Hotwire Hotel: Montreal Downtown

[timbiosis]

Hi

glad I found this forum!

I am planning a trip with my young son to see a Habs game in montreal in march. we'll be taking the train to Mtl., and as there is no return train after the game we will have to stay overnight. Obviously, we will be on foot, and the bell Centre arena is within walking distance from the train station.

I wanted to try PRICELINE or HOTWIRE to try and get a good deal, but I need to be certain that whatever hotel we get is within reasonable walking distance from the train station and the Bell centre.

Can anyone suggest how I might procede?

Thanks in advance, and yes, I will use the links here to book my accoms...

Cheers!

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding :)

If you're trying to target a specific property then HOTWIRE can often be a better option if you're successfully able to identify it based upon the star rating and amenities shown before your purchase... the trade-off is that HOTWIRE usually costs a little more than PRICELINE, so you need to decide what is most important to you for a given stay, the lowest possible price OR the ability to take an educated guess as to the property you may receive.

Let us know how we can help you further.

Yellowdog.

[timbiosis]

thank you for the reply.

the most important factor for me is the location...then price.

I have checked the hotel list here and I have anothere question...I only see two 4 1/2 star hotels listed for downtown... and two 2 1/2 star hotels....if I put a priceline bid for either of these am I assured of getting one of the 2 on the list? or is the list incomplete?

[yellowdog]

All hotels that have been reported to the board is on the list. But hotels are added/removed by Priceline all the time, and star ratings can change at ANY time. As well, the geographic boundaries of an area are subject to change. You need to be willing to stay at any 2.5* or higher in the zone you're bidding at.

If the location is the most importan so go with HOTWIRE.

Yellowdog.

[timbiosis]

ok

thanks for the help...

after doing tons of reading on here I think I have a better idea of what I need to do.

For this trip I really need to know for sure that I am indeed DOWNTOWN, so I will go with HOTWIRE.

I will be posting a question to see if anyone can help guess the location of my 2 potential choices...

One more thing...Is it better to wait until closer to your planned date to book a hotel with either service? It would seem to me that the best deals would be right on the date or very close...no?

thanks again!

[timbiosis]

Montral, (Downtown)

looking at 1 night stay, 1 adult and 1 child, March 25th check in March 26th checkout...

2.5 *

$49

amenities listed is:

Restaurant(s)

or

3*

$63

amenities:

Fitness Centre

Pool(s)

Restaurant(s)

Business Centre

any guesses???

[AaronJB]

There's no way to be sure that waiting until the last minute would be the best choice - it depends on the day and traffic. Some have been able to get better deals by waiting, but there's been many people who have waited, only to find that something was going on on the dates and that the hotel prices had ramped higher. One has to keep in mind a realistic floor for prices - if HOTWIRE is showing 4*'s in Montreal for $50-60 (for example), one can imagine that there's not going to be a lot of downside on that price - and that there's more potential room on the upside than downside. There's a lot of variables (profit margins), but overall, if prices seem really reasonable, it's best to not take chances on the odds that prices may fall a tiny bit further.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Unfortunately the hotels above have not yet been reported to the board... but a guess for the 3* would be the Le Nouvel Hotel, which has previously been reported to the board with the amenities above but at the 3.5* level (however, it's been just over a year since it was last reported, so plenty of time for it to have been downgraded).

For the 2.5* there just isn't enough information to make any kind of reasonable guess.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[timbiosis]

well, since everyone is so hepful, I guess another quick question woudn't hurt...

I noticed a 2 star hotel deal on Hotwire for $39 with ammenities of "continental breakfast" high speed available and a " symbol "B" for "boutique hotel"...

Are there more than 1 "boutique" hotels in downtown montreal? seems to me this symbol should narrow it down considerably, and that someone on here probably knows which hotel this is...

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Best guess that this is the Auberge Celebrities Hotel which does not get good reviews

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[thestugots]

Because it doesn't say above that you have gone to Montreal for a Canadiens game before, I may be pointing out the obvious to you...however I will weigh in just in case it helps you or someone else.

..

If you are coming into Montreal on the train, the Central Station is very close to the Bonaventure station on the subway orange line. The orange line and the green line on the Montreal subway (Metro) run downtown and provide excellent coverage to just about any hotel in Hotwire or Priceline downtown Montreal zones. The Montreal subway is just about the cleanest, quietest and most comfortable subway system in the world (IMO).

The Bell Centre is accessible from the Bonaventure (indoor walk) or Lucien L'Allier (better from Lucien as it's in the Bell Centre building) stations on the orange line. If the green line is better for you, the Peel station is a very short walk from the Bell Centre. http://www.stm.info/English/a-somm.htm

I personally have done many, many Canadiens trips, getting to and from the Bell Centre is a breeze from most downtown hotels.

GO HABS

[timbiosis]

Hey...thanks for the great info! I will definitely keep that in mind next time and try a PRICELINE bid!

Go Habs indeed!