Priceline Hotel: July 30 to Aug 2 SF USW or USE

[westie]

Since I don?t have to be in Palo Alto till Aug 6, maybe I should stay in SF or elsewhere till Aug 2 ?

[westie]

Please advise, looking for room around $80.

Using MAC, please help and confirm what rebid zones are available for 4 star and/or 3 star. Can?t see rebid zones? stars on the MAC.

What to do with parking, when you buy opague, do low stars mean no parking ? Big hotels have paid parking, right?

I can pay up to $100, and stick to $50 rooms the rest of my trip in Santa Clara, but would prefer $80 + parking $.

Thanks

[westie]

I found the 3 rebid zones for 4 star, it is Civic Centre, Cathedral, and South SF.

Is it different if I was to bid for a 3 star?

Thanks

[Colfax]

For 3* you only have one free rebid zone, Civic Center. That zone only goes to 2.5*.

I'll look at your request in more detail later today or tonite.

[Colfax]

I haven't looked at rates for your exact days yet, westie, but usually you'll be able to win a 3* or Boutique in Union Square for $100 or less and maybe a 4* (depends on rates for your dates).

But before strategy are you sure you want a car in SF? Depending which hotel you win parking could cost up to $50/night. You can't count on free parking even at a Priceline 2* Downtown (although the parking charge at a 2* will be less than $50.) Even if parking was free driving around Downtown SF is a big headache, especially if you don't know your way around. You'll want to walk or take public transport or cabs to the tourist sites, as all of them have their own steep parking charge.

Unless you have a reason for driving into SF my suggestion would be to take BART or a shared shuttle from the airport to Downtown on 7/30 and back to the Airport on 8/2. You could pick up your rental car at the airport on 8/2, on your way to Santa Clara.

If you're sure you want a car in SF there are some motor court hotels with free parking that you can book conventionally. Those are 1* or 2* hotels like Travelodge and Econolodge and they're not near Union Square, but some have decent reputations and I can make some suggestions if you like. Those will probably cost $80-120 too though.

For the same money you could get something nicer and in a more central location on Priceline....IF you don't bring a car.

[Steak2007]

As for transportation to/from the airport, I used 2 different shuttle van services on my recent trip and both were very smooth. Fare was $14 from airport (Airport Express) and $16 going back (Super Shuttle, which runs 24 hours). Just make sure you allow yourself enough time to get back to the airport. Allow a little extra, you never know how traffic will be, etc.