Travel cheap. Save money. Have fun.
What’s the lowest price you’ve ever paid for a hotel room on Priceline?
How does $28 for the Extended Stay America in Research Triangle Park sound to you? Granted this hotel isn’t luxurious but it is located right across the street from from my business meeting at the Marriott where rooms are going for $159 a night.
This mini-series explores stellar properties available through Priceline’s opaque bidding process.
Part 1: The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Part 2: Little America -Salt Lake City, Utah
Part 3: Destination Resort Overlooking the Hudson River, Tarrytown, NY
There are no guarantees in life, and certainly no guarantees on Priceline, but if you do your research you can often land a very good deal at a top-rated luxury property.
The Little America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City is one such gem that frequently pops up on Priceline for the lowly price of $53 per night.
This is probably the classiest hotel I have ever stayed in.
The corridor walls are covered in brocade fabric. There is a large fireplace in the wood-paneled central lobby and there are several elegant shops.
The rooms are enormous and comfortable, with real wood furniture, real wool carpets, and beautiful draperies and upholstery. There is a dressing table and an enormous tiled bathroom with a large tub and a separate shower. Rooms with king sized beds have a separate living room area. It is just a very classy place.
Part 1: The Carolina Inn – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Part 2: Little America – Salt Lake City, Utah
Part 3: Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York
Booking a hotel on Priceline is just like the ladies’ hosiery department. You can choose the opaque, the semi opaque, or the sheer.
My strategy is to check all three options to inform my bidding.
Here’s an example of a trip I just booked to Lehi, Utah. Lehi is about 40 minutes south of Salt Lake City, in the Utah Valley.
Americans rely predominately on travel review websites in planning their trips, finds an online survey of 35,000 people conducted December 2012-January 2013. Online travel agencies were the second most popular resource, followed by travel operator sites and family and friends.
The findings underline the importance of “word-of-mouth” recommendations in the internet age. Hey, this is good news for travel bloggers!
Fishing4Deals is all about traveling well and saving money. It kills me when people are missing out on great deals because they are afraid to use Priceline, or they don’t know the ins and outs.
Last weekend, my sister-in-law came to Washington, DC to see friends and visit family. She made reservations to stay in the Crowne Plaza hotel in old town Alexandria, VA near her friend’s place. “I got a really good deal on the hotel website,” she said. Just $85 per night.
This kills me because I am guessing she could have gotten this same hotel, or an equivalent one on Priceline for half the price.
How do I know this?
The Sundance Film Festival was wrapping up in late January and the Salt Lake City (SLC) Airport was swamped. My United Airlines flight to Washington Dulles (IAD) was booked solid and the gate agent was looking for a volunteer to give up their seat. Usually when these opportunities arise I am too busy to take advantage…but this time I had some flexibility.
I volunteered my seat and the agent booked me on the same flight the next day. She issued me a voucher for $400 good for future travel on United, $20 in food vouchers, and booked a hotel reservation at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.
Looks like the owners of Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon in Las Vegas had bigger fish to fry. Today, they pulled up their gangplank for a complete renovation of the property.
Bill’s, named for casino magnate Bill Harrah, sits smack in the center of the Strip, with great views of the Bellagio fountains. There is no better location in Las Vegas.
This was our favorite place to stay in Vegas — what with their Victorian stained glass windows in the showers and genuine hospitality.
