Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tried again today. Today was an Orlando day. Yesterday was Tampa. Neither was successful at the rates I went for. Went as high as $72 today for a four-star or resort in Orlando, using every zone and starting at $50. Having gotten the Hilton Resort in Downtown Disney in the $60 range, in the past, a couple times, I'm not happy with the rates I'm seeing. No big deal, however, as I can have fun still trying.
Friday, February 20, 2009
This is What I posted on Trip Advisor.com
I started a month before, bidding on Priceline for a 4-star in Raleigh or Chapel Hill for Valentine's Day. We live in the area, so it wasn't a necessary trip, but a fun getaway, if and only if, we were to get a deal. My bidding was unsuccessful for weeks, until two weeks before, all of a sudden, a $60 bid came back successful for The Carolina Inn. Having actually attended the university many years ago, I still had no connection with the hotel, never having set foot in it. I had, however, heard great things about it, and we were very excited to have a night out in this elegant Southern hotel. Especially considering regular rates were more in the $200 range per night.
We arrived in Chapel Hill a little before 2:00 Saturday afternoon. Assumed valet parking was our only option, but we were told that there was self-parking. She raised the gate for us, and in we were. (self-parking was $10 for the night, by the way). Off to the front desk, where check-in was gracious and involved chocolate chip cookies. Apparently management is Doubletree hotels. Here, I made what was possibly an error on my part, as I mentioned that we heard the place was haunted, and asked for a haunted room. She seemed to shrug off the whole haunted thing, but mentioned that a king suite on the second floor had had some activity, but we knew we certainly weren't going to get that for a Priceline price. We were, however, put on the 2nd floor. A Queen "supreme" room. (which was probably even nicer than we should've been eligible for...very nice!) Up the tiny elevator we went. Please note that this is a very historical hotel. Therefore, you cannot expect modern anything! Expect to step back in time to Old Southern Elegance. Put the modern world behind you or you will have a hard time adapting.
Our room was close to the elevator. Small but had everything we could need. A queen-sized bed, small desk, nightstand, armoire with tv, chair...the window was a full-length curtain, behind which was a wall, but up high was a narrow window. Guess they built windows differently back then. The bathroom was a decent size, with full bath-tub & shower, sink, and bed-and-bath body products (coconut lime). The shower, the next morning, was wonderful...great pressure...nice and hot!
We were hungry and went down to the restaurant for lunch. We were concerned that they might be closing down since it was near 2:00, but we were told it was okay. There were only a few other tables full in the restaurant, there were several wait staff nearby, yet it had to be at least 20 minutes before a waiter came to take our order. We had been brought water and bread, but the long wait to order was strange, because staff seemed to be all around, but they weren't even looking at us. Eventually a waiter arrived who actually asked us if we needed more time to look at the menu! Uh, twenty minutes is more than enough to read a tiny menu! I ordered a sweet potato and onion bisque along with a spinach fried-oyster salad. My husband ordered a salad and beef/portabello mushroom sandwich. I had to ask for a wine list. Nearby was a table that was frustrated with waiting for a long time to have their plates cleared and a check brought. It was after 3:30 by the time we left, but the food was very very good. We had coffee & shared a dulche de leche creme brulee as well. It came with starfish, berries, and little chocolate cookies. Very nice! Where the food was very good, we found the service to truly be downright strange and inefficient.
Afterward, we wandered a bit around, trying to find the stairs, which were quite a distance from our room and the elevator. We were glad to read later, when looking at historical information, that the hotel was built to be fire-proof, because with no windows to jump through, nor stairs near the room, if God-forbid there would be a fire, it could be a disaster, even being only on the second floor. However it's nice to know it's fire-proof.
I found the display on the first floor near the gift shop, fascinating! You can truly get a feel for the history of the place there. Just walking around the hotel is so pleasant and elegant. No sign of any kind of security, however, so I don't know that I would've been overly comfortable to stay there as a female, alone. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that.
After venturing out into Chapel HIll, we came back to our room where we found we had received turn-down service. Didn't know that was going to happen. Very sweet. I won't go into detail, but I will say that the rest of the night was not uneventful. It involved not one, but three incidences that made me realize I will never ever, even in a joking way, ever ask for a haunted room anywhere ever again. Though nothing ever seemed harmful, it was still unusual enough to keep my eyes wide open, when I would've otherwise be sleeping.
Walls are very thin in this hotel, but that is to be expected considering the age of it. We found it to be beautiful and charming. There was a wedding reception on the first floor that was truly stunning. This hotel must be a perfect place for a party or reception. The location is great. We found the front desk, the bar staff, bell-staff...all to be incredibly friendly and helpful. Don't know that I could ever get my husband to go back into the restaurant, however, although I would
I would be curious to hear if anyone else experiences anything unusual in this hotel around 3am. I know i will never forget our stay.
We arrived in Chapel Hill a little before 2:00 Saturday afternoon. Assumed valet parking was our only option, but we were told that there was self-parking. She raised the gate for us, and in we were. (self-parking was $10 for the night, by the way). Off to the front desk, where check-in was gracious and involved chocolate chip cookies. Apparently management is Doubletree hotels. Here, I made what was possibly an error on my part, as I mentioned that we heard the place was haunted, and asked for a haunted room. She seemed to shrug off the whole haunted thing, but mentioned that a king suite on the second floor had had some activity, but we knew we certainly weren't going to get that for a Priceline price. We were, however, put on the 2nd floor. A Queen "supreme" room. (which was probably even nicer than we should've been eligible for...very nice!) Up the tiny elevator we went. Please note that this is a very historical hotel. Therefore, you cannot expect modern anything! Expect to step back in time to Old Southern Elegance. Put the modern world behind you or you will have a hard time adapting.
Our room was close to the elevator. Small but had everything we could need. A queen-sized bed, small desk, nightstand, armoire with tv, chair...the window was a full-length curtain, behind which was a wall, but up high was a narrow window. Guess they built windows differently back then. The bathroom was a decent size, with full bath-tub & shower, sink, and bed-and-bath body products (coconut lime). The shower, the next morning, was wonderful...great pressure...nice and hot!
We were hungry and went down to the restaurant for lunch. We were concerned that they might be closing down since it was near 2:00, but we were told it was okay. There were only a few other tables full in the restaurant, there were several wait staff nearby, yet it had to be at least 20 minutes before a waiter came to take our order. We had been brought water and bread, but the long wait to order was strange, because staff seemed to be all around, but they weren't even looking at us. Eventually a waiter arrived who actually asked us if we needed more time to look at the menu! Uh, twenty minutes is more than enough to read a tiny menu! I ordered a sweet potato and onion bisque along with a spinach fried-oyster salad. My husband ordered a salad and beef/portabello mushroom sandwich. I had to ask for a wine list. Nearby was a table that was frustrated with waiting for a long time to have their plates cleared and a check brought. It was after 3:30 by the time we left, but the food was very very good. We had coffee & shared a dulche de leche creme brulee as well. It came with starfish, berries, and little chocolate cookies. Very nice! Where the food was very good, we found the service to truly be downright strange and inefficient.
Afterward, we wandered a bit around, trying to find the stairs, which were quite a distance from our room and the elevator. We were glad to read later, when looking at historical information, that the hotel was built to be fire-proof, because with no windows to jump through, nor stairs near the room, if God-forbid there would be a fire, it could be a disaster, even being only on the second floor. However it's nice to know it's fire-proof.
I found the display on the first floor near the gift shop, fascinating! You can truly get a feel for the history of the place there. Just walking around the hotel is so pleasant and elegant. No sign of any kind of security, however, so I don't know that I would've been overly comfortable to stay there as a female, alone. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that.
After venturing out into Chapel HIll, we came back to our room where we found we had received turn-down service. Didn't know that was going to happen. Very sweet. I won't go into detail, but I will say that the rest of the night was not uneventful. It involved not one, but three incidences that made me realize I will never ever, even in a joking way, ever ask for a haunted room anywhere ever again. Though nothing ever seemed harmful, it was still unusual enough to keep my eyes wide open, when I would've otherwise be sleeping.
Walls are very thin in this hotel, but that is to be expected considering the age of it. We found it to be beautiful and charming. There was a wedding reception on the first floor that was truly stunning. This hotel must be a perfect place for a party or reception. The location is great. We found the front desk, the bar staff, bell-staff...all to be incredibly friendly and helpful. Don't know that I could ever get my husband to go back into the restaurant, however, although I would
I would be curious to hear if anyone else experiences anything unusual in this hotel around 3am. I know i will never forget our stay.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Funeral Travel
It's tough. It's last minute. No one plans their death around Southwest Airlines' latest sale. (although, honestly, I'll try when my time comes...I do care about all of you, and if anyone should do it, it would be me)
Friday January 16...Uncle Rick contacts me that a sad death has occurred and he needs to get from Sante Fe, NM to Rochester NY. He's thinking of flying Monday, perhaps coming back Thursday, yet not knowing when the exact funeral will be. Okay, I have the flu, but I'm up for this challenge, as it doesn't involve driving or being around others who could get infected. Besides, Uncle Rick's voice is shaking, he's really upset, and I would genuinely like to help him not spend an arm and a leg to get there. Immediately, I checked Travelocity and Expedia, and was alarmed to see that not only was he looking at over $1000 airfare, but he was going to have to travel 3 legs each way. Grueling! Awful! I hated that for him. What else could he do? I checked Orbitz. I looked on Southwest. Considered the options. Southwest only flies to Buffalo though, not Rochester, is that an option for Uncle Rick? Call Uncle Rick, and he knows he doesn't want to drive in the snow between the cities, but is there a shuttle? What I hear is that he's open to options, he'll consider alternatives, however Buffalo doesn't seem to be one of them this time. This is important! Alternatives could be other airports. Could be other dates. Could be all kinds of flexibility. My job was to discover what options he had. I also had to keep in mind that it's a tough winter, with tough weather in the North.
Other dates seemed to be the best idea to me. I played around with Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, coming back other days than Thursday...the only lower fare option that kept coming up was Saturday to Saturday. By now it's, oh...8:00 on Friday night. I'm wondering if Uncle Rick would consider leaving, at...oh, 6am from Albequerque Saturday morning? Cause that's the only time the airfare is going down. Call Uncle Rick. In the time it takes to reach him, that airfare is GONE on Expedia. Not available anymore anyway. Okay, fine...I'll try elsewhere. Meanwhile, other options show up but they involve Washington, DC, which is about to face the Obama Inauguration. Airfares are coming and going, literally by the minute. Scared, worried, I'm really wondering what else I can pull out here? Over $1000 for airfare and traveling three legs each way, is not, imo, an okay option...PERIOD. Yet, what else can I do? I fumble around the keyboard and internet, and stumble upon a Travelocity option that involves Uncle Rick hopping a plane the next day (Saturday) afternoon, on Northwest, via Minneapolis. Just two legs going. However, coming home any day other than the following Saturday presents an expensive challenge and 3-tier grueling challenge. The following Saturday has only one "low-fare" option, which is Rochester via US Airways to LaGuardia at 8:30am, arriving 10:05am, connecting with Delta 12:55 to Atlanta 3:35, then Delta 4:45 to Albequerque 6:27pm. Having experienced an airline terminal change in New York at LaGuardia before, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Switching from US Air to Delta, I wouldn't wish on anyone. However, I tried to reinact anything like this, with a similiar price on either US Air or Delta via their own websites, brought back those nasty over $1000 airfares. Stumped for any other options, I called Uncle Rick and told him my best suggestion was to leave the next afternoon, and proceed with the Travelocity plan which was $305.12 plus taxes and fees for a grand total of $379.49. Not a fee I'm particularly proud of, because I like bargain travel, however under the circumstances, to save him $600 or more, I consider a plus.
Since then, I have heard from Uncle Rick who said everything went off well. I'm glad to have been able to help him out. Let's face it, when we're dealing with a crisis, and emotional, that's when the travel industry could most take advantage of us, unless we keep a level head, and have the patience to pursue various options. Uncle Rick, being flexible like he was, meant I could help him get a better deal. I'm glad it all worked out.
Friday January 16...Uncle Rick contacts me that a sad death has occurred and he needs to get from Sante Fe, NM to Rochester NY. He's thinking of flying Monday, perhaps coming back Thursday, yet not knowing when the exact funeral will be. Okay, I have the flu, but I'm up for this challenge, as it doesn't involve driving or being around others who could get infected. Besides, Uncle Rick's voice is shaking, he's really upset, and I would genuinely like to help him not spend an arm and a leg to get there. Immediately, I checked Travelocity and Expedia, and was alarmed to see that not only was he looking at over $1000 airfare, but he was going to have to travel 3 legs each way. Grueling! Awful! I hated that for him. What else could he do? I checked Orbitz. I looked on Southwest. Considered the options. Southwest only flies to Buffalo though, not Rochester, is that an option for Uncle Rick? Call Uncle Rick, and he knows he doesn't want to drive in the snow between the cities, but is there a shuttle? What I hear is that he's open to options, he'll consider alternatives, however Buffalo doesn't seem to be one of them this time. This is important! Alternatives could be other airports. Could be other dates. Could be all kinds of flexibility. My job was to discover what options he had. I also had to keep in mind that it's a tough winter, with tough weather in the North.
Other dates seemed to be the best idea to me. I played around with Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, coming back other days than Thursday...the only lower fare option that kept coming up was Saturday to Saturday. By now it's, oh...8:00 on Friday night. I'm wondering if Uncle Rick would consider leaving, at...oh, 6am from Albequerque Saturday morning? Cause that's the only time the airfare is going down. Call Uncle Rick. In the time it takes to reach him, that airfare is GONE on Expedia. Not available anymore anyway. Okay, fine...I'll try elsewhere. Meanwhile, other options show up but they involve Washington, DC, which is about to face the Obama Inauguration. Airfares are coming and going, literally by the minute. Scared, worried, I'm really wondering what else I can pull out here? Over $1000 for airfare and traveling three legs each way, is not, imo, an okay option...PERIOD. Yet, what else can I do? I fumble around the keyboard and internet, and stumble upon a Travelocity option that involves Uncle Rick hopping a plane the next day (Saturday) afternoon, on Northwest, via Minneapolis. Just two legs going. However, coming home any day other than the following Saturday presents an expensive challenge and 3-tier grueling challenge. The following Saturday has only one "low-fare" option, which is Rochester via US Airways to LaGuardia at 8:30am, arriving 10:05am, connecting with Delta 12:55 to Atlanta 3:35, then Delta 4:45 to Albequerque 6:27pm. Having experienced an airline terminal change in New York at LaGuardia before, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Switching from US Air to Delta, I wouldn't wish on anyone. However, I tried to reinact anything like this, with a similiar price on either US Air or Delta via their own websites, brought back those nasty over $1000 airfares. Stumped for any other options, I called Uncle Rick and told him my best suggestion was to leave the next afternoon, and proceed with the Travelocity plan which was $305.12 plus taxes and fees for a grand total of $379.49. Not a fee I'm particularly proud of, because I like bargain travel, however under the circumstances, to save him $600 or more, I consider a plus.
Since then, I have heard from Uncle Rick who said everything went off well. I'm glad to have been able to help him out. Let's face it, when we're dealing with a crisis, and emotional, that's when the travel industry could most take advantage of us, unless we keep a level head, and have the patience to pursue various options. Uncle Rick, being flexible like he was, meant I could help him get a better deal. I'm glad it all worked out.
Valentine FUN!
There are times when travel is not necessary, but could be fun if the price is right. Such is when you have the most financial travel POWER...when you don't have to go somewhere, but it would be nice if you get a killer deal. Consider this the perfect scenario to have some travel deal FUN.
Valentine's Day 2009. So what, really? A "holiday" created by a card company, yet one with a good message. I love the theme of love, but I hate being told I should celebrate it. How about, let's celebrate it, but let the price is right decide how we do so?
We live in what is known as the "Triangle" area of North Carolina...Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill. A growing, thriving community that has recently been blessed with a couple new 4-star hotels, as well as having had some historical, and a few other 4-stars of varying nature. We even have our first 5-star in Cary, NC...called The Umstead. (which has an incredible spa). Anyway, being curious about the new 4-stars (Raleigh Marriott Center City and the Renaissance at North Hills) inspired me to look on Hotwire and Priceline to see if the 4-star category would finally show up. In the past, I really haven't seen 4-stars show up on either website. So, just for fun, I decided to start looking at what possibilites might exist for Valentine's Day 2009, which just happens to fall on a Saturday this year.
In the middle of January I began to play around with low bids for 4-stars in the Triangle, utilizing the "free re-bid zone" technique on Priceline. The theory was, either I get a killer deal, or we stay home. Okay with me either way, although I always always prefer a killer deal. It's FUN.
Besides checking Hotwire and Priceline, I did my homework as well, checking out the area 4-star hotels and seeing what prices they were charging and looking for any possible package deals. The lowest-priced option I could find was a special weekend rate at the new downtown Raleigh Marriott. For $119 you could get a room and breakfast the next day. Not a bad deal, just not a KILLER deal. Not to mention, it was an advertised deal that ANYone could get, so where's the fun in that? The new North Hills Renaissance didn't seem to go lower than $149 for a night. And 4-stars in Chapel Hill like Sienna and The Carolina Inn were going for over $200 per night. I low-balled some bidding anyway, and Priceline basically laughed at me. Okay fine. I can handle it, cause remember, I'm in power here. I don't care. We don't have to go anywhere!
Some days I ventured out farther, rejected by Priceline, I looked into Wilmington & Wrightsville Beach, where I was laughed at further. Not to mention they didn't have 4-star options, so I was rejected with my low bids on 3-stars. FINE. We stay home. The cats will appreciate my failure!
January 25, I bid as high as $80 for a 4-star, using up every free re-bid zone in the Triangle. Priceline scoffed at me! January 29, only went up to $70, but still rejected!
Decided to give it a rest...well, I just got busy, really, but just for fun, February 3rd, I'm thinking, I'll do my free rebid zone thing and have fun seeing Priceline come back with: "sorry..."
Having been rejected up to $80 before, this time I started at $55 for a 4-star in Raleigh (still thinking that the Renaissance or the Marriott was going to cave first). Of course I saw "we're sorry...can you change one thing and try again?" Yeah yeah yeah, I'll add in Chapel Hill, bump it $5 to $60 and they'll laugh at me again. Priceline does its' thinking, processing thing, and oh my gosh, comes back with...(check my glasses, open my eyes wider...) does that say, your price has been accepted??? By who? The Carolina Inn!? The expensive, usually over $200 Historical Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill that friends have paid way more for? For $60? For Valentine's Day? YUP!
The moral of this story is....timing is everything! Not to mention, that just because Priceline rejects you to a certain point one day, doesn't mean you have to start at a certain price point the next time. Because I bid a certain way due to losing out on my bids in January, I missed the opportunity to possibly get it even lower. I won't know now if I could've gotten it below the $60. Because I was thinking I'd need those free re-bid zones to get even higher, I missed the possible opportunity to start lower and work my way up. However, $60 is an incredibly good price for this hotel. Prices for even the smallest rooms there are more around $200 per night. AND, it's supposed to be haunted. Hopefully we'll get a friendly ghost thrown in to sweeten the deal. Consider every day a brand new day with Priceline and Hotwire. (Hotwire, by the way, now showing a 4-star in Chapel Hill for $82...which reinforces what a good deal I got).
It's not too late to find YOUR own Valentine Deal! Go for it! We're sure gonna have fun with ours.
Valentine's Day 2009. So what, really? A "holiday" created by a card company, yet one with a good message. I love the theme of love, but I hate being told I should celebrate it. How about, let's celebrate it, but let the price is right decide how we do so?
We live in what is known as the "Triangle" area of North Carolina...Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill. A growing, thriving community that has recently been blessed with a couple new 4-star hotels, as well as having had some historical, and a few other 4-stars of varying nature. We even have our first 5-star in Cary, NC...called The Umstead. (which has an incredible spa). Anyway, being curious about the new 4-stars (Raleigh Marriott Center City and the Renaissance at North Hills) inspired me to look on Hotwire and Priceline to see if the 4-star category would finally show up. In the past, I really haven't seen 4-stars show up on either website. So, just for fun, I decided to start looking at what possibilites might exist for Valentine's Day 2009, which just happens to fall on a Saturday this year.
In the middle of January I began to play around with low bids for 4-stars in the Triangle, utilizing the "free re-bid zone" technique on Priceline. The theory was, either I get a killer deal, or we stay home. Okay with me either way, although I always always prefer a killer deal. It's FUN.
Besides checking Hotwire and Priceline, I did my homework as well, checking out the area 4-star hotels and seeing what prices they were charging and looking for any possible package deals. The lowest-priced option I could find was a special weekend rate at the new downtown Raleigh Marriott. For $119 you could get a room and breakfast the next day. Not a bad deal, just not a KILLER deal. Not to mention, it was an advertised deal that ANYone could get, so where's the fun in that? The new North Hills Renaissance didn't seem to go lower than $149 for a night. And 4-stars in Chapel Hill like Sienna and The Carolina Inn were going for over $200 per night. I low-balled some bidding anyway, and Priceline basically laughed at me. Okay fine. I can handle it, cause remember, I'm in power here. I don't care. We don't have to go anywhere!
Some days I ventured out farther, rejected by Priceline, I looked into Wilmington & Wrightsville Beach, where I was laughed at further. Not to mention they didn't have 4-star options, so I was rejected with my low bids on 3-stars. FINE. We stay home. The cats will appreciate my failure!
January 25, I bid as high as $80 for a 4-star, using up every free re-bid zone in the Triangle. Priceline scoffed at me! January 29, only went up to $70, but still rejected!
Decided to give it a rest...well, I just got busy, really, but just for fun, February 3rd, I'm thinking, I'll do my free rebid zone thing and have fun seeing Priceline come back with: "sorry..."
Having been rejected up to $80 before, this time I started at $55 for a 4-star in Raleigh (still thinking that the Renaissance or the Marriott was going to cave first). Of course I saw "we're sorry...can you change one thing and try again?" Yeah yeah yeah, I'll add in Chapel Hill, bump it $5 to $60 and they'll laugh at me again. Priceline does its' thinking, processing thing, and oh my gosh, comes back with...(check my glasses, open my eyes wider...) does that say, your price has been accepted??? By who? The Carolina Inn!? The expensive, usually over $200 Historical Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill that friends have paid way more for? For $60? For Valentine's Day? YUP!
The moral of this story is....timing is everything! Not to mention, that just because Priceline rejects you to a certain point one day, doesn't mean you have to start at a certain price point the next time. Because I bid a certain way due to losing out on my bids in January, I missed the opportunity to possibly get it even lower. I won't know now if I could've gotten it below the $60. Because I was thinking I'd need those free re-bid zones to get even higher, I missed the possible opportunity to start lower and work my way up. However, $60 is an incredibly good price for this hotel. Prices for even the smallest rooms there are more around $200 per night. AND, it's supposed to be haunted. Hopefully we'll get a friendly ghost thrown in to sweeten the deal. Consider every day a brand new day with Priceline and Hotwire. (Hotwire, by the way, now showing a 4-star in Chapel Hill for $82...which reinforces what a good deal I got).
It's not too late to find YOUR own Valentine Deal! Go for it! We're sure gonna have fun with ours.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Travel as a Gift!
I wanted to surprise my husband with something special for his birthday in April of 2006. He is a huge Lord of the Rings fan. Searching the internet, I discovered that a stage production of Lord of the Rings was being presented in Toronto. I quickly did a search, but was sad to discover that airfare was well over $300 per person to Toronto. That was too high for this Bargain Travel Diva. I was going to drop the idea until I remembered that Toronto was not that far from Buffalo. I had gotten great airfare to Buffalo in the past. Sure enough, I was able to find a great rate. I can't remember exactly, but I believe it was around $118 per person round-trip. I then started researching hotels. Got the Westin Harbour Castle (4-star) in downtown Toronto for the Hotwire rate of $67 per night for 3 nights. I then decided it might be fun for him to see Niagara Falls, since he had never seen it before, so I booked us for one night on the way back at the Doubletree Resort Lodge & Spa. This was a 4-star that was $88 thanks to Hotwire. Not one of my better deals, but for Niagara Falls at the time it was the best I could do.
So for my husband's birthday in April of 2006, I gave him two tickets to The Lord of the Rings show. And told him that we were going the following month over our anniversary weekend.
What started off as seeming like an impossibly expensive gift, with some creativity, turned into a reality. We had a GREAT time, and loved Toronto! I managed to survive the show itself, although the cast was lucky I didn't jump down there, grab the darn ring and throw it away!
While we were there, we stumbled upon Second City and went to a show they did that poked fun at Lord of the Rings.
Go peameal bacon!
So for my husband's birthday in April of 2006, I gave him two tickets to The Lord of the Rings show. And told him that we were going the following month over our anniversary weekend.
What started off as seeming like an impossibly expensive gift, with some creativity, turned into a reality. We had a GREAT time, and loved Toronto! I managed to survive the show itself, although the cast was lucky I didn't jump down there, grab the darn ring and throw it away!
While we were there, we stumbled upon Second City and went to a show they did that poked fun at Lord of the Rings.
Go peameal bacon!
Travel To Visit Family
Living in North Carolina, and having relatives in South Dakota has presented some interesting travel challenges for this Bargain Travel Diva. Airfares between our states can be outrageous.
Back in August of 2006, my husband and I decided to make visiting family in South Dakota, a road trip. We thought it would be fun to stay in cities we had never stayed in before. We also didn't want to go too far out of our way, so we wanted routes that made sense. At the time, my son was living in Nashville, TN, so we wanted that to be a stop on the way. We also had friends living in Kansas City, who we wanted to visit. That's how we ended up with the hotel deals I posted earlier.
We left Raleigh, NC...drove to Nashville, TN, visited my son and spent the night at the Radisson Nashville Airport (3-star) for $46 thanks to Priceline.
The next day we drove to Kansas City, visited friends, and spent the night at the Kansas City Crowne Plaza for the Priceline rate of $43. This was the only disappointment of the trip, as the hotel was not in good shape. We were really glad we only paid $43 for it.
If I remember correctly, we drove to Omaha the next day and spent the night there. Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed in must have disappeared or something, as my review of it completely disappeared off Trip Advisor, and I can't remember the name of it. It was an older hotel in downtown. We really liked the place, and I know I got it at a good price. The next day, we drove on to South Dakota.
Coming home, we took a different route that took us to Saint Louis where we stayed at the beautiful Saint Louis Hyatt Regency (4-star) for just $57 thanks to Priceline. We also spent a night in Charleston, WV at the Marriott Towne Center for $52 for a Saturday night.
The joy of booking these before our trip, besides saving money, was being able to Mapquest one destination to the next, so we knew how long we would be traveling, and where we would end up.
Back in August of 2006, my husband and I decided to make visiting family in South Dakota, a road trip. We thought it would be fun to stay in cities we had never stayed in before. We also didn't want to go too far out of our way, so we wanted routes that made sense. At the time, my son was living in Nashville, TN, so we wanted that to be a stop on the way. We also had friends living in Kansas City, who we wanted to visit. That's how we ended up with the hotel deals I posted earlier.
We left Raleigh, NC...drove to Nashville, TN, visited my son and spent the night at the Radisson Nashville Airport (3-star) for $46 thanks to Priceline.
The next day we drove to Kansas City, visited friends, and spent the night at the Kansas City Crowne Plaza for the Priceline rate of $43. This was the only disappointment of the trip, as the hotel was not in good shape. We were really glad we only paid $43 for it.
If I remember correctly, we drove to Omaha the next day and spent the night there. Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed in must have disappeared or something, as my review of it completely disappeared off Trip Advisor, and I can't remember the name of it. It was an older hotel in downtown. We really liked the place, and I know I got it at a good price. The next day, we drove on to South Dakota.
Coming home, we took a different route that took us to Saint Louis where we stayed at the beautiful Saint Louis Hyatt Regency (4-star) for just $57 thanks to Priceline. We also spent a night in Charleston, WV at the Marriott Towne Center for $52 for a Saturday night.
The joy of booking these before our trip, besides saving money, was being able to Mapquest one destination to the next, so we knew how long we would be traveling, and where we would end up.
Trip Down Memory Lane
Looking back at some deals I've gotten...thought I'd share some from when I started keeping track of them. Early on, I see that I went more with Hotwire. That was because I had not really educated myself about Priceline. Thanks to websites like biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com, I soon learned the art of Priceline. And it truly is an art! I love it! As a result of educating myself, more often than not, I end up with a Priceline deal. Anyway, some of my earliest successes:
Nov. 2005: 3-Star Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport for 3 nights @ $48 per night. (Hotwire)
May 2006: 4-star Westin Harbour Castle Toronto for 3 nights @ 67 per night. (Hotwire)
May 2006: 4-star Doubletree Resort Lodge&Spa Niagara Falls, 1 night for $88 (Hotwire)
Aug.2006: 3-star Radisson Hotel Nashville Airport, 1 night for $46 (Priceline)
Aug.2006: 4-star Saint Louis Hyatt Regency, 1 night for $57 (Priceline)
Aug.2006: 3-star Kansas City Crowne Plaza, 1 night for $43 (Priceline)
Aug.2006: 3 1/2-star Charleston,WV Marriott Towne Center, 1 night for $52 (Priceline)
Sept.2006: 4-star Richmond, VA Omni 1 night over Labor Day Weekend for $71 (Priceline)
Sept. 2006: 4-star Hilton Walt Disney World Resort, 2 nights for $62 per night (Priceline)
Nov. 2005: 3-Star Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport for 3 nights @ $48 per night. (Hotwire)
May 2006: 4-star Westin Harbour Castle Toronto for 3 nights @ 67 per night. (Hotwire)
May 2006: 4-star Doubletree Resort Lodge&Spa Niagara Falls, 1 night for $88 (Hotwire)
Aug.2006: 3-star Radisson Hotel Nashville Airport, 1 night for $46 (Priceline)
Aug.2006: 4-star Saint Louis Hyatt Regency, 1 night for $57 (Priceline)
Aug.2006: 3-star Kansas City Crowne Plaza, 1 night for $43 (Priceline)
Aug.2006: 3 1/2-star Charleston,WV Marriott Towne Center, 1 night for $52 (Priceline)
Sept.2006: 4-star Richmond, VA Omni 1 night over Labor Day Weekend for $71 (Priceline)
Sept. 2006: 4-star Hilton Walt Disney World Resort, 2 nights for $62 per night (Priceline)
I have had so many people tell me I should either write a book about how to get the best travel bargains, or become a Travel Agent. I would absolutely love to work full-time in the travel industry. However, I don't see how I could make a living helping people get travel deals, because the whole idea is to help people SAVE money.
My interest in Bargain Travel comes from my love of travel, but my lack of funds for doing so. There is nothing that makes me happier than a great airfare, a four-star hotel for the what others pay for a Red Roof Inn, a rental car for ten bucks a day, or a six-night cruise for under $300.
Let's talk Bargain Travel!
My interest in Bargain Travel comes from my love of travel, but my lack of funds for doing so. There is nothing that makes me happier than a great airfare, a four-star hotel for the what others pay for a Red Roof Inn, a rental car for ten bucks a day, or a six-night cruise for under $300.
Let's talk Bargain Travel!
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