Priceline Hotel: 4* DC (Dupont Circle-Woodley Park) Hotel Palomar

[kstrom]

Hi All,

I'm trying to get for a 4* DC hotel for 2/15/-2/17/08. This is the Friday & Saturday before Presidents Day. Any opinions on whether this will be an easy or hard time to get a PL hotel?

The Hotel Palomar (in Dupont Circle/Woodley Park) is the ideal hotel because I am staying there on 2/13-2/15. It would be great not to switch hotels, but I would be willing to do so if the second hotel isn't too far away. Being near a metro is important because I won't have a car.

According to the BB map, the closest 4* BB-identified hotel to the Hotel Palomar is the 4* Westin Embassy Row (Dupont), with the 4* Park Hyatt (Georgetown), being reasonably close, and the 4* Omni Shoreham (Dupont region) being farther away. My concerns are 1) I vaguely remember the Embassy Row only had kings & singles, 2) the 4* Melrose (in Georgetown) is pretty far away and 3) the 4* Westin Grand (in Georgetown) is undergoing major renovations.

Anyways, I am thinking of bidding for a 4* in Dupont Circle, perhaps extending to 4* in the Georgetown region. I see a fair number of successful bids in the $70-100 for 4*s in Dupont & Georgetown

Any advice on where to start my bidding for a 4* in Dupont Circle for 12/15-12/17/08? [The Palomar has a 14 day advance purchase rate of $170 so that is the price to beat.] What if I add Georgetown?

-- Kstrom

PS Am I correct that the only 2 rebid zones are Crystal City and Springfield?

[thereuare]

This may be a tough stay, besides being Presidents Weekend, it's the weekend following Valentine's Day so some may be making this a long weekend. From the other point of view, Presidents may be a slow business weekend and therefore hotels may have some additional inventory. I think it will depend upon how much the hotel is a 'romantic getaway' vs. a 'business center' hotel.

You are correct on your two re-bid zones.

Did you want to include Georgetown in your bidding or not? Your second set of dates in the post above state your stay is in December, but i assume the first set of dates is correct, and your stay is in February? Since you have a consecutive stay for which you've already been accepted for, when you bid for that stay, did you have any rejected bids which included the above dates? (if so, what amounts were unsuccessful)

[kstrom]

Yes, I am looking for a hotel for February, not December (sorry about the typo). The first 2 nights at the Hotel Palomar are work-related (i.e., I didn't pay for them), so the extend-a-stay PL option doesn't apply.

WRT hotel preferences, I'd prefer to stick to 4* Dupont, but am willing to add 4* Georgetown if needed. At this point, I don't want to go to a 3*. I'm turning a work trip into a family outing, so it doesn't matter whether the hotel is romantic or business.

However, 2 single beds would be undesirable. If I get the Westin Embassy, we will bring camp mats for the kids. If the rate is really cheap, I might try to get a second room in the Westin. Does Priceline have a way of a adding room, or does the standard 24-hour wait rule apply?

kstrom

[thereuare]

With your two re-bid zones i would try as follows:

Select 4* Dupont...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $85.

If the above is rejected you can then repeat in 24 hours, increasing each bid by $15, which would bring your bids up to your maximum of $100/nite. At that point you can decide if you want to add an additional zone or consider the offer below.

If you get an accepted bid, you can not add an additional room. However, the 24 hour lock-out period only applies to rejected bid, so once acepted there would be no need to wait an additional 24 hours before making an identical bid (if you wanted to try to get an additional room).

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

PS- not sure how this would work for your needs, but the Madisson Loews is available for $135/nite.

[kstrom]

Just now (10 PM EST 2/1/08) and periodically over the last few days, a 4* hotel in Dupont-Circle-Embassy row has appeared on the Hotwire list for about $95 (when 2 adults & 2 children are chosen).

The amenities (fitness, pool, restaurant, internet & business) match the BB identified Hotel Palomar, which I see has gone for the <$100 in the past. I would really like to get the Hotel Palomar, enough so that I would forgo the possible $20 savings I might realize by bidding.

Here's where I am confused/reluctant. When I click "continue" I am told that the price represents a 10% reduction. This doesn't seem possible for the Hotel Palomar (the best published rates I have seen for that weekend are about $150).

Should I take the "10% savings" seriously as a warning that this isn't the Hotel Palomar? More generally, does Hotwire's savings number serve as a (somewhat) reliable clue to the identity of a hotel

Thanks,

kstrom

[thereuare]

The retail price is often, but not always, incorrect. It is a price of a hotel in that zone at that star rating, but not necessarily the one that you will receive.

I just did a search for your dates and the hotel i'm offered (i presume is the same as the one you're seeing) also shows a 4.5/5.0 rating from Tripadvisor. This is consistent with Palomar so that would be our best guess in regards to the property you're seeing. If some reason this isn't the Palomar, i'd still feel confident in the purchase due to the the TA rating.

Please use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchases you make.

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[kstrom]

I got lucky twice on this one!

Some background. We are spending 2/13-2/15 at the Hotel Palomar (job-related & paid for), so the optimal solution is Hotel Palomar for 2/15-2/17. I watched Hotwire for about 2 weeks looking for a probable match to the Palomar. Last week, I saw what looked right, but was a bit nervous about the "% savings" figure given. I posted my question about the reliability of "% savings" to the Hotwire board and went to bed. The next morning I read the reply (thanks thereuare!). I was about to buy the hotel, but first I read a post on the DC Hotwire bboard about someone who had just bought a HW hotel expecting it to be the Palomar and discovered it was the Hilton Towers. Stroke of luck #1.

So about 4 days ago I began searching for a 4* hotel in DC. I wanted something in Dupont Circle, but after studying maps etc., decided that White House-Downtown would also work. This gave me, in essence, 3 free rebid zones (Crystal City, Springfield & White house). My fallback was the St. Gregory Junior suite for $130/night. (We've stayed at the St. Gregory -- nice and roomy with full kitchen -- more than large enough for 2 adults & 2 kids.) Since this was a decent option, I decided not to be too aggressive in bidding.

Day 1, I started at $60 and went up using rebid permutation options until I hit $75. Stopped

Day 2. I started at $62 and went up using rebid permutation options until I hit $77. Stopped.

Day 3. I started at $65 and went up. Second to last bid for $79 was refused. Last bid of $82 was accepted.

I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that I got the Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle!!. Stroke of luck #2. The cheapest (nonrefundable) on-line rate for a King room is about $185 (about $200 for a room with 2 beds).

Alas, I subsequently learned that my spouse's reservation for 2/3-2/15 is for a room with 1 king. The hotel agreed to upgrade us for $40 (approximately the difference between the lowest price king & queen-queen room). I'm guessing that, similarly for the PL 2/15-2/17, they will upgrade us to a queen-queen for the difference in price (currently about $15). It's not $82, but it is < $100 and much better than the cheapest (and also nonrefundable) rate.

Sometimes the travel deities smile once (not falling for HW's Hilton Washington Towers), and every now and then (with a bit of help from BB), they smile twice (getting EXACTLY what you want).

- Kstrom

PS As always used Savings Barn link

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Glad to hear you're happy with the results and that you got EXACTLY what you wanted :)

Thanks for letting the board follow along in your pursuit and for using the SavingsBarn.com PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.