Priceline Hotel: 4* Raleigh-Durham (Chapel Hill) Carolina Inn

[DCSteve]

I've also been trying to get a good deal on a 4* hotel in Chapel Hill (for 4/23-4/26). So far, I've bid from $110 to $140 without any luck - I've also tried selecting all the other zones listed in NC Raleigh/Durham (except for Raleigh which is the only other zone with a 4* hotel) along with Chapel Hill but had no luck. I really don't want to pay more than $140, but was hoping to stay at either the Carolina Inn or the Siena. Any thoughts anyone?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

How much are "traditional rates" for a 4* hotel in this zone for these dates?

Is SPLITTING YOUR PRICELINE BID an option? If not successful up to $140, would you raise your bid, lower your star rating, or consider other nearby zones?

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

[trentslori]

It looks like there's something happening in Chapel Hill that weekend, because if you check the regular prices on those two hotels for your dates, the rates shoot up for Friday and Saturday. You could try bidding for Thursday night separate from Friday and Saturday, but that would only be if you would be okay moving hotels if you had to. Would you be okay with maybe going for a 4-star for Thursday, then switching to a 3 1/2 (like the Sheraton) for the weekend? Regular price is $109 for that weekend there, so you should be able to bid and really get that down.

Or wait until it gets closer. I wasn't getting anywhere bidding on a 4-star in Chapel Hill for Valentine's Day until two weeks before it. Then I got the Carolina Inn for $60.

Maybe the pros that run the board here will have better suggestions for you.

[DCSteve]

Thanks for the suggestions, I really appreciate the help.

I checked the rates for the two 4* hotels in Chapel Hill (The Siena and the Carolina Inn) for those dates and, for comparison purposes, the previous 2 or 3 weekends. The rates didn't appear to fluctuate too much - the Siena was generally around $195 per night, while the Carolina Inn was around $210. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of flexibility as we're part of a wedding. The problem we have with the lower star hotels is not their quality but their location - the Siena and the Carolina Inn are the only hotels within walking distance of downtown/campus, all the other hotels are located on the outskirts of town and necessitate driving. The bid splitting option is possible, although I'm well aware of the potential downsides to that.

I've been using this site's PRICELINE links.

[trentslori]

I don't recall the Sienna being within walking distance of campus? It would be a bit of a walk. The Carolina Inn is definitely on campus. The Franklin is also right in the heart of things, and I've heard that's very nice.

I checked Mapquest, and The Sienna is 1.79 miles from The Carolina Inn. I bet they'd have shuttles to campus, though.

[thereuare]

Does the wedding have a group rate at any property?

[DCSteve]

The wedding group rate for the Carolina Inn is $190 (certainly better than the rack rate, but still outside of our budget). There is no wedding group rate for the Siena. In terms of the Siena's distance from downtown - it's still a hike, but more manageable based on where in town we need to be, and as pointed out by trentslori there may well be a shuttle. The Franklin is also a nice hotel, but not (as far as I can tell) a Priceline hotel and their website currently shows no availability for that time period.

I reposted my bids using this site's PRICELINE links. I went from $110 to $140 (the max for our budget) and once again tried the 4* for all zones except Raleigh, but was rejected each time. I might just have to reconsider our options.

Once again, thanks for all your suggestions.

[trentslori]

You might want to book something that's refundable, just to be on the safe side, but if I were you, I would keep trying, cause any day a deal could pop up like it did for me. Living in this area, if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know.

[thereuare]

The Franklin Hotel seems very nearby, but rates are even higher than the Caronlina Inn.

If you're looking for a cancellable back-up the Courtyard Chapel Hill looks to be about 3 miles from the Carolina Inn so i woudlnt' think a cab would cost too much (if you don't have a car) or there is a city bus infront of the hotel which goes to campus.

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

[trentslori]

Just got back from our Valentine night stay at The Carolina Inn (which I scored off Priceline via this website for $60). I can tell you that The Franklin Hotel is within walking distance of it. The Courtyard by Marriott is on 54 on the way into campus. Nothing is all that far in Chapel Hill that we could see. The Sheraton is on 15-501 not that far, and with shuttles, either would likely suffice for you. The Carolina Inn was historic & charming, and um...quite frankly, I now believe some of the haunted stories. Nothing harmful, of course, but, let's just say I won't be joking about ghosts there anymore.

[DCSteve]

I just wanted to update folks on this posting. I'm still bidding (using this site's PRICELINE links of course!) on a 4* hotel in Chapel Hill for 4/23-4/26. I've placed bids of $110-$130 using multiple zones (except the only other 4* zone in this region - Raleigh). Still no luck. I'm pretty sure if I was willing to split my bid that I could get the night of 4/23 at a decent rate, however since we don't arrive in Chapel Hill until late in the day and we'd probably have to book into a different hotel the next day (assuming the other half of our split bid didn't pan out) it would probably be more hassle than its worth.

I do have a cancelable reservation in hand (at the Courtyard), but will continue to see if I can snag a 4* at a good price. Needless to say I will post to the list if I achieve any success.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the update.

I'd also keep an eye HOTWIRE as sometimes you can get a decent offering there if there is a rate change over the course of your stay and your PRICELINE bids continue to be rejected.

Thanks for using our PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links.

[DCSteve]

I am being offered a 3* hotel in Chapel Hill, NC for $49 for Thursday April 23-Sunday April 26.

The three amenities listed are:

Fitness Center

Pool

Tennis Nearby

I checked the hotel list on this site but did not see a 3* listed for Chapel Hill. Anyone know which hotel this might be (I'm hoping it might be the Courtyard).

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

The 3* above is a match for the Holiday Inn Chapel Hill so that would be our best guess.

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

Keep us updated and let us know if you go for the above or if we can be of further help.

[DCSteve]

Thanks for the info on the Holiday Inn - that's a shame, I'd hoped for something different.

The reason I initially posted the last comment on the Hotwire forum is that it was a HOTWIRE transaction, not a PRICELINE transaction. People who are trying to determine which hotels are which on Hotwire are far more likely to look at the HOTWIRE forum than the PRICELINE forum (e.g. someone in the future who has the same question as me would probably not check the Priceline forum).

[DCSteve]

4* Carolina Inn - $120

I finally had some success with PRICELINE (using the links on this site of course!). A bid of $120 was accepted. I have been trying a wide variety of bids using multiple zones for the past couple of months, however the most recent (and accepted) bid started at $90 in just the Chapel Hill zone, but after going up in $10 increments and adding additional non-4* zones I was successful at $120 (a price I had tried many times before and had even exceeded on a number of occasions).

It's not as low as other successful bids for the Carolina Inn recorded on this board, but considering that currently the cheapest rate on the Carolina Inn website is an AAA rate of $215 I'll take it.

Thanks to fellow betterbidders for all their advice!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success... guess you wore them down! :)

Nice to see you stuck with it and got a very nice deal for this stay. While this is higher than some previous wins, hotel direct rates are higher as well, and there's often a high correlation between the two.

Glad this works well for your plans... and keeps some extra money in your pocket!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICLINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay.