Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Trenton-Princeton (Trenton-Princeton West) Marriott

[3boyz2keep]

Princeton reservations be careful!! Priceline-I just booked 3.5 stars at $50 for Trenton-Princeton West assuming that I would get the Hyatt Regency Princeton (based on all of the other posts on this topic) and got the Marriott in Trenton. Yikes!! We will be visiting our son at Princeton University and Trenton puts us too far out. I was able to get a refund on our 3 night 2 room reservation but it cost $59.17 for the cancellation fee. Disappointing. Not sure if I'm brave enough to try it for Princeton-Monmouth Junction or if this is even the correct area now, we'd like the Hyatt Regency.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board. Sorry to hear that this bid didn't go as planned, but glad that you were able to get a partial refund.

What were the dates of travel for this stay? (So that the thread title can be edited.)

Please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Enjoy your stay at the new hotel you decide upon.

[AaronJB]

Additionally, there is a list of reported PRICELINE wins for the state of NJ in the PRICELINE HOTEL LIST.

[3boyz2keep]

The dates for the stay were 10/15/09-10/18/09

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the follow-up.

[PUMom]

I'm not sure how you got a hotel in Trenton -- that is outside the Princeton West map area. I just bid $48 for Princeton West (using better bidding PRICELINE link) and got the Hyatt Carnegie Center for one night, 10/16/09-10/17/09. If you only chose Princeton west map on your bid, you should only get hotels above I-95 and below Alexander Road, at least 10 miles north of Trenton. We're also visiting our daughter at Princeton and have used PRICELINE/better bidding multiple times over the past 3 years. Hoping to get something over graduation in June, but I'm going to make backup reservations just to be sure.

[cmarino]

I'm not sure how you got a hotel in Trenton -- that is outside the Princeton West map area. I just bid $48 for Princeton West (using better bidding PRICELINE link) and got the Hyatt Carnegie Center for one night, 10/16/09-10/17/09. If you only chose Princeton west map on your bid, you should only get hotels above I-95 and below Alexander Road, at least 10 miles north of Trenton.

They redid the zones a couple weeks ago.

[LPines]

They redid the zones a couple weeks ago.

Yes, it seems if you bid up around $50 you're liable to get the Marriott in Trenton, which with the overnight parking fees, and distance from P'ton Univ., make it a raw deal, comparatively. Ironically, if you keep bidding around $40, the Hyatt on Alexander Rd. is usually the winner at that price level in the last few months anyways...

Also, for graduation weekend, you'll not likely get any scores on PRICELINE, or HOTWIRE, as the hotels mostly sell out and take their rooms off P'line that weekend. I've had good luck with calling the catering manager directly at the Wyndham (former Harrison Conf. Center) and gotten small block of room for my 2 son's graduations in the low 100's/nt, which is way better than any other booking. All the hotels in the area jack their rooms up to near $300/nt (even 2.5*) to soak the alumni crowd and desperate parents!