lettezilla

We called again, went through it all again, and pointed out that 65% of THEIR OWN customers wouldn't recommend someone stays here, and that overall satisfaction was 2.5, but they really don't seem to care at all. The rep claims that if they show up and the hotel is gross, they call the number and it will be sorted out. Does anyone know how this process works, and whether it actually works? I have visions of them standing in the parking lot in Newark late on a Sunday night, unable to stay in this dump and Hotwire continuing their excellent customer service by doing nothing except offering a refund, if we're lucky. Then they have to drive around, find somewhere last minute, etc. The whole thing sucks, and I've read more posts here in the general tips forum that definitely has me concerned that Hotwire is being intentionally deceptive with this and other listings. The two things they have going for them are the good deals and their good name, but if they screw enough people over, not sure the good deals will be enough to keep them going.

Thanks for the sympathy and suggestions. The amenities are: Smoke Free Rooms, Airport Shuttle, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service) I tried phoning and got a really unhelpful agent who challenged my sources for reviews. I read reviews verbatim from Hotels.com and tripadvisor, and pointed out that the place sounds absolutely disgusting, and she just said she couldn't do anything over and over. She said they had just reviewed the property and "felt confident" it is a 3*, but if they show up and it's gross, they should phone and hotwire will "see what they can do." Yeah right, I'm sure their customer service will really help out when they check in and find a dirty bathroom and/or bedbugs. Just so frustrating. I know I'm ahead overall because of betterbidding and hotwire, but this experience is definitely going to make me think twice before using an opaque booking site, just because I think hotwire has an incentive to be dishonest about their star ratings, to make higher prices seem more reasonable. No idea what to do now, but I think I'm just going to have to book directly through a hotel at this stage, just to be sure of what they're going to get when they turn up. :)

Really disappointed with this one, to be honest. Booked a 3* with matching amenities to the Holiday Inn (which is all that's listed here for 3* EWR), and got the Ramada Plaza, listed here as a 2.5*. I booked this for my in-laws, who were looking for a discount hotel for when they flew out of EWR. The reviews on this place are terrible, it sounds filthy, and I can't believe it's actually 3* level. I really feel like it was labelled as a 2.5* when I looked earlier in the week, but other sites like Hotels.com and Expedia currently have it as 3* as well. I think I'm just going to have to eat the $56 after fees and book them somewhere else, because I don't think there's any way to contest this with hotwire, and I don't want to make them stay in a pit. My first experience getting totally burned by Hotwire! I guess that it might be helpful to add this "win" to the master list, to try to prevent anyone else from making the same experience? I don't think any of this is betterbidding's fault, by the way, I think Hotwire and the hotel have done something sneaky, but would like to prevent the same thing from happening to anyone else. I know this site is only as good as the data we users put in, and for the most part it's excellent and really helpful, so hopefully this will just be a moderately expensive learning experience. :)

Just to feed back on results, ended up with the Avenue Crowne Plaza for $72. It was listed as a 4* Gold Coast, with Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, and Internet. I missed out on a 4.5* for $66 Gold Coast, which was Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Biz, Net and Tennis. Waited to check with my husband and it was gone! Oh well... And as always, I used the betterbidding HOTWIRE link for this, using the hotel list sheet has been super helpful. Thanks!

Hi Betterbidders, I'm looking for a deal on a room next Monday night for 1 night. Using the site's HOTWIRE link, I searched and found some hotels that don't seem to match up with the main list. Is it possible I'm missing a more updated list somewhere? I'm looking Loop/Streeterville/Mag Mile (anywhere close in that's cheap, really) Streeterville: 3* Internet and Biz Center-- is this probably the Holiday Inn Express Mag Mile? It's the cheapest hotel at $53 2.5* Fitness, pool and restaurant-- $59 2* no amenities listed-- $69 3.5* pool, biz, internet, restaurant-- $63-- maybe the Hilton Garden Inn? As there isn't anything listed below a 3* on the list, I have no idea what those middle ones are. As they're not as nice and more expensive, I probably won't go with one, but was just very curious! All thoughts welcome, thanks!

Just wanted to report back, I used the BetterBidding.com link to search hotwire, and found that what I thought was the Palmer House Hilton was going for $79. Indeed, it was. Here's a couple of points just for information: I tried to break this into 2 reservations as the first 2 nights are vacation and the last 3 are for work and will be reimbursed. However, the lowest price for the weekend block was $129/night, so we figured it was worth the potential confusion when turning in receipts! Also, as some people have mentioned, I was offered a paid upgrade upon checkin when I was at the Palmer House this weekend. I think it was $39, and included a bigger room on a "premier" floor and breakfast for 2. We declined, but this might be a good option for someone. They also do late checkout until 4pm for $25. We were on the 10th floor, and it was as nice as the (unpaid) upgrade to a premier floor we had earlier in the year. I'm glad we got this hotel again as it's a great location for everything we want, is nice without being stuffy, and is very comfortable. Thanks, BetterBidding!

Just booked the Palmer House Hilton 10/31-11/1 for $85 Amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business I, as always, used the BetterBidding HOTWIRE links to make this booking, and was pleased that my research on the Hotwire list of hotels was correct. We stayed in this hotel in May and LOVED it. We'll see if that experience lives up to that! Thanks again to everyone at BetterBidding...

Just wanted to report back, I used the PRICELINE link from the top of the page here, and started at $65 just JFK. Went up to $70 adding Bayside and it was accepted. Should have been more patient and gone up more slowly, but I'm happy with this for what we're looking for. Thanks again for all the great help here, such a useful resource!

we were very very pleased with this hotel for a long weekend in NYC. one tip-- make sure you bring the address, as i didn't see a sign out front and it's easy to walk past. the only negative i experienced was at check-in. there were three people working the front desk, and all were occupied. after 10 minutes, still with same people (the desk people were apparently being too helpful and giving tips about restaurants and bars, when the concierge desk sat open with 2 staff and no guests). so it took us nearly a half hour to check in, and there was a huge line after us, so i was kind of ticked off. got to our room, and indeed it was tiny. but that's what i was expecting from the reviews, and it was perfectly sized for a couple without a ton of luggage. bathroom was completely normal sized, and bed was low but normal sized as well. two bedside tables and a small desk were all that there was, plus a closet and cupboard including safe. i can see where people might complain if they're used to giant houses from most of america, but i am a city person and have lived in tiny apartments for most of my life. in fact, this place made us realize we preferred a smaller bedroom so there is less likely to be clutter! it was a great japanese feel, very stylized yet comfortable. anyway, like everyone said, it's a great location, 2 blocks away from the park is great as you can eat your breakfast watching joggers. standard city amenities nearby including 24 hour drugstore and starbucks, and subway nearby. there is a very cool garden behind checkin, and apparently a roof deck that we didn't get around to seeing. our room had a view of the river, BTW. the main bar becomes quite the party place, although we were on the 19th floor so had no noise problems. internet is $10/day, business center is $1/minute for internet. bonus was that they didn't charge to hold our bags for a day on our day of departure. would definitely stay here today, especially at the great priceline price! ($105, if i remember correctly)

Thanks again to betterbidding for finding us a great deal for our memorial-day weekend getaway. I'd looked at rates a few weeks ago and found lots around $100, but was having a hard time finding a flight that would suit my work schedule. procrastinated and was disappointed to find almost everything had jumped to closer to $150 or more. was reluctant to use priceline for this because the zones were just too big and seemed a bit strange to me. decided to look once more (using the HOTWIRE links at the top of the page, of course), and was very pleased to find a 4* in the loop for $79, well within my budget. reviews make me suspect this place will be great for the price, although it sounds like it's not nice enough to command the rack rates. thanks again!

Room Cost: $105/night I wasn't too worried about which area we were in, just wanted a clean decent room at a decent price. Started with bidding on 4* downtown with a pretty lowball bid, worked my way up through the rebid zones to about $120 before stopping and having my husband log on and start the process again with 3.5*, got this on the second zone added. Main complaint on Trip Advisor seems to small rooms, but I don't expect that to bother me as I really only want it as a place to crash and shower. Additional note for a point of data-- I was considering adding a night, so tried the "add a night" button on the website, and they offered me the same hotel for $190/night for the night of 5/7. No thanks... I, of course, used the PRICELINE link from this site, and want to say thanks for all the help!

Hi everyone, I've visited this site in the past on the recommendation of a friend, but didn't need to book anything then. The NYT article recently reminded me of how helpful this forum can be (I can only imagine how much traffic you must be getting, congrats!), so I thought I would pop in. I've read quite a few of the general starting threads including the re-bidding explained, and *think* I know what I need to do, but wanted to run it by you experts if you don't mind too much. We're going to be in NYC for the weekend of 5-8-5/10. We're not going to be doing touristy stuff much, so lean towards the Downtown/Financial District/Soho area, but anywhere south of the park would be great. Don't need anything fancy but don't want to even worry about how clean a place is going to be. I can find a lot of places for that weekend for $140-$150 range on transparent sites, if I could get down to $100 I would be happy although will happily take advice. I'm thinking of starting out looking for 4*, going down to a 3.5* if I run through the options unsuccessfully. I believe this gives me 5 re-bid zones at the start, and then another 3 at the 3.5 level? (although I know I need to check every time I go through the process to make sure nothing has added-- I really don't want to end up staying in Long Island City, for example!) I found this from another post... Would this process work starting with Downtown and adding other relevant zones? One thing I haven't read is why the browser close every 5 bids? If I bugger it up, is that when I get locked out for 72 hours, or will it just not let me try that combination? Any advice for a starting price welcome as well...I will of course use the PRICELINE link at the top of every page! Thanks in advance, sorry for the novel.