better options would be the use the OTHER TAB at our BiddingHelper.com which will show you retail listings, OR use our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com, filter the results for 3.5* and higher rated hotels, then look on the map at the area for the Mission Bay zone and see the rates of the hotels offered.

Once you have a maximum bid in mind and are ready to bid, let us know and we can suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[beckinney]

Those are very helpful links, thank you!! After reviewing the link you suggested on your site, as well as the Priceline and Hotwire sites, I think my max bid would be $100/night. Is this realistic?

[thereuare]

When bidding 3.5* in the San Diego region you have NINE re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 3.5* Mission Bay...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $83

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[beckinney]

Fantastic ~ I am ready to get started, and will use your links.... and your strategy. I used your tips to make a list of each star rating and which zones have that star rating listed as their highest offering. One more quick question before I begin, and it may be silly but you have been so helpful. I was just about to start by clicking on 3 1/2 star in Mission Bay and saw that it said BEST DEAL next to the 4 star. Does that mean I may get a better deal by bidding on a 4 star?

This is my list, if it is helpful to anyone ~ I believe that this list will be useful for me, whether I decide on bidding a 3 or 4 star.

5 Star Luxury

Del Mar

Downtown

La Jolla

Oceanside

4 Star Deluxe

Coronodo

Escondido

Gaslamp

Mission Bay

Rancho Bernardo

3 ½ Star

Hotel Circle

Point Loma

3 Star

El Cajon

HillCrest

La Mesa

Miramar

Mission Valley East

National City

North County Coastal

Sorento Mesa

2 ½ Star

San Ysidro

[thereuare]

I would suggest you list your re-bid zones at each star level, rather than the list that you made, so that it's easier to follow and it's one less thing you need to 'convert' to do your actual bidding.

As far as the 'Best Value' designation by PRICELINE you should disregard it as it's not meaningful for your bidding.

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

[beckinney]

Thanks ~ Sooooo, I bid 60 and it was declined.... Now, I rebid a new zone that does not have a 3 1/2 star hotel?

[thereuare]

Yes, but more specifically you add a zone where the highest star level available is less than 3.5* (you want a zone that doesn't only NOT have 3.5* rated hotels, but also nothing higher... if there are no 3.5* hotels, but there are 4* hotels, that is NOT a re-bid zone)

Feel free to list your re-bid zones (ie- all the zones that only contain star ratings less than 3.5*) and we will confirm them for you.

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

[beckinney]

Thereuare ~ Thank you very much for your patience, and your guidance.

So, it appears that the areas that don't have any hotels with a 3 1/2 or higher would be:

Sorento Mesa

San Ysidro

North County Coastal

National City

Mission Valley East

Miramar

La Mesa

Hillcrest

El Cajon

Next, I choose one of these neighborhoods, and bid again?

and then choose my original neighborhood again, in between each re-bid?

[thereuare]

Yes, you have your re-bid zones correct, but always double check just before bidding to make sure that nothing has changed since you last confirmed.

After each rejected bid you simply add one of your re-bid zones, so it would look something like this:

$60 Mission Bay

$63 Mission Bay and Sorento Mesa

$65 Mission Bay and Sorento Mesa and San Ysidro

$68 Mission Bay and Sorento Mesa and San Ysidro and North County Coastal

etc, etc, etc.

Does that make it more clear?

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

[beckinney]

Thanks SO much ~ We got The Dana for $80/night! I think/hope this is a good deal. It is our 25th anniversary and our first visit to San Diego, so I am super excited!!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received a nice deal and that you received the hotel you were hoping for.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay... and have a Happy Anniversary

[beckinney]

Now,I will use your suggestions for my trip to fort Lauderdale and Orlando in April. AND may try to Priceline a car for San Diego... using your links :-)

[thereuare]

Feel free to start NEW TOPICS for each of your other stay(s) and will be happy to assist you there.

Thanks! :)