moviemom

I have shared reviews here in the past and gladly. We have just checked into our room at this property and it is a dump. Exactly as bad as the TripAdvisor reviews led me to believe, except that (knock wood) so far, no evidence of bedbugs. The hotel smells horrible. Despite "no smoking" signs on every room door, the whole floor reeks of cigarette smoke. Inside the room, there's been clear water damage in the bathroom that was badly painted over. And I do mean badly - it looks like a kindergarten class was unleashed with yellow paint and paintbrushes. In the past, I have bid only on 3* and 4* properties - and have been rewarded with nice hotels. When we went to bid for this trip, we saw on this site that the Homewood Suites on Mt. Moriah Rd. have been downgraded to a 2.5* property. We had stayed there before, liked it, and wanted to stay there again, so I bid at the 2.5* level. If this hotel is a 2.5*, I'd hate to see what a 2* looks like. Really, I have never complained about a hotel until this one. But it's awful. For the record, all correspondence with Priceline's customer service dept. about this issue has been met with a response of "no changes, no refunds."

As I posted on the North Carolina thread, we went through Better Bidding to Priceline and got a reservation at the Comfort Inn Medical Park in Durham, NC, for $40/night for 6 nights. It's for a trip this coming week. I have dealt with Priceline before and have been pleased. Got good rates at both the Millennium Hotel and the Homewood Suites in Durham. At the time we bid, about a month ago, the Homewood Suites was listed as 2.5*, and we didn't see the Comfort Inn Medical Park listed. But when our bid went in, we got the Comfort Inn. Frankly, I thought, "How bad can it be? It's a Comfort Inn. It'll probably be plain, but okay." Well, today I looked on Trip Advisor, and the reviews for this hotel are horrible. I would ordinarily take reviews with some grain of salt; however, the management itself replied to some of the comments, apologizing and acknowledging that they've had their troubles. I am heartsick. I don't want to stay there. One of the posts was a detailed report about bedbugs, though I don't see the hotel listed on the Bedbug Registry. Maybe the customer/reviewer didn't know about the Bedbug Registry. (I didn't until today.) Is there anything at all that can be done, other than throw the $240 away and stay elsewhere? I wrote to Priceline customer service, but I know they have a policy of no changes. Thanks for any help you might be able to give.

Bid $40 first time out, having seen that the Homewood Suites was 2.5* and not seeing mention of the Comfort Inn on the list. I am heartsick. Reviews of this hotel are terrible (see Trip Advisor), including bedbugs. The management acknowledges that at least some of the complaints are valid. I'll post my question in a separate message. We went through Better Bidding's link to get to Priceline.

Stayed there May 7-10 for what turned out to be graduation weekend for most colleges and universities in the area. I got in around midnight on May 7 and had called ahead to let them know of my late arrival. The desk clerk and bellmen were extremely helpful at that late hour, and my entire stay was just great. Everyone, including the person who brought up room service breakfast, was very helpful. The room was every bit as nice as advertised, and my stay could not have been nicer.

I am a frequent Priceline and Hotwire user and have had great results with both - in part, thanks to the tips on this site. Thanks for that! My brother, however, manages a four-star hotel, and his experience with Priceline guests has NOT been good. He says that 9 times out of 10, when he gets unwarranted complaints about his hotel and rudeness from guests, he will check and find out that they are Priceline customers. As a result, he HATES dealing with Priceline guests. And I completely understand that. People, when you book a room through Priceline or Hotwire, please remember to be every bit as good a guest as if you had paid top dollar. Also, please remember to tip (doormen, bellmen, housekeeping staff, etc.) as if you were paying full fee. And be kind, people! These are human beings running the hotel. And in these recessionary times, many hotels are just getting by. Your consideration will be much appreciated.