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Priceline Hotel: Southport / Oak Island North Carolina area hotel advice needed


lostfan1
By lostfan1,
in

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I am a first time user, looking for good advice.

We are two non-smoking adults and two children wishing to stay Saturday July 14, 2007 through Wednesday July 18th in a comfortable chain hotel in the Southport / Oak Island area of North Carolina.

Priceline looks like it might be a great thing for us.

The kids are willing to sleep on an air mattress if we only get one bed (they only request a waffle maker at breakfast!)

There are only two hotels listed on Priceline for this area:

Hampton Inn Southport at $146 a night 2 1/2 stars

Comfort Suites Southport at $127 a night 2 stars ("all rooms non-smoking after May")

Neither are on the beach itself. There are several non-chain, family owned hotels on the beach itself, but my husband is all for guaranteed cleanliness and comfort and doesn't want to risk it.

The trip is four months away.

I looked at a rental house web page where the "already rented out" times were shaded, and yes, this IS the peak time for vacations, mid-July through August.

I can't find Southport or Oak Island on Hotwire

So, I'm thinking I'll start by bidding $55 a night, and Priceline will either accept or decline the bid for one of those two hotels. I'm assuming there's no other hidden hotels that might be in the running. I'm assuming that if Priceline declines the offer, I have enough time to keep increasing my bid by $5 at a time.

Once a bid is accepted, I can call Priceline and ask them to request a non-smoking, two bed room for us?

Does anyone see any problem with my plans or have any suggestions whatsoever? I'll post the final results of my bidding if this works out.

Thanks!

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First, I'd check to see if there are any reviews on tripadvisor.com of these hotels. IMO, you have as much chance having a bad room in a chain unfortunately!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g49552-S...ina-Hotels.html

Both of the chains look good here. By the way, these two hotels are in Southport, and not really Oak Island, an actual island! Not sure what is bringing you to the area, but you could also check Wilmington, Wrightsville, Carolina & Kure beaches, as well as Sunset, Holden & Ocean Isle on tripadvisor.

I like the Courtyard in Carolina Beach - it does come up on PL - it's the only 2.5 star. All rooms are oceanfront, and there is an indoor & outdoor pool.

Second, I think your "bidding plan" sounds fine, but there is a very good chance you won't get something on PL so you'll need a cancellable back up reservation.

If you do get a bid accepted, you can call the hotel directly with your requests. In my experience, King beds are usually in more "demand" than two doubles/queens, so I'd be surprised if you have any trouble!

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Welcome to BetterBidding.

I see one flaw with your approach:

There are only two hotels listed on Priceline for this area:
If you're using priceline's "retail" product to determine availability thru the "name your own price" product, then see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Thanks for your help, both of you.

I'm in the area because my sister and her in-law family are also staying on Oak Island during that week, so I have a little bit of flexibility with the dates, but I'd rather drive down on a weekend.

I listed my post as Southport / Oak Island because from what I understand, all the other little beaches around there have agreed to promote themselves under the "Oak Island" name, and I've seen several bumper stickers in my hometown promoting "Oak Island," so I figured anyone searching this message board would probably search for "Oak Island.

My bids of 55, 60, 70, and 75 have all been rejected.

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I'm very familiar with this area as my in-laws have a house in Caswell Beach on Oak Island. There are very few hotels in the area anyways (most are very basic; no frills), and the ones that you've bid on are a good 5 miles from the beach...plus traffic can be terrible at that busy intersection at the time of the year.

I'd suggest you try http://www.bluewaterpointmotel.com/html/motel__.html . I have never stayed there, but have eaten in their restaurant many times, and I know people who have stayed there. It looks like your average family-run hotel. It's not on the beach, but rather on the Intracostal Waterway...the beach is probably a 3-5 minute walk. I love Priceline too and this would definitely be a 2* at best on Priceline. But for your money, if they have availability, it would be my choice. It says their prices for your time period are $87.95/ night, so it seems to be in your price range...albeit on the high end.

Another vacation rental agency that we've used in the past is: http://rudd.com/rentals/rental-search/. I did a quick search for your dates and there were weekly condo rentals available on Oak Island with 2 bedrooms on the beach for $550...looked pretty nice.

Otherwise, if you want to stick with Priceline, you'll need to look at the Wilmington/Carolina Beach area which is a good 45 minutes away with traffic.

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