jayne1973

My daughter will be attending a convention at the W Hotel in midtown Atlanta next week. If our plan for a Priceline bid doesn't pan out, can anyone suggest another property closeby that might have reasonable rates (under $100)?

starrs

Try Hotwire too. The prices won't be as low as Priceline's name your own price bid but will be lower than the hotel's rack rate. You're not going to get a midtown hotel for less than $100 when booking with the hotel.

Another option is to open up the bidding to Downtown and take MARTA.

starrs

Whoa! I just checked Hotwire rates for next Tues and Wed and prices are HIGH. The 3.5 star hotel I usually book is almost double the usual hotwire rate. The 3* is $107 but has low customer reviews %. The 4* is $179 (I think that's the W). Really high rates for those dates. One option is to enter your email and get alerts if the prices drop.

I added downtown to Hotwire and only 3 hotels were added - and their prices are high too. It must be a big convention.
Prices may drop closer to the stay.

Do NOT book something less than a 3*. At least, I wouldn't.

jayne1973

Thanks so much.

How would you assess the downtown option as far as safety?

starrs

If you are at one of the 4* hotels, you'll be fine. Or, she'll be fine. The problem with downtown is that it's pretty dead at night. The good thing is that the main 4* hotels connect to the Peachtree Center "mall" (not really a mall) with food court via elevated enclosed bridges and there's a MARTA station there. So, you can pretty much go to your hotel to the MARTA station without getting out in the hot/cold/wet/whatever weather.

Will she have a car? If so, the Decatur or Emory area would not be bad for driving in. Decatur is nice because it's a little town in the city with great restaurants and shops just steps away. Nothing worth mentioning on Priceline/Hotwire but the Holiday Inn just off the square in Decatur would be a good option.

jayne1973

Great info! She won't have a car so MARTA is important.

Looks like the 4-star downtown lodgings for Priceline are Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, and Glenn Hotel. Which ones are connected to the mall?

starrs

The Westin and the Marriott.

starrs

Wait. No, the Westin is across the street from the MARTA station. They are also replacing the glass windows on the entire building. It's a really big hotel. If you can get the Marriott Marquis, that would be the best choice (based on proximity to MARTA).

starrs

A new hotel that gets great reviews (especially for women business travelers) is the Ellis. It's next to the Marriott Marquis and across the street from the Four Seasons. But, it would be a block walk to the MARTA station and if she's traveling by herself at night she may prefer to grab a taxi back to the hotel.

http://www.ellishotel.com/guest-reviews/

Kay2

If she is going to Midtown via MARTA, then that also opens up the possibility of the hotels near the Buckhead and Lenox stations. Not sure if that will help for those dates.

stumpworks73

I am with Kay2. If your daughter can stay in Buckhead and MARTA to the meeting, she is better than downtown. Hoping you get the message that if you need to walk one block after dark you better take a taxi.

Kay2

I just checked AAA. I've had friends stay at the Doubletree and at the Hyatt Place on Peachtree Road near Piedmont Road (Buckhead MARTA station). They are both listed at $127 next week.
There is a Fairfield Inn down Piedmont Road, probably .5 mile from the MARTA station. I think some of the hotels around there run some shuttles to the MARTA, mall, etc., but I'm not sure.
Please check directly with the hotels and recent Tripadvisor reviews if she chooses one of these because I am not going by personal experience.

My niece has stayed at the Courtyard that is across the interstate from Midtown and said it was OK. I don't like the location right on the highway and she'd have to cross over on the bridge to get to the W and that could be a hot walk next week.

Kay2

Sorry, I left off the Fairfield price of $90.

Another idea--Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center rents rooms to the public. Again, not sure of the price and exact distance to W, but it can't be far. They run a trolley every half hour from a MARTA station that might also be near the W during regular term, but I do not know about during summer.

jayne1973

Thanks for all your replies, thoughts, suggestions and advice. This helps a lot-- Fodors rocks once again!

Jayne