Just wondering if anyone has every used price line to book a hotel room in Boston...Where did you end up and what star rating did you choose and how much per night....I am interested in going to Boston in the next couple of weeks and thinking of using price line to book a hotel room...don't really care where we stay, just kind of convenient to places but want 3 or 4 star hotel...any thoughts???

biddingfortravel.com

I have gotten 3 different hotel rooms in Boston. Feb 2002 Westin for $80 (4 star), Aug. 2002 Seaport for $85 (4 star), Nov 2003 Hyatt Financial District for $55 (4 star). Had a good experience with all 3 hotels.
We stayed at the Seaport in Sept. 2001 through their hotel site and paid $220 a night. This was before we discovered biddingfortravel and priceline. I believe we were treated the same on both visits.

In the summer of 2002, I bid at the last minute for a 2.5 star hotel and got the Holiday Inn in Brookline for $55/night. I tried 3-star hotels and had all my bids rejected. Considering this was a last-minute bid for a weekend and the hotel was in a good location, and it more than I expected from a 2.5 star, I was very pleased.

Andrew

The last weekend in January I stayed at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge through Priceline. It was $69 a night + tax.

It's a beautiful "boutique" hotel attached to the Cambridge mall. I really like the spotted leopard motif, even a fake fur throw at the end of the bed. Turndown service with chocolates, a wine reception in their bedouin-style lobby and they had wonderful concierge service.

It was not very far to the Lechmere greenline T stop. I'd walk through the mall, out the Sears, then two blocks up the street. The T is the end in that direction so trams were frequent since the A, B, C & D lines all departed from there to split off later.

What's the likelihood of getting two bedded rooms? Going next week with a friend and sure don't want to get stuck with one bed. (Already have "cancellable" reservations elsewhere)

If you must have two beds, the perhaps Priceline isn't for you. They only request a room for two people, and Boston is one of several cities in which many hotel rooms have only one bed. OTOH, sometimes you can get 2 rooms on PL for the price of one room through regular booking!

Anonymous is right. Bedding is a gamble with Priceline.

I've done very well and always gotten 2 beds when I need them. Probably (I'm guessing) a dozen times in the last one and half years.

On the other hand, I'm always going for the deal. If hotels are at capacity or sold out for a weekend, I'm not bidding Priceline to go then. In fact, that's the kind of weekend I try to avoid. If a city is packed with a convention or whatever, I don't want to be there.

Since I'm at hotels on "off" weekends I don't have a problem getting 2 beds in a room when I want it because the hotel has alot of availibility.

For my aforementioned stay in Boston I didn't need a double bed. I do know that their occupancy was low though. When I got up early Saturday morning there was a newspaper outside my door. There were only papers in front of a quarter of the doors on my floor.

I don't imagine that 75% of the rooms on the floor were up at 7:00am on a Saturday morning pulling their papers into their rooms.

Someone on BFT had a bid where they got a hotel (the Swissotel which is now the Hyatt Regency, I think) in which there were *no* two-bedded rooms in the whole hotel (other than for executive suites).

I've used Priceline for Boston several times a year and have always been very pleased. I use Hotwire as well. Generally, I check Hotwire first, as we've been more pleased with the hotels overall, though Priceline usually results in significantly lower rates.

I stick to 4*'s or more, and prefer Back Bay/Copley for location.

Most recently we stayed at the Marriott Copley Place for about $80/night and the Hyatt Financial District for $40/night with Priceline.

Hotel rates in Boston are at their lowest through March 31st.

If you're planning to use Priceline, definitely study the Hotel FAQ's at www.biddingfortravel.com and review recent winning bids for your approximate dates.