sweetair

people please include the dates of your wins

thank you

*sweet*

hightownco: i am not sure but you might be able to sell it or give it to someone on your ships roll call. Half the money is better than nothing.

I know priceline wont refund but did you try calling them and explaining your mistake and maybe ask for a partial credit to use to re-bid on something else Worst case scenario they say no You have nothing to lose.

*sweet*

i also got the caribe hilton for august 5th-15th for $95 a day plus taxes (and the 14% they will collect daily at the hotel UGH) i have stayed here many times and I love the hotel but not overly joyed about walking over the bridge to/from the condado area every day for food and casino. Oh well.

Yes i know about the "unreliable" 75 cent bus and will use it when necessary.

*sweet*

you are not bidding too far out! we have bid 330 days out and have gotten great deals. You just have to get "lucky".

Dont give up. As i said before Just have a cancellable back-up hotel you can live with.

*sweet*

arno: if you dont mind getting the la concha... Add 4 star, san juan to your list and reduce the price again to about $95. (also possibly the conrad @4 stars but not have seen this won yet)

When you add 4 star, priceline can upgrade you to a resort! That gives you a couple extra bids per day.

Just remember bidding on resorts, you can also get "stuck" at the caribe hilton. I like it there, just off the beaten track.

I checked hotwire for you..It appears that the IC is $186 plus taxes. That could be why you arent getting any nibbles at $100. Dont get caught up and bid too high. You might get a hotel at $150plus I think PL is cyclical and it may go down.

If you are worried Get yourself a FULLY CANCELLABLE back-up hotel then relax and keep bidding.

Good Luck,

*sweet*

oh you can get into the water from the private water slide. Financially if you guys are drinkers and have at least 12 people, this really is ideal. this has unlimited drinks which none of the other cabanas have.

the beach is just down the walkway.

whatever you decide good luck on your upcoming nuptuals and honeymooning

*sweet*

got the marriott stellaris PRICELINE resorts/zone 6/bid $95+taxes 2 nights accepted dec10-12

got the la concha HOTWIRE 4star resort $119 plus HEFTY TAXES 37.50=157.50 dec19-20 but i had a hot activity coupon of $50 so it nets 107.50 Personally i would have done PL again as my friends did IF i hadnt had a coupon that was expiring. Basically saved a whopping 7 dollars hahahaha

i have stayed at both and would have NP staying at either again and again

*sweet*

hiya me&him,

Yes we cruised with HAL.

I am unfamiliar with protocol on this cabana. although HAL and carnival share this private island...from what i hear, most times its 1 or the other at the island not both.

Also from what i hear..canival does not allow pre-booking of any cabanas. You board the ship and wait on line until shore excursions opens. (i would call carnival to confirm this)

Since you gave me no info, i am going to "assume" that your honeymoon party will be onboard and this rental is not just for the 2 of you. (it is pricey @$1200 plus tips)

once rented you will need to inform shore-ex about how many snorkels you need and sizes for the fins.

let me know if you need any more help <hope ya get it>

*sweet*

no problem topazz I know how to get it thru priceline but im glad you told me. I havent seen hotwire offer the la concha YET.

the hotel that hotwire was offering for $139 is most likely the icontinental. (at least thats what it is on my dates as well) i am avoiding it

thanks

*sweet*

topazz,

my friends and i have stayed at the la concha before and really liked it. (in fact i preferred it over the Icontinental because of location.) IF i can choose i always try for condado area over isla verde area. Its new, Its clean, i met erik estrada(ok no guarantees on that) Its walkable to many restaurants. I leave tomorrow for a week in puerto rico Woohoo!

When looking at hotwire it lists unseen hotels with icons like 4-star,pool,beachfront etc etc. then you press continue under the price and lists more icons...can you tell me what icons are listed for this particular hotel? If you scroll farther down on the second page, it may list trip advisor rating (like 4 out of 5 based on over 500 reviews or 3 1/2 out of 5 based on 157 reviews).

This would help me tremendously

thanks

*sweet*

topazz11: can you tell me everything listed for getting the la concha please

i see you wrote 4 stars..what were the other amenities listed

thanks,

*sweet*

bubiesmom: intercontinental is NOT the only 4 star hotel on hotwire.

Im not sure what you are looking at or what you expect. Go to betterbidding.com and read all about the hotels they have tagged.

Is there a particular hotel you actually want???

*sweet*

congrats mantaray..i knew the $119 was for the intercontinental That one is fairly easy to figure out :D

bubiesmom: i have had great luck using both (no complaints)..The not knowing on priceline is part of the "fun" Afterall, if you got ANY resort at a great price..who cares which one it is. Granted, i prefer condado area over isla verde but the intercontinental is a fantastic resort hotel. Nobody can predict what hotel they may "sneak" in until someone actually gets it and reports it. i personally got what i expected most times.

Resort hotels are el san juan,intercontinental, caribe hilton, marriott stellaris IF you cannot accept what hotel you get then bidding for a hotel is NOT for you. Just pick a hotel, pay retail and have your peace of mind.

Hotwire gives you the opportunity to narrow down which hotel you may get (read betterbidding.com) to help you...the icons listed describing each hotel is what helps narrow down the hotel itself plus if you press "continue button" it will list more icons, the price you will pay WITH taxes and if you scroll further..the rating on trip advisor. Press trip advisor and look for the star rating based on amount of reviews and VOILA*** thats the hotel.

please report back when you have booked.

*sweet*

bubiesmom: i checked hotwire for you...looks like the 4 star hotel is $126 per night plus taxes...i figured out it is probably the intercontinental.

If you bid on priceline...resorts...san juan...start your bid lower than 126 and work your way up..you get a few bids per day. Also as far as i can figure..san juan only has one 4star hotel thats the LaConcha and i stayed there last month. It was excellent. **read reviews on this forum**

hope this helps you

*sweet*

just so everyone knows... PRICELINE usually allows extention of hotel win So if your plans change and you were originally booked on a saturday but need the friday before/ or sunday after...call priceline and they should give you the same hotel at the same price for the extra day. (unless hotel is sold out)

*sweet*

burm: let me help you out...IF you are looking for a hotel in FT LAUDERDALE this is not the thread to look at There is a miramar in san juan (which is what all of these people are getting) This is the san juan puerto rico thread.

You will need to look in east coast departures then florida for the priceline/hotwire help.

miramar in florida is far from the piers as you stated

FYI: i just got the renaissance in ft laud for my cruise $133 plus taxes=$150 per night on hotwire if that may help you out.

*sweet*

sorry bilyclub, i guess to each his own..I absolutely LOVED the villas at the caribe as did the 4 others in 3 rooms We requested them! Most of the rooms had a little kitchenette with dinner table and chairs/fridge/microwave etc. My first room had an awesome jacuzzi in the bathroom. Only complaint: very little space for storage.

It even has its own pool and hot tub area or you can walk about 2 minutes to the beach or other pools.

second:everyone is charged a resort fee and the amount depends on what you paid whether through priceline or bought outright through hilton.

Food: subway and small bodega right across street and 15 minute walk to condado or use free bus

I stayed here 1 week and many 2 pre-cruise nights

*sweet*

hiya lois...yes still doing m-class. i did the summit in march and going on carib princess in dec. this will be my 15th princess cruise.

I hope the wyndham works out for you. I'd be curious about any "extra" charges like resort taxes and that ridiculous $5PP per day occupancy tax that gets put on your CC even IF the checkout paper says zero.

toonjie: ok "technically" its not a new hotel. They kept the front facade and rebuilt the rest of the hotel. They kept the original name from years ago.

gogogo micheal phelps and USA in the olympics!!

*sweet*

personally i think the wyndham rio mar is too far from everything. I dont like being trapped in 1 place where you are stuck eating in their restaurants and paying for a taxi or shuttle to their place.(not cheap) Not to mention that most wyndhams of additional taxes of 15%.

i also like the freedom to go to OSJ on a bus or walk to a walgreeens.

Now i can tell you that we will be in san juan on dec5th-7th and 14th-15th and got the La Concha 4 stars san juan bid of $116 plus taxes per night.

Renaissance is owned by marriott therefore we should be able to use the marriott IF we desire (not positive yet) but i have seen the la concha and this is a great deal for a New hotel

I cant wait :)

*sweet*

hiya!

my group of 11 booked the grand oasis cabana in dec 06 It was awesome. I think it could comfortably hold a few more people but NOT 40.

Ok my memory is fuzzy exact on how many chairs etc but i'll try to help you. I think there were 4 very padded lounge chairs and 6 adirondack chairs surrounding the 8 person-jacuzzi. Inside: There was a large table that sat 8 plus a couple of "bar type" tables with high chairs. There were a couple of lounge chairs inside as well. They provided an ipod and docking station for music all day, snorkel gear for 12 (You will need to know all flipper sizes of parties involved).

When we arrived there was chips,guacamole,salsa and sour cream.

We DID NOT upgrade and had plenty(we felt the UPGRADE really wasn't worth the price).

We were escorted from the ship by our butler for the day at about 9am(earliest THEY SAID!) However there were tenders that left earlier and IF i had known..i would have been on the first one!!! (i didn't need an escort)

The butler stayed all day with us providing anything we needed. We also had a private bar and bartender most of the day. (hint: take extra bottles of free water provided and you can always take it back to your room if leftover)ALL you can drink was GREAT! IF you want mojitos...bring the mint from the ship prior.

They asked us what time we wanted lunch cooked and served..we chose 12pm because we wanted to time to eat relax and eat some more :)

We had a private chef that cooked..steak,chicken,ribs,burgers,hot dogs,fish and they brought salads with dressings and fruit (pineapple AWESOME!!!!!) and brownies , cookies and pound cake.

You get a private slide..which people thought was public. We didnt want to be mean but we also didnt want kids all day. We managed to get our point across nicely that it was privately rented.

We did have a few "guests" we invited for a drink or to join us during the day. None of the staff cared that they were there for a few beers or cocktails.

Not many fish for snorkeling but the sand on this island had to be the nicest i have ever felt...like fine talcum powder! Wish all beaches had this.

There were 2 private bathroom and a private shower(the best part of this)

Cabinets to store anything we brought...extra towels.

There was a massage table IF you arranged for a person. Of course that was extra and we didnt need it.

Expect to tip each person that serves you...chef is only there about 2 hours/butler ALL day and bartender most of the day.

DID NOT HAVE A LIFEGUARD

This was probably one of the best "excursions" away from all the crowds we have ever spent money on...i know it wasn't cheap for an island where lounges are free but to all of us well worth it.

Since we rented this from HAL it was prior to embarkation..i do NOT know how carnival handles this special oasis.

Sorry the only pictures i have are in my head BUT i know there is another thread that has pictures started by sir david You can do a search for it.

have fun...

*sweet*

once again priceline has come through very well...

i just got the La Concha for dec 5- dec 7..san juan..4 stars...$116 bid plus taxes!!!

i have seen the grounds and the hotel (although still a work in progress) has beautiful pool areas...will report after i see the rooms.

*sweet*

i have been using priceline for more than 5 years and i have never felt like a second rate citizen because of the discounts i received. It is between you and the check-in desk. I have had many requests granted simply by asking (high floor,villas etc)

puerto rico has this really weird person tax $5pp per day at hotels...so you need to figure they will add $10 per day to your credit card even though when you check out it says ZERO owed.

billskier: besides the above tax , there was a resort fee per day i think 16%. Sorry i was there in march but my friend paid the bill and we got it thru priceline bid. i thought the new pool area was beautiful. the rooms were very nice and no we werent in the basement (we actually had a high floor).

there is a great restaurant on top of El San Juan Awesome views,great food.

*sweet*

priceline was very difficult to get cheaper rooms for march 2008 this year Not sure why But this is what we all got..4 separate bidders and results were the same for all of us...

Feb27 to Mar1..resorts bid $185 plus tax ACCEPTED at marriott stellaris and casino

Mar8 to Mar 10.. Resorts bid $200 plus tax ACCEPTED at intercontinental

I have been to san juan many many many times..I prefer the marriott location on ashford avenue and all the restaurants there HOWEVER the intercontinental is also a great hotel.

Both of these hotels (even what was offered on hotwire) were the cheapest on priceline. Personally i think all the hotels for these 2 weekends are out of control expensive and maybe we could have waited it out for cheaper.If you have the time and a backup hotel...stay cheaper bids...We actually wanted these particular hotels so the backups were $350 plus tax at them..Im happy enough

happy bargain hunting!

*sweet*

my friend got the marriott stellaris and casino hotel on priceline today for a resorts bid of $185 plus taxes to equal 227 per day for feb 27- mar1 2008.

He has NO clue about the bidding system and it was his first try.

i would suggest starting at less and working your way up the priceline ladder :)

*sweet*

carbon: for my dates ,,,intercontinental WAS 246 plus tax...NOW its 292 plus tax on hotwire.

not sure what dates nancychgo is talking about but each date varies on prices.

heck i have gotten some RESORT hotels on priceline and hotwire for 65 tax included in the past.

FTI: thanks..i know to make a cancellable hotel and i dont get frustrated but i need my daily fix. One day i'll hit it! Its like a game i NEED to play.

*sweet*