Priceline Hotel: 3* San Juan Courtyard Miramar

[Siim]

After the great deal I found with the help of the people on this site, I was hoping, I might get lucky with San Juan to :)

So the plan is to be in San Juan on March 11-16 and there are four people. Preferably two separate rooms. A 3-star hotel would be quite nice.

I looked at previous bids on priceline from this forum and saw a successful $45 bid for a 3* hotel, so I made the same bid (3-star hotel for $45), but this was rejected. Any suggestions on how should I proceed? :)

[thereuare]

I saw that $45 win and that is extremely low for San Juan... it's good to try for that same rate, but i dont' think it should be expected unless you see that rates are ultra-low for your own dates.

What is your maximum bid for this stay?

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

[Siim]

What is your maximum bid for this stay?

Would something around $70 be realistic?

Maybe even a 2* would be OK, since there's a lot to do there in those 5 days and the hotel is only a place to sleep... But I have no idea, what does 2* mean in PR - is it usually an OK place to spend the night? :)

[thereuare]

At the 3* level you have two 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.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 3* San Juan...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $55, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 3* San Juan and re-bid zone2...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $65

I'd start with the above and see how that goes. I would be very hesitant to lower your star rating as San Juan is not a great hotel market... there are frequently complaints and/or service issues even at the nicer hotels on the island. Most of this can be attributable to San Juan being an expensive hotel market and guests expecting a lot for the high prices they're paying... but San Juan is still on "island time" and not as much of a hurry as the mainland US to get things done, so this is often interpretted as poorl service, when it's really a cultural thing, imo.

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Siim]

Just to make sure - the 2 re-bid zones for me are then:

Ponce - Guanica

and

Cabo Rojo

since they don't have 3* hotels, right? :)

[thereuare]

Yes, you have your re-bid zones correct, but just to clarify, they are your re-bid zones because they don't have 3* hotels or higher.

When you select a star rating it is the minimum that you are willing to accept, and you could be upgraded to a higher star rated hotel. So in your example above, if a zone doesn't have a 3* hotel but does offer Resort, 3.5* or 4* bidding, it is not a re-bid zone, even though it doesn't have 3* hotels.

You can check your re-bid zones at [http://www.re-bidding.com]Re-Bidding.com

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

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

PS new zones and upgrades/downgrades can happen at any time, so while your re-bid zones are correct as of the time of this post, you should doublecheck them again immediately before bidding, even if it's only an hour or two from now

[Siim]

Went up to $70 with my bids and re-bid zones, but didn't get accepted... Any other possibilities besides raising my 70$ limit and waiting 24 h ?

[burchsranch]

Just to make sure - the 2 re-bid zones for me are then:

Ponce - Guanica

and

Cabo Rojo

since they don't have 3* hotels, right? :)

hi, i am curious, i am also trying to bid a 2nd try in san juan and was wondering on the ponce zone, it does seem to have a 3star, the copamarina beach resort.

[thereuare]

Went up to $70 with my bids and re-bid zones, but didn't get accepted... Any other possibilities besides raising my 70$ limit and waiting 24 h ?

You could wait it out and continue to try with your current limit (hoping that lower priced inventory becomes available).. you don' necessarily have to raise your price immediately.

However, your choices essentially come down to:

-wait it out and try again with your current budget

-raise your maximum bid

-lower your star rating

-SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID (which you have to be willing to change hotels if you choose this option)

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

Let us know what you decide and how we can help.

[thereuare]

hi, i am curious, i am also trying to bid a 2nd try in san juan and was wondering on the ponce zone, it does seem to have a 3star, the copamarina beach resort.

burchsranch,

It sounds as if you're using the 'retail' version of PRICELINE to determine your re-bid zones, which is NOT recommended... the 'retail' and 'opaque' versions of PRICELINE each use a different pool of hotels, as well, the zone boundaries and names are very different thru each service.

The way to determine your re-bid zones is discussed in this thread: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

If you need help with your upcoming stay, or would like to ask questions regarding re-bidding, please start a NEW TOPIC.

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

[Siim]

Tried this today:

3* and San Juan - $55 - rejected

added re-bid zone1 - $65 - rejected

closed window - re-entered using your link

3* and San Juan+re-bid zone2 - $72 - rejected

added re-bid zone1 - $77 - rejected

(At the $72 bid I was offered to raise my bid $22.)

I think tomorrow I'll lower the star raiting to 2,5 and try again :)

[Siim]

I looked at the priceline hotels list here and there was only one 2,5* hotel listed and then I read the reviews for this hotel ("Normandie San Juan")... After reading those, I decided to first raise my bid a bit, before I go changing my star limit.

And about "splitting my bid".. I'm afraid, that the move from one hotel to another will take too much time out of our day... Although if we could leave our luggage to the new hotel and do the check-in in the evening, then it wouldn't be so bad... I read that it usually is an option in most hotels?

[thereuare]

Most hotels will hold your luggage after check-out for retrieval later that day OR will hold your luggage until your room is ready... so you have the option of having your first hotel hold your luggage until you move to the second hotel OR move to the second hotel and have them hold your luggage until your room is available (assuming it's not when you first arrive)

However, given the counter-off you received, you know that you're at least close... so you have to decide if any potential savings of changing hotels is worth the inconvenience.

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

[Rochester Rich]

If it were me I'd stick with the 3* as you're pretty darn close. $72 bid got you an offer for +22. Although my experience is limited I would expect the offer to be met before reaching the 72 + 22 suggestion. I've been checking similar dates for myself (week before) and noticed that the Hotwire price for the Sheraton Old San Juan jumped from $89 to $119. You have 4 new bids coming up in 24 hours, why not consider:

77, 80, 83, and 86.

Looks like HOTWIRE has the Sheraton Old San Juan available 3/11-14 at $89. Maybe it's the Saturday night that is keeping you from winning a bid. Let us know how you fare as I may need to bid for a room sometime soon.

[Siim]

Wow - turns out I was pretty close :)

Started my re-bidding this morning at $79 and that was accepted by this hotel: Courtyard By Marriott San Juan Miramar . I read the reviews from tripadvisor - people seem to be quite happy with their experience.

So now is my trip 100% planned - don't know how to thank you all for the help you've provided. THANKS! =)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you stuck with it and it only took a few dollars more than your previously rejected bid.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and using our PRICELINE links to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.