Priceline Hotel: 4* San Diego (Downtown-Harbor Island) Hilton Gaslamp Quarter

[spookywood]

Hi

I was wondering if someone would be able to help me with a bidding strategy for using priceline for our trip to San Diego? I have never used Priceline but have been reading this board (which is great :) ) for a couple of weeks now and feel ready to give it a go.

We are arriving on October 13th and are staying for 5 nights. There are 6 in our party, so we would like 3 rooms and would like to stay in the Downtown/Gaslamp area. Our max bid would be $100 per night and we would prefer to stay in a 4*. The 4* part is mainly down to the fact that we would be happy with any of the 4* properties in this area, however if anyone thinks that any of the other properties (3*, 2* etc) in this area are as good/acceptable/good location etc we would be happy to do this also. Price is a main consideration, however location is most important as we don't have a car :)

We have never been to San Diego before so any advice is much appreciated. We are looing for a good base to go sightseeing and for easy access to restaurants and pubs for the evening.

Thanks for your help

Spooky

[xanthia]

I recently Pricelined my trip to San Diego and stayed at the 4* Paradise Point Resort ($99), which was spacious and pleasant, but undoable without a car. Gaslamp/Downtown is really your only option if you are going carless. If you should luck out and get the Omni downtown, it's a really nice hotel (and I'm quite fussy). Main advice: pool your resources and rent a car. This is California and the only city that you can really do carless is San Francisco. There is so much to see in San Diego and you'll miss a bunch without a car.

[thereuare]

xanthia,

Please post your win as a NEW TOPIC so that others can benefit from your experience.

spookywood,

To confirm, there is no "Gaslamp-Downtown" zone... are you ok with the "Downtown-Harbor Island" zone? Let us know and we'll proceed with a strategy to follow.

[headtrip]

Because there are 6 of you, I would agree with Xanthia that a car/SUV is your best option, just because you will save based the number of people.

But for only $5.00, you can get a day pass good on any Trolley or bus and most attractions like Balboa park, Old Town, and the waterfront are only a few minutes travel from downtown San Diego.

We stayed in the Omni hotel downtown and the Trolley Station, Petco Park, and the Convention Center are all just accross the street. Talk about convenient.

Also, one attraction we didn't plan, but we were very glad we went to on our trip to SD was the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. It is the longest serving aircraft carrier in the Navy, and it really does take about 4 hours to visit the whole ship, with headsets helping you understand and re-live when the ship was in service. I highly reccomend it if you have the time.

[spookywood]

Thanks for all the replies. I think the Downtown/Harbour area sounds the best for us. So a strategy for this area would be much appreciated :)

We are thinking of renting a car but only for a couple of days to get out to the National Park and to La Jolla.

Someone also recommended the Comfort Inn Gaslamp, this is probably a silly question, but if we were to bid on 2* is there anyway of upping our chances of getting this hotel? Anyone any thoughts on this hotel? The rates are $125 on their website so are we better to stick with 4* and hopefully get for that price or less and def be happy with our win?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all your help

Spooky

[thereuare]

There is no way to target the Comfort Inn, and comparing a Comfort Inn to a priceline 4* hotel is really an apples vs. oranges comparison as the two are different hotel classes. I did read some reviews of that property and didn't see anything that would make it a hotel you would want to target. If you do want to book this hotel direct please note that we are an affiliate of the Comfort Inn and would appreciate you using our links to begin your purchase.

I do think your chanes of success at a 4* property are good, but it's up to you if you'd rather go for a higher rated 'unknown' hotel or if you'd rather go with a direct booking.

Let us know what you'd like to do and if you want to try priceline we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[spookywood]

Thanks Thereur. I would like to go with the 4* Downtown area.

6 people all trying to arrange the same holiday is proving to be quite a challenge!

Thanks for your help

Spooky :)

[thereuare]

At the 4* level you have 11 re-bid zones available. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* Downtown-Harbor Island...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $125.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[spookywood]

Thanks Thereuare.

I had a go last night, starting at $65 and went up to $115 with no joy with 4* Downtown and Harbour Island. Do you think it's best to wait a while before bidding again or do I just have to accept that it's going to take more than $115 at this time of year? Do you think it made a difference that I was bidding for 3 rooms for 5 nights and would be worth splitting it?

I'm away to check out the 3* hotels that have come up and see if this could be an option.

Thanks for your help

Spooky

Almost forgot - I linked through savingsbarn although I'm not sure if this makes a difference since I didn't win anything :-)

[headtrip]

Spookywood,

Sorry you didn't win on your first try, but I would try the same bidding strategy again, except that I haven't seen anything 4* downtown won for less than $80 for quite some time, so I would reccomend that you start again at that price and going up 3 dollars each bid. And yes, of course bidding 3 rooms for 5 nights does make a difference because the priceline inventory is limited and so if a hotel has only 2 rooms available or only 4 of the nights available, you are not going to get your transaction processed....but remember, rooms do get released to priceline if occupancy is low and I think you should try again each day. Unless you don't mind a Holiday Inn or Clarion at a 3* rating, I wouldn't reccomend bidding below 4* because the savings between star ratings in San Diego are very small.

One other thing, to protect your piece mind and allow you to bid right up to your stay, make sure you have a cancellable backup reservation if case the priceline bidding strategy isn't working.

Good luck!

[thereuare]

I agree with headtrip above.... stick with it and book a cancellable back up in the meantime.

I commented above i didn't see/read anything special with the Comfort Inn, but if it came recommended to you, maybe book that as a back-up? (make sure you book their refundable rate if various rates are offered). Please use the link in this post if you choose that as a back-up.

Also note that HOTWIRE has a 4* available in the Gaslamp Quarter (best guess is either the Solamar or the Omni) for $160/nite... not sure if you're interested in paying that much, but it is in the Gaslamp Quarter zone (see HOTWIRE's map of the area) which is smaller than priceline's "Downtown" zone and should get you close to a location you're seeking (i'd also check the location of each of the above mentioned hotels if you are interested in this). Note that this is not good as a cancellable back-up since just like Priceline, HOTWIRE is non-refundable. (please do use the HOTWIRE links in this post if you go this route)

Keep us updated or feel free to ask any additional questions.

[spookywood]

Hi

When I am searching hotwire for a hotel a different hotel comes up when I change the selection from 2 adults to 1 adult. The 1 adult hotel is in a more convenient location (based on amenities compared with the hotel list), so my question is, would this be suitable for 2 adults? I wouldn't take this chance normallyfor greater than double occupancy, however I have never heard of a hotel with a room that only lhas single occupancy per room. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your help

spooky

[Blueskies]

Perhaps if you give us a bit more details about your trip and the hotels you think you are seeing then we can all help by giving you our opinion. Dates? City? Actual persons per room? Price?

Single occupancy rooms are certainly available in the UK.

Hotwire often has a bank of hotels that it rotates with different search criteria and some times just relates to timing.

Good luck

[spookywood]

Thanks for replying blueskies. My trip details are as follows

San Diego (downtown/Gaslamp areas) Oct. 13th to Oct. 18th. There are 6 in our group, 3 couples. I was checking out the different hotels that came up and the main difference was between selecting 1 person per room and 2 people per room. When 1 person per room is selected the hotel comes up as below

$132 4* downtown Customer favourite, with Fitness centre, pool, restaurant and business centre which is a match for the Westin Horton Plaza

and for 2 people per room the hotel that comes up is

$132 4* downtown customer favourite, with airport shuttle, fitness centre, pool, business, restaurant and tennis nearby, which looks like a match for the Sheraton Marina

Do you think I would be ok to purchase the hotel (hopefully the Westin) using the 1 person per room search for 2 people per room?

Thanks for your help

Spooky

[thereuare]

When searching directly at the Westin website all rooms shown either have a King bed or 2 Doubles so i would think you'd be fine... but of course no guarantees :)

Please remember to use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchases you make.

[spookywood]

Thanks for everyones help. Was looking at Hotwire as a back-up plan should I not be successful with Priceline, however I have just won the Hilton San Diego GasLamp Quarter :) I am so pleased with this win!!

I won it for $106, Oct 13th to Oct 18th, 3 rooms.

I started at $75 and went up by 2-3$ each bid. When I reached $99 it told me to bid $22 extra to get a room. I then bid up in $1 increments to $106 where the bid was accepted. I have been bidding for the past week or so on most days so I presume some inventory must have just been released.

Thanks everyone for all your help, I am really looking forward to my San Diego trip and couldn't have been happier with my priceline win!

Thanks again

Spooky

[headtrip]

Great News and Congratulations on your win. I am sure you will be happy with the Hotel. Remember that Hotel Parking is $26.00 per day and valet only, but you can park at 3rd and K a 1/2 block away for $12 (per tripadvisor) a day, but no in and out privledges.

Also, FYI, you can see a list of San Diego Museums and Attractions here:

San Diego Attractions

Have a great trip.

[spookywood]

Thanks for the great tip. We are planning to get a car for a couple of days so the cheaper parking tip is greatfully welcomed.

I didn't realise there were so many museums in San Diego! Wewill have to start picking out the ones we want to see. Any recs?

spooky :)

[headtrip]

Also, one attraction we didn't plan, but we were very glad we went to on our trip to SD was the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. It is the longest serving aircraft carrier in the Navy, and it really does take about 4 hours to visit the whole ship, with headsets helping you understand and re-live when the ship was in service. I highly reccomend it if you have the time.

If you are nostalgic at all about the armed services, or are interested in the San Diego's history with the Navy which goes back over 100 years, this really is an incredible experience. Also you can practically walk there from the hotel, only 1/2 mile away.