Would you book a hotel without knowing the name?

[hurleysweety]

Like through hotwire or priceline?

I can get some pretty good deals through these websites and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them?

 

[50sjayne]

I only use priceline unless I've been reading a message board for the area I'm bidding on and they haven't had good wins, then I try the other online sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. For Disneyland we were extraordinarily lucky in getting the et rate for all of our nights for $59. I got it for $59 instead of $69 because I booked it online at the et rate over a year ago. Having this as sort of a hobby though, I have kept up with Betterbidding.com and bidding for travel for almost 2 years and will tell you the best way to go if you can't get the et rate at HOJO for at least a few of your days, is Priceline. Bid on a 3 star and only a few weeks out and you'll get great hotels for under $45. I would research convention dates during your stay- if there's going to be a huge convention when you go, you may have some problems getting a room on priceline. The Unofficial guide to Disneyland lists the bigger conventions for 2008- and 2009 in the newest version. With hotwire you'll know the amenities that are important to you,and you can try to guess the hotel by the trip advisor ratings and using better bidding.com, but you'll pay more by $20(a night) or so for the same hotel you'd get on Priceline. None of the priceline hotels or hotwire hotels will be easy walking distance. Another good option is to try to find a cheaper rate on either the Residence Inn maingate, or the Fairfield on a travel website for the same dates of your stay than is on their website-- it's confusing but if you do that then Marriot will give you a signifigantly better deal- can't remember exactly how much, but you can check it out on their website. I got bored checking this, but there's been reports of people getting that Residence Inn for a pretty reasonable price. Hope this helps

 

[cedarparkgirl]

I second using betterbidding.com . You can ask for help there to plan your priceline strategy as well as see winning bids. Good luck!

 

[fairycat]

I just used Priceline again and for the second time ended up at the Extended Stays America. I learned a hard lesson, while insanely cheap, I would bid on much higher stars next time, since for the same price range I heard of people getting much better hotels then we got.

We were very disapointed in our room and customer service this trip and will be writing a review on a few sites about it, I was not happy.

Saying that though overall I have had really good luck with priceline.

 

[Leofoenget]

Like through hotwire or priceline?

I can get some pretty good deals through these websites and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them?

Personally no. My friend is good at it and can recognize certian hotels

I need to know exactly what I'm getting

 

[fairykin]

no no... don't do it. Because You are not bidding for just You.. You are bidding for all of the other people going on Your trip..right?

or is this another trip?
I'm thinking of your trip for 6.
If you are just bidding on a quick get away for You and Your one.. then i might try it.. no harm no foul.. inexpensive way to see if it works for you.

But if it's the trip for 6... no way jose.

You want to plan that carefully.
To be within walking distance.

Or better yet to be at a hotel with a Shuttle Service in case of bad weather or tired feet.

 

[godalejunior]

Like through hotwire or priceline?

I can get some pretty good deals through these websites and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them?

 

[dbanzai]

I use Priceline often for hotels and have had no issues. I've done better with Priceline often than when I can go to a site and see the places, a la Expedia and such. Then again, with the Expedia-esque sites, I knew what I was getting into, and can't complain if something's a dump, 'cause I expected it to be.

With Priceline though, the hotels have always been at least the star level they said it would be, and a few times even better. Also, in an area like Anaheim, they break up the various neighborhoods so well that you can pretty well determine where exactly you want to be.

An example: I leave Friday for DL and me and my friends are staying Sat-Tues at PPH. However, we booked Friday night via Priceline, and we're staying on Harbour at one of the Maingate hotels, $52 total for the night. The interesting bit will be though that we're three and the rooms are garunteed for two. But as we'll need two beds anyway, I don't expect a problem.

 

[daannzzz]

I will use Priceline or Hotwire for certain kinds of trips. I will not use them for my Disneyland or WDW trips as I like to choose where I am staying. I would not use them for a trip to Hawaii or other resort style trip. I do use them occasionally for my arrival night in Anaheim or Orlando and for other times when I don't really care where I am staying. I have always had fine places, most of the time at a great price.

 

[disneyobsessed808]

Like through hotwire or priceline?

I can get some pretty good deals through these websites and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them?

I've just gotten into using priceline, and my last experience was so good, I am excited to use it again. I stayed at a 2.5 star hotel (which was recently upgraded to a 3 star) for $100. At the AAA rate, the room would have cost $360! And the hotel was really nice - I think the star ratings they use are pretty accurate.

Yeah, you won't know what hotel you get until after you pay, but I think that's part of the fun. Also, if you do research (at biddingfortravel.com or betterbidding.com) you can see what has been won in the area recently. Bidding for travel's site has a listing of the hotels that have been won in every area under what star rating - including the Disneyland. Using those listings, you can get an idea what hotels you are bidding under a certain star level, in that area.

 

[reynmagsmom]

using hotwire i have gotten the Double Tree in orange about 10 mins drive time away from Dl for $40 a nite and i got Hojos for $32 a nite like 3 years ago which were 2 really good hotels but we got a Days Inn in 2006 and it was bad....very very bad so it is hit or miss but with 2 out of 3 good hotels i had more good than bad luck

 

[bumbershoot]

If I were already renting a car I would do it, if there was nothing else at a palatable rate. I was considering it for this trip for the night we get in, as Motel 6 and Abby's Anaheimer are the only things available for under $140, but we're NOT renting a car so it's not worth the "risk" to me.

 

[JosieGirl71]

We used Priceline on our last trip and also for our upcoming trip. We will probably continue to use it for all of our DL trips. We will only bid on 3 1/2* and also figure that parking will probably be $12-15/day. You can check out betterbidding.com to learn how to bid and re-bid.

Last year, we got the Anaheim Hilton for $48/night and had to pay $12/day for parking. That is still only $60/night for the Hilton. And they were very accommodating with us and gave us a room with a view of DLR.

For our upcoming trip, we are staying at the Hyatt Regency and paid $42/night plus parking of $15/night so only $57/night for a nice hotel. They have a dedicated shuttle too so we won't have to use ART.

If you don't mind taking a shuttle or driving to the park, Priceline is the way to go. Just don't forget to factor parking costs in if you bid on 3 1/2* or higher.

Good luck!

 

[hurleysweety]

thank you to all!

Oh and this is just for little weekend trips for DH and I next year once we have our APs. Just trying to figure out how much the hotels will cost and seeing the best way. (with our big trip we'll be paying a little more since parents can be quite the hotel snobs, )

Can't wait to try out betterbidding.com

I knew I would get some negative opinions, is this because you've had a bad experience bidding? Just curious.

Thanks again, I really love getting all this info before I book! Love the DIS!