Owen O'Neill

As those of you who read my fairly regular (and typo-ridden) posts can attest, I'm not a shill for Priceline or anyone else but this was such an incredible deal that I just couldn't pass on the opportunity to share to in this forum. If you're a disbeliever in Priceline please move to some other post and don't waste all of our time by throwing in your criticism here (by the way - I've tried them for airline tix several times and was never able to get a deal - I only seem to do well with hotels). I'm planning my late August trip to Seattle for the Bumbershoot festival and was researching recent winning bids at www.biddingfortravel.com - spotted a post by a guy who had just won a night in late June or July for $40 per night at the new Elliot Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle. It's a new facility in the financial district on Pine Street and the assumption is that perhaps Hyatt has put some inventory on Priceline to get the occupancy rate up and get sopme rooms filled quick until they get established. I bid for two rooms for five nights (Aug 29 - Sept 3). First bid at $35 for downtown zone 4* only and after that was rejected I did a "free rebid" by adding Bellevue (which has no 4* hotels and thus I'm assured of only getting a downtown hotel if I win). Sure enough... my second bid at $40 per night was a winner! I got the Crowne Plaza last year for the same weekend and my Priceline price was $60 - a good deal as walk-ins were paying $169 per night that weekend. This Hyatt deal is just insanely good! It's probably short-lived and there's not guarantee of getting this hotel but if you can take a chance and limit yourself to a $40 max bid you might get lucky like I did.

Joe

If you go to the individual hotel website (not the chain one) you would be able to find rates lower than the ones priceline, hotwire, expedia, orbitz (just to mention a few) offer.

Pat

Thanks, Owen...I just faxed your post to my sister who will be visiting her daughter in Seattle this summer!

Tom

Oh really Joe? The hotel's best rate for those dates on their own site is $129.

Owen O'Neill

JOe - perhaps I should have mentioned it... I always check all sources including the hotel's direct booking website and sometimes even a phone call to be sure. The "Internet Only" special offer that Hyatt has for this hotel was $198 per night for "regular" customers and $129 for senior citizen rate (two double bed rooms only for the senior rate). Non Internet price was $235. I do check carefully before bidding on Priceline and I remain convinced that there is absolutely no way I could have gotten a deal like this through any other means. A quick check of typical downtown Seattle rates will confirm this. As a matter of fact, I doubt that there's a Hyatt anywhere in the US that ever sells rooms direct for $40 per night. Just a guess.

Dan

Thanks for the tip, Owen! My family will be in Seattle in late June. I locked into Priceline and got the same $40/night deal at the Elliott Grand Hyatt. (I also checked into its website--they advertise $260 as the rack rate, but offer an Internet-only deal of $169/night).

Cynthia

Owen
I'm in Seattle and I wanted to let you know that the new Hyatt in downtown is an absolutely wonderful elegant hotel. I have heard that their occupancy is not what they want so take advantage of it now. I have also heard good things about their new restaurant, 727 ,although I don't think they are giving any deals there. Enjoy your trip to the Northwest and Bumbershoot.

Susan

Owen, you've got me thinking! I wonder if REM will perform this year at Bumbershoot? If they do, it will be like their only concert performance this year. I may have to take advantage of this deal. Plus, Southwest is still offering Friends Fly Free through May 23. Hmmmm, another trip to plan.....

Owen O'Neill

Great to hear those good things about the Elliot Grand Hyatt. Even if REM does't play it's sure to be a good time. What a great festival - incredible diversity in music and truly well-organized with a laidback and fun but energetic and well behaved crowd. I enjoyed Seattle so much on my trip there last year that I'm arriving six days early this year to explore the outlying areas (Olympic Peninsula, coastal areas etc) - any suggestions will be appreciated.

Wendy

To Owen and the other Bumbershoot fans the lineup for this year will be posted later this month:

http://www.bumbershoot.org/

Bonus points for those who know what the word Bumbershoot means!

Wendy

Leslie

Bumbershoot is the Brit's term for an umbrella. When I first read this thread I thought Owen was going to an umbrella festival, that is, until others started mentioning different bands.

pj

Wooo Hooo!!!! I have never used priceline before, but we are going to Seattle this summer. We are staying at the Elliot Grand for 40.00!!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!! Thanks for your post Owen!! PJ

Capo

Wendy & Leslie, nice to see you guys here! I rarely visit the U.S. board, but decided to tonight, saw Seattle mentioned, and decided to check out the thread.

Yeah, Bumbershoot is a fine arts festival, definitely worth planning a trip to Seattle around, especially if you love music. The music might not be as extensive as at New Orleans' Jazz Festival, but it's still wonderful. REM's Friday night show there a few years ago was great. Can't say I've heard any rumors flying around that they'll be playing at Bumbershoot again, but who knows?


Owen, you described Bumbershoot very well. Thanks.

The Olympic Peninsula is a good choice to visit. The drive around Lake Crescent, and Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, are especially beautiful. The coast -- the northern coast is the most rugged and scenic -- is also a good choice, but I'm not that familiar with particular areas.

If you wanted to visit an interesting town in that general area, try Port Townshend, with a lot of Victorian buildings downtown and a Bumbershoot-friendly vibe. From Port Angeles, near the entrance to Olympic National Park (and where an alert customs agent nailed Ahmed Ressam in late December, 1999), you can take a ferry to Victoria, B.C., which is worth visiting if only to see the beautiful harbor.

If you wanted something away from the Olympics and the coast, I'd suggest driving up to Mt. Rainier, to either Paradise or Sunrise lookouts. Or maybe the Mt. St. Helens lookout, where you can peer into the crater.

And finally, if you felt like another urban adventure, Portland is only about two hours away and Vancouver, B.C., only about three.

Hope you enjoy Bumbershoot again.

Sam

Joe, VERY RARELY (if ever) does any website beat Priceline if you know how to bid. Usually, you can even beat the Hotwire price by quite a bit.

Case in point: last week I stayed at a Sheraton for $50 via Priceline. Hotwire's price for the same quality level was $84. The Sheraton website had a $99 special and the hotel discount sites like Turbotrip had $119.

Don

For those of you interested in Bumbershoot, a list of confirmed artists for this year's festival is now at the following link:

http://www.bumbershoot.org/lineup.html

As usual, there's something for everybody. Personally, I can't wait to see El Vez--the Mexican Elvis!

Don

Oh, I forgot to note that the final list of artists (and which dates they'll be performing) will be available on July 12th on the Bumbershoot Web site.

Jill Z. Smith

GEEEEZZ!!!! I went on priceline and got the same rooms at the Hyatt for $90 and thought I was cutting a fat hog!! Oh well, still a bargain in my book, just wish I would have seen this first!!