Priceline Hotel: Resort Miami (Beach) Fountainbleau Hilton

[traveler4ever]

Hello, First I wanted to say thank you for your wonderful board-It seems to be one of the more friendlier ones around! :o

I have already bid (and won) on PL for a 4* hotel in South Beach for $65 at the Royal Palm on June 26-June 28.

Well, I also need a room on July 2 for one night, either resort or 4*.

All my bids and rebids have been rejected at $82. Do you suggest I wait or bid much higher?

Also, just a question if anyone has disputed the fact that Royal Palm charges a $10 resort fee at the hotel? Only if you bid resort on PL will it tell you there are hidden fees. not happy about this one :)

thanks in advance for your help. :)

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please post your June 26-28 winning bid as a new topic so that others will see it and it will have a title of its own which represents the hotel won; we'll continue this thread for your one nite stay on July 2.

Rates don't seem higher for your July 2nd stay than what you won for the end of June (at least not at the Royal Crowne Plaza) but obviously they have not released inventory to Priceline at the same rate.

I would recommend raising your limit to $95 (going up gradually) as the $65 rate you received is at the very low end of the accepted range and raising to $95 opens up the door to MANY more properties that might be available.

Upon return from my own stay at the Royal Crowne Plaza (over a year ago) i called or emailed (i forget which) corporate headquarters regarding the resort fee. I wasn't challenging it based upon my purchase on Priceline as it is within their Terms and Conditions that resort fees are not included in your bid, but rather my disappointment in the trend towards 'resort' fees. I oppose these when they are mandatory and charged regardless if you use the facilities or not. When they're mandatory i feel they are just an attempt to make published rates appear to be lower than they are and give the hotel an opportunity to collect more than published rates. I also questioned their charging a resort fee as there is no gym, i didn't use the pool (nor did it seem as elaborate as a 'resort' pool should be), and i checked-in late and check-out early the next day. I received a call back and was asked what it would take make me 'happy' and i said a refund of the resort fee and they issued me a credit on my credit card.

[traveler4ever]

Thank you for your help.

I will post my result as a separate topic.

In regard to the resort fee and this particular hotel, is it really not a nice hotel? I'm fearing the worst from all the bad things I've read. It's a shame priceline rates it as a 4* when other sites name it 3*. Glad you got your money back. I wonder if I arrive there and speak to a general manager and complain if they would even do anything about that. Or complain to priceline directly?

Also, do you know if I bid higher you say it opens doors to more properties, is it the higher I bid, the nicer hotel I get?

[thereuare]

The hotel is fine and it was what i expected from a 'trendy' area. We arrived at 8pm or so and had a flight out the next morning so we left the hotel about 11am and didn't get the opportunity to utilize any of the facilities (which made the resort fee that much more aggrevating... although i knew about it ahead of time, that doesn't mean i have to agree with their policy).

The decor is nice, but the grounds were not what i think of when i think of a resort property. When i think of Resort i think of large pool areas, expansive grounds, fitness center, etc.... the hotel just doesn't have enough space to be an all-out full resort (in my eyes). Although i wasn't blown away by the property, i can assure you that you got a very good deal and you will get your $65 worth (or $75 if you include the resort fee). The location is excellent and it's on the beach!

You can read my full review in the HOTEL REVIEWS section of the board.

Don't get yourself worked up over the $10 and let it spoil your trip.... even $75 is an excellent deal for this property and area. When i was there i saw somebody who had booked 9 rooms over 3-4 days and for him the fee was a big issue (9 rooms x 4 days x $10/day = $360!!) and i didn't see him getting anywhere in his complaint (he had booked direct and was never told about the fee until he showed up at check-in). I would let it go and pay the $10, if you're disappointed when you get home feel free to write a letter, but realize that you may not have the success that i did.

My point about bidding a bit higher is that i think you're below the minimum accepted bid amount for most 4* or Resort hotels in this area. The Crowne Plaza is one of the hotels in the area with the lowest acceptance rate ($65 is the lowest we've seen i believe). Since your bids for 7/2 have already been rejected up to $82, i think there is a good chance you are slightly under the lowest accepted prices we've seen at other hotels in this area.

For a clearer example, assume the CP accepts as low as $65 but the next lowest price we've seen accepted by another hotel in the area is $85. If the CP is not available, you're not even giving yourself a chance at other properties. By raising your bid to include prices up to $95, you open yourself up to the lowest prices we've seen other hotles accept at.

Hope the above makes sense, but feel free to ask any questions you may have.

[traveler4ever]

Great Advice. Thanks again.

I will be sure to keep you all posted as to what happens.

[traveler4ever]

just bid $90, with free rebid up to $98 for July 2~

no go whats going on? maybe 4th of july weekend?

[traveler4ever]

4* miami beach

fountainbleau hilton

july 2 $89

[thereuare]

Can you double check if this is indeed a 4* property or perhaps you were upgraded to a Resort? You can see the 'official' Priceline rating on your winning bid screen.

If my memory serves correctly i think this used to be a Resort level property.

I guess you gave up on the South Beach zone?

[traveler4ever]

i bid resort you are correct sorry :)

do you think i paid too much?

yes bid to high for sobeach and gave up..miami beach isnt that far is it?

[thereuare]

I do think this was a little bit of an over-bid (it happens) but more importantly i think you gave up on your preferred zone too quickly.

Inventory changes all the time and there was still plenty of time to book a cancellable back-up and continue to try for South Beach. If rates for South Beach were way out of line then i would have felt otherwise, but given the prices i saw i think you had a decent chance of success as your date approached.

I'm sure you'll still have a great time!

[bunny4834]

This would be a beautiful place to stay, I checked on prices and a room here is 200+.

I only hope I can get the same deal! :)