Priceline Hotel: 3* Philadelphia (Downtown) Embassy Suites

[skelman]

Booked this one today for one night in mid-March. Here are the hotel details:

Embassy Suites Hotel Philadelphia-Center

Downtown Philadelphia

1776 Ben Franklin Parkway

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103

215-561-1776

Price: $55.00 + $15.20 = $70.20

Was hoping for the Hyatt at $45, but didn't get it. Lowered the rating to 3*, 2.5* and 2* (figuring that there probably aren't any 2*'s in the zone), while raising the price in $5 increments. Ended up with 3* Embassy Suites for $55.

While not what I was originally expecting, this is a great deal in itself, compared to the regular price of $169. It's also only about a mile from the Philly Museum of Art, which has the Dali exhibit for which we are coming to town. TripAdvisor reviews seem to be pretty favorable, too.

[dahammer]

This is a really nice hotel that was, I believe, formerly an apartment building. I stayed here a few years ago for a show at the PA Convention Center. The hotel was built in the "round" in that the rooms are sort of in the shape of a wedge of pie, and quite large. Managers reception and free breakfast make this an even better deal, but this hotel will charge $24 plus tax for parking, or half the cost of your room!! The Philadelphia Parking Authority operates a garage on 19th and Callowhill Sts. about 4 blocks away that charges $5 for parking on weekends and $11 during the week, but with no in-out privileges. You may want to call and check this out with the link below. If you are going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, check out the Rodain Musuem as well, you will pass it on your way from the hotel. Also, there are several good restaurants in this area, Brigid's is a pub that features Belgian food and ales. If the weather is nice, bring your rollerblades or bike and you can check out Fairmount Park along the Schuykill River, the largest urban park in the US. If adventurous, you can take the bike trail all the way to Valley Forge, about 23 miles away.

Phila Parking Authority

[skelman]

Thanks a lot for all the info, especially on parking. After paying $26+tax per night at the DC Wyndham, this would be a relief.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

Adding lower quality hotels while raising your bid is usually not a good idea, as users are often surprised that there is indeed a lower quality hotel in the zone which they didn't consider. You can accurately find out what star levels are offered in each zone by doing the following, which is take from PRICELINE BIDDING EXPLAINED:

The way to check what star levels are available in each zone is to open a Priceline page, check ONLY the zone you are inquiring about, and then proceed to the next page (as if you were going to select a zone)... this will give you the available star ratings in that area. You can then hit BACK on your browser, uncheck the current box, check the next box, and repeat the process. It is important to do this before EACH attempt at adding a zone that you really don't want, as new hotels can be added and the star ratings can change at any time.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Thanks again for posting the details of your bid.

Have a great time in Philadelphia and enjoy the art exibits.

PS- and a seprate thank you to dhammer for always helping out users with the areas that he knows well... helping them save even more!

[skelman]

I'm generally less picky than most users of this board, so a 2* is just fine by me. In fact, the top price I'm willing to pay for a hotel in a particular city is determined by how much a local Super8 or EconoLodge would charge, plus maybe an extra $10. Otherwise, I just book a cheaper hotel directly.

However, now that you've explained how to check if there are particular star levels available in a zone, perhaps I'll try rebidding by adding zones with no 4* or 3* hotels. But, in general, I'd rather stay at a lower quality property than risk a chance of ending up in an undesirable zone. To me, the location is far more important than anything else, with a possible exception of cleanliness.

Still, all in all, I'm really happy with my "win" this time, as I've been so far with every Hotwire or Priceline purchase -- and this is my 10th one.

[thereuare]

Always glad to hear when users are happy!

If you've never used the above strategy to figure out re-bid zones, you may just want to confirm your re-bid zones with the board before you use them for your next bidding attempt, just to make sure you got them right.

We'd like to make sure you stay happy and avoid any potential mistakes :)

[skelman]

Since the demise of the Newsgroups in the late nineties, this is the friendliest Web board to emerge... I hope SavingsBarn brings you enough cash to keep it afloat for years to come.

[dahammer]

Skelman, while in Philadelphia, you might also want to check out the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, it runs from March 6-13. This is the largest flower show in the US and one of the oldest, and it draws big crowds to Center City, parking around the CC is difficult and you may want to avoid this area if driving. Here is the website and you can look at photos of the 2004 show. You can walk to the show from the Embassy Suites. Philadelphia Flower Show

Note: "non-betterbidders" can book this hotel room through the flower show website and pay $200 plus tax :)

[dahammer]

I was in center city yesterday and noticed that there is a parking garage operated by "Parkway Corp" right around the corner at 17th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, they had a sign that listed weekend parking at $9.00 a day. This is just steps away from the Embassy Suites.