Priceline Hotel: 3* San Diego Mission Valley

[soleglo]

Hotwire has the following for the dates 11/11-11/14. Any assistance of figuring out what hotel these might be would be greatly appreciated.

Hotel Circle - 3*

Customer Favorite - Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Self service laundry facilities and a review stated kids eat free in restaurant. $61/nt

Hotel Circle 3 1/2*

Customer Favorite - Airport Shuttle, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business CEnter, self service laundry facilities, tenis nearby. $109/nt

Thanks much from the Windy City

[TravelGuy]

I don't know if Old Town would be an acceptable alternative to you, but Hotwire has the Holiday Inn Express Old Town for $57 for your dates, which includes a good breakfast. I stayed there recently and would highly recommend it (will try to post a review soon). It's also very possibly available on Priceline for around $40.

[soleglo]

Thanks, that is an alternate for me. Is that location easily accessible to expressways. I am renting a car and taking my sons (13 & 9) to various places while there.

[soleglo]

Oops, did you have any problems parking in there lot? (I notice they charge $7/day)

[TravelGuy]

It's right off of I-5. Not sure about the parking, as I didn't have a car with me. The Old Town Transit Center is about a 10 minute walk.

The rates at ichotels.com for your dates are just $96. I would highly recommend bidding on Priceline first at $40 before going with Hotwire. While 2.5* on Hotwire, it's 2* on Priceline - the only 2* that's ever come up in that zone. I'd say it's more like a 3*, except that there's no restaurant other than the breakfast bar, which is hardly necessary given the many good restaurants in Old Town.

[soleglo]

Thanks, soooo much. I will try Priceline after I read about how it works.

[thereuare]

If you decide to try Priceline we'll be happy to supply a bidding strategy to follow if you'd like.

[soleglo]

Yes I would like the strategy. Thanks much!

[thereuare]

As TravelGuy recommended, you'll have to bid 2* on Priceline to have a chance at the Holiday Inn Express... but keep in mind that you could get a 2* hotel in that zone not yet reported or get upgraded to a 2.5* or 3* property (usually not a bad thing, but some people don't like to get upgraded when they're targeting a specific lower star hotel).

If you are really targeting the Holiday Inn and don't want to 'risk' another hotel Hotwire may be the better, yet more expensive, option.

For Priceline, a prior win at this property was at $40 so i would give that a try first. You have no RE-BID ZONES available so you get one chance at this every 72 hours.

Let us know how it goes and what you decide to do.

Any questions feel free to ask.

[TravelGuy]

I'd just like to say that, while it's true that results can't be 100% guaranteed, IMO the odds are very high in the bidders favor in this instance that there will be no adverse result at $40 using Priceline because:

1. The Holiday Inn Express (HIex) is the only 2* ever reported in the zone.

2. I can't ever recall a 2* bid of $40 or less getting upgraded to 2.5* in the zone.

3. The prevailing rate for HIex is substantially the lowest.

2* HIex $89

2.5* Best Western Island Palms (Point Loma) $119

2.5* Courtyard Old Town $149

4. HIex is the only hotel coming up on Hotwire.

5. In the very unlikely event that any of the other reported hotels in the zone were to come up, they would all be fine, with the possible exception of the Courtyard (which would probably be fine as long as they have a room away from the highway).

6. In the very unlikely event that an unreported hotel comes up, odds are that it would be of relatively high quality given the zones.

I also think that Coronado is a free rebid (although not technically) as I've never seen a winning bid of $40 in that zone at any star level. I would therefore bid $38 or $39 for Old Town/Point Loma @2*, and, if unsuccessful, add Coronado @ $40.

Poor soleglo is probably now scratching his/her head and asking what have I gotten myself into :)

My point is just that I think there's a difference between subjecting oneself to a substantial risk versus only a very small one.

[soleglo]

They rejected the $40 bid yesterday now what, do I have to wait the 72(ok now its 48 hours??) or should I "recreate" myself today and try. After they rejected it, for rebidding they checked all of the hotels that were a higher star rating. Why couldn't I remove any of those check marks. And. Yes, I am scratching my head thinking what did I get myself into BUT my frugalilty will prevail and I am determined to get a decent hotel inexpensively. I am sure I will, with the help of this board! :)

[thereuare]

You couldn't remove the checkmarks for the higher rated hotels because when you bid for 2* you are actually bidding for 2* or higher (see my upgrade comments above). Therefore, you can't bid again immediately by adding a 3* hotel to your search, since Priceline views it that you have already tried that bid when it searched for a 2* hotel for you (since they also searched for a 2.5*, 3*, 4*, etc).

You still have plenty of time, but i would consdier whether you were bidding 2* in this zone because you wanted an inexpensive hotel OR were you bidding this zone because it was the best way to have a chance at the Holiday Inn Express which had good reviews? (in other words, what is more important to you, price or the quality of the hotel)

[soleglo]

Quality more than price.

[TravelGuy]

They rejected the $40 bid yesterday...

Way to go for taking a small, calculated risk and making the bid! No guts, no glory :) (And no harm done.)

I think you're now at the point where things could get uncomfortably more random if you continue with Priceline in the Old Town zone. I'm confident that something would come there up at no higher than $45, but it could end up being the Courtyard Old Town, which sits right on the freeway, and could be noisy and unpleasant if you don't get a room on the opposite side.

If you want the certainty of a specific hotel, I think the HIex is definately the best value on Hotwire, considering both price and quality.

Otherwise, if you're comfortable with some uncertainty, you might want to continue exploring with Priceline in more zones. Just keep plugging away: the vast majority end up getting a nice room inexpensively.

[thereuare]

Based upon your desire for quality over price, and taking TravelGuy's comments into consideration (about increased uncertainty when bidding over $40) i think Hotwire may be the better choice in this situation.

If you bid $45 and were accepted at some hotel you weren't please with, you'd regret not spending the extra $12/nite. Here are some additional REVIEWS to help with your decision.

Another option would be to try to beat the $57 Hotwire rate by bidding 3 star in the equivalent Priceline zones... this would likely 2.5* Courtyard. TravelGuy, as you know the area better than i do, any thoughts on that approach?

[TravelGuy]

My suggestion would be to nix Mission Valley. One can get a good deal on a nice place in areas that are more interesting and fun.

As I've mentioned, Old Town would be one. The Holiday Inn Express used to be the #1 rated place on Tripadvisor.com for a long time before a handful of apparently grumpy people posted reviews. I thought it was a gem, although the fact that they gave me a terrific room probably helped. That's the best budget value IMO.

Or how about being on the water or in La Jolla? I'd say there's a 95% chance that a $65-70 4* bid in the Coastal zone would result in either the Hyatt Islandia or Hyatt La Jolla coming up. Both very nice places. There would be a little more driving involved, and parking would be higher though.

Soleglo inquired about a Hotwire hotel at $109. For a 4* bid of $110 on Priceline in the Coronado zone, the Coronado Marriott would very likely come up. That would be a nice splurge, and literally a world of difference from staying in Mission Valley for the same amount.

My favorite part of San Diego (with Torrey Pines a close second) is Ocean Beach. No Priceline or Hotwire hotels there though :)

[TravelGuy]

I should say the Priceline rates given above are assuming prevailing rates in the normal range and Priceline availability. Also, downtown would be another area to consider using Priceline, another more pleasant alternative to Mission Valley.

[soleglo]

Thanks for everyones help, I ended up staying with a friend for those dates.