palmtree38 Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Hello I just joined this site and wanted to find some information on this site regarding bidding with a family with small children. We are arriving in San Diego in mid january. Is this too early to put a bid in? I decided not to rent a car with this service as car seats for children are not included and there is no guarantee you will get one so I went through AAA..My concern is if I bid on a 4 star hotel in downtown San Diego would I at least get a king size bed or 2 double? Our children are small (two under 4 1/2) we could share a king size bed or have two double but one double for all of us would be too small. There isnt 4 star hotels that only provide you with 1 double is there? WE were looking at booking at homewood suites liberty station at $209 a night but if we could get a nicer hotel in downtown for $110 this might be a better choice. Link to comment
slick_gd Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I'll try and address your concerns:1) About bidding too early: Please read this topic Should I bid Early or Late. Essentially there is no consensus as to whether bidding early or later helps get you a better rate as rooms can be added at any time and prices may change at any time as hotels adjust their prices according to their availability. But one this is for sure, do not book through either PRICELINE or HOTWIRE if your travel dates are not guaranteed as the rooms are non-refundable and are charged to your card the moment you book.2) Personally, I have not seen a hotel room with just 1 double, maybe another person on this site can comment. But, I have been in a hotel room (4* in Chicago) with just 1 queen, which in my opinion is really not much different than a double. PRICELINE only guarantees you double occupancy, so you may get 2 doubles, or you may get a king, or you may get a queen, and you may even get 1 double. You can always phone the hotel and specifically ask for 2 doubles or a king once you book but they are under no obligation to accommodate you, and depending on availability they might not even be able to. If you need to guarantee space for more than 2 people HOTWIRE is probably a better route as you specify up front how many people will be in the room and you are guaranteed that the room will accommodate. However, this may be just a pull-out sofa or cot. Hopefully this helps you out a bit and let us know if you need any other information and use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to start your purchase.What are the dates of your stay? Link to comment
palmtree38 Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Thankyou for your help!WE are arriving in San Diego January 9th and depart San diego jan 17th . Our flights are booked! We need a hotel for fri 9th and sat 10th and then we are going up to Disney for 3 days and have a hotel booked for this. We then go back to San Diego for 3 nights before flying home. WE were going to stay 9th and 10th at a embassy suites La jolla but this hotel is not directly in the town with the restaurants etc. I saw that Torrey pines was listed as this is a top hotel but not sure the chances we would get this bidding. We need a hotel for the last 3 nights as well in the san diego area before leaving. Do you get better prices on hotwire over priceline or are they the same? advantage for us is that we could put in 4 in our party as you mentioned? Link to comment
slick_gd Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Typically, you will get a better deal on PRICELINE than you will on HOTWIRE, which is likely for two reasons:1) HOTWIRE lists amenities and review ratings which gives you a better chance on narrowing down which hotel it is. It's more of an educated guess. PRICELINE is completely a shot in the dark.2) HOTWIRE allows you to book rooms for more than 2 people. This might be important for you and your kids. You could ask for 2 doubles, or a king, when you book through PRICELINE but it's not guaranteed.So then it comes down to risk. There really is no way to determine which hotel you are going to get on PRICELINE, so if you really like the Torrey Pines, you are better off booking directly. These are the hotels that this board has seen for San Diego on PRICELINE: California Priceline Hotel List, scroll down until you see San Diego. This will give you an idea of the hotels that you could get. The list is by no means definitive and there is always a chance you can get one that is not on the list. Similarly, this is the list for HOTWIRE: California Hotwire Hotel List. Again, hotels can be added at any time. Also, the Embassy Suites you mention would technically be in the same San Diego Coastal zone as Torrey Pines, and this zone does seem to cover a large area. There is always the risk that you might get a hotel that is not in your ideal location, even within this zone.There is also no way to guarantee that you will get the same hotel for each stay in San Diego. Is this a problem? Link to comment
thereuare Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Please use separate threads for each leg of your stay.We'll use this thread to continue with your first stay 1/9-1/11... feel free to start a NEW TOPIC for the last leg of your stay 1/14-1/17 (i think i have the dates correct but feel free to correct if they're wrong)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
palmtree38 Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Ok So for january 9th and 11th I will put in a 4 star or better in la jolla and then hope I get a decent hotel. We have a rental car so we can drive to local attractions in the area. For a 4 star what would i start my bidding at meaning is there a standard starting price for 4 star? Link to comment
thereuare Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 "La Jolla" isn't a PRICELINE zone... is it the Coastal zone that you want to bid?Are you comfortable with the possibility of only receiving a room with one bed OR are you looking for two rooms?What is your maximum bid?Let us know the above and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.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
palmtree38 Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Well Coastal means in the la jolla area or could this be as south as coronado?If we get one king bed all 4 of us could sleep there (two kids are only 60 pounds between them):)) Two queen beds would work as well but one double would be squishy but I dont usually see 4 star hotels with only ONE double bed.the hotel I have booked is at Embassy suites la jolla at a rate of $189 a night with comp hot breakfast. So If I am going to bed I dont want to be paying this high or I might as well just keep with what I have as I know what we have got.I thought I read on the list of san diego la jolla area there were 4 priceline hotels that usually come up. I will relook Link to comment
palmtree38 Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Ok for coastal area for 4 star there is the Estancia which is suppose to be a excellent hotel and there is two Hilton's and two Hyatt's all good chains. Link to comment
thereuare Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Just a comment that you could receive a hotel other than those you've posted above... a previously rated 3* hotel could be upgraded to 4* and you'd be the first to report it as such OR you could be the first to report a new hotel to the Priceline Hotel List.This far ahead of your stay, and with a back-up you're comfortable with, i wouldn't bid more than $125 or so at this point in time, so i'm going to only go up that high for now... if you choose to bid higher just let us know and we'll revise accordingly.At the 4* level in San Diego you have 10 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* Coastal...Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $80, 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, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $110, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone...Bid $125.Any questions freel 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
palmtree38 Posted September 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 January is suppose to be a slower month for travel in San Diego so I think I will wait until closer to the date before using priceline. I would worry about the extra fees that canadians can sometimes be charged on credit cards as well that i read from a post on here. Link to comment
slick_gd Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 I'm Canadian and I've booked on PRICELINE several times and have not experienced any extra fees charged to my credit card. I should go and find this post. Link to comment
palmtree38 Posted September 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2008 oh really? well that is good to know.. maybe it is for travellers going to other countries then USA ie pound/euros Link to comment
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