Priceline Hotel: Bid Asst Plz - San Juan 8/12

[nate416]

hi,

i'm going to San Juan but will have a split res since i have 2 nights i'm spending with friends in Rincon in the middle of a 5 night stay. So i'm attempting to get a hotel for Thursday Aug 12th and then a room for Sunday and Monday 15,16.

thus far i've been unsuccessful.

my bidding history thus far is identical for both reservations.

Resort level - $65 - rejected

Resort level - $70 - rejected

Resort level - $75 - rejected

3 Star - $65 - rejected

i would rather have a resort (hopefully the Hilton Caribe or the Wyndham Condado). i'm somewhat surprised to see the $75 rejected for resort as i've seen numerous bids around that tiem accepted for 65-75.

Expedia is listing as follows:

Wyndham Condado - $144

Caribe Hilton - $175

Wyndham Old San Juan - $175

Hotwire is listing as follows:

4 Star (Resort) - $181

3 1/2 star (has casino/beach) - $140

3 Star (has casino/ not on beach) - $93

what are your thoughts on this? i was thinking when i'm able to bid again tomorrow night that i'll try for Resort @ $80 for the first night. if i'm rejected i'll go for $85 resort for the end of the trip's nights. then maybe back to 3 star at $70 (and hope for the wyndham old san juan). i'm just rather surprised that it hasnt accepted at this rate given seeing 65-80 being the typical bid accepted for the Hilton and the Condado Wyndham.

any suggestions would be very appreciated.

thanks,

nate

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

San Juan is not always a 'lay-up' of a bidding market.

Let's keep this thread for the nite of the 12th and please start a new thread for the 15th-17th portion of your stay (i have different advice for those dates).

For the nite of the 12th...

Give prices i'm currently seeing and your prior rejections, i think it will likely take more then $100 for this nite. If you're not willing to bid this high, i think i would sooner take the 3* on Hotwire ($92) which i suspect would be the Radisson. This is because i would rather stay there than at the Normandie. Revies at the NORMANDIE used to be horrible but i just looked at the prior link and it seems to have improved... but it would hurt to stay there and have to gaze next door at the Caribe Hilton. On the otherhand, i have heard better things overall about the RADISSON.

HOWEVER, as i have commented before, most hotels in San Juan leave a bit to be desired... it's a bad hotel market in terms of price to service ratio. As a result, most hotels you read about will likely have mixed reviews.

Those are my thoughts which you can feel free to question or ask questions. :) You can also just comment about the prices and choices if you want to have a discussion about your options.

Please start a separate thread for you other 2 nites and i'll add further comments.

[nate416]

Thank you for the response. I'll create the other thread for those other ngihts.

Do you think that there is much chance of rooms opening up at lower rates on PL before those dates with your experience with the SJ market? or is that just impossible to predict even in an off-season like now?

[thereuare]

Nobody knows if rates will go up or down between now and then.

Eseentially the revenue manager of the hotel is trying to answer that same question... making an educated guess just how many rooms they'll book if they raise or lower the price and which would generate more revenue for the hotel.

I do think there is inventory available, but just not at the ultra-low rates we sometimes see for this area.

[nate416]

ok this is the hotel listed at the moment for the $93 *** level

This hotel features the following amenities:

Casino

A full-service casino -- including slot/video machines, sports betting, bingo, card games and dice games (depending on state laws) -- is accessible from the hotel lobby.

Restaurant(s)

At least one restaurant is located on the hotel premises.

Pool(s)

Hotel features at least one pool area. (Note: This amenity offering may be seasonal. Please check hours/availability directly with the hotel.)

Fitness Center

Hotel features exercise equipment.

Business Center

Hotel offers guests access to business equipment/services.

**************************

it seems to fit the Radisson amenities rather than the Normandie as you'd said. I'm quite unfamiliar with the San Juan area and it sounds like the Radisson is in more of a non-tourist area (Condado). The Normandie would be rather isolated for my first night there with no car it sounds like (a few miles to food outside the hotel and the hilton next door). Are you familiar with the Condado area yourself? I'm going to be leaving the following afternoon to go to Rincon and so i'm looking to be somewhere that id' be able to hang out and do a few things that first night (although i could always take a taxi until my friends arrive that night i guess).

i'm just thinking outloud here as i've never been there and dont want to pick the wrong area. any thoughts on this?

[thereuare]

The Normandie is next to the Hilton and the Hilton can provide some nightlife, although there isn't too much else in the immediate area (a counter-type restaurant across the street from the Hilton and that's about it).

The Radisson is down the road from the Wyndham. I was at the Wyndham over 10 years ago so don't really remember the area too well, but i seem to recall at least one or more 'local' restaurants just down the road (whether or not they're still there i don't know). The Wyndham Condado and the Hilton are right near each other as well so neither one of them is inaccessible from the other (but if walking alone at nite is may be better to take a cab... even for short distances).

Don't know if you're looking for a casino but the Hilton (as well as the Normandie) don't have one... the closest one is at the Wyndham.

Hope that helps some.

[nate416]

Is the Condado area very far from Old San Juan? Say more than $10 or so by cab?

[thereuare]

I would guess it's just about $10, maybe even a bit less... it's maybe 3 miles or so. While at the Hilton i spoke to a few people who walked it... it's a bit of a hike but do-able if you enjoy walking, but also very temperature dependent. The 10+ years ago i was there we brought our rollerblades (yet unknown to the island) and we rollerbladed from the Wyndham to Old San Juan. Got lots of looks along the way and it served us well in order to talk to some locals, but once in Old San Juan it was tough navigating since the streets there are cobblestone :)

There is a public bus that many have taken and it's very cheap... like 50 cents or some extremely low figure like that. It's litterally one or two street turns to the main street and then a straight ride to Old San Juan.

[nate416]

hm that sounds like it would be okay in either of the two areas then at least..... as far as distances between spots.

im going to give this a little thought. i've got until tomorrow before i can re-bid PL on either reservation so i think im going to try priceline one more time on this one at the $93 that i'd be paying to Hotwire for the non-resort and if it gets rejected then ill take my chances and see how Hotwire comes up then. i figure if im paying $93 for the 3*HW then i might as well try that with PL first.

thanks for the information, guidance, and tips. i'll let you know what happens on this as well as the other res and see whathappens from there.

thanks again,

nate

[thereuare]

i figure if im paying $93 for the 3*HW then i might as well try that with PL first.

The downside of this (IMO) is the Park Normandie becomes a possibility. That's why i said i would sooner take the 3* on Hotwire than bid the same on Priceline (but i would try to beat the $93 figure at the Resort level on Pricline)

[nate416]

my bad, i wasnt clear on that statement.

what you stated is what i am planning on doing. i'll be trying to match the $93 HW 3* rate with a resort level on PL and if that doesnt work then possibly take the Radisson on HW.

[nate416]

ok so i got rejected on the $93 on this date.

hotwire is still listing what seems like the Radisson for $93

as well as a $110 resort beach w/ casino.

going to think about this one for a day or so.

btw im definitely recommending this site to friends from now on. what a great difference between this and TOBB :) very helpful and no fascist techniques. good stuff man.

[thereuare]

I just did a search for your dates and came up with a Resort at $196 so i'm not sure if it's the same one you're seeing or not, but if it is, it matches the description of the El San Juan. This used to be the best hotel in the area but these REVIEWS seem to indicate that the property is still nice but the rooms need updating.

Unfortunately you read mixed reviews with just about every property in San Juan. I think this goes back to what i have said in other threads about the service not being on-par with visitors are accustomed to back in the states. As well, it's not an inexpensive area, so when people pay more they tend to expect more... and you don't typically get it in San Juan.

btw im definitely recommending this site to friends from now on. what a great difference...

Thanks for noticing (and commenting) on the differences :) . Please do help spread the word as more users will only make the site more useful, and as we become more useful we'll also get more users, and so-on, and so-on.