I had to make a quick reservation because my business in the area changed. I arrived at the Fairlfield Inn in Salida to find a very nice hotel. Staff was excellant. Price was the best in the area. I have returned a couple of times.

It appears Priceline customers do indeed get the "up sell". I was informed at check in that breakfast is not included unless you book directly through the hotel. When I told the manager that their website stated the rooms come with complimentary breakfast he became very argumentative and insisted that most hotels charge much more than he does for breakfast. I informed him that I travel a lot and have never paid additional for this type breakfast and it wasn't the price ( which was only $5.00 per person) it was the principal. The charge was ok but I would share this information with priceline. My room smelled of stale cigarettes (this is a non smoking facility) and the hair dryer was visibly broken. I had to ask for soap because there was none in the room. I would have pushed the issue and changed rooms but I was exhausted and decided to live with it for one night. At least the room was clean.

Our son's baseball team participated in a tournament in Modesto recently. We chose not to stay at the same hotel he and his teammates were located, but opted for the Fairfield Inn across the highway which was ideal for all concerned. The room was clean and comfortable, with internet access. I noticed other reviewers' comments about the proximity to train tracks, but I have no recollection of hearing or being interrupted by the sounds of any going by. The complimentary breakfast had far more variety than the usual "continental" breakfasts served at many hotels. The do-it-yourself-waffle-iron was quite popular with the guests, although I refrained from having any after filling up on all the other breakfast fare. Close to freeway, shopping, restaurants. Great value for the money.

For the past 8 or so years, my primary method of securing hotels is Priceline bidding. Of the 100+ rooms I have booked, I have never had an issue. Until now. I got worried when I saw the priceline reviews saying the owner/manager was trying to charge extra money for rooms booked on priceline.

Granted, there were 3 of us and apparently priceline bids are for 2 people, but the guy refused to give us a room with anything but a single king bed unless we paid $30 extra. If the front desk guy had not been incredibly rude and insulting about it, we would have made do, but instead we called priceline and got the charge reversed. BEWARE!