We are planning on going to Charleston, SC in June. WE are a family of 6 with four kids under 9yrs.. We are planning on staying for an entire week and the suite hotels are like $110+ per night, rental houses are a minimum $1200. At least the ones I've found. I was thinking of checking into priceline or hotwire but I'm a little nervous about not knowing the name of the hotel until after it's reserved.
Anyone have experience with those sites? Or can anyone recommend a good site to find really good deals for 6 people? I hate spending so much of our vacation money on the place to stay. But maybe I'm just weird that way.

We've used both Priceline and Hotwire. We only used it for hotel accommodations. As long as you specify what area of a city you want to be in, AND what star rating you want your hotel to be (4 or 5 are good bets), then you should be fine.

If you have more specific amenities you're looking for in a hotel, and you want to learn more about one you are considering, I highly recommend reading up on it at Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor HTH

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Thanks- I forgot all about tripadvisor
I would def. be aiming at 4 0r 5 star if I use them.

We don't...mostly because we use hotel points for 90% of our hotel stays. Also, when I'm paying, I am REALLY picky about where I want to stay and my expectations. So even though you put in 3 Star or 4 Star...I just don't like NOT knowing exactly. LOL I've been in some hotels that are supposedly 3 Star or 4 Star and the rating system is just not consistent! LOL!

I do know people that really LOVE Priceline and use if often. If you do try to use it, definately read the info at the sites dedicated for bidding for travel. They have TONS of great info...

Opps...here are the links:

BiddingForTravel.com - Message Board - ezboard.com

Darn it...I guess we can't edit, so here are the other ones:

Priceline bidding tips for priceline hotels, airfares & car rentals. How to use priceline.com

Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - FlyerTalk Forums

Thanks for the help. I'll do some more research-I may just have to bite the bulllet and spend the money.

I have used priceline for both airlines and hotels, and they have been very good, Except for the smoking situation in the rooms. I had to call after I made the reservation to make sure that it was a non smoking room. As for airfare, with little ones, you don't get to pick the time you fly, so that gets a bit hectic, but we got lucky...lol
good luck and happy vacation!

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married 8 years to a crazy Brit, mommy to a banana, she is 4 and a pineapple who is 11 months, mommy to 3 ~angel~ babies

We have used priceline for hotels. I would only do this for a 3 star or more hotel. Trust me!

We have used priceline a lot. I haven't recently- but when we have used them we've had great luck! just make sure to pick a 3 star or more- we seem to get great deals with 4 stars...I guess it all depends on where you're going.
My favorite travel sites are travelocity (they post really good deals at times) and I love to go to travelzoo- because they'll post the best deals from a bunch of different sites.
Try kayak!!! You can enter in your cities and dates, and it'll show you the best prices on hotels- they also search multiple sites
We also like yahoo- fare chase...they search multiple sites and give you the best prices.

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