Congratulations, you got your price of $36 for a hotel room, and we've upgraded your hotel quality level to a 3-star hotel! Ahhh music to my ears.

My latest Priceline hotel purchase landed me at the Four Points by Sheraton in Fairview Heights, IL. At $36 a night, there isn't much to complain about even if I had to bunk with rats and share a bathroom with the entire floor. But this hotel far exceeded my expectations.

The bathroom was beautiful, spacious, and oh-so clean. The bed was soft with what seemed like hundreds of pillows. It sure makes it hard get up early and head to work with comfort like this. The TV was larger than most hotels provide, and while I won't watch TV on vacation, I do enjoy the company while I eat dinner and work in my room.

The only flaw of this hotel was the construction in the restaurant and lobby area. I wanted to order room service, but rather than tell me upon check-in or even put a note in the menu, I ended up calling the number three times before finally calling the front desk who told me room service wasn't available. I had to drag my tired body downstairs and find a table where I could order food to take back to my room. As it turned out, the waitress took my order and called it to the kitchen. Why couldn't I just call her and then come get the food when it was ready?

But other than this, the entire thirty-six dollar experience was worth it. This hotel earns my thumbs up for sure!