<p>Are you trying for Parents Weekend or some other home game weekend? If so, lodging venues are few at this point, and likely at the worst places. All of my homegame weekends are booked except for the late November Tenn-Chattanooga game, which wil probably book as the game gets closer. </p>
<p>I know someone who had the misfortune of coming to Ttown with little notice for move in weekend and they got stuck at Quality Inn…awful, but the rates were jacked up anyway. </p>
<p>Except for Country Inn Suites, I would avoid everything south of I-20 near McFarland.</p>
<p>It’s just for Sunday night of Parents Weekend. I’m already covered for every other night I plan to be in Tuscaloosa this year, including move out weekend, but thanks - I appreciate the tips.</p>
<p>I Hotwired Tuscaloosa for Bama Bound, and got the Wingate. Agree with other reviews here that the it is clean and well-run. Next door to Burger King, but otherwise isolated. </p>
<p>Sadly, on my BB visit to Wingate, they only had the sausages out, scary, rubbery things that seemed more at home in the pet food aisle, or my 1970s HS cafeteria. They were so bad I didn’t go back for 4ths. (Hey, they’re free, don’t judge.)</p>
<p>I chatted up the front desk manager during my BB stay, and when I mentioned Hotwire, she smiled and said that us Hotwire users usually get rates that are the lowest, but not always. She said that many times she sees Hotwire receipts that are tied with their best rates, or a bit higher. She recommended that if I wanted Wingate for future visits, hit the website or the 800 number before I buy through Hotwire, since there is no guarantee which hotel they will end up giving me. (Now that I have a Hotwire price point for a non-football weekend, I’ll probably do that.)</p>
<p>In my experience, Priceline is cheaper than Hotwire beacuse one runs the risk of only getting a room with a one bed. The Wingate usually has the same price for one or two beds, so after a winning bid, I suggest calling the hotel and requesting a certain room type. This works for many, but not all, hotels.</p>
<p>Bidding on Priceline, I suggest looking at the Express Deals and bidding a few dollars below that. In Tuscaloosa, the Wingate is the only hotel at that star level which uses Priceline/Hotwire.</p>
<p>When staying at the Wingate during a non-football weekend, they kept mentioning how they could meet or beat Priceline rates with their UA Parent rates. However, the rates they quoted were $20+ higher than what I was paying through Priceline, booking fee included. </p>
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<p>The tendency for Tuscaloosa fast food establishments and breakfast buffets to use styrofoam plates/cups and cheap plastic silverware is something I found very annoying as I’m used to being able to recycle or compost almost all household waste. The kinds of plastic (generally #5 or #6) used for these products is only recycled in a few jurisdictions, so it usually goes straight to the landfill after its one-time use. It took a couple years for Bama Dining to stop using such disposable plates and silverware for late night meals and AFAIK they haven’t switched to paper to-go containers, so smaller eateries will likely take a long time to switch.</p>
<p>^^^ That’s a really good observation about the sales-angle of what the front desk woman was doing. Of course she would steer us to her hotel pricing through the front door. Good catch.</p>
<p>I haven’t used Priceline in a few years, glad to hear they are an option for great deals. Thanks to Priceline, I stayed at the Maxwell House in Nashville (right on my marathon route, free ride to the starting line) 2 rooms, 2 nights for $51 a night. </p>
<p>Since DS is just 10 days into his Bama experience, I know I’ll want to splurge at least once on Hotel Capstone. Any tricks or advice on getting the best value? Does adding a night on the front or back of my stay help or hurt?</p>
<p>FYI - I got a really good deal on the Yellow Hammer Inn on Priceline for last March ($38). I included the Lake Tuscaloosa area in the bid. They were going to charge extra for two beds (when I thought there were going to be 4 of us going). It was a really secluded inn in a country club/golf course/residential area. Might be worth a look if you can get it at the same rates. I think regular rates were $139.</p>
<p>But that’s for SUNDAY night, right? I doubt one could get a cheap rate for Friday or Saturday of a game weekend. </p>
<p>I don’t mind paying a high rate for a nice hotel, but no way would I pay over 200 a night for a fleabag. When only the fleabags are available for game weekends, that’s when I make the drive to Bessemer or Hoover.</p>
<p>Yes, that’s only for Sunday night. Staying elsewhere Friday and Saturday. Was much cheaper for us to stay the extra night and fly back Monday (even adding the cost of the hotel and extra day car rental).</p>
<p>We lucked out for Parents Weekend, we are staying at the Hotel Capstone. arriving very late Thursday evening leaving Monday morning. We paid $115 for Thurs, $135 for Fri and Sat, $115 for Sunday night. We booked by Hotel.com. Funny when it listed the rooms all the other room categories listed $1000 a night for this weekend except the junior suite which was the rates I posted above. It had to be a mistake but I booked and confirmed. Had to prepay for the room. I did book this back in January.</p>