Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Oahu (Wikiki City Central) Ohana Waikiki Malia

As suggested in my previous thread, I have started a second thread for August 22nd. We're flying in at 2:20pm and flying out 12:30pm the next day giving us little more than that night.

Two beds would be preferred but that doesn't seem to be an issue in Honolulu so far.

Having stretched the budget a little with our earlier time in Hawaii, would prefer to keep costs down. Is close to the airport wise in this regard? Or is that likely to leave us in an area with no food, stuck in a hotel room with bed bugs and nothing to do?

Thanks for any assistance.

Regards,

David.

Will you have a car for this one nite stay?

As a side note, Pearl Harbor is near the airport and if you've never been i would schedule this for your day near the airport.

No car planned; driving on the right side of the road probably won't be wise.

Thanks,

David.

Well the airport is a little "out of the way" and not much to do in the immediate area. If i recall (we didn't take it) there is an 'ok/decent' bus system on Oahu, but with an opaque purchase, the exact location of your hotel would then be unknown, which also means the distance to a bus stop would also be unknown. Not sure how much a taxi from the airport area to Pearl Harbor would cost? (i think on Wednesdays there is also a flea market near the area, and the bus does go nearby the market, but not sure if the bus route passes by the airport area and in particular, the hotel you will actually receive)

Based upon the above not really sure how you want to play this one.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll sleep on it but I'm wondering if it's best to just bid low on 2 or 2.5* properties around Waikiki beach/city/marina. Hotwire is showing a number of these in the $79 - $85 for the night range. Would it be reasonable to try up to $60 on priceline or has the gap closed over time?

I suspect after 13 or so hours in transit from New York prior to reaching Hawaii and another 13 hours back to winter we'll just want to sleep or enjoy the sunny weather.

Regards,

David.

Sure you can try that...

If you let us know how high your willing to go we'll suggest a strtegy to follow... or at the lower star levels you may want to see if you can ID any of the HOTWIRE hotels offered so that you can actually target one which may have better reviews than the other possibilites.

Having reviewed hotwire vs. their packages and reviews on tripadvisor, I think I've determined the following:

1* are all dirty and disgusting

2* - best option looks like 2-star Waikiki South (Aqua Island Colony I think), good reviews, some complaints of cockroaches

2.5* - 2.5-star Waikiki North looks like OHANA Maile Sky Court, good reviews

- 2.5-star Waikiki South might be Aqua Aloha Surf Hotel???, also good reviews (missing Near Beach amenity but otherwise matches)

A "simple saver" OHANA Maile Sky Court Hotel room is actually available on Expedia or Travelocity for only slightly more (works out less with hotwire fees).

How likely is the 2.5-star Waikiki South to be Aqua Aloha Surf Hotel with an amenity missing relative to the package (Breakfast, Pool, Laundry, High Speed Internet match but no Near Beach on Hotel only)?

I'm guessing Priceline will be a bit risky - even bidding on 2.5* there's a risk of getting a place where all the rooms have 1 bed. Any intuition on savings? If I can get something reasonable above for around $80 equivalent then I guess it would have to be close to $60 to be worth considering.

Anyway, for anyone following the thread, here's my attempt to map hotwire packages to random hotels. The main one I'm not sure about is Aqua Aloha Surf Hotel - the 2.5* I'm trying to map it to does not have Near Beach while the package does.

Regards,

David.

2 Aqua Island Colony Near Beach, Pool(s), Laundry Facilities 2-star Waikiki South

2.5 OHANA Maile Sky Court Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities 2.5-star Waikiki North

2 Hokele Suites Waikiki Near Beach, Pool(s), Laundry Facilities, Kitchenette 2-star Waikiki North?

2.5 Aqua Aloha Surf Hotel??? (missing Near Beach) Breakfast, Pool, Laundry, High Speed Internet 2.5-star Waikiki South

3 OHANA Waikiki West Near Beach, Pool, Restaurant, Laundry 3-star Waikiki South

1 Aqua Continental Near Beach, Laundry Facilities, Golf Nearby 1-star hotel in Waikiki South

1 Aston Honolulu Prince Near Beach, Laundry Facilities, High-speed Internet Access 1-star hotel in Waikiki North

I'm guessing Priceline will be a bit risky - even bidding on 2.5* there's a risk of getting a place where all the rooms have 1 bed. Any intuition on savings? If I can get something reasonable above for around $80 equivalent then I guess it would have to be close to $60 to be worth considering.

Not really sure what you're saying here, but i think you're saying that you're actually more than double occupancy and many hotels at this star level only have one bid in the room, but if HOTWIRE has it for $80 then it would be worthwhile to try priceline if you could get it for $60?

If that's the case i'd need to save much more than $20 in order for priceline to be worthwhile. If you could get a hotel for $80 that would accomodate all of you, and you tried to save $20 and received a hotel that could only handle double occupancy, is it worth $20 to have some family members sleeping on the floor? (or maybe i'm way off the mark as to what your implying above)

I'm trying to map it to does not have Near Beach while the package does.

Sometimes different amenities are seen between the opaque and non-opaque products for the same hotel, but i wouldn't take such a leap of faith unless the amenities were fairly unique for the area.

Not at all, there are only two of us, we're just not that friendly!

OHANA Maile Sky Court Hotel is looking solid, on balance. I think I made an error in my mapping there but non-opaque for around $87 isn't too bad. I do wonder how much could be saved on priceline but am not sure it's going to be worth the risk.

Thanks for your help,

David.

I'm thinking of having a little gamble on the opaque. 2.5* or higher should be fine for one night.

Here's what I'm thinking:

3* Waikiki Beach Area $50

rebid Diamond Head Area $55

rebid Honolulu Airport $60

3* Waikiki City Central $50

rebid Diamond Head Area $55

rebid Honolulu Airport $60

3* Waikiki Marina Area $50

rebid Diamond Head Area $55

rebid Honolulu Airport $60

3* Executive Center $50

rebid Diamond Head Area $55

rebid Honolulu Airport $60

2.5* Waikiki Beach Area $40

rebid Diamond Head Area $45

rebid Honolulu Airport $50

add Executive Center (3* possible) $55

add Waikiki Marina Area (3*, 4* possible) $60

2.5* Waikiki City Central $40

rebid Diamond Head Area $45

rebid Honolulu Airport $50

add Executive Center (3* possible) $55

add Waikiki Marina Area (3*, 4* possible) $60

If that fails, might give it some more thought before going significantly higher (maybe a bid or two of Waikiki City Central + Waikiki Beach Area)

Does this look reasonable?

Thanks,

David.

Looks good to me.

Good Luck.

Thanks!

Added

2.5* Waikiki Beach + Waikiki City Central $63

rebid $65

add Marina $70

rebid $72

rebid $75

"If you are willing to raise your price by $22, you can try the same request again right now."

$78 denied...takin' a break to ponder.

Regards,

David.

Forgot to mention: all the above was attempted through the savingsbarn.com link.

Decided $84 was around my maximum (since my alternative 2* Ohana Skycourt was $87 on Expedia and there'd be a few extra dollars in priceline fees). Had a quick attempt this morning:

Waikiki Beach + City Centre $60

Add Executive Centre $65

Add Marina $70

rebid $75

rebid $80 counteroffer +$22

Start over, rebid $84

Accepted:

Ohana Waikiki Malia 2

Congratulations on your win.

Glad to hear you were ultimately successful and happy with the results.

Thank you using the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com

Enjoy your stay(s) and the rest of your trip.