Priceline Hotel: Where is the best area to stay?

[porty17]

I'm travelling to a few cities in Europe for the first time and I need some help! I've used Priceline before but when travelling in the US, never used for European Cities before and not quite sure of the areas to bid for. Places visiting are as follows:

3rd - 6th Sept - Berlin

6th - 10th Sept - Nice

10th - 14th Sept - Rome

14th - 18th Sept - Madrid

Any help would be much appreciated please!!

[mrxow]

What is your budget? The best area for me depends on what is there and how much I have to pay for it...

[WillTravel]

Also, how many people in your party?

If you have to compromise between star level and location, which is more important to you?

Have you checked conventional sites to see the best deal you can get without bidding (this is essential so you can have an idea of how much you should bid before you'll regret it)?

Berlin is usually cheap, but not if there is a major conference going on, generally. Not sure if there is for your dates (but in other years, there have been conferences around those dates.) See the thread about the deals I have gotten from the Accorhotels.com site and also check out hotels.de and hrs.de .

Rome is getting so expensive and so crowded, and those are quite high-season dates. But get an initial idea by looking at www.venere.com .

For Madrid, start by looking at this site - http://www.solmelia.com . Most of the Priceline choices that come up are Sol Melia Tryp hotels, so this is the best place to get rate information.

For Nice, I can't give any personal info, but I know this is high season for Nice also.

[porty17]

There are two people in my party myself and my fiance. Ideally we would like to stay in 3* plus accommodation but would stay in less if meant being much closer location wise and also had good ratings.

Price wise would be willing to pay up to $100 a night, I realise I may need to pay more than this is in possibly Rome and Nice.

Thanks so much for info on websites so I can guage what to bid.

[porty17]

OK I've been doing some research on hotels in the various countires I'm visiting but find that the areas that are recommended do not fit well into the priceline bidding zones. Areas I am interested in:

Berlin - Mitte

Rome - Spanish Steps

Madrid - Puerta del sol

Nice - Promanade des anglais

Can you help with which areas I should bid in priceline to best fit the above?

[WillTravel]

Berlin - Mitte is within Priceline's East zone, but you could end up with something that was very "east" and not very "Mitte". Hotwire has a Mitte-Kreuzberg zone, which is somewhat better.

Rome - Spanish Steps (although I would argue that the Pantheon area is probably better) - but at any rate both the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon area are within the Central zone - which also includes a huge area including less desirable zones. I haven't checked Hotwire.

Madrid - Old Madrid - Bourbon Madrid

[porty17]

Sorry more questions!!

Was just wondering if I go through the booking process on priceline where I'm NOT naming my own price it has obviously a list of hotels. Are these hotels likely to be the ones I would be bidding for if I did name my own price?

[WillTravel]

There seems to be almost zero correlation between the list of hotels you can see and what hotel you might end up winning.

[thereuare]

See the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

[belgo]

Probably the best criteria to use would be the proximity of the Priceline hotels to good public transportation. Madrid and Berlin have good subway systems, so if your hotel is near a stop, you're in good shape. Rome has more of a bare-bones subway. Just as an aside, you seem to be spending a lot of time in Nice. The area around Nice is quite beautiful, so if you plan to go driving around, staying a few days is a good idea. Unless you have a car or are going to Nice for a conference, I'm not sure I would spend 3 days there (in particular, Nice's beaches are pretty lousy).

[darioc]

iv been told nice is a good place to use as base as it is central and can be one of cheaper areas to stay on the reviera.day trips can be taken to monaco,cannes and san remo(italy) by train or bus.

[lawdeda]

I've been to Rome several times. It's getting crowded!

Stay in the Central zone on priceline. Make sure you don't dip to low in the star ratings. And, singles tend to be large closets!

One last thing that, unfortunately, I have to stress to someone going to Rome for the first time -- watch your wallets and purses. Its the pickpocket capital of the world. Also make sure the restaurant will actually run a visa through before you order a meal. So many times they have claimed the machine is broken. (Anyone else having this problem in Italy lately?)

Otherwise, enjoy this wonderful city. Dolce vita! I'm envious. debra