Priceline Hotel: 2* Collinsville (Collinsville-Fairview Heights) Ramada Inn

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $34.00

Subtotal: $34.00

Taxes & Fees: $11.61

Total Charges*: $45.61

This was an experiment. I've slept on buses broken down on the side of the road in Central America, so I figure I can put up with anything. Several times I have traveled to the area and bid for a 3*. Recently, more than once, I have stayed at a very nice DoubleTree in Collinsville for $39 (plus fees, $51.24). I had a gift card worth $50 and I wondered, if I were willing to go 2*, could I get a room with my gift card for a total that comes in under $50?

The hotel I had in mind, the one that I wanted, was the First Western in Caseyville. I had stayed there once before. I booked it through Orbitz and paid about $46 for it. It was clean enough, very basic, but certainly acceptable. I saw that Priceline's regular (non-bid) section had a price of $49 for that location, and it was about the least expensive in the area for that star rating. I was sure that it would be the lowest priced property if I won.

Over several days, I started at $30, selecting 2* in the Collinsville-Fairview Heights area. Each day, I increased my bid by $1. Today, I was frustrated when $33 did not get it, so I added Granite City because, on regular travel sites, all of the 2* properties in Granite City were more expensive than the 2* Collinsville or Fairview Heights properties, and I bid $34.

It was accepted, but it was not the First Western in Caseyville. It was the Ramada in Fairview Heights, one exit further away from St. Louis. It has very bad reviews on TravelAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g3...s_Illinois.html

Next time, for $5 more, I might just go with the 3* DoubleTree in Collinsville or the 3* FourSeasons in Fairview Heights. But I'll report my own experience when I'm done and you can add it to the area hotel list.

Congratulations on your success. :)

Sorry to hear that the bidding result wasn't as good as hoped, but hopefully this property will work out better than expected. Thank you for letting us know about this new PRICELINE property to add to the site's Priceline Hotel List for the state, as well.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.

Well, it turns out this property does have some minor cleanliness problems. A couple of my towels were dirty. The bathtub just wasn't as clean as I would want it to be at home. The bed was awful. I woke up with an amazing pain in my left buttock (TMI?). This property IS renovated, but it's the oldest building in the area. It was here before the Interstate, just a block away, was completed.

On the plus side, great customer service. Friendly staff. Everything in the room worked as expected. Safe, convenient location. Room entrance is off an interior hallway. Radio alarm clock and TV work fine. Nice granite (or faux) counter tops in the bathroom. Free WiFi let's me go online and book a room elsewhere.

Got one more night in the area. Switching to the 3-star Doubletree for $6 or $7 more per night.

Sorry to hear that this was a mixed stay, but at least some aspects of the hotel (service/staff) were satisfactory.