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Hi, I've exchanged email with Hotwire about this. It turns out that if you select the hotel first and look at the map on the hotel page, you will see different maps depending on the area. But if you look at the listing for many hotels, and select the "Area map" link to the right of the price, then you get the same map for both areas. This is what I was doing when I made the above observation. -P.

Watch out here. There is actually no hotel called the "Sheraton City". Rather, there are: - Sheraton University City - Sheraton Center City - Sheraton Philadelphia City Center and maybe others as well with Sheraton and City in the name. These are all different. This hotel turned out to be the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center. When you look at the Hotwire maps associated with Center City East and Center City West-University, they are exactly the same map. Yes -- exactly the same; it's not just that they overlap in the middle. This hotel is in the middle, which is fine. Having said all that, I think we will enjoy our visit. The hotel appears to be in a very good area for what we plan to do. It's at 17th and Race, midway between CIty Hall and the Museum. -P.

More details: Amenities: Restaurant, Fitness center, High-speed internet, Laundry facilities. Cost: $80/night + $17.50 tax.

Sorry I wasn't more specific. This was Downtown East. There was only one 3 star and one 3-1/2 star. This was the 3-1/2 star.

When I go to Portland I always stay at the Mallory. I've never reserved through Hotwire or Priceline, though. Their restaurant is excellent (especially for breakfast) with some unusual choices. It was a favorite of James Beard's. The lobby and rooms are nicely restored to the feeling of the original early-20th-century construction, and over many visits I've noticed that the pattern of the tiles on the bathroom floors is different in almost every room. (OK, big deal, but I think it's cool.) Most rooms are on the small side, and some aren't great (either facing another wing of the hotel, or -- one example I heard about though didn't experience -- kind of behind the elevator and therefore noisy.)

I would recommend the Hotel Lindbergh in the 7th, at the Sevres-Babylon metro. It's in the range 100-Euro rnge, very clean and nice. The staff speaks some English. We stayed for a week in September with our dog. We didn't book through hotwire or priceline, but thought I'd pass this info on. You can see my review on tripadvisor.com. (It's the one entitled "Liked the Lindbergh and would stay there again.")

Hi, I just reserved at the 3-1/2 star and it was Club Quarters. A friend of mine just reserved at the 3 star and it was Crowne Plaza.

Looking at past messages, the price is creeping up: $75 for me, $70 on 4jan05, $59 on 14dec04, $61 in may2004. And, after I booked my reservation at $75, I went back to get some more info for this posting, and now it's $77, only a half-hour later! It's no longer a "customer favorite", by the way. Last year we stayed in the 3* Holiday Inn (also obtained through Hotline, and results posted here); this is still a "customer favorite" (or, I should say, there still is a 3* customer favorite which I'm guessing is the Holiday Inn), but since it was also $75, we thought we'd try a 4* for the same price. Besides, the Holiday Inn, despite being clean, was a bit run down. That wasn't a big deal, but as I said, we thought we'd try someplace else. I'll post notes on "the experience" after the fact -- we're not going till the weekend of Feb 5. What does "customer favorite" mean, anyway?

Amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities Taxes $17.95/day, parking $15/day (good till 6 PM checkout day). Clean and spacious; not elegant. Great location. Great deal. Helpful staff; for instance, we arrived 9:30 PM and the woman at the counter suggeested where we could go within a few blocks to find places to eat. Hope this helps....

Hi, The instructions say that with Hotwire bids, you can't see your amenities if you come back after you reserve. But this isn't true. You can go back to your Hotel intinerary later, and click on "View Hotel's Amenities", and it shows them. I stayed at a Hotwire hotel on Feb. 6-8; today is the 9th, and I just did the above, and it worked. -P.