Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Orlando (WDW) Holiday Inn Nikki Bird

[LoneStar]

Well, I think I'm going to break down and take the kids to Disney. I'm trying to do it at an off-peak time, probably a long weekend in early February. What's generally the best value hotel strategy? I don't expect us to spend too much time at the hotel, so it's hard to justify spending a lot of money on a "resort." That said, I do see people sometimes seem to get the lesser Hilton resort for $60, and that would seem "worth it" even if we don't linger there. I also understand that there's a nice priceline 4-star hotel downtown that would be worth $60. If I don't get lucky with these, is there any rhyme or reason to getting a good value on the 3 or 2 1/2 star properties -- book in advance, wait until the last minute, etc.? I'll probably want to limit my search to the Disney or Int'l Drive areas for location convenience.

Thanks for any tips. Don't think I've been to Disney in at least 15 years!

[thereuare]

My observation is that the Resorts are worth it when you can get a good deal, which you should be able to do if going during low season. If you could get the Gaylord Palms i'm sure your kids would love it (although likely take a bit more than $60/nite)

I would keep your bidding at 3* or above... the area is inexpensive enough that i don't think venturing into the 2.5* category is worthwhile.

Seems as if there are almost always rooms available in this area, so i would recommend bidding as early as you can once your plans are firm, keeping your maximum bid realistic but not overbidding.

[LoneStar]

Well, I slooowly bid up to $70 for a "resort" for the weekend of 2/3 to 2/6 and got nothing. I also slowly bid up to $60 for a 4-star and struck out. I then bid $30 for a 3 star in the Disney and Universal areas (don't want to stay further away, at least at this point) and did not get hit.

I recall reading nice things about the Gaylord in the past, but my recollection is that it's going for about $100 these days. Probably a fair price, but it's hard for me to spend that kind of money if, as I think, we'll be rising early and staying late at Disney. I agree that bidding on 2.5 stars is silly unless one "sees" that a good property keeps popping up in that category/zone for a good price. I understand that some of the Holiday Inns in the Disney area are decent and 2.5 stars, and their "kids eat free" deal might make it a better deal for me than a "bad" 3-star.

At this point, I'm afraid to bid $35 to $45 for a 3 star because I don't want to get a weak 3-star and then have a nice resort or 4-star ultimately become available at a good price. So I think I'll just patiently periodically bid on those 2 higher categories. I read somewhere that early February is very off-peak for Orlando, so if I don't get hit in the higher categories, I can more aggressively bid on 3 stars a few weeks before my arrival. Orlando has lots of zones, so it's an easy market to bid on.

Now if only there was a way to save on Disney tickets. Ouch!

[thereuare]

I read somewhere that early February is very off-peak for Orlando

Remember to check when the "President Holidays" are, as well as "Winter Recess" for schools that give an entire week in February rather than the individual holidays of the presidents, Martin Luther King, Columbus Day.

[homeschoolmom]

I like Disney transportation esp. to Magic Kingdom, so we have almost always stayed onsite (only times we didn't, we were there on business trips). That said, there are some fantastic deals on PL and the Gaylord is a masterpiece (it is worth just stopping by to look around). I have also stayed near the Hilton in Downtown Disney and although the transport isn't great at all, I liked the area. I think you are right to stick to the DW and Universal zones; a downtown hotel may cause you major traffic headaches on I-4. I recommend you check out www.mousesavers.com as they have a very organized list of discounts available for tickets, resorts, dining, etc. My personal feeling is that if I was willing to spend about $85 on a PL resort, I would probably try to get a residents/AP rate (yes, they do offer special rates to residents of states other than FL) at one of the Moderate Resorts like Port Orleans or Coronado Springs (which has the absolute best bus transport). I know your situation is different than ours, so this may not work. You may also consider buying APs and squeezing in a second trip just before your year is up. Just some ideas... P.S. You don't happen to be military, do you? The Shades of Green Resort on Disney property (near the Contemporary!) was recently renovated, and I've heard the rates are very reasonable. Hope this helps, and I wish you and your family a wonderful time together!

[dianev]

If you sign up for the newsletter on www.mousesavers.com you can get a link to a place that offers decent prices on tickets. I have used them and they are legit

[cfprunner]

I have had great luck buying Disney Vacation Club points from a point owner and staying as their guest. The best place to find a point owner is buy searching ebay and post a question to a seller. Let them know what you need and when and they can quote you a price. I like Old Key West.

[LoneStar]

Well, like the person bidding for the last weekend in January, I'm still not having any luck bidding for the first weekend in February. I bid up to $95 for a resort, $75 for a 4-star (including downtown and Universal) and $37 for a Disney area 3-star, all with no success.

I've taken a look at the inventory for the resorts, and I can tell that there is virtually no chance of snagging the Hilton (it's been going for $60) because it's completely sold out on on 2 of my nights (must be a convention). I've noticed the Gaylord runs "special offer" pricing on some days for $199 (currently limited to assorted days in the next few weeks) on their own website, and I wonder if that corresponds to priceline inventory. The days I want are at $229, and I see other days are $209 (they price like a Vegas hotel!), so I wonder if the Gaylord will ever release priceline rooms for my nights.

For someone like me who probably won't spend that much time at the hotel (this isn't like a Hawaiian vacation where the resort is largely THE destination), I've thought the $60 Hilton offered the most value. Without that looking like a viable option, unless prices decline, I have to decide whether it's worth bidding more than $100 for a resort. I might be willing to pay $100 for the Gaylord, but I'm not sure I want to pay that for the others. I think it's still possible I could get the 4-star downtown Westin Bohemian or the Universal Peabody for $75-80 if I'm patient. Whether that's worth paying twice the amount for a 3-star is debatable, I think.

Indeed, as I get closer to my arrival date, I'll probably inch up my 3-star bidding amount if I don't snag a resort or 4-star. The problem is that above, say, $40 to $45 (+ their booking fee), priceline 3-stars aren't such a great deal, since you can start PICKING your own (weak) 3-star conventionally in the upper $50s.

So it seems strange to me given the huge number of hotel rooms in Orlando, but priceline isn't so terrific there. The best value (as usual) is in the luxury hotels, but that's very hit or miss depending on your days, and whether the hotels have booked conventions.

[LoneStar]

Increasing my bidding conundrum, I see -- thanks to your hotwire hotel list -- that the Grosvenor "Resort" (it's both a hotwire and priceline 3-star) will take $56 on hotwire for my nights. The hotel only gets 2 1/2 stars on trip advisor, and has the nasty practice of adding an $8 per night resort fee even though it isn't what most folks would consider a "resort."

So this essentially means that, if I bid 3 stars for the Disney zone on priceline, I run a great risk of getting this weak 3-star property and, in reality, getting my effective bidding price bumped up 8 bucks (my "gut guess" is these guys will take low $40s on priceline).

As I've said, Orlando bidding looks tricky.

[homeschoolmom]

This is why I usually bid resort quality level only in Orlando. At least then, if I'm paying a resort fee, I'm getting a real resort.

[LoneStar]

Yeah, paying resort fees on 3 stars is just nasty. From the tripadvisor reviews, I can tell the Grosvenor gets a good percentage of its clientele from opaque sites, so the extra 8 bucks is found money for them. It's terribly unfair to priceline bidders because they can accept $40 while another hotel holds out for $45, but by having your $40 bid accepted you actually wind up paying more for your room.

I'm also concerned about the property because hotwire only rates it 3 stars. Hotwire generally practices "grade inflation," so I suspect it's a very weak 3 star that probably should be a 2 1/2 star.

Just a shame because there seems to be no way to "game" this and get much of a deal. I had higher expectations given that I'm travelling at an off-peak time. Hopefully, the Gaylord will put some inventory in and I can at least snag a good resort for under $100.

[HomerJaySimpson]

I had a similar dilemma for my trip. In the end I decided to book at a moderate Disney hotel. Since as you mentioned the actual hotel is not the "destination" I decided that the Disney benefits of staying on property were worthwhile; the extra magic hours and free transportation. My thought was that by staying on site I do not need a car so the rate of the hotel about $70 per night is still cheaper than getting a nicer hotel for $60 night and adding a car and resort fees. It is a bad feeling to check into a hotel and know you are not paying less than everyone else.

Also in my case Disney offered a ticket upgrade to include park hoppers for free.

[LoneStar]

Yeah, the "moderate" Disney hotels are definitely an option that some might prefer -- especially those who plan to fly into Orlando and do NOTHING other than Disney. The hotels like the "All Sports" go for the high $70s and apparently include free transportation from the airport and within the Disney theme park area.

Personally, I don't think I could stomach 24/7 Disney. And these properties get decidedly mixed reviews -- depending largely, it would seem, which groups you'll be sharing your hotel with. Also, the transportation can apparently be crowded and slow. Finally, if you choose not to rent the car, you're hostage to Disney's food service. I figure that would have to cost more than a rent-a-car.

[LoneStar]

OK, I have a winning bid. Got the 2 1/2 star Holiday Inn-Nikki Bird (Walt Disney vicinity zone) for $35 for two nights 2/3-2/4. Priceline rejected my $33 bid without a counteroffer. This was after unsuccessfully bidding up to $75 again for a resort and $40 for a 3-star.

My thinking was this. Because we are going to essentially blitz Disney (I will post in "other offers" my ticket strategy), location was paramount. So I only wanted the Disney zone. We essentially needed a place to crash that was close and reasonably comfy. I saw that there was no way I could get a "cheap" resort (Hilton sold out those nights), and there seems to be that weak 3-star with the resort fee lurking. So my other alternative was to wait some more. The only realistic chance I had was that if the 3-star Sheraton Safari came down to the high $30s. I think that was possible based on their inventory (although nobody seems to have gotten it lately), but I wasn't sure it was actually BETTER for my family, since I doubted we would use the hotel's amenities (the Sheraton seems to have a nice swimming pool). At the Holiday Inn -- which I was pretty sure I'd get in the 2 1/2 star category based on hotwire research and recently reported bids -- I get a good deal at the hotel restaurant because kids eat free and I get a frig and microwave in my room. Location looks unbeatable for a non-Disney property (right off World Dr. on 192). The hotel itself seems like a nostalgic trip down memory lane to a 70s era Holiday Inn on a big spread of land. My kids can see how I usually travelled as a kid. :)

I'll post a trip report when I return.

[thereuare]

Glad you seem to have gotten it all settled.

Enjoy your stay and vacation with your family.

[LoneStar]

It's a 2 1/2 star!