Summary of Winning Bids on Priceline, Hotwire, etc.

[OhioJeff]

I have 2 different hotels booked in San Juan (1 pre-cruise and 1 post-cruise). Has anyone ever had any problems with a Priceline booked room? My husband wanted to just pay the full price, but Priceline saved us >$100 total - that will buy a lot of fruity drinks on the cruise ship!!! Well, maybe several....

I'm just praying nothing goes wrong with the reservations to allow him to say "I told you"....

 

 

Over the years I have used Priceline 100+ times(8x in SJ) and have yet to have a problem(knock on wood)

 

You do realize you can call the hotel to check on the reservation. I think for first time users its a good idea to call as soon as the reservation is made and then call again a week before you arrive.

 

Another thing I do is sign up for the hotels rewards club program. While they normally dont give you points for Priceline stays, it does seem like they treat you better, when you give them the rewards club card at check-in.

 

I have even had some properties give me points and an upgrade when using the card. I never ask for points or special treatment, but if the front desk staff wants to be nice, I wont stop them :p

 

Which hotels did you win??

[CRUISNDIVA]

Okay I need some help, how do I bid on a particular hotel in San Juan on Priceline :confused:

 

I need 2 rooms for November 8th, 2008 (1 night), I want to stay at the Marriott San Juan Resort & Stellaris Casino, I can't figure out how to bid on this hotel.....can someone please give me some "expert" advice :cool:

 

TIA!!

 

:D

[piper]

I got the Marriott Stella for more than some have paid, but less than they wanted (got it for $175) and I got the Sheraton OSJ for Priceline's posted price of $219 which was better than I could get calling the hotel directly (even though I am a member of their club, whatever it is called). We really wanted to stay right in the heart of Old SJ, and I didn't know how to bid to get that specific hotel. At least I was able to save some money!

 

Thanks for the hints and comments OhioJeff - helped put my mind at ease!

[CRUISNDIVA]

I rolled the dice and tried a few bids on my own, I probably should have bid lower but I think I did pretty well....

 

I got 2 rooms for November 8th at the Marriott San Juan Resort & Stellaris Casino for $150.00 each. That's a pretty big savings compared to booking direct through the hotel so I'm pretty happy.

 

I will be staying in San Juan again at the end of February and I think I'll start now bidding low and see how cheap I can get it. :cool:

 

Cheers!

[volman22]

I am looking to book a resort in san juan for Dec. 25-28 pre cruise. I have been trying priceline for several nights. My last bid was $250, there are 5 of us, needing 2 rooms for 3 nights. I am looking for some advice on price? We don't arrive until late Christmas night. Post cruise I got Marriott for $159 for 1/4/09.

[hawt1]

Intercontinental 1/21 - 1/25 6 rooms for $160 each plus taxes and fees on Hotwire...

[volman22]

Hawt1, I have a question about your winning bid at hot wire. I have only used priceline. I looked at hot wire and did not see any resorts, only 3 and 3.5 stars. We are looking for resort for Dec. 25-28 for 2 rooms. Did you bid on a resort or 3.5 stars? We would love to get the Intercontennial any suggestions? Thanks

[hawt1]

Intercontinental is a RESORT. Do not bid on 3 or 3.5 stars. Wait until you see a resort and then go to betterbidding dot com and ask there for identification of what resort it is...then do them a favour and use their hotwire link so they get a small commission for helping with the identification.

 

You could also ask for similar help here.

 

I suspect that Christmas may be hard to come by on Hotwire...

 

What are the resorts charging directly from their websites?

[volman22]

Hawt1, Thanks for the info. I checked the hotel sites for caribe hilton $295 pre paid, marriott 459 and intercontinental was 559. I have been bidding with priceline this past week with no luck, last bid was $250, maybe way too low. We have already booked airline tickets arriving late night 12/25 and will be boarding Victory on 12/28. Won marriott for $159 for post cruise on 1/4/09 on priceline. we have stopped in port of san juan with cruise but have not stayed over night before. Not sure whether to wait and keep bidding or just book with hotel site, starting to worry because of holidays and prices going up. Any advice is much appreciated!

[floatinrocks]

Hey Private Eye

 

I just Won Intercontinental San Juan Resort Spa & Casino .......$150 1/18-1/19, 2009 post-cruise.

 

Staying two days Pre-cruise at Da House.

 

Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: $150.00

Subtotal: $150.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $31.30

Total Charges*: $181.30

 

Thanks Jeff I'll start bidding during the week. You mentioned bidding on Priceline for a room we could cancel??? I thought they were non refundable once a bid was accepted, or am I missing something. How do you do a bid for a refundable property? You bid for a resort right?

[toonjie]

Thanks Jeff I'll start bidding during the week. You mentioned bidding on Priceline for a room we could cancel??? I thought they were non refundable once a bid was accepted, or am I missing something. How do you do a bid for a refundable property? You bid for a resort right?

 

What Jeff meant is book a room through another means or with the hotel directly as a backup, then start bidding on Priceline. That way you can take your time and not bid too high and you always have the backup to fall back on. You are correct, Priceline rooms are non-refundable.

[kabux]

Hi all, thanks to everyone for your tips/advice. never tried priceline before and after a few bids over a few days, I just got Intercontinental for 2/14/09 for one night for $157 (after the invitation to increase my bid by $22, which I did!) - regular price for the cheapest room online is $329 for that night.

Thanks again!!!

[toonjie]

Hi all, thanks to everyone for your tips/advice. never tried priceline before and after a few bids over a few days, I just got Intercontinental for 2/14/09 for one night for $157 (after the invitation to increase my bid by $22, which I did!) - regular price for the cheapest room online is $329 for that night.

Thanks again!!!

 

Congratulations! The Intercontinental is a great hotel, you will have a blast!

[crzncrw]

Hi all, thanks to everyone for your tips/advice. never tried priceline before and after a few bids over a few days, I just got Intercontinental for 2/14/09 for one night for $157 (after the invitation to increase my bid by $22, which I did!) - regular price for the cheapest room online is $329 for that night.

Thanks again!!!

Is the Intercontinental in san Juan? Old San Juan? Isla Verde?

[kabux]

It's in Isla Verde - says 5 mins from the airport.

 

We are also hoping to be able to come back for the day on the Sunday we disembark - our flight doesn't leave until 4:30pm - anyone ever do this?

[waterbugohio]

Kabux,

 

this is something we also hope to do when we finally get a hotel for pre-cruise. We are hoping to talk to whatever hotel we get and find out if we can get a pass for the day to come back at the end of our cruise. OUr return flight out isn't until 5:30 PM. I know you can actually "rent" a room for the day at some of the hotels, but the price is pretty high for a couple of hours. We would rather just be able to use the pool and changing rooms.

 

Has anyone ever done this??

[toonjie]

Kabux,

 

this is something we also hope to do when we finally get a hotel for pre-cruise. We are hoping to talk to whatever hotel we get and find out if we can get a pass for the day to come back at the end of our cruise. OUr return flight out isn't until 5:30 PM. I know you can actually "rent" a room for the day at some of the hotels, but the price is pretty high for a couple of hours. We would rather just be able to use the pool and changing rooms.

 

Has anyone ever done this??

 

We've done it at the Marriott Stellaris. It's around $40 per person and they store your bags with the luggage porters and you can use lockers in the fitness room to lock anything you want to keep with you some of the time, but not all, like camera cases, etc. It's a great resort and only some 15 minutes to the airport.

[green eyed lady]

I need help! I'm priceline illiterate :(

 

I need 2 rooms for 3 nights post cruise in Aug. What I really want is the Marriott Stellaris. Do I check off anything besides "resort" and "san juan"? do i check 4-stars? does anyone know what other resorts I might end up with? Is the Intercontinental considered a resort or just a hotel?

 

sorry for all the questions but I am very confused :eek: can ya tell??? :rolleyes:

[toonjie]

I need help! I'm priceline illiterate :(

 

I need 2 rooms for 3 nights post cruise in Aug. What I really want is the Marriott Stellaris. Do I check off anything besides "resort" and "san juan"? do i check 4-stars? does anyone know what other resorts I might end up with? Is the Intercontinental considered a resort or just a hotel?

 

sorry for all the questions but I am very confused :eek: can ya tell??? :rolleyes:

 

Only check off resort, here is a list of the Priceline resorts according to betterbidding.com:

Resort Caribe Hilton

Resort El San Juan

Resort Inter-Continental San Juan

Resort Marriott San Juan Resort

Resort Wyndham Condado Plaza

 

There is no way to guarantee you get the Marriott, my favorite as well. The good news is that all the resorts are nice. Also remember that Puerto Rico is a free bidding zone which means Priceline has no resorts anywhere else but in San Juan, so you can bid multiple times a day simply by adding different areas. So if your bid is rejected, up it a little, say $10, and add Ponce as an area in addition to San Juan. You can do that through all the different areas. Hope this helps and good luck bidding!

[polodad]

We stayed at the Marriott Stellaris 1 night pre cruise on Priceline last April & we're there again on Fri night. It was a gorgeous property & room last yr, but it's gotten even better. They had the concierge email us and inquire if we might have any special requests, like feather pillows, slippers, restaurant resv, Johnny Walker (I was kidding about the Johnny Walker). but i'm extremely impressed that they are going this extra step when we got a $110 rate thru Priceline. It makes us feel spoiled rather then cheapos. I don't know if it's because I'm in the Marriott Rewards Program, but it sure is nice.

 

Is the new Rennaissance on Priceline?

[kabux]

Wow toonjie! $40 per person at the Marriot for the day??? Do you have to arrange this ahead of time? That would be great! Do you know if kids are the same price??

[toonjie]

Wow toonjie! $40 per person at the Marriot for the day??? Do you have to arrange this ahead of time? That would be great! Do you know if kids are the same price??

 

You don't need to call and arrange it in advance, but I would call to make sure it will be available when you are there, especially if it is a busy time of year. I think kids would be the same price, but you can ask.

[NoVa Mimi]

I used Hotwire (had to be sure to get two beds rather than one, because there are three of us) and got the Intercontinental for $163 on 7/5/08. I'm very pleased with the rate we got. It is the only 4* in San Juan on Hotwire (for now, as it's subject to change), so if anyone wants the Intercontinental, using Hotwire is also a good idea.

[waterbugohio]

Still working on a hotel for 11/14-11/15. I am up to $135 and no bites. I am starting to get anxious (and I know I shouldn't) and will probably start going up. Is there a way to tell if something else is going on that weekend that I am not getting accepted?

 

Also thanks joonjie, that $40 for the day really seems like a great idea if we just feel like relaxing for the day.

[floatinrocks]

Well, I want to thank everyone for all the good advice and giving me the comfort to actually bid. I got us 2 rooms for 3 nts each at the Intercontinental San Juan Resort & Casino $162/night. Cheaper than the $329 and up they advertise!!! :D

 

Now, I need to investigate The Intercontinental, hope it's a nice hotel.

 

Well thanks again, I owe you all.....but then don't we all owe each other?:confused:

 

Happy Cruisin'