Priceline Hotel: Nice hotel in LA with free wifi and parking?

[petronella]

Seems like most of the 3-4 star hotel charge for wifi and parking, while it's hard to find a 2 or 2.5 star hotel that doesn't have scary reviews. Is it possible to get the best of both worlds? Either a nice 2 or 2.5 star, or a 3 or 4 star with free wifi and parking?

I would like to stay in Glendale, Burbank, Hollywood or maybe downtown or Studio City or Universal if necessary, and would also prefer to not stay in a 2 or 2.5 as it seems like it's hard to find a good one. I'm somewhat picky.

Also haven't set a time for the trip yet, just wondering in general.

[1f9mom]

There is a really nice Courtyard by Marriott I stayed in the end of March, and won again for June...that is a 3* in the Venice/Santa Monica area(actually Marina Del Rey) that offers both free parking and free wifi! It's really a nice area, close to the beach, and about a 15 minute drive to Hollywood depending on traffic! It's really a great hotel...I highly recommend it!

It is the hotel you would most likely win right now for a bid on a 3* in the Santa Monice/Venice area. Winning bids range from $70-$80.

Hope this helps!

[yellowdog]

petronella

Welcome to betterBidding :)

Free parking in Los angeles is a rare thing. And there's no guarantee that you get free wifi. Reading your post makes me belive that you shoudn't use PRICELINE. I think HOTWIRE is a better option for you.

If you're trying to target a specific property/amenties then HOTWIRE can often be a better option if you're successfully able to identify it based upon the star rating and amenities shown before your purchase... the trade-off is that HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, so you need to decide what is most important to you for a given stay, the lowest possible price OR the ability to take an educated guess as to the property you may receive.

Feel free to post if you have any futher questions.

Yellowdog.

[petronella]

I love Marriott hotels, but we mostly hang out in the Glendale/Hollywood area when we're in LA so I would like to stay at least somewhat close to there. Marina del Rey would be a little far.

I know free parking in general is hard to find in LA, but most 2 or 2.5 still don't charge for this (at least I haven't came across any that do). I have looked at the 2 and 2.5 stars that are listed on Hotwire and Priceline in the Glendale and Hollywood areas, but they're mostly on the sketchy side it seems, so I guess what I'm looking to see is if anyone knows of maybe a 3 star or something in these areas that still offers a good value on amenities.

[AaronJB]

If you have a hotel in mind with free parking and wifi that you want to book regular rate to ensure getting it (as you cannot on PRICELINE or HOTWIRE), then the coupon code deal0hotel should work on most properties on Orbitz.com to get 10% off each night.

Please use the site's Orbitz.com link if this idea is of interest.

[thereuare]

I'll also just add to this thread to not lose site of the big picture... while nobody really likes to pay extra for parking and internet, booking a 3* or 4* hotel thru PRICELINE or HOTWIRE, and paying additional for parking (which you may likely have to pay anyway) and/or internet, will still often cost less than choosing a hotel and booking direct.

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

[Colfax]

The Holiday Inn Burbank-Media Center has free parking. Offhand that's the only 3* or higher I can think of with free parking in Hollywood or Burbank-Universal-Glendale zones. The reviews are middling though.

The Holiday Inn Burbank's been reported as a HOTWIRE 3* in the past.

[petronella]

Cool, I didn't look to closely at this one before because of the so so reviews, but it might be a pretty good deal after all.

However, thereuare has a good point. I've seen the Hilton in Glendale go for as low as $45, so even if you add $20-$30 extra for internet and parking, it might still be cheaper than the Holiday Inn, which usually costs $70-$90 on both PRICELINE and HOTWIRE.

Is it just me or does it seem like the hotel prices are going down as the economy is getting worse?

[Colfax]

I agree that a Priceline 3* at $45 plus $20 parking is a better deal than the Holiday Inn at $90 with free parking.

Does this mean you want to try Priceline now? If you'd like help with a bid please provide your travel dates and bidding limit.

Also PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, which could be a room with one bed. Will one bed be enough? If not HOTWIRE is the better choice.

[petronella]

Thanks Colfax, we haven't set a date for the trip yet, so I'm just browsing for now. I thought Priceline and Hotwire had the same policy as far as not technically being able to guarantee a certain room? We pretty much always got what we asked for though.

And thanks AaronJB for the Orbitz code, that just saved me over 50 bucks on a hotel that wasn't available on HOTWIRE or PRICELINE.

[Colfax]

I thought Priceline and Hotwire had the same policy as far as not technically being able to guarantee a certain room?

No, PRICELINE and HOTWIRE have different policies regarding bed arrangements.

PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, which can be a room with one bed. On Priceline a second bed is at the hotel's discretion and some hotels will charge for the second bed. In a zone like Burbank-Universal the hotels tend to have a lot of two-bed rooms because many families stay there, and getting two beds for free is likelier there than in some other zones. Still two beds are never guaranteed with Priceline, in any zone.

Hotwire's different. On HOTWIRE you can enter "3 adults" or "4 adults". If you book that way you're guaranteed a room that will accomodate the number of people you booked. That almost always means a room with two beds. Once in a while it's one bed plus a hideaway sofa.

[Colfax]

And as a footnote, there's one LA area zone where all known 3* and higher hotels have free parking. It's the Commerce-Norwalk-Rosemead zone. The 3.5* Doubletree Commerce, 3.5* Marriott Norwalk, and 3* Radisson Whittier all have free parking.

[petronella]

No, PRICELINE and HOTWIRE have different policies regarding bed arrangements.

PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, which can be a room with one bed. On Priceline a second bed is at the hotel's discretion and some hotels will charge for the second bed. In a zone like Burbank-Universal the hotels tend to have a lot of two-bed rooms because many families stay there, and getting two beds for free is likelier there than in some other zones. Still two beds are never guaranteed with Priceline, in any zone.

Hotwire's different. On HOTWIRE you can enter "3 adults" or "4 adults". If you book that way you're guaranteed a room that will accomodate the number of people you booked. That almost always means a room with two beds. Once in a while it's one bed plus a hideaway sofa.

So let's say you're booking a room for 2 people and want 2 beds, should you enter 3 or 4 adults to be sure?

And as a footnote, there's one LA area zone where all known 3* and higher hotels have free parking. It's the Commerce-Norwalk-Rosemead zone. The 3.5* Doubletree Commerce, 3.5* Marriott Norwalk, and 3* Radisson Whittier all have free parking.

Nice, that's good to know.

[thereuare]

So let's say you're booking a room for 2 people and want 2 beds, should you enter 3 or 4 adults to be sure?

Yes, that's how it's done.

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

[Jasmine]

A great hotel is the Ayres in Manhattan Beach. Free parking, free wifi AND free breakfast. Right now, you can book any weekend in June for only $79 a night through the hotel's website (select 21-day advanced rate from drop down menu). This is a fantastic rate for this property which never comes up on PRICELINE / HOTWIRE as far as I know.