Priceline Hotel: Resort Oahu (Waikiki Beach) Hyatt Regency

[Rexbard]

Started with the betterbidding.com PRICELINE search box at the top of the page. My initial goal was to win the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which should be the only Resort in the Marina district.

First Bid: 1/14/09 with checkout 1/15, Resort, Marina, $105

Corrected checkout to 1/16, Added Airport, $111

Added City Center, $116

Added Diamond Head, $124

Closed browser.

Started again with the betterbidding PRICELINE search box.

First Bid: 1/14 - 1/16, Resort, Marina district and Executive Center district, $129

Added Airport, $135.

Gave up on Hilton as $135 is already a bit out of my price range.

Continued on same bid cycle: Added Waikiki, lowered bid to $120. Accepted by Hyatt Regency Waikiki.

I could probably have bid around $100 and won the Sheraton Waikiki again (I left a $99 Sheraton Waikiki stay this morning). However, I wanted to stay elsewhere. I decided to gamble and bid a little higher while staying within my budget. In this case, it worked out and I received the Hyatt.

Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort And Spa

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $120.00

Subtotal: $240.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $40.32

Total Charges*: $280.32

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your win!

Glad to see that you're happy with the results and successfully stayed away from the Sheraton which you were trying to avoid for this stay.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[Rexbard]

After stay quick report:

Stayed in a hotel behind the elevators in the Diamondhead Tower (those rooms end in 51 and 68).

Large room. Larger than the Sheraton Waikiki room, which was a little larger than the standard Hyatt room.

This room showed very well, especially when compared with the Sheraton Waikiki I just stayed in. This room was very bright, very clean, and felt relatively new. The Sheraton, in comparison, was down a hallway where the carpet changed three times, were the doors didn't match each other [like the hallway interior was built from several different, older hotels. The Sheraton was also darker, which I don't prefer.

Elevator noise was a constant, but mild background noise. It sounded similar to a single person at a skateboard park, or an airplane in the distance. If the TV was on at a comfortable level, it was easily ignored, but could still be heard if listened for. The shower shared a wall with the room behind the other elevators. The noise when someone in the other room took a shower was very loud, but fine when the bathroom door was shut.

No additional fees (I had no car, so I don't know about parking).

No free Internet in the rooms. Wireless was available for $10/day via T-Mobile.

Very open and inviting central hotel complex.

Trolly route stops on the other side of the street in front of the hotel; very convenient.

Very high winds the nights I stayed caused the patio door to "whistle". I could not close it any tighter to stop the noise.

Due to the elevators and wind, I bought some ear plugs to sleep. I couldn't hear the wind while using them. The elevators were still heard, but more of a lulling, very background noise.

There is a nice sandwich and soup shop on the first floor of the Hyatt, which I really enjoyed.

I'm hopping over to the Big Island for the weekend. I asked both hotels about keeping one of my bags while I made the trip.

Sheraton said they'd hold my bag in "long term storage" after my stay, if needed.

Hyatt said they'd only hold my bag if I had a reservation for the night when I returned.