warzbiz Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Hi everyone. I'm trying to book a pre-cruise stay in San Juan for Friday 2/22/08. (I'll also be trying for a post-cruise night on Saturday 3/1/08 but I'll start a different thread for that stay.)I saw the posting from Domer69 on Mar 25 2007, indicating they won the Marriott San Juan Resort and Stellaris Casino for Saturday 2/2/08 for $105. Considering that rooms for that date are listed at $335, this is an amazing deal! Hopefully, I'll be able to do as well.I think I understand the rebid zones for San Juan Resorts but would appreciate a confirmation. Priceline has 6 zones in Puerto Rico but only 2 of them (1. San Juan and 2. Rio Grande-Humacao) have resort properties. Therefore I'd be able to use the other 4 zones (3. Cabo Rojo, 4. Dorado, 5. Mayaguez-Isabela, and 6. Ponce-Guanica) as free rebid zones when trying for a San Juan Resort. Is this correct?Can anyone suggest a bidding strategy? Do you get more rebids if you close the browser between attempts and then re-access priceline?Thanks. Link to comment
thereuare Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Yes, you have your four re-bid zones at the Resort level correct... but always doublecheck them before each bidding cycle to make sure nothing has changed.What is your maximum bid for this stay and we'll suggest a strategy to follow. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
warzbiz Posted July 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I suppose I'd be willing to bid up to $165 if necessary. Link to comment
thereuare Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I would try as follows, using yoru four re-bid zones...Select Resort San Juan...Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $75, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select Resort San Juan and re-bid zone2...Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $95, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select Resort San Juan and re-bid zone3...Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $105, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select Resort San Juan and re-bid zone4...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $115, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select Resort San Juan and re-bid zone2 and re-bid zone3...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $125, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.Select Resort San Juan and re-bid zone2 and re-bid zone4...Bid $130, if rejected add re-bid zone1...Bid $135.That is about as high as i would bid this early before the stay (if you'd like to bid higher we can continue on though)Any questions feel free to ask.Good Luck and let us know how it goes. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
warzbiz Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Followed the suggested progression but didn't have any luck yet. Rejected all the way up to $135. I'll keep trying though. Time is on my side! Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Yes... plenty of time.Keep us updated. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
warzbiz Posted August 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I've gone through the bidding strategy at least 5 times for each of my two stays (Friday 2/22/08 and Saturday 3/1/08) but still no luck. I see two wins on the board that are near my dates. One on Saturday 2/2/08 for $105 and the other on Saturday 5/10/08 for $110. It seems like most of the reported wins for a Resort in San Juan are at the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. I checked the Marriott website and they show $335 rooms available for both dates.The people I'm traveling with are getting a bit nervous and I'm considering increasing the max bid to $160 just to be done with it. Can you suggest a modified bidding strategy?My other thought is to find a fully refundable backup hotel (like I would in Vegas) and keep bidding with the current strategy.Opinions? Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 This stay is 6+ months away... i'd book a cancellable back-up.If you don't need a Resort, at least for your first stay (i haven't looked at your second stay) HOTWIRE has a 3.5* for $109/nite which matches, and our best guess would be, the Sheraton Old San Juan... which seems like a pretty good deal if you're looking to be in this area, and especially if your ship is leaving from the Old San Juan pier.Any interest in this one? Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
warzbiz Posted August 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 I checked Hotwire on 8/18 when I got your message. Unfortunately, the 3.5* in San Juan was over $200. I've checked back pretty regularly but haven't seen the prices move very much.I appreciate the suggestion though and would certainly consider that as an option. Thanks. Link to comment
thereuare Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 My bad, i was searching for the date of 2/28/08, which you mentioned in your first post... but this isn't the date of your stay, only a date you were referencing. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
warzbiz Posted October 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Still trying for a resort through priceline. I've even adjusted the bidding strategy upwards to a max bid of $175 but still no luck for either of my two stays (Friday 2/22/08 and Saturday 3/1/08). I've also been looking at Hotwire for alternatives. Any idea what hotel this is? (It doesn't seem to match up with anything in the pinned Hotwire Hotel List for Puerto Rico and Caribbean.)3*San Juan, Puerto RicoCheck-in on 2/22/08 1 night$116Hotel Amenities:Near BeachComplimentary BreakfastFitness CenterRestaurant(s)Business CenterLaundry FacilitiesHigh-speed Internet AccessGolf NearbyTennis Nearby Link to comment
thereuare Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 The above is a match for the Hotel Miramar so that would be our best guess.Please use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchases you make.As the reviews for the above property are not that great, have you found a back-up hotel yet? How about the Holiday Inn for $199/nite? (cancellable up until a few days before your stay and there is no booking fee, so actually only about $20 more than your maximum bid stated above). I've never stayed at this property but did use the pool area (as our hotel's pool was being renovated and they made arrangements to use the pool at this Holiday Inn) so i'm a little familiar with it... from the outside the hotel looks like a 'plain vanilla' Holiday Inn but inside the lobby and other public areas are actually quite nice. You can read soem of the reviews HERE and I have posted some pics at RealHotelPhotos.com. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
warzbiz Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Gave it another try on December 21st and won the Caribe Hilton for $170.I used the link from Savingsbarn.com Selected: San Juan, Resort...Bid $160The bid was rejected but Priceline said that if I added $25 to my offer, they would allow me to bid on the same stay right away.I closed the browser and re-accessed Priceline through Savingsbarn.comSelected: San Juan, Resort, and added re-bid zone1...Bid $170 and won the Caribe Hilton. (I'm hoping it's as nice as the Marriott Stellaris that I won for our post cruise stay at $185.)Check-In Date: Friday, February 22, 2008 Check-Out Date: Saturday, February 23, 2008 Hotel Name: Caribe HiltonLos Rosales Street San Juan, Puerto Rico 901 787-721-0303Summary of Charges Billing Date: December 21, 2007 Your Offer Price: $170.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Subtotal: $170.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $45.27 Total Charges*: $215.27 *Prices are in US dollars. Link to comment
thereuare Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Congratulations on your win!The Hilton is a very nice hotel in San Juan... considering the age of the property the grounds are kept immaculate! However, in my experience, as i have mentioned frequently on the board, is that none of the hotels in San Juan are consistently "great". The hotels are relatively expensive, and when paying the prices they fetch, users expect a higher level of service than if the price was less. Although part of the the US, Puerto Rico is sitll very much an island which operates on "island time"... so service levels fall a little short relative to the prices paid. This explalins why there are so many mixed reviews for almost all the San Juan hotels.With the above noted, i'd have no problem returning the Hilton, especially for a short pre/post cruise stay... just have realistic expectations.Thanks for the post and for using the priceline SavingsBarn.com links to begin your bidding.Have a great stay (and cruise). Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
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