Priceline Hotel: Resort Bahamas (Grand Island) Lucaya Sheraton

[cityfishing]

I have a question about the Our Lucaya hotel in the Grand Bahamas. The hotel is really a Westin and Sheraton sharing the same facilities. When I am bidding on a resort for this location, am I getting the Westin or Sheraton?

[thereuare]

The rooms are operated separately (Sheraton advertises 550 Guest Rooms while the Westin advertises 749 Guest Rooms) so you'd be staying at whichever one accepts your bid.

[cityfishing]

Thanks. My bid of 77 for 5/25-5/27 was accepted at the Lucaya Sheraton. The Grand Bahamas only has 2 zones and free rebids are difficult unless you are flexible on which island to stay at. I originally wanted the 25th to 28th but my bid of 70 was rejected. PL came back and countered with 92 which I declined. I changed the dates to 25-27 and bid 60. PL countered with 77 which was accepted. I tried bidding again for just the 27th with a bid of 73. It was rejected with no counteroffer. I tried exteding my reservation for 1 more night at 77 but PL came back with an offer of 135. I will try again in 3 days. When PL counteroffers is that price always accepted?

[WillTravel]

Most often the counteroffer works, but theoretically if there aren't many rooms and there is sufficient demand someone else might book it before you have a chance to get it.

[thereuare]

I believe that when offered, the hotel is available at the counter-offer price.

The example WT provided is rare, but a possibility, which might explain somebody's rejection upon submitting an offer at the suggested conter-offer price.

[cityfishing]

Any suggestions on what to bid?

I have been trying to get an accepted bid on the last night of my stay May 27-28. I have the 25th-27th locked up at $77/night. I tried extending through PL, but they came back with an offer of 135 which I declined. Starwood.com has inventory for the night in question (159 for Sheraton and 189 for Westin). Hotwire has the Westin for 150. I have a cancellable backup reservation for 169 at the Sheraton.

There are no free rebids available and I have been trying multiple accounts for the past several days with no luck. Bids fom 65 to 100 have been rejected.

Is inventory low since it is the Thursday before a holiday weekend and I am only booking one night? Do you think more rooms will be released as we get closer to the end of the month?

[thereuare]

Since Priceline offered $135 i think that only going up to $100 is probably too low. I would try $110 and $120 over the next 2 bidding sessions (assuming your comfortable with that). It's still a savings over your other options and saves you the troulbe (and expense if going by taxi) of changing hotels.

No telling for certain if inventory will get better or worse as you approach your travel dates.

[cityfishing]

Update on my bids - I bid 110 and it was countered with 132. I declined the c/o. Instead I traded in some Starwood points to get the Westin for $60. It is a cancellable rate and an upgrade from the Sheraton. The hotel is in the same resort complex so moving shouldn't be that hard. I will keep on trying PL in case some inventory opens up.

I spoke with Starwood customer service about my Sheraton reservation (169/night). This was the cheapest cancellable rate on their website. I wanted them to link that room with my PL reservation. Rep told me the 169 rate is for 2 double beds and the PL rooms are for 1 king bed. She said she could link the 2 rooms in her system but that doesn't guarantee anything. The PL room can't be changed to 2 beds and my king room can't be changed to 2 doubles so she thinks I may have to switch rooms anyway. I just might stay with the Westin if I don't have any luck with PL.

[cityfishing]

Bad news. :)

The ferry that goes from Ft Lauderdale to the Bahamas (www.bahamasferry.com) is not running anymore. I just found out today and they are issuing refunds to all booked passengers. Very odd. They were taking bookings as of last week and now even their 800 number is down. The only other way to the Grand Bahamas is to fly or take the Discovery Cruise. Both options are not viable because of either cost or departure times.

I tried calling PL to see if they can do anything but got nowhere. No refunds or cancellations - no exceptions. It looks like I will have to eat these nights. Cheaper to spend 3 days in Florida. If anyone can use my 2 nights at the Sheraton Lucaya for 5/25 -5/27, please contact me.

[WillTravel]

Since this is such an odd situation and Priceline won't help, I wonder what would happen if you spoke to the hotel. But that is sure lousy; sorry that happened.

[cityfishing]

Good idea. I will contact them and see what they can do. I am sure I won't be the only guest that was expecting to come over on the catamaran/ferry.

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear of your cancelled plans.

What about any type of travel insurance that may be included in your credit card.

Might just be grasping at straws, but probably worth the phone call.

[cityfishing]

I have faxed the manager at the hotel asking them to help me out. Hopefully they can grant a refund or at least a credit towards a future stay.

I also contacted American Express. They have a policy to help cardholders that are not able to return a purchase. Too bad this doesn't cover services like hotel rooms. My Amex card doesn't have any automatic travel insurance and I am not going to dispute the charge. Looks like my best bet is the hotel mgmt.

[stram]

Just returned from Sheraton Our Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island & stayed from 4/30 to 05/03 & had a wonderful time & the best part was that we bid $70 & got accepted late March or early April on Priceline & could not believe that we got a better room with a view of the pool and beach for less than what we paid when we stayed in July 2003 when the lowest price on Starwood website was $99 per night. We had really good service & it was our 2nd visit & would recommend this to anyone if you are sure you can go without cancelling plans.

[kilarney]

Be advised that as of 5/30/04, the resort charges $8 per person service charge as well as a $2 per person resort fee. Therefore, two people sharing a room will be charged $20/night in fees. These fees are NOT covered in the taxes that are included in the Priceline bid. They are due as additional costs at checkout.