jodybird511
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2014
Yesterday, on Priceline, I scored an Express deal rate of $82/nt for Hilton Bonnet Creek for this coming Tuesday.
Wow that's awesome! How long will you be there?Yesterday, on Priceline, I scored an Express deal rate of $82/nt for Hilton Bonnet Creek for this coming Tuesday.
Woot woot!!!Yesterday, on Priceline, I scored an Express deal rate of $82/nt for Hilton Bonnet Creek for this coming Tuesday.
Hip, hip, hooray!!! You snagged a great deal!Just did my first ever Priceline express booking. Got the B Resort and Spa by Disney Springs for only $82/night! We're going April 12-21 2018. I'm super excited since the hotel looks really nice. It's just me and my boyfriend going so we're glad this seems like a more adult-centered hotel. We're excited about the pool and pool bar as well.
There are some sites out there that discuss this (not sure if I can list them here). Generally, Disney Resorts will be 3-4 stars. They will be one of the few that have no resort fee and have free parking listed as an amenity (although you probably can't bank on it now). If you spend a lot of time on Hotwire or Priceline, you can figure it out. I've been looking everyday for the past 2 weeks and I started to get good at it. I think it peak Disney times, though, you won't really see a lot of them. In reading some other sites, it looked like there were some good choices in the fall and then again in January.
Opaque booking sites are not for folks who require 100% certainty of the hotel they're getting. By looking at amenities, guest ratings, number of reviews, etc., you can get close to 100% certainty. Like Christine said, one needs to "spend a lot of time" to build confidence!How do you know if you've got it figured out or not? Since you have to book to find out what the deal is, how can you check if you were?
I was playing around with my dates and one of the sites (can't remember if it was priceline or expedia) say it's guaranteed to be one of these 4 hotels. One time, one was AKL, which I would have booked, but was afraid it would have been one of the others. My dates are early November, and I assume Disney doesn't book this far out with those kind of deals, but don't know for sure.
Opaque booking sites are not for folks who require 100% certainty of the hotel they're getting. By looking at amenities, guest ratings, number of reviews, etc., you can get close to 100% certainty. Like Christine said, one needs to "spend a lot of time" to build confidence!
I think you did the right thing if you were not perfectly happy with all 4 choices.How do you know if you've got it figured out or not? Since you have to book to find out what the deal is, how can you check if you were?
I was playing around with my dates and one of the sites (can't remember if it was priceline or expedia) say it's guaranteed to be one of these 4 hotels. One time, one was AKL, which I would have booked, but was afraid it would have been one of the others. My dates are early November, and I assume Disney doesn't book this far out with those kind of deals, but don't know for sure.
How do you know if you've got it figured out or not? Since you have to book to find out what the deal is, how can you check if you were?
I was playing around with my dates and one of the sites (can't remember if it was priceline or expedia) say it's guaranteed to be one of these 4 hotels. One time, one was AKL, which I would have booked, but was afraid it would have been one of the others. My dates are early November, and I assume Disney doesn't book this far out with those kind of deals, but don't know for sure.
I used Better Bidding and when I thought I had found what I wanted, I used their forums. A moderator will generally answer you in a few hours and tell you which hotel they think it is and why they think it's that hotel. For instance, where I booked, it is only one of 3 hotels in that Priceline area that offers a free breakfast and free parking and has a 90% positive rating. Priceline and Hotwire also book "open" reservations so you can actually compare your opaque choice with another based on stars, percentage ratings, and amenities. Your opaque reservation will also say something like: This deal is a 54% savings. You then go to the open reservation that you *think* is your hotel, look at the price, multiply by 54% and it should come up to the rate of your opaque option. You might be a dollar off due to rounding.
For Disney resorts, one way to narrow it down is that they are one of few hotels in the Bonnet Creek Zone that has no resort fee (with the exception of the Swan/Dolphin). Not saying they are the only ones without the fee but you can use other factors to narrow it down. The value and moderates, for instance, won't offer a "bed choice" but a hotel will (King or two queens).
Again, it's not guaranteed but you can get pretty close. But you have to be willing to settle for what you get so if your resort is super important, then don't do it.
Also, if you go through Better Bidding once you decide, they are always offering coupons if you just click the Hotwire/Priceline links through them, so I got an additional 5% off. Some of their previous coupons were more than that.
If you would like to get our input on what a priceline express hotel likely is, you're welcome to post the stats here and we can help ya out. zone, stars, number of reviews, rating, amenities, price, datesThank you! This is exactly the kind of strategy I'm looking for. I'm not super wedded to a particular hotel, but there are some I'd be excited about and others that would be a bit disappointing (but still okay). I definitely need a bit more practice before I try booking this way.
The Swan and Dolphin do have resort fees. Is that what you meant?For Disney resorts, one way to narrow it down is that they are one of few hotels in the Bonnet Creek Zone that has no resort fee (with the exception of the Swan/Dolphin).
Yes, that is what I meant. The Disney hotels do not have resort fees, with the exception of the Swan and Dolphin (who do).The Swan and Dolphin do have resort fees. Is that what you meant?
Update for my $82/nt rate at Hilton Bonnet Creek--when we arrived on Tuesday, they informed us that we had received a complimentary upgrade to the Waldorf! We had a GREAT stay!
Ohmygosh! Wow, bet you DID have a great stay!!!
I am unfamiliar with those two hotels but are they on the same property?
Update for my $82/nt rate at Hilton Bonnet Creek--when we arrived on Tuesday, they informed us that we had received a complimentary upgrade to the Waldorf! We had a GREAT stay!