Loading...

Priceline Hotel: 3* San Francisco (USW) Maxwell Hotel


rynodaddyo
By rynodaddyo,
in

Recommended Posts

My son and I are going to be in SF and Oakland for 4 baseball games (2 each) from Aug. 26-30 of this year. I am checking on the different possibilities in room accomendations. Since most of the tourist activities are going to be in the San Francisco area...I am leaning towards staying there for the 4 day stay. Though the fisherman's wharf area seems to have the most tourist attractions...is it the closet zone to PacBell? The only 3 zones that I am interested in is fisherman's wharf, and Union Square east and west in the San Francisco area.

I am still trying to locate which zone in Oakland is closest to where the A's play. Berkely and Concord are the only zones that I am interested in, but we are flying into Oakland so somewhere close to the airport would be fine too.

I would love a 3 or 4 star hotel for @100 a night average. I can split the 4 days if need be, but would prefer not to. Since I will be renting a car...and most hotels in downtown San Francisco charge for parking....better to stay away for down town and commute? Better to split the nights?

I have my bidding zones for both locations, and I know what my rebid zones are. I have checked on the board, and have an idea what price range a hotel should go for, as well as what is available on HOTWIRE and PRICELINE.

Any words of advice or a strategy you would suggest? Thank you in advance.

Link to comment

You've done your homework, rynodaddyo!

Union Square East is the nearest PRICELINE zone to Pac Bell Park. Have you considered doing the SF part of your trip without a car? You could take BART from Oakland Airport to Union Square; one train, no transfers. With HOTWIRE you might be able to identify in advance a hotel near a BART station. A car can be a nuisance and big expense in Downtown SF. For less than the $50+/night some hotels charge for parking now you could take cabs everywhere, including PacBell Park.

If you really want a car plan on paying to park Downtown. Berkeley will have cheaper hotel rates and cheaper parking. Free parking at some of the hotels.

You can do it any way though...stay Downtown SF the whole time, stay in Berkeley or Oakland, or split between the two.

Link to comment

Unless you have reason to be in Oakland other than the 2 games (ie- is there anything else you want to see/do there) i would stay in San Francisco and take mass transit to the game (asusming it's convenient and under an hour, i'm not familair enough with this area/route to know the time involved)... but then again, i really enjoy 'city mass transit' and immersing myself among the locals.

What is the minimum star rating you're seeking?

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

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

Link to comment

Agreed. Skip the car. Don't need it here. Public transit is good and cabs are cheap compared to crazy parking prices. Fisherman's Wharf is overrated. I would stay at Union Square as mentioned.

I always the PRICELINE and [url="http://www.betterbidding.com/clicks/click.php?afsrc=1&id=33"]HOTWIRE[/url] links from this board for my purchase!

Link to comment

Thanks for the compliment and the help. I have learned everything I know from bidding on Priceline from you folks. Many thanks. I have found that I can take the BART from San Francisco to Oakland for the games there without getting off the train. There is nothing in Oakland that lures me other than the baseball games. I will stay in San Francisco for the 4 nights.

I learned the hard way that renting a car in a metro area costs you not only the price of the car, but what you pay in parking. (Chicago...last year....$48 a night to park...never used the car for 4 days).

Like was mentioned... I too love to rub arms with the locals on public transportation. Fisherman's Wharf seems to be where most of the tourists seem to be in the San Francisco area. If it better to stay there, or Union Square East I am open to both. I have 4 rebids on both zones ( if I close the browser in between), and 4 with both combined. With plenty of time to bid I can start low. I would like a 4 star for under a $100, but will settle on a 3 star. Any help is much appreciated. I have not gone to the tourism website to see what conventions are in town during that time. I will also go to Hotwire and see what is available and the amenities offered per to see what might win the offer.

You folks rock. I will link to PRICELINE with whatever link helps you. Any opinions or strategys? Thank you in advance.

Link to comment
I would prefer USE....Fisherman's Wharf...USW...in that order

Are you willing to pay more to be in the USE vs. FW vs. USW and would prefer to bid up to your budget for the first zone, then bid up to your budget for the second zone, etc... or is price ultimately the deciding factor and the least expensive in any of the three zones above is what you'd prefer?

Let us know and we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

Link to comment

Price is always a factor. I would prefer to bid USE and FW to my maxium of $100 before I add USW. Most of the activities that we will do are in those areas... so for convienance and maybe a little savings on transportation I would like to bid there before adding USW. Thanks again.

Link to comment

I couldn't find the answer above, but i think you wanted to bid for a 4* first and then go for a 3*?

If so, at the 4* level you have four re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* USE...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* FW...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

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

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* USE and FW...

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $98, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100.

NOTE: before bidding the above, notice there is a 3* on HOTWIRE in the Fisherman's Wharf zone, best guess is the Holiday Inn, for $75/nite, so if you would prefer this property at this price rather than paying more for a 4*, hold-off on bidding the above and report back for us to revise accordingly.

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

Link to comment

USE has better access to BART than Fisherman's Wharf and it would be a more convenient location with your BART heavy itinerary. I'd stick to bidding USE for now, especially since your trip is still three months away. For proximity to BART consider Boutique in USE or 4* in USW before Fisherman's Wharf.

Link to comment

I bid the USE zone only starting at $60 and using my 4 rebids in $5 increments up to $80 and was rejected on a 4* hotel. In checking your link to HOTWIRE I did see the 3* hotel for $76 in Fisherman's Wharf with the amenities of fitness, pool, restuarant, buisness center, laundry, and high speed internet. I will take your expertise that this is the Holiday Inn. I have no problem with that at all.

Since we will be doing the baseball games and tourist attractions...we will spend little time in the hotel room. If the BART access is better in USE I have no problem bidding on a 3* with $100 as my limit since I can get this in Fisherman's Wharf. I do not know if they are equatable.....but I will assume it has to be close.

With plenty of time I want what is most convienent to me whether it be location and public access. I have no problem since I have budgeted $100 a night average passing up on frills for convienence. I would prefer a 3* with access to the BART than more frills of a 4* somewhere else with less access to public transportation for the same price.

Link to comment
I have no problem bidding on a 3* with $100 as my limit...
But i assume that you first want to try for a 4* in the USE zone up to $100 before lowering your star rating to 3 stars?
If the BART access is better in USE I have no problem bidding on a 3* with $100 as my limit since I can get this in Fisherman's Wharf.
Keep in mind that the HOTWIRE offer can disappear at anytime... i'm not suggesting you rush anything, but just remember that it's not really a longterm back-up plan since once you decide you're going to purhcase it... it could no longer be shown as an offer on HOTWIRE.

If your'e going to try for 4* in the USE zone again you can try as follows:

Select 4* USE...

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

Bid $85, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100

Any questions regarding the above feel free to ask.

Thanks again for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

Link to comment

I agree wholeheartly. If I can get a 4* for my $100 I would prefer that than a 3*, but it sounds like the transportation access is better in USE than Fisherman's Wharf. I have gone to he BART website and have information forthcoming. I understand that the Hotwire special is not limitless, but if it comes to it.....I could bid later on and maybe get that for less as well. I still have to go to the tourism bureau of San Francisco and see if I am trying to book during established convention times. I will wait the 48 hrs, and try again bidding on a 4* in the USE zone. Tomorrow I will take the new strategy for a 4* in the USE zone. Thank you.

Link to comment

This morning I bid again on a 4* hotel in the USE district only and was turned down. This is how I bid.

USE 4* $75 rejected

rebid $85 rejected

rebid $90 rejected

rebid $95 rejected

rebid $100 rejected

Since I prefer the zone because of the easy access to Pac Bell and public transportation.....I will bid on a 3* hotel in the USE zone next. I would still like to stay at $100 or less per night for a room. Priceline says that the median price for a 4* in this zone was $319 a night....so maybe my thought of a 4* for a $100 was unrealistic. I will keep plugging along with plenty of time. Thoughts?

Link to comment

With three months before your trip I think it's early to give up on a 4* in USE for $100 or less if that's your first choice. If you're willing to wait it out I'd suggest booking a cancellable backup now and keep bidding to $100 once a week or so.

Also some of the USW hotels are very near BART, especially the Parc55. Consider bidding to $100 for a 4* in USW too. Whether you bid USE or USW you could win a hotel within a block or two of BART, or a hotel as far away as about six blocks. ANYTHING you win in USE or USW will be nearer to BART than Fisherman's Wharf though.

HOTWIRE has a 3.5* in USW for your dates at $109. From the icons (restaurant, business center, internet) it looks like the Warwick. Priceline rates the Warwick as Boutique and it's likely you could win the Warwick (or some other Boutique) for less than $109 on PRICELINE. The Warwick looks like it's 4-5 blocks from BART. Before you try Boutique or 3* bidding though I'd suggest trying 4* in USW, unless you don't want to stay in USW.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

I bid on the USE district for a 4* hotel again using the same strategy as before.

USE 75$ rejected

rebid 85$ rejected

rebid 90$ rejected

rebid 95$ rejected

rebid 100$ rejected

I will try again next week, and then will start considering USW,

Link to comment

I tried to bid the USE zone again today. I used the same bidding strategy as above and was rejected. I will wait a week and start adding the USW zone by closing my browser and doing both zones seperately and then together. Any additional ideas on how to bid when using both zones together other than maybe increasing the top end bid?

Link to comment
Any additional ideas on how to bid when using both zones together other than maybe increasing the top end bid?

I'm not sure what objective you're trying to reach with a new strategy... won't you easily be able to reach your upper bidding limit when using the two zones?

Thanks for continuing to use our PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

Link to comment

So I rebidded today and I added the USW zone with the USE zone. Here is how I bid

USE Zone

bid $75 rejected

rebid $85 rejected

rebid $90 rejected

rebid $95 rejected

rebid $100 rejected

Closed browser and then bid

USW Zone

bid $75 rejected

rebid $80 rejected

rebid $85 rejected

rebid $90 rejected

rebid $95 rejected

Closed browser and then bid

USW and USE Zone

bid $75 rejected

rebid $85 rejected

rebid $90 rejected

rebid $95 rejected

rebid $100 rejected

I will continue bidding the 2 seperate zones and the zones combined for the next couple of weeks to see if rooms open up a little. Going into July I will have to consider either raising $100 limit or droping to a 3* hotel. I will keep you informed, and I am using the PRICELINE link from this site. Thanks.

Link to comment

I bid again today on the USE and USW zones for a 4* hotel. I bid the same for both zones, but bid them seperately. I did not bid them together, because I am not ready to go above my $100 limit per night. Here is how I bid

zone bid $75 rejected

rebid $85 rejected

rebid $90 rejected

rebid $95 rejected

rebid $100 rejected

I will bid again next week, and then consider raising my limit on a 4* hotel or droping to a 3* hotel.

Link to comment
Need help with your own trip?

Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account
Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
EXCLUSIVELY at BetterBidding:
10% OFF

PRICELINE COUPON


(click here) and use

promo code

: EASTEREGG

(Hotel and Car Express Deals max $60 discount... expires 03/31/2024)
QUICKQUOTE [X]
PRICELINE & HOTWIRE on one screen!
NOTE: Priceline searches for
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY ONLY
Room %roomN%:
Age of child:
FINDFAST[X]
×
×
  • Create New...