Priceline Hotel: Newbie - Looking for 3* Downtown San Diego & Harbor Island

[Southern Transplant]

Hello all,

Firstly, I fully intend on booking through the links here. :) Gotta support! Anyway, I've read most of the forums here and based on the types of potential hotels listed in the 3* category in Downtown, that seems to be the level I'm comfortable with. As long as I'm not afraid to walk to my car at night, I'm good. I didn't see a whole lot of matches to what I'm looking for in the recent calendar of wins; most seemed to be 4*. Here are my questions:

1) What's a decent range to start bidding for a 3* in Downtown San Diego & Harbor Island zone? (I think I understand the whole re-bidding by adding zones thing - hypothetically, of course)

2) If the difference between winning a 3* hotel and a 4* hotel is only going to be $20-$30, should I just go ahead and search for 3.5* or 4*, or is there enough difference in quality to warrant it?

Any advice you all have would be most welcome. This will be my first Priceline experience and I want to fully understand what I'm doing before I sign my life away and spend too much.

Thanks!!

[Colfax]

Welcome to BetterBidding, Southern Transplant.

1) What's a decent range to start bidding for a 3* in Downtown San Diego & Harbor Island zone?

Rates are date sensitive. What are your travel dates? What are the 3* Holiday Inn Downtown and Holiday Inn on the Bay charging for those dates?

2) If the difference between winning a 3* hotel and a 4* hotel is only going to be $20-$30, should I just go ahead and search for 3.5* or 4*, or is there enough difference in quality to warrant it?

That's a personal judgment only you can make, whether it's worth paying another $20-30 for a 3.5* or 4* hotel. It's not just the room rate that will be higher. Parking and internet charges are usually higher at 4* too.

If you think a hotel like Holiday Inn will meet your needs then you may not want to pay extra for a 4*. Besides Holiday Inn the other reported 3* in San Diego are a Hilton and Courtyard.

Let us know if you need further assistance. Please use these HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links when you bid.

[Southern Transplant]

Good points - I guess I'll stick with 3*. The dates again are 3/23/09 through 3/26/09. The Holiday Inn Downtown and On the Bay both quote $159 per night on their website. Thoughts?

[Colfax]

When bidding for a 3* in San Diego you have three free rebid zones. Those are zones that only have hotels less than 3*. If you need help determining your free rebid zones please ask.

I suggest $45 for a 3* in Downtown-Harbor Island zone. Then add $5 per free rebid, up to $60.

Please start your bids with this PRICELINE link.

Good luck!