Anchorage & Priceline

[Bowlersbus]

Ok - calling all Priceline masters.

I am booking 2 nites in Anchorage after our cruise.

Staying an extra week on our own.

 

I don't want to end up at the Aleyska - just becuz it's so far away.

 

Has anyone used priceline to book a hotel in Anchorage?

 

If so - what "star" rating did u pick -

what did u bid & were you happy?

Honestly I don't know how people travel with out all the information we get on this site.

 

Thanks

[PatriciaF]

Check out bidding for travel:

 

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/forums/12/t/Alaska.html

[Bowlersbus]

Patricia - thanks for that link. Although I found it to be VERY confusing.

 

Since no one has posted - safe to say no one has used Priceline to book Anchorage.

 

Hhhmmm.:confused:

[PatriciaF]

The first item of the link lists the hotels that are usually booked through Priceline. The Alyeska Resort isn't listed.

 

If you want more feedback, go to cruisecritic.com to the anchorage forum and post your question there.

 

I would think that people who are staying extra time are taking the cruisetour available through most cruiselines.

 

My husband travels to Anchorage and Fairbanks for work and the rates are dropping now that summer tourist season is over.

[mytime53]

Patricia - thanks for that link. Although I found it to be VERY confusing.

 

Since no one has posted - safe to say no one has used Priceline to book Anchorage.

 

Hhhmmm.:confused:

 

This is not true...if you do a search on this board, you will probably come up with posters who have used Priceline for Anchorage. However, with the tourist/cruise season winding down, the majority of those people have come and gone and aren't monitoring this board like they did before their trip.

What someone bid for earlier in the season isn't necessarily germane to what you will need to bid now.

[negc]

I don't know what areas Priceline uses for Anchorage hotels. Check their website to see. But I doubt that Alyeska which is in Girdwood and miles south of Anchorage would a likely outcome if you bid for a hotel in Anchorage unless they extended the area well beyond the confines of the city of Anchorage.

[Bowlersbus]

mytime - so right didn't think of that. Unlike me - who LOVE the boards and always read them, some only use them when they cruise.

 

negc - I am geographically challenged. Yes I did see that - Aleyska was not part of Downtown choices.

I thought the same, as season was ending prices would go down.

I have been watching for 45 days and prices are still very HIGH for the next/last week of season.

Even my usual back ups, HILTON properties are outrageous.

 

I'll have to try the reliable (;)) CC search function now.

 

Thanks : )

 

.

[vbmom87]

mytime - so right didn't think of that. Unlike me - who LOVE the boards and always read them, some only use them when they cruise.

 

negc - I am geographically challenged. Yes I did see that - Aleyska was not part of Downtown choices.

I thought the same, as season was ending prices would go down.

I have been watching for 45 days and prices are still very HIGH for the next/last week of season.

Even my usual back ups, HILTON properties are outrageous.

 

I'll have to try the reliable (;)) CC search function now.

 

Thanks : )

 

 

 

.

 

Try checking the Anchorage Forum on Trip Advisor. Perhaps someone there has posted their Priceline wins.

[Suzanne123]

I booked the Mt. Alyeska Hotel through Priceline last winter (just got back and absolutely loved the hotel). Anyway, even though it was booked through the Priceline web site, it was really a fixed price that was charged right away but could have been canceled with a full refund as a regular hotel booking. There was no name your own price option, but I did save about $50 on the regular price and we were upgraded at check in to a 7th floor room with mountain view. I believe the original booking was for a floor 1-4 with no mountain view.

I would stay there again in a heartbeat. It's only 40 minutes or so south of Anchorage along the Cook Inlet, you really feel like you're in Alaska, and with the amenities, service and views it's not overpriced IMO.

(Stop at the Bake Shop on the way to Alyeska for some unbelievable cinnamon rolls and platter sized pancakes.) :)

 

If Priceline doesn't work for you, try Hotwire. You can use the betterbidding web site to try to discern which hotel you are bidding on by the icons. I just looked at next weekend and they have quite a few options. Good luck.

[Suzanne123]

Sorry - forgot to add that Mt. Alyeska can be had for $149.

[Bowlersbus]

thanks for the Great advice -

 

This afternoon I tried a 3 star - Anchorage downtown area and bid $85 figured I could always go up in 24hrs.

 

NO GO : ( so tomorrow, I big $90 LOL

[Tricia724]

I bid off and on for a month trying to get a hotel in Anchorage for this coming Saturday, August 28. I started bidding at $85 and bid up to $100 for both 4 stars and then 3 stars. No dice. I finally just gave up and booked a room.

 

I figured it wasn't worth it to go any higher. By the time I paid the Priceline fees and possibly a cab fare, I wouldn't be much ahead, if at all.

[Bowlersbus]

tricia - not what I wanted to hear! Ugh,.

 

30 mins ago (5pm FL time) I bid - 3 stars - Anchorage - $95 = NO GO

 

if you don't mind - what did u get and what did u pay? We are going to be there Sept 11th-13th.

[jjlasolas]

We usually always priceline b/c my husband loves doing it and has practically mastered the research part of it. We pricelined one in Vancouver for the Hyatt (pre cruise) and then in Anchorage. I believe we ended up doing 2.5 star and got the Inlet Hotel for $75....can't beat that! The inlet provides a free shuttle service from the Train station (we took the train from seward to anchorage).

 

Review on Inlet Hotel-we got what we paid for-$75-can't expect much, but we literally just wanted a place to crash before we headed to Denali. As we always do priceline-we were shocked though as we checked in. Apparently, Inlet did not receive Priceline's booking list and were overbooked by 25 rooms! It was a mess, and after some fighting, we got what we wanted. A bridal party unfortunately was not so lucky. They ended up putting them up in Midtown, as everything downtown was booked, which is farther away. Inlet wasn't the most accommodating, but we were fine with it for one night. I wouldn't recommend it for a longer stay though.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck. If you know the ins/outs of pricelining-you can't beat it!

 

 

 

 

 

Ok - calling all Priceline masters.

I am booking 2 nites in Anchorage after our cruise.

Staying an extra week on our own.

 

I don't want to end up at the Aleyska - just becuz it's so far away.

 

Has anyone used priceline to book a hotel in Anchorage?

 

If so - what "star" rating did u pick -

what did u bid & were you happy?

Honestly I don't know how people travel with out all the information we get on this site.

 

Thanks

[Bowlersbus]

jjlasolas - I used priceline too for our Vancouver nite before the cruise - got Hyatt for $75 I was SHOCKED.

I always start low and then bid up.

 

I looked on trip advisor and inlet had HORRIBLE reviews.

So I was worried that I'd snag that one when I first bid $85 in anchorage.

Its another 24hours and I will bid again soon. And I check their regular site first, becuz in the Past I have noticed that hotels here in FL

often change Star ratings.

[Bowlersbus]

ok my bad - DUH

I guess Noon today is NOT 24 hours later than 5pm yesterday!

:p

So I - wait.

 

 

[jjlasolas]

Bowlerbus-

 

Yes, we got the Hyatt for $89 July 28-30th. We had absolutely no complaints for the Hyatt. Beautiful and fantastic location for what we wanted to do (Stanley Park, Granville Island, and close enough to port).

 

As for Anchorage...when my husband was doing the research, there weren't many choices for 4 star or above and/or prices were pretty high. I know we kept going back and forth pricing between 3.5-3-3.5 stars, trying to get the Sheraton or Hilton, but trying to only stay in downtown area. If you have time, take it slow and do your max bids/day within the 24 hr period. We ended up getting the room very last minute.

 

Yes, as I mentioned before, for one night with only a place to crash, Inlet did the job, but it is not recommended for a longer period of time. We also rented a car, so we had a little more freedom if by chance we ended up a little farther away than desired.

 

I would also suggest always checking regular prices, hotwire, and priceline (regular without bidding) to see where they are at b/c we found as those prices increased, the hotels we wanted were less likely to have openings for priceline bids.

[Bowlersbus]

OK 5:30 here in FL and Priceline was

NO GO for 3 star @ $100 :(

I was gonna try 3.5 star

but I didn't' want the Millenium. LOL :confused:

 

Gonna Kayak check now.

I still have time - and there are plenty still available.

So I wait patiently. :cool:

[Bowlersbus]

Ok sat - 11:45pm

3 star - Downtown - bid $105

NO GO

 

Crap - I am gonna have to bite the bullet and pay their price.

Grrr

[Bowlersbus]

Its official

Priceline HATES me - LOL

Sun - 3 star bid $110 - NO GO

Mon - 3 star bid $115 - NO GO

[greatam]

Don't have a clue what dates you are bidding for but I got the Millenium (love that hotel) for $122. Booked about a month ago and stayed there Saturday night.

 

Why you would turn down Alyeska or Millenium is beyond me, particularly if you are staying before and after your cruise? Millenium is one of the best hotels in Anchorage. The views from the patio and some of the rooms sure beat anything in downtown.

[Bowlersbus]

greatam - I didn't want to rent a car. Just figured the 3 stars downtown would be easier.

 

sept 11-13

[greatam]

greatam - I didn't want to rent a car. Just figured the 3 stars downtown would be easier.

 

sept 11-13

 

Travelocity has their "top secret" hotels priced about $100 + taxes and fees for 3* Anchorage hotels for your dates. One of them is most likely the Marriott downtown.

 

I understand you don't want to rent a car. No car needed at the Millenium-there are plenty of taxis available. Just don't understand the "downtown" aspect.

[ostrich2]

I booked the Comfort Inn Ship Creek through Priceline for my trip and did not have a good experience (although I don't have any reason to suppose this has anything to do with Priceline particularly). I had never booked a hotel via Priceline before though so I don't know if I just got unlucky or whether Ship Creek is a badly run hotel.

 

I was scheduled to arrive on the evening of the 5th and my connecting flight to Denver was significantly delayed, so I didn't end up arriving at the hotel until about 2am. I had already called them from Denver hours before and told them about my flight delay, and the person at the desk confirmed that they had my reservation and that they'd mark me down as a late arrival. I told them I expected to be arriving well after midnight for sure.

 

Upon finally arriving at the hotel, I was told that they were fully booked and they did not have a room for me. This was needless to say not welcome news since I was scheduled to be at the train station for my railroad trip up to Seward at 6:45am as it was. I can't understand how they could have overbooked or screwed this up since I had already reconfirmed everything with them from the airport.

 

They ended up giving me a cab ride to another hotel for the night as alternate accomodation so at least I was able to get an hour or two of rest before I had to get up again, although it wasn't ideal because it was across the city and I picked Ship Creek in the first place because it was right by the rail depot.

 

Even that wasn't entirely free of issues - in the morning I asked the person at the desk how I was going to get back to Ship Creek, since the idea was I was supposed to return there for the 2nd night. I told them I was going to be on the railroad early in the morning and not back until the evening, so I needed to know what to do. The lady called Ship Creek while I was standing there and asked them when they were expecting me back there, and she said the evening right in front of me. So I anticipated leaving my stuff there, getting it in the evening and checking out from the hotel and going over to Ship Creek. They had a cab for me to take me back to the Ship Creek (to get the shuttle over to the depot though, not to check in) and fortunately I decided to ask the person at the desk about storing passport and valuables in their safe - then she changes her tune and tells me, no, I'm supposed to take all my stuff over the Ship Creek right now and they'll give me the room in the evening. Huh? So time is starting to get short now and I have to rush back up to my room and pack everything up and get out of there - and in the rush I left a jacket and some of my prescriptions behind. It looked like I wasn't going to get them back either, as they staff there seemed unable to locate any of it when I inquired. Finally the morning I was leaving before I checked out I had them check one last time and someone had located my stuff, so I did get it back.

 

After all was said and done they ended up not charging me for the first night room charge because of the reservation problem, so they did make an effort to make up for the issue and it ended up working out mostly okay in the end, but I was not at all impressed with their organization and general competence. When I inquired with Priceline their response was basically "well the hotels sometimes are overbooked". Really? Do they mean I can't count on a hotel reservation I've made when I arrive? If so I certainly am never booking through Priceline again.

[PatriciaF]

What a hassle--but I don't think it has to do with Priceline. I have had a similar thing happen to me in Memphis and hotel my company regularly booked. Flight was quite late, when I got to hotel it was fully booked--even though I had a guaranteed for late arrival room. Moved me to hotel across the street (an Adams Mark--so much nicer) but at midnight who cares! Then they wanted me to check back in to the original hotel for one night. Did not do it.