Priceline Hotel: 3* Allentown Crowne Plaza

[Paula K]

The Crowne Plaza Allentown was just upgraded from a 2* to 3* on Priceline! I am really glad about this because now I can bid on it! I like the Crowne Plaza rooms and you can usually get a very good deal when they are not heavily booked. I would not bid on a 2* in Allentown, because some of the other hotels in the group are pretty sketchy - I found this out by experience.

What I do is go to Hotwire, where, thanks to betterbidding, you can identify the Crowne Plaza and the price it is going for there. Recently, the Crowne Plaza has been listed at $49. (By the way, it has been a 3* on Hotwire for a long time.) Then I go to Priceline, and bid on 3* or 2.5* hotels in the Allentown/Allentown-Bethlehem/Quakertown areas, never going over $49. If I can't get a better deal on Priceline and I run out of time, I would go to Hotwire and get the Crowne Plaza for $49. I've been trying unsuccessfully for a few weeks for our Thanksgiving trip, and just noticed tonight that the Crowne Plaza showed up on Priceline as a 3* in the regular "pick your hotel" section, for $104 / night.

So I went to "name your own price" and bid:

3* Allentown area - $40 (not accepted)

3* Allentown area, added Quakertown area for a free bid - $43 (ACCEPTED by Crowne Plaza Allentown) :) :o :)

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $43.00

Subtotal: $301.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $43.33

Total Charges*: $344.33

Just want to add here, so others know, the Crowne Plaza charges an additional $6 / day for parking so you need to take that into account, or you can park on the street. Usually, we don't have problems finding street parking, but you have to be very careful to follow the rules as they DO give parking tickets if you are parked illegally for any reason. Then you will wish you had just paid the $6 - found this out by experience also. :)