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Priceline Hotel: Bidding assistance for Cabo 1/21-1/25


keno
By keno,
in

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My wife and I are headed to Cabo in January. We've been shopping around for prices of hotels, and now we're thinking of making a bid. Priceline has a huge area for Cabo, without a breakdown of zones, so we're a little worried about ending up in SJD instead of Cabo or the Corridor.

I've done some shopping around, and now I'm looking for any assistance in placing a bid:

4* or 5* ?? Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar $185/nt (Costco Travel)

3* or 4* Hotel Finisterra $99-$126/nt on Expedia, depending on the type of room

3* or 4* Villa Del Palmar $139-150/nt on Expedia

How does Priceline determine which type of room you'll get? (Ocean or Garden view for example?)

Since we can get the Finisterra for $99/nt in the older section of the hotel, we were thinking of bidding a max of $75/nt. However, we're worried about ending up at some lesser hotel. Any idea of recent hits in Cabo?

Thanks for the help

keno

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Welcome to BetterBidding!

How does Priceline determine which type of room you'll get?
Taken from elsewhere on the board:

Priceline (and Hotwire) rooms are booked "Run of House" which means that they are assigned based upon what is available at time of check-in. Usually this, and in addition to the fact that others are spending 2x and 3x more than us to stay at the very same hotel, means that we don't typically get the best rooms the hotel has to offer. So much of room selection depends upon hotel occupancy levels, the mood of the desk clerk at time of check-in, availability of rooms that are clean, etc, etc. You may very well get a high floor with a picture perfect view of the ocean, but i don't think that is something you should expect when using Priceilne or Hotwire.

I think before suggesting a bidding strategy it's important to think about what star rating you want.... is the older area of the building really up to 4* quality? (i don't know, but something you probaby want to consider/research before determining that it's acceptable to you). You may also want to consider HOTWIRE which may cost you a bit more than Priceline, but they split the zone into two smaller area vs. Priceline, and also tell you amenities that the hotel has... thus enabling you to guarantee Beachfront or Beach Access qualities.

Let us know what you think of the above and we'll take it from there.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Actually, I believe Hotwire breaks this area down into THREE zones now, which is great - they indicate either San Jose del Cabo, The Corridor, or Cabo San Lucas. You can get a fairly good idea of location with them, and also they indicate the amenities, which give some really good hints for identification purposes. (Just on a really quick look, I think the 3.5* in Cabo for $105 MIGHT be the Marina Fiesta...)

Personally, I think Priceline is risky for Cabo, if location is really important to you. You have every chance of ending up at any of the three different 'zones.'

Have you been to Cabo before? Are you planning on renting a car? Did you want to be in the Corridor, where you have to take a bus or taxi to either town? That's OK, if you really like the hotel you are at, but if you want to get around, you might feel like you are out in the middle of nowhere. Taxis are expensive and hotel shuttles tend to run infrequently.

We actually really like San Jose, it is a great little town and has less of the touristy flavour. But if you want to party and hit the chain restaurants and bars, Cabo is the place to be.

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Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure we won't use Priceline unless someone else does in the near future and posts their results. We are likely to use Hotwire, or perhaps Expedia or Costco travel if we choose a specific property.

We have not been to Cabo before. We went to Mazatlan a few years ago and had a great time. Cabo seems to be quite a bit more expensive than Mazatlan.

We're not big into the party scene, but we do want to get some good local food. I'm not terribly interested in eating pizza in Mexico. I'd rather have Mexican food personally :)

Given that, if we stayed in the Corridor, we would likely rent a car. We love to walk, and we walk everywhere at home. So staying near downtown Cabo sounds appealling since we would be able to walk into town to restaurants.

I'll keep my eyes on the forums for a few days before making my decision. I'll be sure to post back here if we do go with either Priceline or Hotwire.

Thanks again!

keno

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If you like to walk, you'd probably be happy in either Cabo proper or San Jose. And if you do end up in San Jose, you can always catch a bus into Cabo for the day or whatever, if you find the choices too limited. Buses in Los Cabos are actually quite new and very deluxe for Mexico! And of course, they are inexpensive. The bus runs along the Corridor as well, but you can't just walk to a nearby restaurant or whatever if you are staying there.

Be wary of the time-share sellers at the airport. You might think the ONLY way to get out of the airport is to take a time-share offer, you will have to look very hard to find the 'public ground transportation' booth. A cab can cost $50 or more to Cabo. The shuttle is about $15 to $25, I believe, depending on how far you are going. It's hard to beat these rates unless you can make private arrangements.

Hotwire also has a 4* in Cabo for $80/night with Resort, Beachfront, Restaurant, pool, fitness, tennis, laundry. I don't have time right now to try and figure it out (Misiones??? but they are condos, I think).... let us know if you would like further help trying to identify the Hotwire properties.

There are some nice condo properties around Cabo, but for a brief stay that might not appeal to you.

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