Priceline Hotel: Help with bidding pre cruise 2/21/09

[csitley]

Hi,

I'm starting to get a little frustrated. I started bidding for 1 night pre cruise room (2/21/09) on Priceline. I started in zone 6 (San Juan) $70, 3*. I'm up to my 4th bid ($99), nothing else changed, but still rejected. I looked on Hotwire and they have a 3.5* for $109. I don't know if I should get the one on Hotwire or go back to bidding on Priceline. This is my first time at this and I don't want to mess up. Any suggestion?

Thanks,

Claire

[slick_gd]

Welcome to the board!

Generally, PRICELINE is the cheaper option, but in some cases it is not. It all depends on which hotels are currently using each sites, and hotels that use one may not use the other. I don't think you are going to mess anything up, it's all a matter of what you are willing to spend.

Since you have a couple months until your stay you could wait and keep re-bidding over the next couple weeks at lower amounts and maybe get lucky, while keeping an eye on HOTWIRE to notice whether the price goes up or down, or you can just book the HOTWIRE hotel now.

The 3.5* looks like it has dropped to $103. With amenities: near beach, fitness, pool, restaurant, business, laundry, internet and a tripadvisor traveler review rating of 2.5/5 based on 220+ reviews this one looks to be a match to the Normandie Hotel.

Once the tripadvisor traveler review rating dips below 3 I, and a lot of others, would start to get pretty weary about the hotel. It may be unpleasant. But taking a quick look at some of the other hotels on HOTWIRE, unless you go with the 4* they all have very poor ratings, 2 of 2.5 out of 5.

What is your max budget for this stay?

[csitley]

Wow! What a quick response, thank you.

We were hoping for spend between $100 and $150..with all the taxes and resort fees. However, if it means spending a little more to get something we will.

[thereuare]

Generally speaking, San Juan hotels don't get good reviews... it's an expensive hotel market, and when guests pay a lot of money for a room, they expect a certain level of service, which they usually don't get in San Juan. It's not necessarily that the hotels are 'bad', but there is a different culture in San Juan, and while 'connected' to the US, they are still very much an island and operate, as often refered to on cruise ships, "on island time". This slower pace is often interpretted as 'bad service' from guests who are expecting more for their dollars paid.

Neither of the 3* or 3.5* hotels which appear on a HOTWIRE search for your dates get good reviews, so it ultimately depends what you're looking for from this stay... do you arrive late, leave early for the pier, and just need a place to sleep, or will you be arriving early, viewing this as the first day of your vacation (as opposed to a 'travel day') and looking to use/enjoy the facilities of the hotel.

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

[csitley]

We will be arriving at SJU 3:30PM on Saturday and the ship departs Sunday 11:00PM so, we will have time to do some things Saturday night and Sunday.

Do you think I should continue with PRICELINE and forget about HOTWIRE based on what we have said so far?

[thereuare]

It really depends what you actually intend on doing for those day(s)...

Everyone is different, but when i cruise we try to get on the ship as early as possible... it's great being on board when the ship isn't yet crowded, and you learn the 'lay of the land' while the ship is still relatively empty. So even though you don't sail away until 11pm, when do you intend to board? If late in the day... will you be "out and about" seeing San Juan or looking for a resort style property where you can stay on the grounds of the hotel, a hotel on/near the beach, or will you go out seeing San Juan. Not sure which ship you're taking, but if leaving from the pier at Old San Juan (the other is the Pan Amerian Pier) you could likely get to the pier early, board the ship, then leave and tour Old San Juan which is litteraly "right there".

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