Priceline only guarantees a room for 2 and they give you the room they have available. That may be a king bed. And, they have the right to not allow you to stay in the room with 3 people.

Camping is a great way to go. We still do this. You can even rent gear from places such as REI if you don't have your own or don't know anyone to borrow from. There is no reason at all for tents to be smelly, etc. Find a campground at a lake and take some fishing rods. You can catch your own dinner:) Some campgrounds even have toilets and showers in case you can't do without those.

Another idea is to go backpacking. Basically camping without a bunch of other people and IMO, much nicer. Again, you can rent gear if you don't have it. But it would be something new to try.

There's always Motel 6 - pack a cooler and buy ice to keep milk cold. You can have cereal and milk for breakfast that way. :-)

Lee Ann

Yeah, I think the general tone is that $500 isn't sufficient for a hotel and meals in restaurants, but with ingenuity and lowered expectations, you can have a nice time.

Priceline won't work for the OP as they have 3 people. PL only guarantees room for up to 2 persons.

OTOH, if you try Hotwire, you can specifically put in "3 persons" and they'll only list hotels that can definitely sleep 3.

aliska - is there anywhere you can go where you can stay with friends or family? Okay, maybe not for 5 nights but even for 2 or 3 nights out of the 5? That way, you'll have more $ to spend. And since you have family in Chicago, why not go to Chicago and use it as a base (and stay w/family for free) for 2 days, then do a 3-day trip from Chicago?

Recently, DH & I took 2 trips, one to Omaha and one to NYC. We stayed w/friends on both trips. Those ended up being really budget trips for us!

I like the idea of cabin camping at a state park. That along with a cooler of food should come in on budget. Why not try to find a place 2-3 hours away instead of 8-9? That could help keep costs down too.

I have a different suggestion. Can you do this with another family? If you pool your resources you could go on VRBO and rent a place for 4 nights with 2 or 3 bedrooms and a pull out, and split the costs. They have kitchens and you can do most meals at home. I went with my husband and 2 other couples to Cozumel last summer. We rented a house with 3 bedrooms and 3 baths and it cost us about $700 a couple for a week.

I can;t imagine anyplace that has a hotel for 3 for $50 per night (leaving you only $50 per day for food for 3 people - which would cover supermarket premade sandwiches or fast food places). I mean think about it -$5 per meal for 3 people equals $45 per day.

It seems you need to either do something free (any relatives you can visit for several days?) - or cut the trip down to a long weekend somewhere - and your budget is still minute.

$500 isn't the max, there's a credit card available for some meals.
If it were me and money were tight, I'd stick closer to home instead of spending $150 on gasoline. How about Louisville or Lexington, with day trips to state parks or lakes nearby?

With the Orbitz deal, you can get a little motel in Bowling Green, Kentucky for $150 plus taxes, including pool and a mini-breakfast for 5 nights. Pretty amazing. Take a day trip to Louisville, a day trip to Mammoth Caves etc. It's nice just to get away.

Why not just go to Hocking Hills ? If you are looking city, Pittsburgh may also be a close-by option. Also, rafting on the New River in W. Va.

Regarding the issue with beds on Priceline, we did our homework on Bidding for Travel and were pretty sure that we would get the LaQuinta based on the area and star level we were bidding.

With three people, I think it would be pretty easy. You should always call the hotel direct with specific requests once you've obtained a Priceline reservation. You can always go for a rollaway if needed.

Why not consider a camping trip to the Hocking Hills, plenty of hiking and other things to explore... Mid way thru the camping take the short drive to Logan and visit the Dairy Queen for a treat.. You may even come home with a few bucks in your pocket.