Summary of Winning Bids on Priceline, Hotwire, etc.

[ace1zoe2]

Sorry, I forgot to say that the resort I got was the Marriott San Juan Resort and Stellaris Casino!

[karenesl79]

Hi,

I've been reading these boards for months. So far priceline has not accepted any of my bids for 01/31/09. I started bidding in May

San Juan-

Resort-started with many low bids then

$146

$151

$157

$162

 

4 star

$123

$126

$136

$142

 

3 star

$96

$106

$116

$121

All denied

Am I just not going high enough? I have read many lower bids. Do you feel it is worth the $5.00 insurance that priceline offers? I appreciate any help someone can give me.

Karen

[toonjie]

Hi,

I've been reading these boards for months. So far priceline has not accepted any of my bids for 01/31/09. I started bidding in May

San Juan-

Resort-started with many low bids then

$146

$151

$157

$162

 

4 star

$123

$126

$136

$142

 

3 star

$96

$106

$116

$121

All denied

Am I just not going high enough? I have read many lower bids. Do you feel it is worth the $5.00 insurance that priceline offers? I appreciate any help someone can give me.

Karen

 

Don't worry, the end of January is prime season so you just have to be patient. Stick with resort only and keep trying, go up a bit to $165, a few have gotten the Marriott lately at that price. Good luck and let us know what happens.

[nessymarie]

ok had to change my cruise and needed to add an extra night pre cruise, i had gotten the La Concha for the 18-20 so for 12/20-12/21

 

110 San juan resort declined

120 mayaguez-isabela resort declined

137 dorado resort - accepted

 

Marriott San Juan Resort And Stellaris Casino

 

Subtotal: $137.00

Taxes and Service Fees: $30.60

Total Charges*: $167.60

[Kylie]

Hi Vanessa-

Join us on the Carnival Roll Call boards. Several of us that will also be cruising over Christmas on the Victory have been posting there.

We are excited about the great itinerary!

 

Kristi

[GLCAS]

Congrats! So happy for you guys! You will love it and that's a good price for January.

 

Has anyone had success on these dates? And what is a good price for Dec, I think it is low season isn't it?

[toonjie]

Has anyone had success on these dates? And what is a good price for Dec, I think it is low season isn't it?

 

Yes, that's still low season, before the Christmas holiday kicks in. Anything under $130 is golden anytime. Bid early and often! Good luck!

[GLCAS]

I see a few who rave about the Wyndham in PR. On the map it looks like it is a ways from everything. Any info on this appreciated. If I bid resort, is there a possibility that I get this instead of Marriott or Renaissance?:confused:

[sweetair]

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*

[Lois R]

I see a few who rave about the Wyndham in PR. On the map it looks like it is a ways from everything. Any info on this appreciated. If I bid resort, is there a possibility that I get this instead of Marriott or Renaissance?:confused:

 

The Rio Mar? I will be staying there in January. I am not arriving

till middle of the afternoon and after looking at the photos

I will be more than happy to just enjoy the grounds. It looks

like Utopia from the pictures:D

I usually stay in Old San Juan but when I got this on

Priceline I was more than happy with it:)

 

Different strokes for different folks:)

 

Hi Sweet, good to see you again. Still sailing the M class

ships?

 

 

The Wyndam has a shuttle for 30.00. It cost me 20.00

with a cab to Old San Juan. I am ok with the 10 extra bucks;)

[toonjie]

I see a few who rave about the Wyndham in PR. On the map it looks like it is a ways from everything. Any info on this appreciated. If I bid resort, is there a possibility that I get this instead of Marriott or Renaissance?:confused:

 

Wyndham is about an hour out of San Juan right across from El Yunque. It's a great resort if you rent a car and can eat off sight or just want to enjoy a large resort. It is also a great location to stay for visiting Culebra and Vieques for day trips or the biobay in Fajardo. It's not a great location if you primarily want to tour Old San Juan. Click on my AOS report and go to the last few pages for loads of pics and info on the area. As for bidding, Priceline only has resorts in 2 areas, San Juan and Rio-Grande-Humacao. You can bid and select resort only and then select San Juan as your area. If your bid is not accepted, you can up the bid a little and select San Juan and any other area besides Rio-Grande-Humacao and you will be able to get in another bid in the 24 hour period. Repeat the process until you run out of areas or the bid is accepted. If it isn't, then try again the next day. Good luck! (La Concha is a 4*, not a resort and is still being renovated, it's not new, lower level still wasn't complete when we were there in May)

[DKLI]

Tried this Priceline thing this morning...

 

Bid Resort in San Juan - May 5th for one night

$110 - Rejected

$120 - in Dorado - Accepted

At El San Juan Hotel and Casino

$120/night

+ 27.83 Fees and Taxes

---------

$147.83 Total

 

Hope I like it:o . Seems ok from reviews on here.

 

Thank you all for your help. Made it pretty easy for a newbie.

Karen

[heyduke55]

Tried this morning for Jan 31 2009

95 failed

101 failed

108 failed

 

try again tomorrow

[green eyed lady]

Toonjie,

Just wanted to let you know we loved the El San Juan...just got back late last night...the rooms were beautiful...we had connecting rooms on the 8th floor...very modern and newly renovated...pool area is great...staff was all very nice and helpful. We loved it! :D And even better was getting it for $115/room/night on priceline :eek:

[toonjie]

Toonjie,

Just wanted to let you know we loved the El San Juan...just got back late last night...the rooms were beautiful...we had connecting rooms on the 8th floor...very modern and newly renovated...pool area is great...staff was all very nice and helpful. We loved it! :D And even better was getting it for $115/room/night on priceline :eek:

 

Great! Glad you liked it! Can't wait to hear all about your cruise! For those that just got the El San Juan, click on my AOS review link and scroll down to the end for loads of pics of the ESJ.

[DKLI]

Thanks Toonjie.

 

I was just wondering...how do you know what type room Priceline has booked you in? The Garden Lania rooms aren't getting such great reviews. Does Priceline put you in the least expensive rooms? Can I call to request a certain room/floor?

 

Thanks.

Karen

[toonjie]

Thanks Toonjie.

 

I was just wondering...how do you know what type room Priceline has booked you in? The Garden Lania rooms aren't getting such great reviews. Does Priceline put you in the least expensive rooms? Can I call to request a certain room/floor?

 

Thanks.

Karen

 

You don't know for sure what type of room you will get. You can call the hotel and request things like 2 double beds or a king bed, etc., but they probably won't guarantee it. Some hotels, like the Marriott, let you upgrade for a fee to an oceanview room. My little trick is to call and try and put in a frequent stay # to the reservation, that sometimes works, but it won't help you with the ESJ. You can sweet-talk the person who checks you in, that always helps!

[chev29]

Just got La Concha for $115. + taxes and fees for 6 Dec. from Priceline. First bid $115 for 4 star, denied, changed to 3 star for same price, and was accepted with upgrade to 4 star La Concha. Go figure. chev29

[sweetair]

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*

[green eyed lady]

Karen,

In answer to your question to Toonjie...we just got back from El San Juan and loved it! As soon as I won the bid on Priceline I went on their website and filled out one of their inquiry forms. They never answered me, but I called them a couple of weeks before we went there and they had all of my requests noted: connecting rooms, 1 king, 2 double, main tower with renovated rooms. Not only did they honor all of my requests, we also got partial ocean view rooms which was really nice. We have nothing bad to say about this hotel...we even asked for late checkout on the day we were leaving...the best they could do was 1:00 but they didn't charge us any extra for it. The pool area is just beautiful and we had a great time there...I hated to come home! :mad:

[Lois R]

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*

 

Hi Sweet:) .....yes, GO MICHAEL GO:D

 

As for the Wyndam...I am sure it will be just fine.;)

The pictures looks fantastic (in my opinion anyway).

It looks like a lush, beautiful resort.

I stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan and if memory

serves they added that tax onto the bill as well. I paid it

in cash so nothing went on my credit card...LOL

I'm not going to stress over it.

Oh, I have yet to try Princess...you must have about 100 cruises then...

15 on Princess....65 on Celebrity and then various others:)

 

GO USA:D

[DKLI]

Karen,

In answer to your question to Toonjie...we just got back from El San Juan and loved it! As soon as I won the bid on Priceline I went on their website and filled out one of their inquiry forms. They never answered me, but I called them a couple of weeks before we went there and they had all of my requests noted: connecting rooms, 1 king, 2 double, main tower with renovated rooms. Not only did they honor all of my requests, we also got partial ocean view rooms which was really nice. We have nothing bad to say about this hotel...we even asked for late checkout on the day we were leaving...the best they could do was 1:00 but they didn't charge us any extra for it. The pool area is just beautiful and we had a great time there...I hated to come home! :mad:

 

Great! Thanks so much for your help. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it. I will try e-mailing them with my requests.

 

Karen

[PrincessE]

Hi everyone -

 

My husband and I are sailing out of San Juan on February 8th - 14 day Caribbean Princess.

 

We are flying in on the 6th and sailing the 8th so we need two nights accommodations. We really want to stay in Old San Juan.

 

My travel agent is recommending I book the Condado Plaza for $647.50 (two nights, including tax). I'm having a major "gulp" attack here.

 

Any recommendations? I've never used Priceline before and when I went to their site to look at San Juan accommodations, I'm not sure which areas to put in, etc.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Erica

[DON M.]

Hi everyone -

 

My husband and I are sailing out of San Juan on February 8th - 14 day Caribbean Princess.

 

We are flying in on the 6th and sailing the 8th so we need two nights accommodations. We really want to stay in Old San Juan.

 

My travel agent is recommending I book the Condado Plaza for $647.50 (two nights, including tax). I'm having a major "gulp" attack here.

 

Any recommendations? I've never used Priceline before and when I went to their site to look at San Juan accommodations, I'm not sure which areas to put in, etc.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Erica

I have not seen any reports of anyone getting the Condado Plaza from Priceline. I would bid on the "resorts" of which they use 4 (or5) ie. Marriott, Hilton, Intercontin., El San Juan .All have very good reviews on CC with the Marriott probably having the most positive feedback. For your time of the year, I would start bidding at $140.00 per night and go from there.I dont think there is any way you would be paying $370.00 per at one the resorts Priceline uses.

[toonjie]

Hi everyone -

 

My husband and I are sailing out of San Juan on February 8th - 14 day Caribbean Princess.

 

We are flying in on the 6th and sailing the 8th so we need two nights accommodations. We really want to stay in Old San Juan.

 

My travel agent is recommending I book the Condado Plaza for $647.50 (two nights, including tax). I'm having a major "gulp" attack here.

 

Any recommendations? I've never used Priceline before and when I went to their site to look at San Juan accommodations, I'm not sure which areas to put in, etc.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Erica

 

lol. Your travel agent want to make a big commission! Stick with Priceline and you should be in the neighborhood of half the price! Condado Plaza is one of the Priceline possibilities and I would say all of the others are better, so you don't have to worry. Choose San Juan and if your bid is not accepted you can add any other area in PR except Rio-Grande-Humacao, which is the only other area Priceline has resorts in, and then rebid. Good luck!