Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Minneapolis-St Paul (Airport MSP-MofA) Sheraton Bloomington

[Romelle]

Sheraton Bloomington

7800 Normandale Road

Bloomington, Minnesota 55439

952-835-7800

Your Offer Price: $45.00

Taxes and Service Fees: $13.19

Total Charges*: $58.19

I did go through the PRICELINE link.

I worked on this one for a while, first trying the 2 1/2*s at $34 and $35, and then switching to the 3 1/2*s, where I bid $42, 43, 44 and hit with the 45. I'd been hoping for the Holiday Inn at the 2 1/2*, or the Le Bourget Aero at the 3 1/2* level. Minneapolis is fun to bid in since there are free rebids even at the 2 1/2 level!

Got concerned when the Sheraton web site said they had discontinued airport shuttle service just this past May (although the hotel looks very nice!). And it is just a shade under 10 miles from MSP. Called the hotel and got a complicated explanation that actually sometimes there is shuttle and sometimes not, depending on whether a group has contracted it or not. Seems there is shuttle for my arrival date, but not for my departure date. One-way cab fare is $35 which sort of blows the good rate I got for my bid. Super Shuttle one-way is $16. I asked about bus service, and was offered the phone number of the bus company.

Thought maybe if I called Priceline and whined a bit they might bust it, but that was a no go. They did email me a coupon for a later bid - $10 off a night for up to 5 nights, good until some date in December. Might be able to use it.

So - checked out bus service on the web. Interestingly enough, it should work quite nicely. Under an hour, bus to Mall of America and transfer to my favorite light rail which lets you off right at MSP (actually routes UNDER the airport). $2.75.

I'll post a review on the hotel when I get back.

Romelle

[yellowdog]

Congratulations on your success!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding :)

Good to see that the shuttle issue will work out fine for you. The $10/night bonus from PRICELINE was not bad :)

Have a pleasant stay.

Yellowdog.

[Colfax]

Hi, Romelle. Too bad you can't use that Priceline bonus money for cabfare!

This seems like a good moment to remind bidders in MSP-MOA area that using Priceline isn't safe if you need an airport shuttle. At least three hotels in the zone don't have a shuttle: The 4* Sofitel, 3.5* Sheraton, and 2* Extended Stay America. (Sheraton has a shuttle for groups, but it's intermittent and not guaranteed for small parties.) All known 3* hotels have a shuttle, but 3* bids can be upgraded to 3.5*, so bidding 3* isn't a totally safe harbor.

If you require a shuttle then Hotwire's the safer bet since you can usually ID the hotels in advance.

The Sheraton's a nice hotel though. Enjoy!

I hope a large group checks in between now and your stay so you can piggyback with them onto a shuttle.

[Romelle]

Hi Colfax - thanks for the info. You didn't mention the 2 1/2* group? Do you happen to know if they all currently have shuttle?

I do live in the MSP area, but this time I had two trips back to back, and staying in an airport hotel was easier and actually cost effective as compared to shlepping home and back.

Romelle