Anyone having success with Priceline for dowtown Fort Lauderdale?

[sashas_mom]

I have been searching all the threads and haven't read much about Priceline and downtown Fort Lauderdale. I'm so spoiled by Priceline it kills me to have to spend $200.00 + for a room for pre cruise night. We want something that is convenient and I have read that 17th St. is where we want to be. If you have some success stories, please share. How did you bid? How long before the cruise? What * level did you choose? What regions? Thanks much.

sasha'smom

[Hapinowagain]

We have booked Amerisuites for this coming December for $79.00 including breakfast and free parking plus shuttle to ship. We stayed there last year and it was fine. Booked it on Valuetrips.com.

[Charliesmom]

Do you have any airline miles that you could deposit in a Starwood (Sheraton) or Hilton (Embassy Suites) account? How about American Express Membership rewards points? You can get 1300 Hilton points for 1000 Amex points. I think it is 35,000 points for a room at the Embassy suites.

What month are you planning? Is it during prime time? If so, you might have to wait until the last minute to get a deal on Priceline. What you could do is reserve a room at someplace you can afford and then keep trying Priceline. If nothing comes up, you are not suck for a place to stay and if something does appear, you are sitting pretty.

 

Roberta

[cactusrose]

Check out the Hotels - pre and post cruise section on cruise critics http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92. Also take a look at biddingfortravel.com and biddingforfun.com. They have great tips on how to bid on priceline as well as what bid have been successful for specific locations.

[Coral]

I am also struggling on this one. I need a hotel for Dec 13-16th. I have had a few bad experiences with Amerisuites and would prefer not to stay there (but have them as a backup).

 

I have checked all the above websites - most people are not reporting any success past August for Priceline and good Hotwire deals.

 

I don't think I am going at a popular time. It has been awhile since I have been to FLL but I never used to have problems with Priceline and hotels in FLL.

[septrack]

I won the 3* Sheraton for $76 + taxes/fees-total $91 Nov 4th. Really wanted the 4* Rennaisance but no go this trip. Have found it more difficult this time. Betterbidding.com is a great resource. Have stayed in the Airport Sheraton many times and it is nice.

[cruisealot]

A great resource for this is http://www.biddingfortravel.com. People place their bid history here, and you can see where they were successful. I used this to book a pre cruise room at the Hyatt in downtown Miami for $27.00 in 2003, and even used it to book international hotels. I was able to book the Millennium Gloucester in London for $85.00 a night. Biddingfortravel is a great site to use with Priceline.

[MRF777]

I booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott Cruiseport(Dania Beach) , with free transportation from the airport and to the cruiseport for $90.00 on http://WWW.Marriott.com

[steve20832]

Try bidding closer to your date that you want to stay at a hotel. (Within 60 days) You can bid again after 24 hours if your bid fails. If I was bidding on a 3 star hotel, I would start at $40 and go up $5 each day. You should win something within a week.

[coiran]

I booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott Cruiseport(Dania Beach) , with free transportation from the airport and to the cruiseport for $90.00 on WWW.Marriott.com

 

Did you get that on priceline or direct?

Ron

[prettypixie]

Try comparing on all the other sites that do hotel booking, you can run a search in google. I've found priceline is never the cheapest, maybe if you bid you could put in a bid from finding the lowest price on the other sites.

 

Isn't this borderline of what we aren't allowed to talk about. I know we can't mention TA names. Can we talk about the travel booking sites advertised on TV such as Priceline?

[SueM.]

sasha'smom,

 

I don't know what date you are looking for, but I am with a group in early Jan. Our travel agent has picked the Comfort Suites as our group hotel. He says it isn't his first choice, but everything else is booked or very pricey and I trust his choice of hotels. Early Jan. we are paying $159/night, if you are eligible for the military or govt. rate it is even less. Check it out on their website and if you book, you can always cancel if you find something better.

 

Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port (FL250)

1800 S. Federal Hwy. , Fort Lauderdale, FL, US, 33316-1853

http://*****.com/rtwf2

 

I forgot to say transfers are provided to/from the airport and cruise port.

 

sue

[sashas_mom]

Thanks everyone. I know all about betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com as I've used Priceline twice before. Just having trouble with this cruise. Maybe it's too soon, maybe it's just a harder place to get a deal. We are cruising 4/28/07 to Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale. My cc roll call started talking about their hotels and I thought I should get on it too. From what I've read, I'm not the only one who is having difficulty. In fact, I think I read on biddingfortravel that they haven't seen a 3* downtown on Priceline in a couple of years. I really wanted to stay on 17th st. but even the 3* hotels are expensive for our date. I appreciate your imput.

sasha'smom

[Coral]

biddingfortravel is not posting any winning bids past July or August when I looked last time.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if it is easy to get an airport hotel but I am not interested in 3 days at an airport hotel. If it was just once night.. I also want to stay near 17th Street.

[seesea]

Hi,

 

We are considering Comfort Suites for our Jan cruise since most other hotels in the 17 Street location are either not available or the price is too high. We understand that they are renovating now and should be complete before Jan.

 

Has anyone stayed there recently?

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

[BEAV]

Try comparing on all the other sites that do hotel booking, you can run a search in google. I've found priceline is never the cheapest, maybe if you bid you could put in a bid from finding the lowest price on the other sites.

 

 

99% of the time my experience has been just the opposite. Are you referring to Priceline's retail hotel product, where you select a specific hotel just like you would from Expedia, Travelocity, etc? Or are you talking about Priceline's "name your own price" bidding for hotels?

 

If you're consistantly finding prices lower than Priceline's "name your own price" product, then I, and no doubt many others, would love for you to share your secret! ;)

[signman]

Just a heads up on the Comfort Suites on Federal at SE 17th. The location is great. Other than that, and the fact that is across the street from one of my favorite places, Ernies BBQ, I have never seen a positive review posted about the actual inside the wall experience.

 

Maybe the renovations will help. Please post your reviews when you return.

[signman]

Try comparing on all the other sites that do hotel booking, you can run a search in google. I've found priceline is never the cheapest, maybe if you bid you could put in a bid from finding the lowest price on the other sites.

 

Yes Megan, please explain. Just tonight I looked on PL for a hotel for tomorrow night in Norfolk, VA. PL regular price was $109. Won it on a bid for $48.

[steve20832]

Try comparing on all the other sites that do hotel booking, you can run a search in google. I've found priceline is never the cheapest, maybe if you bid you could put in a bid from finding the lowest price on the other sites.

 

Isn't this borderline of what we aren't allowed to talk about. I know we can't mention TA names. Can we talk about the travel booking sites advertised on TV such as Priceline?

 

I have always found Priceline to be about half the price of Expedia or Travelocity. Tell us how you are getting better deals. They will allow major retailers names to be mentioned but not advertised such as "I am a travel agent, contact me at..."

[ILikeShips]

Hi Charliesmom and Everyone:

 

I did not know that one could transfer airline miles to a hotel points program for a free night with enough points. I assumed that once either points or miles are applied, one couldn't change. Could you tell me more about how this might work? We have a January cruise scheduled out of FLL and no winning bid on Priceline although it maybe too early. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

This thread is great!

[steve20832]

Hi Charliesmom and Everyone:

 

I did not know that one could transfer airline miles to a hotel points program for a free night with enough points. I assumed that once either points or miles are applied, one couldn't change. Could you tell me more about how this might work? We have a January cruise scheduled out of FLL and no winning bid on Priceline although it maybe too early. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

This thread is great!

 

Check with the airline/hotel website, it should have all the rules posted there as well as which hotels they team up with.

If you are looking for a hotel via Priceline in January, you are probably too early for 6 months away. Try bidding within 60 days from your stay. You can re-bid the next day if you don't win.

[ILikeShips]

Thanks Steve 20832 - I'll research on the airlline/hotel website. Thanks!

[many cruises]

We just got the Bahia Mar Beach Resort (3 star) in Fort Lauderdale Beach in November for $90.00 on Priceline. Unfortunately, the Trip Advisor reviews for this hotel are quite low...this may be the last time we use Priceline if it's as bad as some of the reviews say. I guess that's the chance you take with Priceline, but we have never had a problem before.

[Coral]

Try comparing on all the other sites that do hotel booking, you can run a search in google. I've found priceline is never the cheapest, maybe if you bid you could put in a bid from finding the lowest price on the other sites.

 

I have also often paid $50 - $70 night for a hotel on Priceline when the major booking sites are $200 - $300 night. Priceline in my experience really has been the cheapest. Though, if you don't play the game correctly - one can pay a lot of money for a hotel on Priceline.

[Coral]

We just got the Bahia Mar Beach Resort (3 star) in Fort Lauderdale Beach in November for $90.00 on Priceline. Unfortunately, the Trip Advisor reviews for this hotel are quite low...this may be the last time we use Priceline if it's as bad as some of the reviews say. I guess that's the chance you take with Priceline, but we have never had a problem before.

 

I have some friends who stayed there the first week in which it no longer was a Radisson. They were not pleased with the hotel. Hopefully things have gotten better since then.

 

I am pretty careful in the zones and stars I bid so that I know the selection of hotels that would come up. I try not to put myself in a position where I would receive a hotel I would not be happy with.