Using Priceline for a hotel in Seattle

[tarheelmjfan]

We're planning to visit Seattle this summer, & have had people suggest that we try PL. I checked out biddingfortravel.com, but it looked like there was only 2 hotels that kept coming up. We would like to spend 1 night near the waterfront, & 6 nights in the downtown area. Is there anything to choose that will give us a better chance of getting one of the 2 waterfront hotels? Also, if I bid on a 4* hotel in downtown, will the hotel we get truly be a 4*, or are some of them overrated? If I don't feel comfortable bidding on PL, we'll probably book the Westin. Thanks for any help you can provide. I've never used PL, & am kinda clueless.

 

[blanq]

Hi tarheelmjfan! I responded to another post you had recently about Seattle, and you may recall my family will be visiting Seattle for a few days pre-Alaskan cruise this summer. I have not done PC before, and was able to get a $139/night rate at the Westin in DT Seattle with a government discount. One suggestion I have for you is to check out www.cruisecritic.com for their discussion boards. They have a destination board, and I have been visiting the "Alaska" forum. I noticed that a lot of people post questions about Seattle there, as it is a major port for departing Alaskan cruises. They do have a search function, and I know a lot of questions have been asked about PC bidding for Seattle hotels. So, you might get some good information there. Happy hotel hunting, and happy Seattle planning!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the great info! I have checked out cruisecritic.com a few times. The funny thing is, I was just thinking today about how much easier that site would be to navigate if they had destination boards. It's so much reading to look through all the cruise line info. Most of the info. seems to be about cruises going south. I'm off to try to find the Alaskan info. Thanks for letting me know it's there.

 

[NHLFAN]

We have used PL for special occassions to stay Downtown and the 4* listed are truely 4* in my mine.

In the last year the 4* have increased in priced in order to get accepted on PL and the hotels had specials offers on their websites that seemed to outweighed the minimal savings that PL offered.

The Westin had been doing remodeling so their available rooms seemed to be limited but it is a great location...Pike Place Market is acouple walking blocks away and West Lake Center (shopping mall) is across the street (Monorail to Seattle Center).

good luck...

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Do you know if the Westin has remodeled all of their rooms? We may just go that route. I've read some bad reviews, but I think those were mostly about the unrenovated rooms. Could you give me some PL tips, or more info. on the Westin? Thanks again

 

[NHLFAN]

Do you know if the Westin has remodeled all of their rooms? We may just go that route. I've read some bad reviews, but I think those were mostly about the unrenovated rooms. Could you give me some PL tips, or more info. on the Westin? Thanks again

Maybe you should call the Westin and ask about the renovations...we paid $55 via PL and those days seem are gone for now.

Westin looks to be around $135 for AAA and by the time you add fees with the going rate with PL...I'd feel better myself booking directly with the hotel incase my plans change and need to cancel.

Remember, with PL you can't choose your hotel of choice and run the risk of getting another location...We have also stayed at the Sheraton and that seems to come up more than the Westin lately.

We were always treated well by the staff and both times we stayed Deluxe King room high up facing the "Sound" (we enjoy watching the ferries, ships and sunsets) and the Westin is classy hotel and a definite 4*in my mind...much better than most listed in the Orlando area as 4*/Resorts.

We have only stayed at these hotels for one night stands and instead of paying the hotel parking fees....we park and feed the parking meters on the street in front of the hotel until 6pm and then load them up again in the morning until we leave...Sundays/Holidays are free meter parking days like most cities.

I'd also read the FAQ on biddingfortravel.com if you plan on going the PL route so that way you can take advantage of the fee rebid zones.

hope that helps...