Priceline Hotel: 4* San Diego (Coastal) Hilton San Diego Resort

[rmunson1]

Date 12/22/07 - 12/26/07

Prefer 4* (but may drop down to a 3* at some point)

Location must be San Diego Coastal - looking for San Diego areas to add that contain no 4*.

Would like to pay $75-85 as some successful bidders have indicated on your web site (one was over Labor Day), but might go as high as $90-$100 for a 4*.

If I drop down to 3*, hoping to be paying $65-75.

Hotwire has a 2.5* for $79 and a 4* for $139.

Your bidding help says 'use the Hotel list at your own risk, may not be accurate' - so is this (posting, waiting for a reply) the only way to find out which areas contain no 4* properties?

[Colfax]

The best way to determine your free rebid zones (zones that don't have any 4* hotels) is to go to Priceline's website and check the San Diego zones yourself, one zone at a time.

Last I checked there were 11 free rebid zones for 4* in San Diego. That can change at any time so it's best that you recheck the zones immediately before you bid.

If you have trouble identifying your 11 free rebid zones repost here and someone will help further.

[thereuare]

This thread should also help: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

Feel free to ask any questions you have after reading the above.

[rmunson1]

To get educated, I am currently focusing on 3 posts in Better Bidding:

Priceline Hotel List - California - this has extensive disclaimers which clearly say 'DO NOT USE THIS LIST to determine what areas to add when attempting to bid again.'

Bidding Again before 72 hours, -it can often be done! - this clearly says how to find out which zones have hotels at which * ratings. However, it is out of date.

Priceline star ratings format changed?? - this tells how it works now - simple, just click the (only) zone you want to check and it will remove (or gray out) * levels which are not in that zone. This would be perfect, except it doesn't work for me - I suspect because I am using my son-in-law's MAC with Safari and it just works different. Or else Priceline changed their interface?

Bottom line, I want to bid. I want to rebid as much as possible. But I don't want to get burned and get a surprise 'fill' of my order with a hotel from another zone that I thought wouldn't happen.

I want a 4*, San Diego Coastal, 12/22/07 - 12/26/07. I want to pay $75-95. My backup plan is Hotwire 2.5* at $79 for, presumably, the Holiday Inn Express?

Am I bidding too early (hotels haven't released rooms yet)?

Is there a way to learn (since Safari will not gray out any * levels for any San Diego zone) which zones have no 4* and are thus available for free rebids? Or, has Priceline changed such there is no way to find (for sure) free rebids?

[Colfax]

I don't have a Mac but I think I've seen posts from other Mac users who said they were unable to check the quality levels in zones with Safari. Hopefully a Mac user will see this and maybe be able to sugest a workaround.

At this time Coastal, Downtown, and Coronado are the only San Diego zones with 4* bidding. The other eleven zones are free rebids for 4*. You'll want to confirm the quality levels immediately before you bid though, in case they change. If you can't check zones on the Mac maybe bid on a friend's PC? or at the public library or at Kinko's?

I looked on HOTWIRE and I don't see a 2.5* for $79. If you still see that deal which zone is it in and what are the amenity icons? We need those to try and identify.

[thereuare]

Bidding Again before 72 hours, -it can often be done! - this clearly says how to find out which zones have hotels at which * ratings. However, it is out of date.

If you have a local issue (only specific to your own computer) which is causing this not to work, doesn't mean that the post is out of date.

I believe the issue is 'Safari specific' so i would try downloading a version of "internet explorer for Mac", but of course, check with your son-in-law to make sure it's "ok" (maybe hardcore Mac users don't want anything from MSFT on their computers). I'd also just to make sure that javascript is enabled.

Not sure if you're visiting your son-in-law temporarily or for an extended period, but Colfax has given you the information you need to bid, but if you want to 'fully understand' (as it appears you are interested in learning the process) you may just want to wait until you're on a different computer (if it will be a week or two until you're on a different non-Mac computer) since your stay is so far away.

[rmunson1]

RE: Hotwire - it is still there as of 10:00 a.m. 8/20. San Diego Coastal (the only area that 'works' - this is 'too many in 1 house Christmas overflow' housing), 2.5*, $79. The only amenities listed are 'pool(s)' and 'fitness center'.

RE: 'MAC' - thanks for your comments. I spent some time trying to get it to work and was losing my mind until it occurred to me it might be MAC/Safari.

Thanks.

RE: 'out of date' - sorry, I apologize, I wrote that part before I realized it might be a MAC/Safari issue.

RE: downloading - I will probably not (he is gone on vacation), we leave (Manhattan) tomorrow, but won't be home (California) until 8/28. Given the info from Colfax about where 4* are located is current as of this morning, I may try some this morning (using SavingsBarn) and if that fails, wait until I get home and go through the process (check 1 at a time).

Am I bidding too early (hotels haven't released rooms yet)?

Any comments about this question (am I too early)? Is there any rule of thumb about lead time? I suspect that Christmas may have different 'rules' than other times of year.

[thereuare]

San Diego Coastal (the only area that 'works' - this is 'too many in 1 house Christmas overflow' housing), 2.5*, $79. The only amenities listed are 'pool(s)' and 'fitness center'.

Coastal zone on HOTWIRE? :)

Am I bidding too early (hotels haven't released rooms yet)?

See the related link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

If you kept your bidding at under $85-$100 i don't think you run the risk of overbidding. If you confirm your maximum bid we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[rmunson1]

Yes, Coastal zone in Hotwire - 'D' - I merely unchecked every zone (A,B,C,E,F,G,H) but coastal and was left with two choices in Hotwire in San Diego Coastal - $139 per night (4*) and $79 per night (2.5*).

Today, using the advice that Downtown and Coronado were the only Priceline properties with 4*, I used my free bids to bid (via SavingsBarn) on Priceline for a San Diego Coastal 4*, $70-72-74-76-78-80-82-84-86-88-90) all unsuccessful. I would say I wanted one of those, but as for my limit, I will go to $100.

So, what should my strategy be for Coastal 4*.

Should that fail, I would like a suggestion, if I drop to 3*, how high should I go? I won't attempt that until I get home on a Windows machine and determine which areas provide free bids for 3*. I might delay getting going the 3* route until Oct/Nov?

[thereuare]

What city are you entering to search HOTWIRE for this stay... when i enter 'San Diego' zone 'D' is the Gaslamp Quarter?

If you've already bid up to $90 there's not much else you can do except increase your bid up to your maximum... you have so many re-bid zones you could start at $90 (or a few dollars less) and increase $1 per bid... although i usually do a few dollars at a time for the sake of time.

[rmunson1]

Thanks for the input/advice.

RE: Hotwire - sorry I never provided that info before - no wonder others have been confused. I actually entered La Jolla, CA, not San Diego, even though the zones for La Jolla are going to be similar to the zones for San Diego, A thru H obviously end up changing around some.

[thereuare]

Let us know what happens once you bid your maximum for a 4* and we'll then take a look at the 3* properties.

The HOTWIRE property has not yet been identified.

[rmunson1]

I finally got back home and can confirm that Safari/Mac was the source of my earlier difficulties (using Safari I was unable to check boxes and see which star levels are included for free rebids). Using Vista/PC the Priceline page works as you describe.

So, I finally got around to trying again tonight (via Savings Barn). I started with Coastal and $90. It immediately countered me for a $22 increase. I declined, added a zone and bid $95 - rejected. I added another free zone and bid $101 and was accepted. The price is fine. The location is (barely) acceptable. Your hotel list is current and accurate, but I didn't realize, when I saw Hilton San Diego Resort on the list, that that is the Hilton on Mission Bay at 1775 East Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, California 92109. I have been here and don't consider it a 4*. We shall see. It has been 10 years and perhaps it has been upgraded. I was hoping for the Hyatt or Hilton in La Jolla. Oh well.

Thanks for your help.

For those who missed the previous thread, a month ago I tried $70 with $2 increments on free bids up to $90 - all rejected.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win.

With rates directly from the Hilton website starting at $197/nite i think this is a pretty good deal.

Unless your experience was truly awful 10 years ago i wouldn't use that as a basis to have a negative impression of your upcoming stay... the hotel has likely been thru an upgrade in that period as well as a complete changeover in staff, so hopefully you'll have an open mind and the experience will be better this time around.

Thanks for sharing your win with the board and for using the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.