Hotwire Hotel: 3* San Diego (Sea World-Mission Bay-Shelter Island) Humphreys Half Moo

[Diamond Dog]

Ok - we have just booked flights (already!) from London to LA next July. We're looking to drive straight from the airport to San Diego, and stay three nights, before moving onto Palm Springs, Las Vegas & back to LA. First things first, can anyone help me ID these four San Diego hotels (2 adults, 2 children) for the three nights 13/14/15/ July 2009:

3* San Diego North-Poway-Rancho Bernado ($109 per night, $371 overall) :

Comp Breakfast/Fitness/Pool/Restaurant/Laundry. No Trip Advisor rating.

2.5* San Diego North-Poway-Rancho Bernado ($64 per night, $226 overall) :

Comp Breakfast/Pool/Laundry/Hi Speed Internet. No Trip Advisor rating.

2.5* Mission Valley-Hotel Circle ($96 per night, $328 overall) :

Smoke Free Rooms/ Comp Breakfast/Fitness/Pool/Business Centre/Laundry/ Hi Speed Internet. 3.5 Trip advisor (from 40)

2.5* Sea World-Mission Bay-Shelter Island ($100 per night,

[thereuare]

Best guess for each of the above:

1) Holiday Inn

2) ???

3) La Quinta Mission Valley

4) Holiday Inn Express Mission Bay (assuming the correct amenitiy icon is Hi-Speed Internet and NOT "Business" as posted... my current search for your dates shows the amenities above for this property but a Hi-Speed Internet icon instead of a Business icon)

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

PS- i had to do two separate searches to view all the zones above so it got a little confusing going back and forth, so if internested in one of the above you may want to post back here before moving forward in order to confirm

[Diamond Dog]

Thanks for those, great stuff. I'm veering towards the 3* Holiday Inn, I wonder if anyone could just fill in the details to the questions in the lead off post and these:

a) Would these prices include parking fees, which seem to be an add on at most San Diego hotels?, and

:) The distances from the coast is quite important. Could anyone just give me an insight, please?

Thanks everyone.

[thereuare]

If you watn the Holiday Inn Rancho Bernardo it can be booked directly from their website for $112/nite (non-cancellable) or $139/nite (flexible)... i don't think i'd lock in a $116/nite non-refundable reservation this far ahead of your stay as you never know how your plans may change or you decide you want something different... i'd book a refundable rate directly thru their website (please use our Holiday Inn link) if that's the route you take.

As per their website, parking is free for registered hotel guests and you can put the hotel address into google maps to see the distance to the coast (looks like about 10 miles or so to me)

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

[Diamond Dog]

Okay, I know it's a long way out, but I'm thinking of bidding on Priceline for a room for 07/13 - 07/16 (3 nights) next year. Although I need to be able to secure a room for four, I'm wondering what you think a 4* room is likely to cost (and whether it's feasible to go down the Priceline route)?

I want to stay in the La Jolla area, which is the San Diego Coastal area on Priceline. I can only see three other areas (of 14) that have 4* properties, so I believe that means I have 10 free rebid zones? Could you give me an idea on strategy - my budget isn't huge (around $100 per night, which -hopefully- will include charges & fees!). Is this realistic?

Any advice greatly appreciated - should I leave the bidding to later? What are the chances of contacting the hotel after the bid and asking for a room with 2 doubles (I've successfully done so with my LA bid with the Crowne Plaza)?

Thanks.

[thereuare]

Yes, there are currently 10 re-bid zones when bidding 4* in San Diego.

I see two issues that you need to be aware of when bidding PRICELINE for this stay:

1) as you're aware, PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, so there is a risk that the room you receive only has one bed. While the chances of getting a room wtih two beds is greater than in many others cities (such as NYC) this is still a risk that you'll need to be willing to accept. If you win a hotel and when you call to request a room with two beds, would you have an acceptable gameplan to work around the situation? (ie- not sure if the 3rd and 4th occupants are kids (and their ages) or other adults, but would you be willing to go buy an air mattress or have the others sleep on the floor??) If not, then HOTWIRE may be a better option for htis stay, imo.

2) while La Jolla is part of the Coastal zone, this zone is much larger than just La Jolla, are you willing to accept a hotel anywhere within the boundaries of the Coastal zone (which may be outside of the city limits of La Jolla)

Let us know your thoughts on the above and we'll take it from there.

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

[Colfax]

my budget isn't huge (around $100 per night, which -hopefully- will include charges & fees!). Is this realistic?

In addition to the location and bed issues thereuare mentioned your bidding limit probably isn't high enough. $100 including tax/fee is a low limit for 4* Coastal on a summer weekend. Typically a 4* in summer will be more than $100 before tax/fee. (And there could be a parking charge and possibly a resort fee, depending which hotel you win, that aren't included in your bid either.)

I'm not discouraging you from trying for a 4*, as sometimes people get remarkable deals far in advance. $100 might be enough for a 3.5* or 3*.

[Diamond Dog]

Thanks guys.

The kids will be 13 & 10 - I'm thinking this is the major issue. As it's our first night, and we'll have flown in from the UK, we won't have a viable option really, if we get given one bed. I'm thinking it over, but this may be the stumbling block.

In answer to Colfax - yeah, a 3.5* or 3* would have been okay, and I thought that budget may not be enough for a 4*. You've confirmed it.

Having considered everything, I think it will be a HOTWIRE effort from now on. What would you say we can look for as a realistic budget for a 3.5* or 4* in the area that includes La Jolla or Sea World, in July next year?

[thereuare]

No need to speculate as to how much a hotel will cost you thru HOTWIRE since there is no bidding with HOTWIRE and the prices are shown.

If you're still trying to target La Jolla HOTWIRE has a separate zone for this area, although you may still want to consider nearby zones as well.

If you search HOTWIRE for 2adults/2children, are any hotels shown within your budget and in a desirable zone for this stay?

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

[Diamond Dog]

Not really. There is a 2.5* in Sea World-Mission Bay- Shelter Island for $95 though. Amenities are:

Comp Breakfast

Gym

Pool

Laundry

Hi Speed Internet

Golf

Tennis.

Any ideas on this (the breakfast appeals at that rate, and the area is fine too)?

[thereuare]

The above is a match for the Holiday Inn Express Mission Bay (DeSoto Blvd) so that would be our best guess.

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

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

[Colfax]

I've stayed at that Holiday Inn Express and I don't recommend the location. It's in a high traffic area next to a freeway and a bunch of muffler and brake shops. It's not scenic at all.

If you don't find anything appealing on HOTWIRE right now I'd suggest wait a month and check again. Do you need to reserve something this far ahead? I think there will be more options closer to the time.

[Diamond Dog]

If you're saying don't book the HIE, I'll take your word for it. It has a poor Trip Advisor rating too.

I'm thinking I may do better to leave this until later on. The exchange rate isn't favourable at present and I already have the Best Western Lamplighter Inn as a refundable booking, should nothing else materialise.

Thanks for your help guys & sorry to waste your time.

[thereuare]

If you didn't, please remember our support page for your direct bookings... we're an affiliate of the Best Western :)

[jrnyman04]

I'm thinking I may do better to leave this until later on. The exchange rate isn't favourable at present and I already have the Best Western Lamplighter Inn as a refundable booking, should nothing else materialise.

That maybe the best strategy for San Diego. Please keep checking periodically to see if anything is available. I have been going to San Diego around the 2nd week of July the past 2 years and will probably be there next year as well. My experience has been that a few bargains show up generally from about 2 months to 1 month before your July dates. Good Luck!

thereuare: I am behind in reporting some wins this year. I will try to post them sometime in the next week or so. (All were booked using the forum's links).

[Colfax]

Thanks for your help guys & sorry to waste your time.

You didn't waste anyone's time, Diamond Dog, and there's nothing to apologize for. Let us know if you see any other interesting options on HOTWIRE, whether that happens next week or next June.

[Diamond Dog]

That maybe the best strategy for San Diego. Please keep checking periodically to see if anything is available. I have been going to San Diego around the 2nd week of July the past 2 years and will probably be there next year as well. My experience has been that a few bargains show up generally from about 2 months to 1 month before your July dates. Good Luck!

Interesting - I'll bear that in mind, thanks.

[Colfax]

Small correction to something I said above: I said your dates are a weekend and they're actually a Monday to Thursday.

I see another possibility for you on HOTWIRE:

Checking on "2 adults, 2 children" there's a 3* in SeaWorld/MissionBay/Shelter Island for $99. The amenity icons are a match for Humphries Half Moon Inn and Suites, which is an oceanfront property and gets pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor (4 out of 5). You might check the reviews and see if you think this hotel would work for you.

If there's any chance your plans might change between now and July I wouldn't purchase this far ahead because Hotwire reservations are nonchangeable and nonrefundable. But if you want to secure something now this looks like one viable option, with two beds and under $100.

Icons: Oceanfront, nonsmoking, shuttle, fitness, pool, restaurant, laundry, highspeed internet

If you decide to purchase please use this HOTWIRE link.

p.s. You said you wanted La Jolla or Sea World locations and Humphries is on Shelter Island. On Priceline Humphries is in the Point Loma zone, not the Coastal zone. Point Loma isn't far from SeaWorld though.

[Diamond Dog]

You guys are just the best!

I had looked at that hotel, never thinking it was Humphrey's Half Moon - I'd seen such glowing reviews of it, I didn't equate it with a room for $99. But...........

Went ahead and booked the room from Mon 13 July 09, checkout Thur 16 July 09 (3 nights). 2 adults, 2 kids.

$99 per night - total (including charges & taxes) = $337.33.

Amenities as listed above by Colfax.

It was Humphrey's Half Moon & Suites!!!! Currently available on their own site at $239 + taxes (just over $260 per night). With Expedia, Hotels.com, Lastminute.com etc it's going for around the same price.

By my reckoning, their own website would be $780 (all in). You've just helped us save about $443, for three nights!!

Again, I can't thank you enough - I, of course, used your HOTWIRE link provided. And may there be many more!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you got a great deal and are thrilled with the results! This is a perfect example of why we always suggest that it's never to early to begin your search or your bidding... try lowballing at PRICELINE and/or seeing if anything interesting appears via HOTWIRE; nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Have a great trip (now just planning what to actually do in San Diego!)

PS- nice job digging this one out Colfax, well done!

[Colfax]

I'm glad it worked out so well, Diamond Dog. Have a great trip!