Summary of Winning Bids on Priceline, Hotwire, etc.

[Shekim]

Trying to remember since it was earlier this summer (maybe late june early july). Was not even on the site for 10 min. Chose resort $115. thats it. I didn't care which one we got.

makes sense if you bid then; we did too and all got Marriott. But again, it was back in June for next March.

[lah66]

Hi everyone

I am new to Priceline...not sure if I got a good deal or not. I think it is a good price, but the reviews are really mixed. We are staying three nights 3/11/12 to 3/14/12. We wanted to be closer to El Yunque and Vieques..we did accomplish that much! I will keep an open mind! Anybody stay here?

[DKNE]

In your opinion , which is better to bid a rate at. Priceline or Hotwire? Would really like to get a hotel settled this week for our Jan cruise. Staying 1 one pre cruise in San Juan. We have decided to do 2 rooms, as it seems to be easier.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. I have read abit on betterbidding, but that site just confuses me even more ! :rolleyes:

[lah66]

If you have more than two people staying in a room, I would always use hot-wire. Price line does not always provide you with two beds for more than two people!

Better bidding dot com lists all the hotel amenities you will see on Hotwire so you can pretty much figure out which hotel it is before you book. if you go to that website, find Puerto Rico/Other Caribbean islands listed after all the states. Then click on Hotwire/Priceline Hotel lists and tips. then click Hotwire hotel lists. Say you want a four star hotel in SJ and one of the amenities is boutique...you know that will be the el convento. So you can bid knowing it is the only four star boutique hotel..

You can get some really great deals on Priceline but it is more of a risk since you do not know what hotel you are getting...you just choose an area you want to stay in. Post cruise we knew we wanted to be in the Vieques/Fajardo area but could care less which hotel. We put in Resort knowing that all the options were good ones..

Hope that helps...

[4FRCruising]

Hi all

 

Finally got my hotel (been trying for days...started at $80 and worked my way up adding $5.00 each time)

 

Bid 3.5* (San Juan...8)

$105.00 (total w/fees=125.25)

4/27/12

La Concha

 

Hope this is a nice hotel :)

[tylerrd]

I bid on priceline last January for our cruise in December 2011. For nights of December 15 & 16, two rooms, after several bids and slowly raising my bids by $5, I checked resort only and got the San Juan Marriot Stellaris Casino and Resort for $105/night (total with taxes for $120/night). I also placed a bid for 4 star and resort for December 24th and got the Radison Ambassador for $75/night.

 

I think these were pretty good rates and perhaps it helped that I put the bids in late January 2011.

 

Happy bidding,

Ron

[kitkat9438]

Hi all

 

Finally got my hotel (been trying for days...started at $80 and worked my way up adding $5.00 each time)

 

Bid 3.5* (San Juan...8)

$105.00 (total w/fees=125.25)

4/27/12

La Concha

 

Hope this is a nice hotel :)

 

You got a great deal!!! This is my favorite hotel in San Juan. We are staying here in December but unfortunately no winning bids for December at this hotel so we are having to pay full price. Enjoy!

[beerman2]

Intercontinental 120.00 +22.00 Taxes= 142.00

 

March 31st ( 1 Night Pre-Cruise)

 

Zone 8 Accepted 1st Try

[bonship]

116.00 plus fees for two days post cruise. Booked yesterday through Priceline. I'm pleased!

[Host Faith]

Bid for a resort in San Juan, and got the Intercontinental for October 9-10 (post-cruise), for $90 + taxes= $108.29. I'm going to contact them ahead of time to let them know we're arriving after the cruise and see if we can have an early check-in.

 

I don't mind this place post-cruise, because we're pretty much going to veg out on the beach, and maybe have dinner at Metropol. I like the fact that we'll be close to the airport since our flight is at 8:45 the next morning.

[bonship]

After a few unsuccessful bids, got the Conrad Condado for one night pre-cruise $111. plus fees. I strategy that has been pretty successful for me with Priceline is to bid one dollar over numbers divisible by 10. I think sometimes hotels set their minimum bids at odd levels because they assume most folks bid up by 5s and 10s. This is just my theory--might have no basis in fact.

[mom22tinks]

Hi all,,, I went thru hotwire as we are a family of four. We chose the 4 star, beach front for $118 plus taxes plus resort fees. We got the Intercontinental which was what I expected for 12/3 - 12/4/11. Hopefully, they will be getting better reviews by the time we stay there.

[travelplanner4thefamily]

Just got 2 rooms at Gran Melia for $95 each March 19th one night post cruise. We wanted to be by the rainforest and bio bay area. Very happy with price. Mixed reviews but location is right where we wanted to be.

[tgmtgm]

Bid $105 ($121 total per night with taxes) 4 star zone 8 and ended up with La Concha Resort. Was trying for Sheraton Old SJ, and was under the assumption that it was rated 4 stars- apparently not. I'm happy with the result I got, and will enjoy the added beach time.

 

Tony

[Mr Wahoo]

I dont understand. Priceline asks you to change the parameters of your bid if you are unsucessfull. but when I try to take the checks off the star ratings, its not removing them. Please help guide me. I also changed area to add dorado, with no success. This is for pre and post cruise in March. Thank You

[Host Faith]

I dont understand. Priceline asks you to change the parameters of your bid if you are unsucessfull. but when I try to take the checks off the star ratings, its not removing them. Please help guide me. I also changed area to add dorado, with no success. This is for pre and post cruise in March. Thank You

 

Hi Mr. Wahoo! It takes a while to get the hang of it, but you're off to a good start. Before continuing, I would read these:

Beat the Bidding System

Bidding Again Before 24 Hours

Basically, if you want to bid immediately after your unsuccessful bid, you have to either add a star level to your bid, or add another zone. Those two references should give you a pretty good overview before you proceed. Happy bidding :)

[martyap]

You have to be very careful when you "change the parameters."

If not, you run the risk of winning in an area you may not want if it happens to have the category you are bidding on.......Remember.....NO REFUNDS on Priceline! Until you are 100% sure of the rules, play it safe.....I speak from experience:mad:

 

This year I was much more knowledgeable and I got the Marriott Stellaris for $115 per night, four nights.....March 18-22......Good Luck

 

Marty

[bomberchamp]

I won the Sheraton old San Juan post cruise about 3months ago. we now have some more people going on this cruise and would like to all stay at the same place. how would you guys go about bidding on this place to they to get us all together?

[martyap]

I won the Sheraton old San Juan post cruise about 3months ago. we now have some more people going on this cruise and would like to all stay at the same place. how would you guys go about bidding on this place to they to get us all together?

There is no way to guarantee the same hotel with Priceline....NONE!!!. You can check out this board and better bidding to see if there are recent Sheraton wins for your date and bid based on that info........again.....no guarantees.

You should also check out Hot Wire......there are ways to see what hotels are available based on the amenities listed for each property.......betterbidding.com can help you figure and decipher that out. The Sheraton often comes up on Priceline but you would not have a 100% guarantee.......Hot Wire might work better in your situation.

Edited September 30, 2011 by martyap

[toonjie]

I won the Sheraton old San Juan post cruise about 3months ago. we now have some more people going on this cruise and would like to all stay at the same place. how would you guys go about bidding on this place to they to get us all together?

 

I would call the hotel directly (since there is no way to guarantee you'll get it on Priceline), and ask if you can add the number of rooms you need at the price you got on Priceline to your reservation. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't, but it never hurts to try. I've been able to extend my stay and add rooms without bidding again at some hotels. You may have to ask to speak with a manager. Give it a try, it's worth it! (The main thing is you will need to do all the rooms in your name most likely.)

[busdriver161]

Just got the Verdanza Hotel for 11/24/11 thru 11/27/11 for $80 night plus tax. Got the Intercontinental for 12/4 thru 12/5 for $80 night plus tax. I thought we got some great deals. I hope the Verdanza is good. So excited! 47 more day til we leave.:D

[buddylover]

Just got the Verdanza Hotel for 11/24/11 thru 11/27/11 for $80 night plus tax. Got the Intercontinental for 12/4 thru 12/5 for $80 night plus tax. I thought we got some great deals. I hope the Verdanza is good. So excited! 47 more day til we leave.:D

 

Wow! Those are great deals, especially for the Intercontinental, which I have not seen a bid below $105 for those same nights. We will be staying at the Marriott Stellaris 12/1 thru 12/4 and won a bid of $115/nite + taxes which was about as low as has been mentioned.

[skunkface]

Just got the Sheraton Old San Juan for $88 per night plus tax for our stay in February on Hotwire. We're very happy considering we'll save on the taxi fares we'd be spending getting to OSJ to tour around.

[disneyaholicraquel]

Date: Apr 8, 2012

Number of nights: 1 (post cruise)

Hotel: Sheraton Old San Juan

Rating: 3.5 star

Area: SJ

Site: Priceline

Winning Bid: $75

Taxes & Service Fees: $16.96

Total: $91.96

 

Started bidding area and Resort @ $70 rejected

added 4 * @ $70 rejected

added 3.5 * @ $70 rejected

added Mayaguez @ $75 Accepted.

[fridaythe13th]

Date: Apr 8, 2012

Number of nights: 1 (post cruise)

Hotel: Sheraton Old San Juan

Rating: 3.5 star

Area: SJ

Site: Priceline

Winning Bid: $75

Taxes & Service Fees: $16.96

Total: $91.96

 

Started bidding area and Resort @ $70 rejected

added 4 * @ $70 rejected

added 3.5 * @ $70 rejected

added Mayaguez @ $75 Accepted.

 

I'm having a hard time getting on biddingfortravel so I will ask you. Did you add Mayaguez because they don't have any of those choices? TY