We will be in Monterey in mid September. Since we only need a clean and safe place to sleep I want to find the least expensive lodging possible. Most of the usual lower priced lodging are more expensive than I expected. I have found 4 places on Munras where I can get a room for $69/night. They are the Days Inn, Best Western, El Adobe Inn, and Del Monte Pines. Can anyone offer me any information on these places?

I may also bid on a room through Priceline, although I have never done this before. I want to go ahead and make a reservation that can be cancelled and then possibly use Priceline closer to our travel dates.

Check out biddingfortravel.com it seems that the Hyatt Monterey comes up alot for the price range you're suggesting.

We stayed at the Hyatt on a PL bid a year or so ago. Gorgeous grounds, typical Hyatt hotel. Friends stayed there recently through PL for $45/night/double and got a breakfast voucher too. Check out biddingfortravel.com, as recommended above, to find out the amount of recent successful bids.

I can't speak for each or any of those hotels individually, but they are all in a safe and nice location. Have you checked tripadvisor.com to see if any of them have been reviewed by others? You didn't mention if you are traveling for pleasure? If you were planning to go to the aquarium, there are lots of nice places that offer discounted tickets, with breakfast, included in the price of the room which makes the room very inexpensive. If you go to the aquarium site, you'll see a few of them posted in the accomodations links. I have purchased these before as a gift for family with kids who are visiting the area.
The Munras hotels are older, but well located. They all have "cute" and "well kept" grounds. ...(there are parts of Monterey that are not desirable, like any city)

All in all, your best bet (forgive the pun) will very likely be Priceline, especially in September.

... just got back from checking tripadvisor.com. Del Monte Pines is the only one with poor reviews. It seems that the other three were liked pretty universally. But read the reviews for yourself, k? If you are trying to match the hotel to the addresses, Munras turns into Abrego, so I think the Days inn and Best western are actually located on Abrego. Be sure you check the RIGHT Best Western and Days Inn in Monterey. There are several.

Betsy & Petal,

Thanks for the advice. I think I will probably try Priceline, but not until closer to our trip. Due to health issues with my parents I'm never sure when my plans could change. Do you know if I can wait until a week or so before the trip to bid on Priceline and still be able to get a room at a good price?

I will check Tripadvisor. The hotels being older doesn't bother me. We have many plans for the day and just as long as we have a safe and clean place to sleep, that's all that matters. I did check the aquarium web-site today. The least expensive package I could find was $135. Even with 2 tickets, that's more than I want to pay.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions. It makes me feel better about one of the less expensive hotels if Priceline doesn't work out. I think I'll go ahead and make a reservation I can cancel and see what happens when the time to go gets closer.

It's fine to wait until the last minute to bid on PL. In fact, it's possible that you might snare a lower bid if a hotel has a lot of availability. Be sure to follow the instructions at BiddingforTravel before you bid.