Priceline Hotel: 4* Los Angeles (Beverly Hills-West Hollywood) Hyatt Century Plaza

[hobbes0022]

4* Los Angeles (Beverly Hills-West Hollywood) Hyatt Century Plaza, $101 6/21/09 - 6/27/09

First bid accepted, I was hoping for Andaz since it seems to be closer to everything, and right on sunset strip, but this is a good deal too. Anyone have advice about renting a car, vs. taking cabs around?

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Congratulations on your success and thank you for sharing your results with the board. Sorry you didn't receive the Andaz as you were hoping for, but as you point out, this is a very nice deal for this property and hopefuly you can make this work just as well for your needs.

I can't comment regarding the car rental vs. taxi situation, but for somebody to help you in this regard you may want to include what type of things you intend on doing and where you intend to go... will you be traveling only within the immediate area or how far away is your furthest intended destination?

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

Enjoy your stay.

[glyphic]

Anyone have advice about renting a car, vs. taking cabs around?

In all likelihood you're not going to want to take cabs around. They're kinda pricey, since everything in this city is so spread out. You might spend $30 just going one-way. You can probably rent an econobox on PRICELINE for $13/day + taxes/fees, so even if you pay $30 a night on parking at the Hyatt, you'll still come out ahead.

The other issue is the availability of cabs. There just aren't too many around unless you plan to spend most of your time at hotels and tourist attractions.

[hobbes0022]

Hey everyone, I was wondering if I could get some general advice on my trip to California. First, let me share my own tip. While looking for places to stay in California I got an e-mail from Orbitz with a 15% discount code. I looked in a few places, trying to compare prices, I did find this website but only seached hotwire hotels on the hotel calender. Anyway on the last day of the coupon validity I caved and used it to get 6 nights at the Andaz (over 1300$ total). I felt decent about my deal, then a week later I saw the price drop by 20$, which is roughly how much I saved with my coupon. Whatever, I was still okay. And then, just for S & G I came back to this website, I noticed the priceline calender option, and to my surprise the Andaz was there, and at around the same dates for my trip people were winning with 101$ bids. I was not happy, Orbitz has the non-refundable deal, so there was nothing I could do right? Well, after grumbling for a few days I went to the Orbitz website and talked to a Rep, I explained that I know the tickets are non-refundable but if there was any possible way I could get a refund, I further explained that I was having problems at work and the vacation was just too expensive (This is actually true, my company is having layoffs, the vacation week to California is actually a mandatory unpaid week off, and yes I realize I may actually be jinxing myself, but what can I say, i'm young, cheap, and kind of stupid I guess). Anyway, the rep said he would have to contact the hotel to see if he can get a full refund. He calls but the hotel manager is not there (It was nighttime when I contacted the rep), he tells me to call Orbitz customer service the next day and they would contact the hotel. So I wait a couple days and call Orbitz, I explain the situation to the new rep, he finds my file, and tells me to hold while he called the hotel. About 12 minutes later he takes me off hold and explains that the hotel will offer a full refund and he will cancel my reservation, Score! Easy as that, based on some of the information I found on the web I thought it would be impossible to get a refund, I even used the record function on my cell phone just in case I was offered a refund, but had trouble getting it issued. So after all that was done, I had my wife go through priceline to make the bid. For 101$ a night we got Hyatt Century Plaza, we were hoping for Andaz, but this is a great deal too, a savings of like 600$).

So now I'de like some tips for my trip to LA. Would anyone recommend the Go LA Card? It seems like a great deal, but you would really have to do a lot of stuff in a small amount of time to really make it work. We want to go to Universal Studios, a Dodgers game, The Price is Right, The Ellen Show, The Conan O' Brian Show, Sunset Strip, and all that other Touristy Crap (I'm still trying to get tickets for Ellen, and Conan). I think renting a car, and keeping it at the Hyatt will be around 50$/day, do you think we'de be better off taking cabs or public transportation instead of renting? Well there be places to park in the touristy places, if so is it expensive? Does it suck driving around these places? How about the Hyatt, any advice about the place we're staying? Is there anywhere to park near the hotel that's not 33$ per day? Anything really great to do near the Hotel? Anything that we should go out of our way to see, or out of our way to avoid? Can anyone get me on Wipeout? I sent a e-mail to the casting group and they said there were done casting for the season. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. This website Rocks, thanks!

[hobbes0022]

Thanks for the advice, do you still think we'de be better off renting based on the below plans?

Would anyone recommend the Go LA Card? It seems like a great deal, but you would really have to do a lot of stuff in a small amount of time to really make it work. We want to go to Universal Studios, a Dodgers game, The Price is Right, The Ellen Show, The Conan O' Brian Show, Sunset Strip, and all that other Touristy Crap (I'm still trying to get tickets for Ellen, and Conan). I think renting a car, and keeping it at the Hyatt will be around 50$/day, do you think we'de be better off taking cabs or public transportation instead of renting? Well there be places to park in the touristy places, if so is it expensive? Does it suck driving around these places? How about the Hyatt, any advice about the place we're staying? Is there anywhere to park near the hotel that's not 33$ per day? Anything really great to do near the Hotel? Anything that we should go out of our way to see, or out of our way to avoid? Can anyone get me on Wipeout? I sent a e-mail to the casting group and they said there were done casting for the season. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. This website Rocks, thanks!

[thereuare]

I'll leave it to others local to the area to help with your itiernary, but if you do intend to use the Go Card please note that we're an affilaite so please use OUR LINK for your purchase (links also found in our support page) and there is currently a 5% off promotion going on.

I'd also suggest another site we're affiliate with, Viator, i fyou're looking for specific, individual, things to do.

[Colfax]

I can't answer all your questions, hobbes0022, but I'll try to answer one.

I think renting a car, and keeping it at the Hyatt will be around 50$/day, do you think we'de be better off taking cabs or public transportation instead of renting?

Renting a car will be cheaper than taking cabs, even after Hyatt's parking fee. It sounds like you're planning to jet all over town and visit many areas. You could easily rack up over $50/day in cabfare going back and forth to the Hyatt. And Metro (the train) doesn't serve the Hyatt area. I don't think public transportation is a good option unless you're willing to spend a couple hours a day on buses.

HOTWIRE has a compact at LAX for $21.95/day. PRICELINE usually beats HOTWIRE.

Have fun!

[swa]

I have stayed at the Hyatt Century Plaza. It is a big hotel, and it is not close to anything. Other than the on-site offerings, you cannot walk to anything. There is no subway nearby. If you are looking to go places, you will need a car. At the hotel there are two parking options. You can have unlimited in-out privileges with the valet (~$32 per day + valet tips) or a parking deck behind the hotel ($20 per parking session). If you will be in for the day, use the parking deck. If you will be leaving the parking area more than one time in a day, use the valet parking.

Taxi cabs are not a reasonable option because the cost will greatly exceed your parking cost and rental car. This is because the hotel is distant from many of the attractions you will want to see.

My recommendation would be to decide where you are going to go and what things you want to see, and then determine your transportation needs. Some great destinations are the Getty Museum or LA Conservancy tours (http://www.laconservancy.org/).

There are many things happening at the Hyatt, and it is worth considering spending the potential transportation money on activities at the hotel. If you are going to spend $50 for a rental car + $32 parking + $100 for a meal out, this gives you a budget of $182 to spend at the hotel. If you will be at the hotel for a week, you may want to consider this as an option for one day and go to the spa or for a nice dinner. You saved a lot of money on your hotel. Create a budget and plan for how you want to spend your money. If you decide how much you are planning to spend, then if you spend $200 per person on transportation and an event (ie. Greek Theater), you can focus on your total trip cost, not on the cost of a particular event within a trip.

My favorite LA hotel is the downtown Sheraton. It is part of a downtown shopping mall, across the street from the subway, about 7 blocks from the convention center and Staples Center, and there is a Hertz Car rental inside. At the Sheraton you can rent a car, and not have to pay for parking it. The Sheraton is a short subway or cab ride to Union Station for Amtrak.