nannibray

Am I an optimist to question getting a hotel room at one of the expensive hotels on the Kohala Coast through Priceline? They all seem way over budget. Any other options in that area other than staying on the ocean in one of the big resorts?
Thanks.

sylvia3

Be warned, if you are bidding for the resorts of Waikoloa (Hilton, Marriott, etc.) and north, your lowest bid will almost certainly get you the Hapuna Prince (which often retails in the low to mid-100s on sale; for November, for example, it's $189 on their website: http://www.princeresortshawaii.com/h...otel/index.php). It's not the same level of luxe (but oh! the beach!), if that's what you're looking for.

A condo rental is a good option; you can usually find a nice one with a nice pool for the cost of a hotel room. Not a lot that are actually beachfront, but they can get pretty close.
Here's the main Waikoloa resort (not Village) page: some units are as low as $100! The one we liked for that price (http://www.vrbo.com/413069) is (no surprise) pretty booked, but you can check your dates on similar.

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...aikoloa-resort

FrankS

Like Sylvia said, you will probably get the Hapuna Prince. Nov, I would say start bidding priceline around 135 & work your way up. The 4.5 on Hotwire has been Mauni Lani

Rather that trying to save a few dollars away from the beach, go with Hapuna.....its a great location

nannibray

Thank you, sylvia3 and FrankS. The Hapuna Prince sounds great. I like that it is mort North.
More questions:
1) Our date is 1 night - Feb 27. Is it too early to bid now? Get a better price if closer to our stay date?

2) How many stars is the Hapuna Prince when I bid? We don't need a 4.5 so will we get a
better price if I bid a lower star?

3) Which site is best to bid on? Priceline is the only one I know and I have only bid once before.
Makes me nervous but do not want to pay "rack rate".

FrankS

I chek'd your date on Hotwire, and none of the Kohala Coast beachfronts are even listed yet. If the resorts arent on Hotwire yet, I doubt they will be competitive on Priceline. Give it a couple of months and/or get advice on 'Better Bidding's website. When someone gets a deal on Priceline, the first place they run to to brag about it is Better Bidding. You can get lucky and know what to bid your first time- My strategy otherwise would be to take a 'competitive' hotwire price and start 15% below it and work your way up

btw-The only listed for KC on Hotwire is a 3* for $88(I'll guess its Paniolo Greens). Not close to the beach at all, but a nice place if you just need a room

sylvia3

Paniolo Greens is a condo complex 7 miles inland.
Hotwire IS showing availability for February; but it's the same price as the hotel website.

You could make a reservation now, and cancel later, if you really want the Hapuna Beach Prince. Check for sales closer to the date.
Priceline is best as a last minute (<3 weeks or so) reservation. Don't go under the maximum star rating, you will not get what you want!
Current price for HP on/about your date is $219. Waikoloa Hilton and Marriot are about $15 higher.
Don't forget to check on resort fees to add on to cost.
(The Hotels.com website is also showing the same prices, so best bet is a cancellable/refundable booking from the source.)

sylvia3

p.s. I meant that hotwire is showing the Hapuna Prince for $219.
You'll want to go in with a "resort" bid for the kohala coast. Do a little research at betterbidding.com. and biddingfortravel.com: the prince went for $140 in Sept., and a couple of people got the Marriott for $130! (but I wouldn't use the biddingfortravel link when you finally get ready to bid; people have grumbled that the prices can be higher on the second-party sites).

nannibray

I appreciate your patience with my inexperience with bidding. Will wait a couple months to bid, but... in the meantime, what is the appropriate procedure in bidding?

1) How many stars is the Hapuna Beach Prince?
2) Do I enter WAILOLOA, Hawaii for the city name?
3) If I add RESORT will that get me ON THE BEACH for sure? How exactly should I "word" the bid?

I called and talked to the Hapuna Beach Prince and they were not sure of the star rating. Said it was probably a 3.5. Is that what it is listed as on Priceline? (BTW they said there was no resort fee. Parking $15.)

4) When I do get an accepted price, can they then tag on the 13.42% tax to what I bid or does my price also include taxes and fees?

Many, many thanks!

SiteC_er

We really enjoyed Hapuna Prince!

FrankS

1) Id say its a 4* on Hotwire and 'Resort' on Priceline
2) KOA for Hotwire and Kohala Coast for Priceline
3) Not on Priceline, but Hotwire will show a list of amenities that will show 'beachfront' when it is...IMO the Marriott doesnt have a real beach
4)Yes

I would have a hard time believing its not a resort on Priceline, but I could see a picky traveler saying its a 3.5(Its a bit tired)

Caution- Rebid zones
If you add Kona as a rebid zone, pack your bags as you will get the Sheraton. If you want the Sheraton, start bidding no higher than $90

sylvia3

Your PL price includes all taxes and PL fees, but NOT resort fees. Check those for the places you think you will be bidding on (toll free, or website) and be prepared. So, your bid of, for example, $100 for a 4* wherever, might come back as "your final cost with taxes and fees $138"; you will then accept or not, and PL will search. You might get a counteroffer (usually the advice is don't take those; my first bids almost always get a "your bid has a very remote chance of being accepted"; I also ignore that). They might want you to rebid (changing a parameter, such as star level, date, location, in addition to price; that can get complicated and fun, but you have to do your due diligence on playing the game). So, you would start with one rating, and then add (4*, then add "resort" level). If nothing works, try again in 24 hours.
The Hapuna Prince is considered a resort on the PL site; at any rate, there are 5 hotels in your area ("kamuela") rated as 4 star (1; Mauna Kea Beach) or resort (4; Prince, Marriott and Hilton Waikoloa, and Fairmont Orchid). Note that PL might add places available at these ratings, or move boundaries, for "Name your own Price" (that's why you have to do some research on the sites I mentioned, or do "priceline hawaii hotel lists", or similar). You can walk through and check all this out with practice bids, at a price you know won't be taken ($5 for a 4*, for example), just to familiarize yourself with the process.
Also, check out HOTWire.com for an idea of what's available in the area you want; the ratings differ, but it gives you an idea. You can also research those "blind" hotels to puzzle out what HW offers and the star rating.
With a little research on other sites (one even will help walk you through your particular bid process), you can get very close to what you want (sometimes even better). Just don't get carried away and bid too much for a lesser place.
If you've had no luck getting the price you want, and have backup reservations that you can cancel with no penalty, there are also "last minute" options through PL and HW.

sylvia3

Oh, yes, remember not to go through a 3rd party site to make a reservation you will want to cancel; sometimes you can't, and sometimes it's a headache.

nannibray

Thank you, Frank and Sylvia.

Will file this away and give it a try later on. Meanwhile I will see what I can reserve without penalties as suggested.

Mary Ann

friendlytraveler

Warning. We had come to Hapuna Beach Prince for many years and loved it. But last year we won it on priceline pretty much how you have it described. Unfortunately, we got there and the room was awful. It was infested with ants (on the coffee maker, in the crevices of the bathroom, in the room) - basically everywhere but the beds (which were fine). Carpet was dirty. TV stopped working. The lanai had cat feces on it and was visited by cats and turkeys which people in lanais above us would throw bread down to. Dirty in the crevices of the bathroom too. Furniture in the public spaces had bird do on them, but we would have ignored that if our room hadn't been so dirty. We complained and were told, sorry, that's the way it is (sort of like our priceline $150 was worthless!)

Not worth the money we paid (which was at least $150) and honestly, I would stay elsewhere where it is clean and come to the public beach on my own.

sylvia3

True that the public beach access is very convenient for Hapuna; but walking out right onto that beach is also very nice.
Friendly, was the hotel full? I'm surprised that the standards of your room were so low; the Prince usually has a rep for clean, if not luxe.

FrankS

but walking out right onto that beach is also very nice.

nannibray

friendlytraveler's reply is concerning. Taking that into consideration, is there a recommendation for 1 night in Waikoloa Village? How far is WV from the beach? Is W Village a better option than staying in Waimea?

Melissa5

friendlytraveler's reply is funny.

I highly recommend Hotwire, when you want to save money. Hotwire lists the tripadvisor review ratings for hotels, and it also lists the ratings from Hotwire customers. If you stay with the 4-star or 3.5 star properties, and ONLY book the ones with high ratings, you will be happy. With hotwire, I only book on the section where you don't see the name of the hotel til you have booked it, because it has the best prices, and usually beats Priceline. (However I've never tried the bidding thing on Priceline.) It is true you shouldn't book on hotwire if you think you might want to cancel. You can't cancel with Hotwire.

Good luck and enjoy the trip.

sylvia3

NO NO NOT Waikoloa Village; it is 7 miles inland, and the only lodging for you would be condos.
Waikoloa BEACH Resort (Hilton, Hilton Vacation Club, Marriott Waikoloa, lots of condos)is the alternative you want.

Do NOT get a 3.5* on Hotwire; it will not be in the areas you want (you can research this on betterbidding and biddingfortravel, for example). I'm talking about your original wish list here, not Hotwire 3.5* in general.
"Usually beats Priceline": this might be true if you are NOT bidding, but at least on PL (main page, not bidding) you know what hotel you are getting. Hotwire rarely beats PL if you are bidding on PL (both are nonrefundable).
IF you get to the point where you just want to get the room without fussing with a 3rd party, PHONE the hotel and ask them to match the best price you found online (and have a screenshot, just in case). They would prefer to not go through a 3rd party, too.
RE: Hapuna Prince: check out tripadvisor reviews before you are discouraged by one person who had a bad experience. You can be thrilled by a 2*, and hate your time at a 5*; sometimes it's just bad (or good) luck. The Prince rating is based on spectacular setting and "resort" amenities; the actual rooms can be disappointing, if you were looking for luxury. Of course, ANY time you get a less-than clean room, you should go right to the front desk (no phone).