Hotwire Hotel: 5* Athens (Acropolis) Royal Olympic Hotel

[cbcooper]

I am new to priceline (and hotwire) and was hoping to get some advice on the best way/time to "bid" for hotel spots as well as an appropriate bid amount (I realize that these aren't guarantees but any general advice would be great). My girlfriend and I are planning to spend two nights in Athens, Greece (July 16-18) and would like to take advantage of the low prices to stay in a 5-star hotel. Since we are only in Athens for a short period of time, we would like to stay close to the acropolis, temple of Zeus, etc.

 

We recently found a Hotel called Royal Olympic Hotel that books rooms at $113/night (our goal would be to get the room for $90-100/night, unless that is unreasonable?). It is located in the Syntagma Square region and, it looks to me that it is the only 5-star priceline hotel in this region. I was thinking of making a bid for this region only, with the hopes that an accepted bid would be at the Royal Olympic Hotel. That being said, we would be happy at any 5-star hotel within that region (as the proximity to the center of Athens is the valuable part), so I thought this might be a good time to try Priceline, since it is probably a bad idea to be dead set on a hotel when it is not a guarantee.

 

Any advice, suggestions, or comments about whether this will or will not work (or be worthwhile) are welcome!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

You have the right idea that this would likely be a good time to try PRICELINE / HOTWIRE for the first time if you're able to choose zones that are geographically small enough so that anywhere you landed within the zone would be convenient for your plans. However, a few points/issues to clarify...

We recently found a Hotel called Royal Olympic Hotel that books rooms at $113/night... It is located in the Syntagma Square region and, it looks to me that it is the only 5-star priceline hotel in this region.

Not sure how you are determining the zone and that this is the only 5* hotel offered here, but according to the map i'm looking at (and comparing to the PRICELINE zones) this property appears to be in the Acropolis zone.

As well, there are certainly other 5 star hotels in each of these zones that are possible... in the Acropolis zone the Divani Palace Acropolis would be yet another possibility, and in the Syntagma Square the Electra Palace Hotel Athens, Hotel Grande Bretagne, and King George would all be among the possibilities at the 5* level as well (and there could still yet be others too)

Given the information above (correct me if i'm wrong regarding the location of the Royal Olympic Hotel) please confirm which zone(s) you're willing to accept and we'll take it from there.

As well, if you haven't seen it yet, you should really check out out sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com as the interface, combined with its very powerful filter/sort capabilities, makes it easy to see the options near your ideal location, as well as how much more/less it would cost to stay closer/further or go up/down in star rating.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed and we'll take it from there.

[cbcooper]

The zones I am interested in are:

 

1 (Acropolis)

10 (Monastiraki - Flea Market Area)

17 (Plaka - Roman Agora)

20 (Syntagma Square)

21 (Thissio)

 

From these zones (and using the method discussed in the rebidding section), it looks like the only regions that have 5-star properties are Acropolis and Syntagma Square.

 

I looked at al the hotels you listed below and also checked out the MAPS and HOTELS site you recommended. I agree that Royal Olympic Hotel is in the Acropolis region (oops). I think we would be happy at any of them. We might have a slight preference for Acropolis (since it seems a little closer), but honestly whatever gets the lowest price would work best for us!

 

Let me know what you think!

 

Thanks again for all your help!

[thereuare]

... it looks like the only regions that have 5-star properties are Acropolis and Syntagma Square.

Correct, of the acceptable zones you listed, these are the only two that offer 5* bidding.

 

So given the best rate you've found to be at the Royal Olympic Hotel for $112/nite... how high would you be willing to bid for any 5* hotel in either of the two zones above? (ie- for some all they care is the lowest price and would bid up to $111 if their next best deal was $112... others may use a lower maximum bid (let's say $100 as an example) as they would prefer to pay a little extra to have a guess as to the hotel they may receive (and have a sense of the amenities offered, reviews, etc))

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

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

[cbcooper]

I made multiple bids starting at $70 and working to $102, each with Acropolis and Syntagma Square selected as the only 5-star hotels.

 

I stopped at $102 because a rate of $105.00 is $244.32 for both nights with taxes and fees, while I can book Royal Olympic Hotel at the same rate but with less taxes and fees ($237.80 total).

 

What would you suggest from here?

 

Date change: I will be in Athens from July 14-16.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Chris

[Romelle]

I'm a member, not a board official, but I'd book the RO with the cancellable rate and then keep bidding my selected zones maybe once or twice a week.  You've got seven months.  The RO looks lovely, but only has a 7.4 guest rating.  

 

You might get the RO at a better price, or you might score a higher rated hotel for the same money.

 

But if you do this, be sure to check those zones you are using as free rebids to make sure there still is not 5* bidding available in them.  

 

Romelle

 

 

[cbcooper]

Hotwire Deal:

 

Royal Olympic Hotel

July 14 - 16, 2016

$94/night + $42.19 (taxes and fees) = $230.19 total

 

Thanks everyone for your help!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received the hotel you were eyeing and were able to save a little bit of extra money.

Can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities HOTWIRE shows for this property, including any 'accessible' amenities, when viewing this purchase using the MY ACCOUNT >> MY TRIPS link on the top right of their home page.

Also, are the dates correct (7/16-7/18) as you now seem to be including these dates within your Priceline Santorini thread.

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

Thanks, enjoy this leg of your trip.

[cbcooper]

Here is the information! The dates are July 14 to 16, not 16-18. Sorry about that.

 

Royal Olympic Hotel

Check In: July 14, 2016

Check Out: July 16, 2016

Total Stay: 2 nights
$94/night + $42.19 (taxes and fees) = $230.19 total

 

Hotel Amenities:

• Free Internet
• Fitness center
• Pool(s)
• Business center

[AaronJB]

Thank you for confirming the amenities for this Hot.wire property so that we can update the site's Hotwire Hotel List.

 

Enjoy your stay.

[das_ubersoldat]

Good luck! This hotel has interior rooms without windows...