Priceline Hotel: General help, info Costa Mesa hotel 4/29-5/1

[swrnak]

Hi! Just discovered this site and excited about it! I've occassionally used priceline in the past, but never hotwire. I'm planning a trip to Costa Mesa (planning to spend time at South Coast Plaza, so of course it would be nice to be near there). Will be staying Sunday night for sure, but may go Saturday too. I've heard concerns about HW's hotel quality levels compared to PL's. It appears that HW's zone is smaller for this neighborhood - a feature I like since I imagine a PL hotel could be quite some distance from the mall. When the HW offers come back sorted by distance for this area, does it mean the first ones listed are closest to the mall (that is the feature shown on the map)? My offers are this (by distance): 2* $60, 4* $82, 3* $86, 2.5* $65, 3.5* $51. The 3.5* for $51 looks tempting, but it is listed last by distance, and the amenities look more like the doubletree than the westin on your hotel list (by the way, how come only 2 hotels are on the list????). Anyway, the doubletree santa ana wouldn't be bad- its still pretty close - but if this offer is actually something like the doubletree irvine spectrum then it might be getting a little too far.

I'd love ANY information you all can give me regarding the Costa Mesa area hotels and hotwire or priceline rates for them. Thanks in advance!

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

First thing to do is finalize your plans and determine if you will be staying one nite or two.

Then list the star rating and amenities of the properties you are considering thru Hotwire and we will try to help identify them.

[swrnak]

We most likely will stay 2 nights, but I did check both options, and it appears the 3* hotel I'm offered changes! I'll list both just for curiosity's sake and see what you think of it.

I will list everything as the 2 night option, but will put the 1 night option price in (), then will list the 1 night 3* choice.

2* $60 (61), laundry

4* $82 (82), shuttle, restaurant, pool, fitness, business

3* $86 shuttle, rest, pool, laundry

2.5* $65 ($65), high-speed internet

3.5* $53 ($47) shuttle, rest, fitness, high-speed, business

for 1 night: 3* $99, shuttle, rest, pool, fitness, business, laundry

Any help is greatly appreciated, also wondering if you think it'd be a better deal to try priceline based on these offers?

[thereuare]

Rather than start with all the hotels that are shown, are some a more viable possibility than others? For example, is a 2* at $61 really a possibility when there are other higher rated hotels for much less or just $4 more?

Priceline will usually save you money, but you then have less control over taking an educated guess at the property.

Let us know if some of the above are better possibilities than others and we'll try to identify them (if not alread in our hotel lists it can be a time consuming process) or if price is the most important and you'd sooner just go with Priceline anyway, in which case we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

[swrnak]

Of course the offer on the 3.5* is most appealing, but I will consider anything above 3*. I understand that your assistance is time-consuming (of course I know about the preferred link!), but I'm trusting your expertise as well - perhaps you know that people are not usually satisfied with a hotwire 3*?, or other general info about this zone, even without the specifics about the actual hotels (which would be fantastic if you can provide!). Of course price is a factor, but as I said originally it looks like HW's zone is much smaller than PL's which may be a big advantage. (comments are welcome on that thought, too!)

[thereuare]

I will consider anything above 3*

Including 3* properties? (or 3.5* and above)

[dave123]

Swrnak,

The 4* $82 is probably the Hilton Costa Mesa, right by South Coast Plaza. You could get a better price on PL but you may end up with some of the very nice hotels in Irvine (Hyatt e.g.) which unfortunately for you are not walking distance to the mall (but are still only a 5 min drive). I am sure you can get a 4* for $65 max for your dates. I don't think the 3.5 option will be as close to the mall as the 4*. It's probably in Santa Ana, thereby the low price.

In general, a hotwire 3* is a priceline 2.5*

Good luck