Hotwire Hotel: 4* Las Vegas (Strip South) New York New York

[doddy]

HI there,

I am coming from Australia and am very interested to checkout priceline. I have looked up Hotwire prices for the same hotels that Im interested in and for some reason the priceline threads I have read seem to outshine Hotwire,..Firstly is this true?

Me and a friend will be coming and staying in Vegas from August 11th to August 15th 2008. It doesnt matter how many beds we have..happy to share if need be! I reall am on a budget though. Would really only be happy in a 4 star. I am interested in The Westin or Planet Hollywood. I am open to other options but they would have to be really good alternatives. My budge it about $60-$70 a night but as a well and truly "cheapy"I would prefer $50-$70.

Basically can anyone help me get that? I know there are no guarantees, so ill rephrase...can anyone help me

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Priceline is usually a little cheaper than HOTWIRE, but it comes with a trade-off...

With priceline you can't target, or avoid, a hotel in the zone. With HOTWIRE, although it may cost a little more, you're able take a guess as to hotel you may receive before your purchase.

So you need to make a decision if your budget, or the ability to target a specific hotel, is more important to you.

(I love the site by the way)

Thanks! If you've been using the board over the last year please share your wins with the rest of us.

[doddy]

Thank you. Well its more important to me to target a certain hotel than to focus on the budget. Basically as i stated before, I am interested in either the Westin or Planet Hollywood. Either of those 2 will be great. Can you help me with a strategy to win either of those hotels? Obviously I understand there are chances that I will get something else, but I was hoping you had a way in which I can lower those chances. Also I have been told that the site does not accept Australian credit cards. Is this right?

Also I have only used this site to browse and so as yet I cannot share any wins. I have however responded to a post on here and will be glad to buy all my hotels through this site for this trip. Actually that brings me to another question...if I was staying in Washington DC without a car, can u tell me the best area to stay? possibly the best hotel for this?

Thanks again

[thereuare]

Well its more important to me to target a certain hotel than to focus on the budget.

Then HOTWIRE is a better place to start to see if the hotels you're interested in are offered.

If you go to HOTWIRE, are there 4 star hotels offered in the Central Strip or Near Strip East zones? If so, what are the amenities and price associated with each?

[doddy]

Ok...Well I have looked through Hotwire. I have found the following that im hoping you can help me guess at identifying.

By the way..i have done some research on the Golden Nugget and have decided that it is also somewhere I would like to stay. I have added one that I believe might be the Golden Nugget and was hoping you could also help me confrim that one.

4 Star hotel in Central Strip

This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details

Casino, Pool/s, business centre, golf nearby, spa services, fitness centre, restaurants, high speed internet access and tennis nearby.

Monday Aug 11 2008 (check in)

Friday Aug 15 2008 (check out)

$126.00 and customer Favourite.

* Im not really happy about paying this price for either of the hotels but I guess u have to do what you have to do!

4-star hotel in Near Strip East

This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details

Casino, pool/s, Spa services, Fitness Centre, Restaurant(s)

Same check in/ check out dates

$149.00

If those Hotels are the ones that Im after then I am quite confused, because the last time I checked they were about $80 lower for each hotel. I know I said that targeting the hotel was more important to me, but I will have to change my mind, as I dont think I am willing to go over my budget by that amount just in order to secure the hotel. I may be better going through Priceline and taking my chances for a SIGNIFICANT drop in prices. (We have to stick to some sort of budget as we have to pay for accommodation in NYC and Washington DC as well)..By the way..Do you know if Australians can "name your own price" on priceline with our creditcard and address details?

So this is the hotel I think is the Golden Nugget. Please correct me if im wrong...

4-star hotel in Downtown Las Vegas

This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details

Resort, Fitness Centre, Restaurant/s, High speed internet, Casino, Pool/s, Business Centre and Spa Services.

Same dates, $69.00

Am I right in assuming this is the Nugget? If not, are you able to steer me in the right direction?

Thanks again for so much help..

[thereuare]

I don't think these are either of the hotel(s) you're looking for. The 4* Center Strip hotel is a match for either Caesars or Paris while the near Strip East hotel is a match for the Hard Rock... so that would be our best guesses for each.

The 4* Downtown is a match for the Golden Nugget, and while the price is low, keep in mind it is far from the strip... you'll either need to take the public bus to/from (25-50 minutes depending if you catch the express or not) which isn't too bad, but it will certainly get tiresome on a 4 day stay OR pay $25-$30 for a taxi each way.

Personallly i would prefer 'any 4* hotel on the strp' than staying Downtown, unless you have reason to be there... are there 4* hotels on the strip you're trying to avoid? I do recommend visiting downtown during a Vegas stay, but not staying there unless you're not looking to spend most of your time on "the strip".

If you do go with either of the above please use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchase.

Let us know your thoughts and/or what you decide to do.

[doddy]

OK, Well thank god for this place I tell you because I would have probably booked either of those places and been bitterly dissapointed...

I had no idea the Golden Nugget was that far away...and although I will have a car I will be travelling with someone who may want to do their own thing and they wont be happy with travelling by bus or taxi. So thats that! Thank you again..

*sighs* well im both a little releived AND dissapointed that the other hotels are not a match with either Planet Hollywood, or the Westin..

I guess the outcome is as follows...

I would really like the Westin or Planet...WHY? pretty much because they are affordable...I know you used to be able to get the Westin for about $80 and Planet for about $50-60, so I looked through all of the hotels offered and could not find any that matched (apart from the ones that I wrote about), so does that mean they are not offered? Or am I matching them up wrong? I guess my question to you, is how can i maximise my chances of getting those...can you please give me an idea of a strategy to follow in order to find either of those hotels either on Hotwire OR Priceline..im getting to the point that I am just more interested in the hotel, rather than interested in the prices that I will pay for them. I understand you cannot guarantee anything, but any ideas would be great....

Do you think I should wait and try again? In a month or so?Is there a reason they are not showing?

*sighs* oh im so confused...

[mrxow]

It seems to me that if you would be happy with the Westin or Planet Hollywood, you would be happy with just about any 4 star on the strip. The Westin is usually one people try to avoid. It isn't right on the strip - it is a block or two away. It is a fine place to stay, though.

Midweek in the summer you shouldn't have to pay a lot. You might want to wait a little before bidding too high.

Just stick to the strip zones and 4 star rebid zones and bid up to what you want to pay and see what happens. If you don't get it, wait. You have a lot of time and options will probably change a lot between now and then.

You seem to be worried about not knowing which 4 star hotel you are going to get. Don't worry about it. If you pick the strip zones only, things will work out fine. Priceline hotels are almost always very nice, especially the 4 star ones...

[thereuare]

It seems to me that if you would be happy with the Westin or Planet Hollywood, you would be happy with just about any 4 star on the strip.

I agree...

It seems that you want these hotels because of the price you thought you could receive them at... so if you received a different four star hotel for a good price, what would be wrong with that? :)

[doddy]

You both are right...I guess I didnt realise that any 4 star hotel would be as good as each other. (sounds stupid I know but when you read reviews you get a little scared off sometimes)..Thank you for the advice, both of you. I think I will just keep on looking at HOTWIRE for a little while longer, and make my decision as to whether or not to use hotwire or Priceline..Rest assured that when I end up doing it, I will indeed use one of your links and pass on all the information...about ALL my wins (washington, NYC and Vegas)

Thanks again for everything...soooooo love this site. So helpful. :)

[doddy]

Well I have let some time pass and am ready to go ahead and book my accommodation for my vegas part of the stay. Last time you were very helpful and advised me to wait as I had some time up my sleeve before my trip, and you were right..prices went down quite alot. They may even go down more, I dont know... but either way I'm ready to book.

I am tossing up between 2 that are offered through HOTWIRE. Could you please help me confirm them? They are as follows:

4-star hotel in South Strip

This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details

* Casino

* Fitness Center

* Pool(s)

* Restaurant(s)

* Business Center

* Golf Nearby

* Spa Services $87.00 per room per night.

(I'm actually hoping this turns out to be NYNY. At first I didnt know if I wanted it but ive read some rave reviews and hear its mint!)

4-star hotel in Near Strip East

This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details

* Casino

* Smoke Free Rooms

* Fitness Center

* Pool(s)

* Restaurant(s)

* Business Center

* High-speed Internet Access

* Golf Nearby $74.00 per room per night

(Im thinking this may be the Westin Casuarina...ive stayed here before and loved it so definately wouldnt mind staying again)

Also could you help me identify this next one? Just as a choice:

4-star hotel in Central Strip

This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details

* Casino

* Fitness Center

* Pool(s)

* Restaurant(s)

* Business Center

* Golf Nearby

* Spa Services $100.00 per room per night.

I have been searching for hotels from July 7th through to July 11th.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[thereuare]

Best guess for each is as follows:

1) NYNY

2) If you go to HOTWIRE and click the CONTINUE button or 'View Hotel Details' link, do you also see a Spa icon in addition to the amenities you've listed above? If so, then best guess is the Westin

3) Treasure Island

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know which you decide and how it goes, or if we can be of further help.

PS- i assume this replaces your August Las Vegas Trip?

[doddy]

Yes you are right in thinking my trip has been moved forward to July from April.

I did what you said and looked again in hotwire, this time for the SPA icon but it did not show up, so I didnt want to risk it being another hotel.

As a result I went ahead and booked the $87 per night hotel and yes, it turned out to be NYNY.

Thank you very much for your help once again. I booked through YOUR HOTWIRE link and will return and do it all over again when I am looking for my New York and Washington hotels in the very near future.

Thank you (I love this site)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear you received the hotel you were expecting and are happy with the results.

Thank you for sharing your win and for using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Have a great time in Vegas and enjoy your stay.