Priceline guide discussion area

blindman

hammer24a wrote: »

Hi Blindman

Thanks for responding. I am afraid I did not read your guide, I (naively) assumed that I had understood what priceline is about after reading Martin's article.

We all live and learn
The average rates I had seen for 4 star hotels was £60+. My max bid was £32 per night, and with charges/taxes the total on priceline came to £186 for 5 nights.

Doesn't sound too bad You got 1/2 the going rate ?

I logged onto priceline.co.uk and assumed (again naively) that the bids would be for the hotels listed on the standard search.

You've now learned otherwise

I rang the UK 0800 number given on the confirmation but was transferred to the US. They initially offered $66 refund, to cover the price difference, which did not cover the total difference. When I rung back and spoke to customer relations, they said I should take any issues up with the hotel and no refund was due.

The hotel has been reviewed numerous times on tripadvisor and most people would not regard it as a 4 star establishment.

What do the reviews from BFT or Better bidding say?

I am considering taking the matter up with my credit card company, is there any other option?

Thanks

Please name the hotel and your dates of stay.

At present I can't tell if you have a real complaint or not as I don't know the hotel name :cool:

kevinmm

Hi,
Im looking to stay in Vancouver but id need at least 2 beds in a room (2 small children) + id like cooking facilites.
Ive stayed in Vancouver before so I know this is available but there is no option to ask for this so I could end up with something I dont require but it would then be to late
I also need 2 rooms one for the in-laws.
anyway round this?
Regards
Kevin

blindman

kevinmm wrote: »

Hi,
Im looking to stay in Vancouver but id need at least 2 beds in a room (2 small children) + id like cooking facilites.
Ive stayed in Vancouver before so I know this is available but there is no option to ask for this so I could end up with something I dont require but it would then be to late
I also need 2 rooms one for the in-laws.
anyway round this?
Regards
Kevin

You need to look at Hotwire and check out the Betterbidding lists as to what to expect if you try to get a place for Vancouver.


Register with Betterbiddng (it's free ) and ask for help. Thereuare is a nice fella

Just use his affiliate links if\when you bid.

Good luck:cool:

dmg24

hammer24a wrote: »

Hi Blindman

Thanks for responding. I am afraid I did not read your guide, I (naively) assumed that I had understood what priceline is about after reading Martin's article.

The average rates I had seen for 4 star hotels was £60+. My max bid was £32 per night, and with charges/taxes the total on priceline came to £186 for 5 nights.

I logged onto priceline.co.uk and assumed (again naively) that the bids would be for the hotels listed on the standard search. I rang the UK 0800 number given on the confirmation but was transferred to the US. They initially offered $66 refund, to cover the price difference, which did not cover the total difference. When I rung back and spoke to customer relations, they said I should take any issues up with the hotel and no refund was due.

The hotel has been reviewed numerous times on tripadvisor and most people would not regard it as a 4 star establishment.

I am considering taking the matter up with my credit card company, is there any other option?

Thanks

If you have solid evidence that the hotel is not a 4*, keep pestering Priceline, they will refund you eventually. However I do agree with blindman, at present you have not given us enough information to give an informed opinion.

hammer24a

blindman wrote: »

Please name the hotel and your dates of stay.

At present I can't tell if you have a real complaint or not as I don't know the hotel name :cool:

Hi Blindman and DMG24

The hotel is the Top Hotel Prague, there are some slight variations in the name from one sight to another, and even on priceline, where it is also listed as Top Hotel Praha. The address is Blazimska 1781 4, there are a couple of other Top Hotels in Prague too. The dates are 5 to 11 August.

I have subsequently rang after numerous emails and the last one telling me to ring them again and was told by customer relations they would check with the hotel if they would cancel the booking and call me back yesterday. No reply though. I called the hotel and they still have no reservation in my name. I emailed again, got told the same story how they couldnt do anything and that I had refused a partial refund of £66, I have written back saying I have not been offered any such refund.

Any help gratefully received.... this relaxing break to recover from a stressful period is turning into a nightmare and I havent even arrived

Thanks

blindman

hammer24a wrote: »

Hi Blindman and DMG24

The hotel is the Top Hotel Prague, tthat I had refused a partial refund of £66, I have written back saying I have not been offered any such refund.

Any help gratefully received.... this relaxing break to recover from a stressful period is turning into a nightmare and I havent even arrived

Thanks

From BFT this hotel is listed as a 4* by priceline

I get the 5 night stay as £176.00 (£35 per night) so according to my calculations PL owe you about £10

Expedia has it as having 4* rooms and at a cost of £184 for the 5 night stay.

There is precious little history on Prague and this hotel so I can't comment on what Pl travellers say.

I think you have got a 4* hotel (which has bad tripadvisor reviews) but not at a discount due to not researching normal rates before you bid.
Don't take it too hard, it's quite a common mistake-but one you'll never do again I bet.

Go and enjoy the hotel and the holiday and next time research thoroughly before bidding with Pl or hotwire.

dmg24

hammer24a wrote: »

Hi Blindman and DMG24

The hotel is the Top Hotel Prague, there are some slight variations in the name from one sight to another, and even on priceline, where it is also listed as Top Hotel Praha. The address is Blazimska 1781 4, there are a couple of other Top Hotels in Prague too. The dates are 5 to 11 August.

I have subsequently rang after numerous emails and the last one telling me to ring them again and was told by customer relations they would check with the hotel if they would cancel the booking and call me back yesterday. No reply though. I called the hotel and they still have no reservation in my name. I emailed again, got told the same story how they couldnt do anything and that I had refused a partial refund of £66, I have written back saying I have not been offered any such refund.

Any help gratefully received.... this relaxing break to recover from a stressful period is turning into a nightmare and I havent even arrived

Thanks

Expedia, Lastminute etc all class this hotel as 4*. However, I agree that the reviews are pretty shocking. Strictly speaking PL have done nothing wrong, but it sounds like they may offer you a full refund as a goodwill gesture.

Please don't let this put you off using PL, but in future do your research! I have just used PL for three of the four hotels I stayed at in the US, and they were all at excellent rates and fab hotels.

Let us know how you get on.

CAE

Hi DMG 24

I note from earlier posts that you have recently been to New York and Boston.

We have booked to go to New York in September, and our nights in New Yorkare already sorted, as we are using Marriott points for a Courtyard Hotel in New Jersey. We are then thinking of going to Boston for five nights, and I thought I might have a go at using Priceline for that part of the trip. Did you use Priceline for Boston, and if so do you have any tips? Looking at the Boston hotels they look quite expensive. Any recommendations?

As our return flight is from Newark, we will probably spend our last night back in New York, and thought I might try for a central New York Hotel. Will it be easier to get a one night stay on Priceline, rather than the five nigts we are trying for in Boston?

Thanks for any help you might be able to give,

dmg24

CAE wrote: »

Hi DMG 24

I note from earlier posts that you have recently been to New York and Boston.

We have booked to go to New York in September, and our nights in New Yorkare already sorted, as we are using Marriott points for a Courtyard Hotel in New Jersey. We are then thinking of going to Boston for five nights, and I thought I might have a go at using Priceline for that part of the trip. Did you use Priceline for Boston, and if so do you have any tips? Looking at the Boston hotels they look quite expensive. Any recommendations?

As our return flight is from Newark, we will probably spend our last night back in New York, and thought I might try for a central New York Hotel. Will it be easier to get a one night stay on Priceline, rather than the five nigts we are trying for in Boston?

Thanks for any help you might be able to give,

My most recent stay is very recent - I got back yesterday!

You can get good deals for Boston, but there are times (like the past week!) when prices are higher than New York! I have been twice and on both occasions have split my stay between two hotels (2 + 2). However, I do limit my options because I like to stay around the Copley Square/ Back Bay area (there is nothing wrong with other areas, I just really like it there).

One thing that may help you in Boston is Radisson's Friends and Family rate. On certain dates you can get the hotel for $80 plus taxes when using the code CARLSONF (the rate is available to anyone), however you would be lucky to get it for the full stay. I can vouch that the Radisson is a very nice hotel, and in a very convenient location. If you need more info on this I can elaborate.

The first thing I would do is look at the hotels available through Priceline, and decide which area you wish to stay in (**although remember that new hotels can be added at anytime**). You also need to decide which star rating is adequate for you. This is another reason I chose the Copley Square area - all of the 4* hotels are very good. I can also vouch for the Marriott which is a 3.5*, but would not be willing to try it because I really didn't fancy the Park Plaza.

I'm rambling now, blame jetlag! I'll summarise:

* Choose which areas you are happy to stay in Boston (Copley Square for me, but Quincy Market is also a good area, or Cambridge if you are ok to be a bit further out).
* Decide which rating is acceptable to you, and your budget, and whether you are happy to split your stay.
* Post on here or on BetterBidding and we'll devise a plan for you. The real experts are at BB, but I'm happy to help if they are busy.

My hotel experiences in Boston:

Westin Copley (Priceline): excellent hotel, excellent location.
Marriott Copley (PL): very nice, next to the Westin!
Radisson (F&F rate): very nice, should be more than a 4*, location good, but prefer the others.
Taj Boston (PL): absolutely perfect. I actually want to get married here!

What time is your flight home? I would be inclined to fly into EWR from Boston if you can get a reasonably priced flight. I flew home from JFK, but thought it would be more hassle to get in and out of Manhattan for one night (your luggage will be heavy by that point!), so flew straight into JFK and had a few hours getting slightly drunk! Having said that, if you do want to stay in NYC for the last night, if you are willing to leave it pretty late you should be able to get a one night stay for a very good price. I can highly recommend the Four Points by Sheraton Times Square, which (if you get the bus back from Boston) is right next to the bus terminal.

(Feel free to ask me to clarify anything - I can't see straight at the mo!)

blindman

CAE wrote: »

Hi DMG 24


We have booked to go to New York in September, and our nights in New Yorkare already sorted, as we are using Marriott points for a Courtyard Hotel in New Jersey.

Have you seen the Pl options in New Jersey?
The Hyatt is the best bargain ever! Looks like the base bid is $71 now

The Courtyard occasionally pops up on PL

We are then thinking of going to Boston for five nights, and I thought I might have a go at using Priceline for that part of the trip. Did you use Priceline for Boston, and if so do you have any tips? Looking at the Boston hotels they look quite expensive. Any recommendations?

Research the PL places you DON'T want to win and try to avoid bidding in that area.


As our return flight is from Newark, we will probably spend our last night back in New York,

Why? It's easier to get to EWR from New Jersey:question:

and thought I might try for a central New York Hotel. Will it be easier to get a one night stay on Priceline, rather than the five nigts we are trying for in Boston?

Usually easier to get one night than 5 most anywhere.

Thanks for any help you might be able to give,

Have you read my guide?

NYC to Boston
Don't know if you've booked it yet but going by "China Bus" or the equivalent can be cheape ($15 ea one way) and even quicker than 'plane