Molly

Has anyone ever used Priceline for resorts in St.John or St. Thomas? If so, did it work well, and how much did you bid? Thanks!

michele

Go to biddingfortravel.com. This is a website that has info about bidding on hotels, airfare, etc. through Priceline. From what I have read recently, the only hotel that participates in St. John is the Westin (this may change). I do not know about St. Thomas. I tried yesterday to bid on Priceline and got rejected twice.

molly

Hmm. You got rejected twice by priceline yesterday? That makes me nervous. Do you mind if i ask...did you bid for St. John and how much? I'll check out Biddingfortravel.com - thanks for the pointer!

Becca

I stayed at the Westin resort in St. John this past September by using Priceline. I bid $60 a night the first time with no luck, and then I tried again with $70 and that worked. I also checked out biddingfortravel.com to get pointers before I started bidding on Priceline. As far as I know, this is the only resort in St. John that Priceline has. Good luck!

molly

Thank you so much! Has anyone tried Priceline for St. Thomas?

Starfish

Question ... if you bid on Priceline and your bid is accepted, do you HAVE to take it or can you cancel? If so, how long do you have to decide?

Anna

I bid on St John last fall and received the Westin for $75 per night for a stay in November 2002 (low season). We decided to go back to St John the first week of April 2003, I went up to $140 with no success before we decided to rent a villa. I'm bidding on St Thomas now (need one night before and after our week at the villa on St John), I've gone up to $105 for 4*/resort with no success. The Marriott Frenchman's Reef and the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort have been reported as possible 4*/resort at biddingfortravel. That web site is great in helping you figure out what to bid.

molly

anna - that's great info. thank you. i think i'll give priceline a try tonight and see what happens.<BR>starfish - i believe you cannot cancel a priceline bid. you prepay, so i don't think you can retract once it's accepted.

michele

FYI: Yesterday, I bid for a six night stay in St. John for a resort hotel at $180/night. It was rejected. I re-bid for 4* resort at $200/night and it was also rejected. Today, the www.starwood.com website had room rates as low as $209. I went ahead and booked my reservation through that site. Of course, it depends on when you are planning to go to St. John, but if you are planning to do so in March, I suggest looking at the hotel website ASAP. Otherwise, give priceline.com a try. Although other people on this board think $200/night is a lot to pay for the Westin St. John, it is the best rate they've had in a long, long time.

MB

I also was rejected trying to get rooms on either St. John or St. Thomas over Valentine's Day weekend (a very busy time for them). So, just keep in mind that if you are bidding during peak travel, priceline may not even have inventory for those dates. Biddingfortravel.com is a great resource for anyone using (or considering) priceline.

molly

michele - i was rejected last night on priceline too for st.john w/$180-resort being my max. the cheapest room i could find on the Westin website was for $219 - how did you find the $209 rate? Thanks.

jcb

Molly -<BR><BR>Did you attempt priceline yesterday? I also want to go to St John in April/May and wish to go thru priceline if at all possible. If you read the posts on BFT, it seems that some are currently not having any luck. The Westin website has rooms at $399/night. According to the BFT administrator, priceline probably doesn't have any inventory if the prices are at a high rate. Let us know how your search goes!! Best of luck!!

molly

I did try priceline yesterday. I'm hoping to secure a &quot;resort&quot; for March. We'll see! THanks.

michele

I think I got the last $209 rate. $219/night is not much different and in fact, was still available this morning for the Westin St. John in March (depending on your dates). I would skip Priceline and book directly through the starwood.com website for the $219 rate. You will be guaranteed a room at the Westin and you will not have to pay up front (you can also cancel if you want to up until 3 weeks before your stay). I think the extra $20 or so bucks/night by booking through the Westin website is worth it.

molly

thanks for the scoops on the westin. i did book through starwood's website at the $219 rate. seems like a good deal!

alex

Did that $219 rate include all the taxes and resort fees?

michele

No, there is an additional $8/day fee and 15% tax. Still, that's a $260/night room which is pretty good for high season.<BR><BR>Molly--when are you going to the Westin in March? Maybe I'll see you there.

michele

I checked the Starwood website today and the rates for the Westin St. John in March are back up to the extreme prices of $400+. Looks like Molly got in in just the nick of time.

michele

I checked the Starwood website today and the rates for the Westin St. John in March are back up to the extreme prices of $400+.

molly

michele-i think everybody started booking the westin rooms w/the $219 rate b/c it's so much more reasonable than their normal rates. i feel pleased! we'll be there in march.