Priceline Canada
As a resident of Victoria, BC, I travel up and down Vancouver Island quite often and have used Priceline a number of times for Vancouver Island hotels. As well, other travelers have reported their Priceline Canada hotels on the Priceline forum. Based on this collective information, here is a guide to better bidding on Priceline hotels in Victoria and Vancouver Island.
Priceline in Victoria BC
For this better bidding guide, Victoria is a good place to start since Victoria is not only the capital of British Columbia but also the largest and most visited city on Vancouver Island. Many visitors want to spend a few days in Victoria, and Priceline is absolutely perfect for snagging a deal in the Garden City. Priceline divides Victoria up into 5 different bidding zones:
- Downtown: Downtown Victoria where most travelers stay, and generally, this is where you want to stay. Victoria’s downtown is small but unfortunately, the Priceline bidding zone is not. In fact, you would be very disappointed to get a hotel in Vic West, Esquimalt or the Gorge area. These areas certainly are not within walking distance to any of the tourist attractions centred around the Inner Harbour. It is well worth it to try and identify your hotel using the Priceline Victoria hotel list before bidding. Here is a strong recommendation: bid on 4 stars or better and you will be in the desired area of Victoria around the Parliament Buildings and Empress Hotel. If you bid on 3.5 stars or less, you may end up with a hotel on the outskirts of town.
- Langford: Not exactly the tourism mecca of Victoria, Langford does boast 1 nice resort: The Westin Hotel at Bear Mountain. Beyond this, there is little reason to stay in Langford unless you need to be near the highway for a roadtrip. It’s worth noting that the Westin at Bear Mountain has not been reported as a Priceline hotel in Victoria.
- Victoria Airport: This area contains the famed Butchart Gardens as well as the airport, but aside from this attraction, there are a few nice things to see and do in this area. The Brentwood Bay Inn is a must-see in the summer… the pool and spa is amazing and the temperature is typically 5 degrees warmer than downtown Victoria.
- Sooke and Beaver Lake: These are new areas added to Priceline. Sooke is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, off the beaten path. Beaver Lake area is roughly midpoint between Victoria downtown and the airport.
For all known Priceline Canada hotels in Victoria, visit the Victoria Priceline hotel list.
Priceline on Vancouver Island
Not a lot of Vancouver Island hotels on Priceline have been reported outside of Victoria. This is not a major surprise since most of these towns are small with less than 100,000 residents. Here are some accommodation tips on the places I frequent often:
- Parksville and Tofino: These are two of my favorite spots on Vancouver Island. Both have beautiful beaches, great resorts, and unfortunately, not a lot of availability on Priceline’s Name Your Own Price. I have yet to see any NYOP for Tofino, and my favorite hotel in Parksville (the Beach Club) is not on Priceline that I know of.
- Campbell River, Courtney, Comox: Each of these towns are quite small. This area is technically the middle of Vancouver Island but for most, it’s considered quite far north. If you are going skiing in the winter, I recommend that you skip these towns all together and stay on Mount Washington. Of the 3 towns, Campbell River’s Painter’s Lodge is one of the most popular resorts.
- Duncan and Nanaimo: No Priceline hotels have been reported on the Priceline Forum but Priceline does offer NYOP hotels in these cities.
Victoria and Vancouver Island Recommendation for Better Bidding
Priceline works best in cities where there are lots of hotels and therefore lots of competition, and (usually) lots of excess inventory. Victoria is one of those cities where a good deal can be obtained, but if you are bidding on Priceline Canada for a Victoria hotel, stick to the 4 star or better hotels to avoid getting a hotel in the far outer reaches of what Priceline considers “downtown”. As for the rest of Vancouver Island, my 2 favorite spots on the Island (Parksville and Tofino) are duds as far as Priceline goes.
Have you used Priceline to bid on a hotel on Vancouver Island? Why not submit your winning bid details to the Priceline Canada Forum?