Priceline and Hotwire Forum: CA Los Angeles Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica - Priceline and Hotwire Forum

Booked this hotel via Hotwire at a rate that turned out to be an error. The hotel did not demand any additional payment, thankfully, but did erroneously bill me a room rate anyway. (This is not yet resolved, but I assume it will be soon. Voicemails are underway...) FYI, the rate I paid to Hotwire was $24. The rate Hotwire paid was $16. Apparently, it should have been entered into the system as $169, and someone dropped the 9…

This hotel is currently (mid-February 2005) transitioning between a Four Points Sheraton and a boutique-styled Sheraton, named the Sheraton Delfina. Many of the full-fledged Sheraton stylings are already in place. Comfortable Sweet Sleeper bed and a very soothing, swank lobby area attest to the upgrade. At the same time, it retains some Four Points benefits, like free self-parking downstairs. In room coffee. Hi speed internet for a fee, $2 charge for local or toll free calls.

However, it’s not without its problems. Our bathroom wasn’t fully tiled, and the shower was frankly outdated. (This room is next to a service elevator -- a silent one during our stay -- and there is a small door that leads from the bathroom, presumably to the elevator shaft or maintenance room? The tiles on the floor stop short of this extra door. See the photos, linked below.) They put in a nice sink, but didn’t work on the shower. Strange.

Another item that needs overhauling is the windows. We were in room 401, which is itself a smaller, oddly shaped room at the end of a very long hallway (Hotwire discrimination?) so perhaps our room had old 1960s windows while other rooms were fully modernized. But our windows leaked – both air and water, when it rained. (Yes, it rains in southern California.) There was a puddle on the windowsill in the morning. Other minor stuff still shows that they're in transition. The drop ceiling in the lobby isn't in place, so you can see the pipes etc. if you look up. Signs are contradictory, some saying Four Points, others saying Delfina. So kinks are still being worked out.

For the price we paid, we were certainly happy. The regular $289 rate would have been way too much for this room, though. This will be a great hotel *if* they truly finish fixing it up.

Lastly, somewhere else (Tripadvisor, probably?) I read a comment that this hotel is in a seedy area. Not so. There is a commercial strip a few blocks inland, but Pico Street, where the hotel is located, leads straight to the beach. 5 blocks, tops. It's not beachfront, but it's not in the middle of a strip mall either. And certainly not in a slum!

The hotel's own website, currently still as a Four Points, is HERE.

See photos of our room HERE -- and please accept my apologies for some of the giant photos. I stupidly uploaded them without resizing them. I'm submitting smaller versions of the same pics now. (thereuare, feel free to delete the bigger ones if you wish...)

FYI, it took 3 calls and 6 weeks, but the hotel finally correctly credited my card for the overbilling. The credit posted yesterday. They had billed me for the room rate, instead of billing Hotwire.

And a slight correction: Hotwire paid $18 plus tax for the room, totaling $20.53... indeed, this was an error, and should have been 189 plus tax. I paid 24 plus Hotwire taxes/fees of 9.95, total $33.95.

Customer service (the accounting department) was astonishingly slow in getting this fixed. That's the biggest negative that I can express about this hotel.