What would qualify as a 4-star hotel in the area? Maybe some of the Meredith hotels?
Since we own a condo in the area, I haven't used Priceline to try to book anything there. I have used it extensively in the past for business purposes and usually end up with a decent (but not what I would consider stellar) deal in most locations.
You can try calling the hotel front desk. First ask them for their occupancy rate during the time you want to book, and then if they have a lot of vacancy you can sometimes negotiate with the desk clerk a moderate amount.
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