Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* DC (Whilte House-Downtown) Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill

[BethS]

This summer (June 2-June 9) my family of 4 is planning a trip to Washington D.C. I would like to stay in the White House or Capitol Hill area. I plan on bidding through Priceline, but have a couple questions. Does it make any difference bidding 5 months in advance, or should I wait until closer to departure? Are the chances good that we will be able to get a room with 2 beds? Are there any bidding strategies can you offer since I am new to this? Thanks!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Pricleline only guarantees a room that will accomodate two people, after that it is at the discretion of the hotel and based upon availability. If you want to try for only one room thru Priceline this is a risk that you will have to accept before bidding. If not, you can either try for two rooms (which will double your costs, but often in DC two rooms thru Priceline will cost less than one room direct) or you can try Hotwire which allows you to search for double occupancy.

I recommend bidding as soon as your plans are firm while making sure you don't overbid. (we'll help with a strategy once you decide upon the above double vs. quad occupancy).

Let us know your thoughts and we'll take it from there.

[BethS]

In your opinion, what kind of risk do you think I would be taking to just go with one room? Also, what would be the chances of getting two rooms connected, or at least side by side? Maybe we'll just leave the kids at home :)

[thereuare]

I would think your chances would be better in an outlying area than in the heart of downtown, but i would defer to TravelGuy who usally reads the DC forum religiously (or anyone else who knows this area well). Let's give it a day or two (since you have plenty of time) to get the opinion of somebody who is local to the area or visits frequently enough to comment.

[BethS]

Sorry - I just realized I put this on the Hotwire Thread, though I will make a comment about Hotwire. Last summer I made reservations in Toronto thorough Hotwire ($88 - Westin) and though I was able to specify the number in our party as 4 when making the reservation when I printed out my confirmation and read the fine print they noted that a double occupancy room was all that they would guarantee. I talked to the hotel directly and made a request for double beds and everything worked out fine.

Regarding our trip to DC the only thing I can't be flexible with is the days. We can stay anywhere and I would certainly consider a 3* and 2 rooms. I will defer to Travel Guy.

[thereuare]

That "disclaimer" is old from when they only allowed searches for double occupancy... they do guarantee sleeping accomodations for the number of people that you include in your search.

[TravelGuy]

If you make the request in advance, become a member of the hotel

[BethS]

Thanks, that's a lot to consider. I am open to splitting the bid. I will look things over, come up with a plan then repost to get some advice on bidding strategy.

[BethS]

With your input I decided to break up the stay and go with Hotwire because it allows you to specifiy # of adults and children in the room. I have been keeping an eye on prices over the past week and have just booked the Hyatt on Capitol Hill for $105 a night for the dates May 31- June 3. Will let you know what I get for June 3-5 after booking.

[thereuare]

Can you please add the amenities that were shown before your purchase... you can still view these by going to Hotwire and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Thanks.

PS- when reporting the remainder of your stay please start a NEW TOPIC rather than continue this thread

[BethS]

Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, High Speed Internet Access, Business Center