Priceline Hotel: Washington DC Near White House At Christmas

[globe9]

Looking for a 3.5* or higher hotel near the White House or National Mall in Washington DC. We'll be staying from Christmas Eve thru New Year's Eve. Trying to get at about $100 per night or less.  Would prefer a free hot breakfast and free wifi. No other amenities needed.

Also, is a $260 "hotel fee" common on Priceline? I've never used Priceline before, but when playing around with bids, it added a $260 "Hotel Fee" which basically made my bid(that I didn't actually send through) like $30 higher a night.

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. 

 

A few thoughts:

 

1. If you are trying to bid, breakfast and free wifi are not guaranteed amenities unless they pop up as such when selecting a zone and star rating - and breakfast rarely appears as a guaranteed amenity. If free breakfast and wifi are musts, then I'd rather suggest HOTWIRE or PRICELINE EXPRESS and looking for a listing where those amenities are listed as guaranteed.

 

2. If you are getting an additional hotel fee when bidding, then one of the potential possibilities based on what you have selected charges a fee, which is unfortunately something seen at hotels in more and more cities. 

 

3. Which zones (zones where you would be okay staying potentially anywhere within the zone) would be acceptable?

 

Let us know your thoughts above and whether or not you would like to still bid or shift focus to PRICELINE EXPRESS and HOTWIRE.

 

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

[thereuare]

When searching for your dates (12/24-12/31) i'm seeing what looks to be The State Plaza Hotel for $79/nite... or a bit more upscale (and larger discount from retail) i see the W Hotel Washington DC for $113/nite.  As far as i know neither of these properties charge a resort fee.

 

Do either of the above work for your needs this trip?

 

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

 

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

[globe9]

Breakfast and wifi are not a 100% must have, although it would be nice. I'm booked at the Hilton Downtown White House right now through the Hilton website for $106/night. Of course, that has free cancellation, so I have 4 months to find a better rate. I'd like to be near the National Mall, White House or a general tourist area. I don't want to end up at a hotel in NOMA  or somewhere less tourist friendly.

Will I have better luck at better prices, say in November or the closer it gets to Christmas? From what DC natives and travel experts have been telling me, the holidays are a very slow time hotel wise in DC. Congress is on break, no business travel really between Xmas and New Year's and there aren't as many tourists during this time. This should lead to better hotel deals I'm assuming?

[thereuare]

Nobody can say if rates will come down, or move higher, between now and your trip.  It is indeed a slow time of year in DC, but that is also already reflected in your $100 back-up rate and the $80-$115 rates i'm seeing for 4* hotels thru PRICELINE EXPRESS and HOTWIRE.  If the current low rates invokes enough people to take a trip during these dates rates would more likely go up rather than down.  As well, there is a floor to rates where the hotel is better off just leaving the hotel room empty (less wear and tear, fewer staffing requirements, etc) than filling the room at any price just to put 'heads in beds'.

 

I'm not sure which 'Hilton Downtown White House' hotel you booked as a back-up (is it the Capital Hilton??) but what 'better' is it that you're looking for over this property?  Is it just a lower price that you're seeking or would you pay more than this property for a hotel with a better location, reviews, star rating, etc?

 

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

[globe9]

Well I'm seeing in other posts stuff like Courtyard by Marriott for $65/night. Saving $35+ a night really helps when you're doing a 7 night stay. 

Guess I'll play around with Priceline and see if I can find a hotel without a hotel "fee" tacked on that raises the per night rate $30

[thereuare]

1 hour ago, thereuare said:

I'm not sure which 'Hilton Downtown White House' hotel you booked as a back-up (is it the Capital Hilton??)

2x

 

1 hour ago, thereuare said:

what 'better' is it that you're looking for over this property?  Is it just a lower price that you're seeking or would you pay more than this property for a hotel with a better location, reviews, star rating, etc?

28 minutes ago, globe9 said:

Saving $35+ a night really helps when you're doing a 7 night stay.

So is price basically the primary factor you're trying to beat?  How much would you need to save over your current back-up reservation to commit to something non-refundable at this point in time?

 

28 minutes ago, globe9 said:

I'm seeing in other posts stuff like Courtyard by Marriott for $65/night.

Which Courtyard is it that you're seeing a previous win for at this price?

 

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

[globe9]

The Courtyard Marriott for $65 night is the title of the post directly below this post. My backup Hilton Garden Inn is currently booked at $106 night is located at 815 14th St directly across street from McPherson Square station.

 

Yes, price is my primary factor as DC can be expensive. I'm willing to pay a little more for free HOT breakfast. My wife & I are both on Keto diets so can't eat carbs, so we'd require eggs and meat of some kind(bacon, sausage etc) Would be nice to fill up on breakfast  and have  a late lunch/early dinner meal to save money

 

I'm currently looking at a 3.5* Capitol Hill-National Mall at $108/night Full Amenities:FULL AMENITIES: Free breakfast, Free Internet, Pet friendly, Suite, Boutique hotel, Fitness center, Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower

 

Includes free breakfast but doesn't say if hot breakfast. Any idea what hotel this may be? 

 

[globe9]

Or on Hotwire, listed as a 3* All Suite Hotel in Capitol Hill National Mall area with these amenities:Free breakfast, Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Business center, Self-service laundry 

For $104/night + $188.22 recovery fees.

 

Do you think either one of these is Embassy Suites? I know they have a legit free breakfast.

[thereuare]

Few points to clarify...

 

Your current back-up at the Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC Downtown is a 3* rated property by PRICELINE, so not really an apples-to-apples comparison to your original request which was for a 3.5* or better rated hotel.  Same goes for the Couartyard by Marriott Washington DC/Foggy Bottom which you reference above, however, i'll also add that if this is an acceptable property it can currently be booked for refundable $92/nite using the link above, which if budget is your primary concern, would be a savings vs. your current back-up at the Hilton Garden Inn.

 

Quote

3.5* Capitol Hill-National Mall at $108/night

Best guess for this one would be the well reviewed Capitol Hill Hotel

 

Quote

3* All Suite Hotel in Capitol Hill National Mall

Using the GREEN 'See All Amenities' button from the BiddingHelper.com EASY VIEW (please use this for all of your searches and when posting a request for identification help) i'm seeing:

Complimentary Breakfast

Free Internet

Boutique

Smoke Free

Fitness

Pool

Business

Laundry

Hi-Speed Internet

==> not certain, but the Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall would be a guess

 

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

 

Keep us updated on your decision or how we can be of further help.

[MisterBill]

On 8/13/2016 at 1:37 PM, globe9 said:

The Courtyard Marriott for $65 night is the title of the post directly below this post. My backup Hilton Garden Inn is currently booked at $106 night is located at 815 14th St directly across street from McPherson Square station.

 

Yes, price is my primary factor as DC can be expensive. I'm willing to pay a little more for free HOT breakfast. My wife & I are both on Keto diets so can't eat carbs, so we'd require eggs and meat of some kind(bacon, sausage etc) Would be nice to fill up on breakfast  and have  a late lunch/early dinner meal to save money

 

Do you realize that neither of the hotels you mentioned offer a free breakfast? HGI says they have breakfast available but they never say it's free. Courtyard breakfast has never been free (which bothered me when they first opened many years ago before I learned to avoid them).

 

The Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall mentioned above seems to serve breakfast sandwiches as part of their free breakfast. I guess you could dump the bread and just eat the egg and meat.

 

Personally I think your specific breakfast requirement is going to be a real crap-shoot trying to blind bid on a hotel. You could end up disappointed when you don't end up with a place that has what you need.