Priceline Hotel: 3* Toronto (Markham) Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites

[barginhunter]

Hi all,

I am new here, hope I post in the right place. I just heard about you guys on the Clark Howard radio show! :)

Before I heard about this site, I booked online directly with Staybridge Suites at MARKHAM

$179.99/night for 2 BDRM STE 1 KNG 1 QUEEN NONSMOKING with AAA rate. They said max. for 6 people. I was wondering if this is a good deal and if I could find something on hotwire or priceline for better? I saw Staybridge is on the hotwire and priceline list. But I think it's only a 2* ??? This one in Markham is suppose to be new, it looks really good in picture! I wonder if anyone stay there before?

We actually have 4 adults and 4 children in this room, but two of them are under 2 yrs old, I figured it's not a big deal if we have more than 6 people!? We are looking for something that's got space for the kids, pool to swim (to get some of those extra energy out!) and free breakfast. We want to be close by Scarborough to visit family, any suggestion?

Thanks!

[blindman]

Welcome to Betterbidding.

Priceline only guarantee a room that can accommodate two, even though quite often the hotel will give you a double bed, they don't have to.

Hotwire's maximum in a room is four.

So neither of these opaque sites will guarantee occupancy for your group (unless you bid for multiple rooms).

IHMO I'd stick with the normal retail side of things if your group size is that big and you want to 'squeeze' (Rather you than me !) into a room that accommodates 6.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Don't know how flexible you are in your plans since you say you want to be "close" to scarborough (and the hotel you booked is in Markham) but one option you do have is to search HOTWIRE for 2rooms/4adults/4children.

In doing so there is a 3* Customer Favorite hotel in Don Valley for $54/nite (your price may be slightly different). Add in HOTWIRE's fee and you're looking at about $60/nite per room (x2 rooms is $120/nite... about $60 less than your back-up reservation). Best guess is that this property is the Crowne Plaza (match the amenities shown in the HOTWIRE search to those in our Hotwire Hotel List).

Not sure if this location works out better/worse for your plans, and if having 2 separate rooms vs. one 2BR suite is better/worse, but it is an option to make this stay a little cheaper. The Springhill Suites may also come with breakfast, and this hotel does not, but not sure if this is worth $60 to you.

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

Let usk know whatever you ultimately decide to do or if we can be of further help.

[barginhunter]

Thanks for your help, I almost booked the Hotwire deal, it looks really good. But my friend told me someone recently bid for $55 on priceline and got the Holiday Inn Hotel And Suites Toronto Markham . So, I give it a try for $50 for 3* in the Markham area in Toronto on priceline and got two rooms for Aug.3-6 $50/night/room. I am pretty happy even though I kick myself wishing I had try something even lower. But my friend who bid on priceline a couple of weeks ago paid $70 for the same room in the same time period! :)

So, should I post this result somewhere? Like Canada under priceline bid!??

Thanks again for your help!

[cap]

You are still only guaranteed accomodations for 4 but chances are they will give you two rooms with two beds. You can call ahead to make special requests.

This is much wiser than trying to squeeze 8 in a room for 6. Fire code regulations forbid going above max occupancy even if the babies don't take much room. I bet room service can easily spot something is fishy the first time they clean the room. If you get caught, the hotel would have no other choice but to force you to reserve another room or evict you.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win.

As cap points out, the issue is that priceline only guarantees double occupancy... so booking two rooms has guaranteed sleeping accomodations for 4 people (when you'll really be eight). The reason i pointed out HOTWIRE above was that it guaranteed accomodations for all eight of you. For $4 per room i think it's a small price to pay to know that you won't encounter any issues at check-in. For a further discussion you can see the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Glad you found yourself a good deal though and the board was able to help you save some money.

Enjoy your stay.

[bacid]

FYI.

In the future if you are visiting in scarborough, book a hotel in Priceline's North York area.

The hotel that you will usually win is the Radisson which is a much better property compared to the Holiday Inn (I've stayed at both) and location-wise is better.