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I'm sorry to hear you had that experience, but EasyClick shouldn't automatically be faulted without first being able to establish if they had or hadn't booked properly w/Marriott, as thereuare stated. Did your EasyClick confirmation have a Marriott reservation number on it? Priceline confirmations always list both the Priceline request number as well as the hotel's reservation number from their booking system. Can you determine if you were given a Marriott-generated reservation number? If you did, this is not the fault of EasyClick IMHO. If not, then perhaps EasyClick dropped the ball and didn't secure your reservation properly, thus the call from them the day you were to check in. I was walked a few years ago on a booking made through Hotel.com (before my Priceline/Hotwire days) at Embassy Suites in Ft Lauderdale. I'm of the opinion that getting walked isn't a result of the hotel making calls to various booking sites and selecting those customers to get the shaft. Think about it. Why would a hotel, knowing they're overbooked that night, call EasyClick at 3:00pm advising their customer won't be accomodated. At 3:00pm, it's impossible to determine if the hotel will actually be full, despite the fact they're overbooked. What if they had 50 no shows that night, and wound up having space for you after all? My experience w/Embassy Suites was such that my flight arrived very late, and by the time we arrived at the hotel it was just after Midnight. Everyone else had simply arrived ahead of us and by the time we got there, there was no room in the inn. Incidentally, we were not given the night free either. We were instead given $40 "we're sorry" cash and cabbed to the Doubletree.

When sending the application for the $30 rebate, you also have to include a copy of your Entertainment Card. Expired Entertainment cards wouldn't work, because they have expiration dates printed right on them......just like a credit card. I just sent my rebate form in today for a hotel stay last week. My Entertainment Card clearly states it's good through Nov 05.

People are selling these coupons on EBAY! But without a copy of your Entertainment Card, you're out of luck, right? I feel sorry for the poor suckers who are going to find it out the hard way.... <link removed by thereuare so as to not promote such activity :) >

First bid of $90 rejected. Added a free zone, and accepted at $92. Also staying here the night of 3/22 on a Faster Free night promo, which was made possible by a previous Hyatt stay booked w/Hotwire and their "double the difference" guarantee. Nothing quite like good ol' American 'double dipping'..... :)

I failed to mention this property is designated a "customer favorite".

Click on the link below and enter "Hotwire" in the search engine. You'll see where it clearly states the $30 rebate can be used unlimited amounts of time. Check it out.... $30 Hotwire/Entertainment rebate And thanks, thereuare, for posting the method for purchasing through the affiliate link. I hope to use this little gem as often as possible in 2005! :)

Initial bid of $49 rejected. Added Sonoma and accepted at $51. Have stayed here before and it's a great hotel for a last minute local getaway.

4.5 star Hyatt Vineyard Creek - Santa Rosa (new hotel for the Hotwire list) Amenities: Restaurant Pool Fitness Spa Hi-Speed Internet Had been waiting for the opportunity to do a Hotwire Double-the-Difference claim at this property. Needed two rooms for tonite, so booked with w/Priceline for $51, and the other for $86 on Hotwire. Will receive a $70 refund on the $86 Hotwire room.

Per Hotwire's vacation package, the Hyatt Regency Sacramento (downtown zone) has added amenity icons of Hi-Speed Internet and Golf. 4* Hyatt Regency Sacramento Restaurant Pool Fitness Hi-Speed Internet (new icon) Golf (new icon) Business

It's certainly hard to imagine how Hotwire could rate a hotel 4.5 stars without as much as a restaurant, but here are the requirements of a 4.5 property according to their website. 4.5 Deluxe Example: Hyatt, Omni, Le Meridien Available in desirable locations, these hotels offer personalized service and outstanding quality. Properties feature tastefully furnished rooms that are cosmopolitan, yet still intimate. Guests are often pampered with extra perks such as bathrobes and turndown services. Superior dining is usually located on-site. Deluxe hotels generally provide all of the amenities you would find at an upscale hotel - such as room service, concierge, just a little more posh. They certainly give themselves an "out" by using such terms as "often" "usually" and "generally" !!! My gut tells me the 4.5 hotel you're seeing in the Hotel product is the Argonaut. The only amenity difference between the hotel and vacation package is the restaurant. Everything else matches. We've seen on a number of occasions where Hotwire displays different amenities in the hotel vs vacation product for the same property. Confusing? You bet!

Always consult the Vacation product in these mysteries!!! Hotwire's vacation product still shows the Argonaut as 4.5 stars, however has dropped the boutique icon that used to display. Current amenities are Restaurant, Fitness, Internet & Business. The vacation product also still lists the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf as 4 stars w/amenities of Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Internet & Business. So whatever the 4.5 star showing in the hotel-only product w/o restaurant remains a mystery, but at least we can rule out the Sheraton. :)

Thanks for your follow up. It sounds more like Hotwire doesn't issue refunds to credit cards for vendor service related issues. But they certainly refund to credit cards under their "double the difference" program, which I've participated three times. And a friend of mine was recently successfull getting a refund on a Hotwire airline ticket, paid with his credit card, of course. He had a sudden medical condition requiring immediate doctor's care and was forced to cancel his trip as a result. Hotwire refunded his airfare, less a $25 service charge. Real money refunded to the credit card, not "Hotdollars"! Based on his and your experience, I agree Hotwire's Customer Service is pretty good......

Just back from a 5-night stay at this great downtown Orlando hotel. We visit Orlando every couple of years or so to get our Disney & Universal fix. However, we are adults w/o children and this time decided to stay downtown at the Westin despite it's proximity from Disney World. We were looking for an adult oriented hotel as an escape from all day visits to the parks. We were pleased with our choice as the drive to/and from the parks was well worth it. When I say the Westin was our "choice", the downtown Orlando zone is one of those wonderful zones that only have one reported 4 star hotel, that being the Westin. After touring downtown, there simply is no other possible 4 star hotel to compete w/Westin on Priceline, short of one being built. We were placed on the Starwood Preferred Guest Floor despite being on a Priceline reservation. This meant daily newspaper delivery and a few other trivial amenities. Our room was large by many hotel standards. In addition to the wonderful Heavenly bed and bath, there was a full size sofa, desk with two-line speaker phone, and hi-speed internet hookup ($12.95 per day). There was a coffee maker in the bathroom w/Starbucks provided. I had strained my lower back a few weeks before the trip and the heavenly bed was just the prescription to recovery. Even better than my chiropractor :) . A few TripAdvisor reviews mentioned the a la carte nature of the Grand Bohemian, and they are right. There are no freebies at this hotel, and plan to spend bucks! Valet parking (no other options) is $19 per night. Bring a large wad of $1 bills for longer stays as the valets saw us multiple times per day! The Business Center charges $1 per minute for Internet usage and also a charge per page to use the printer. The nickel-and-diming of the hotel didn't bother us, however, as we paid $94 per night w/Priceline, compared to the hotel's rack rate of $349 weeknights and $149 weekends. There is a Starbucks outlet built into the corner of the hotel with both an outside public entrance, plus a separate one off the hotel lobby. As Starbucks junkies, we enjoyed getting our caffeine fix here in the mornings before heading to the amusement parks. The Bosendorfer lounge is very chic with it's Bohemian decor. The Boheme restaurant is a 4-diamond AAA recipient where we enjoyed a wonderful Saturday night dinner. Boheme Restaurant If you too are looking for an adult atmosphere while visiting Orlando, this is the place!

I stayed at the Pan Pacific just before Christmas, however not on a Hotwire booking. I was tempted to book w/Hotwire, but didn't want to wind up with the Clift (identical amenties as Pan Pacific). I booked a package that included full breakfast or parking. I paid $210 for the package, so even if you back out breakfast for two, you got a great rate on Hotwire. I was very pleased with the hotel, and hope you will be too.

Forgive me, but what city are we speaking of here?

Hey, it's the price of success for one Moderator of a busy, growing message board !! :)

Should this thread be moved to the Priceline board? I know the original posts were concerning Hotwire, but the title of the thread (especially the star rating of 4.5) leads one to believe the Westin was purchased through Hotwire for $75, when in fact it was a winning bid on Priceline. Thanks! :)

'Heads up' the 3.5* Crowne Plaza Union Square San Francisco has been upgraded to 4* per Hotwire's vacation package. Amenities are: Restaurant Fitness Hi-Speed Internet (new amenity) Business Center Are we seeing any sort of upgrade pattern w/Hotwire as more & more hotels add hi-speed internet? This now makes four 4* properties in the US-East zone with Hi-Speed Internet being the only amenity icon that distinguishes the Crowne Plaza from the Grand Hyatt, Westin St Francis and Argent.

Oh, sorry 'bout that! :)

$19 accepted on first bid. Your Offer Price: $19.00 Total Rental Days: 5 Subtotal: $95.00 Taxes & Fees: $36.40 Total Charges: $131.40 Alamo Rent a Car Orlando Intl. 1 Airport Blvd Orlando, FL 32827 As info, Hotwire wanted $24.95 per day for same dates & car type (full size).

Two things...... 1. Did you try to contact Priceline through this link? priceline.com/customerservice/email/Corp/emailanswer.asp?category=0&question=0&pagetitle=Send+us+your+feedback I have had good results emailing through Ms Gillingham's office on two occasions. At least you shouldn't get canned responses going this route. 2. A friend of mine recently was awarded The Benson Hotel in Portland, OR on Priceline. He and another gentlemen were sharing the room, so he called the day of check-in and requested a room with two double beds. He was told there were no double bedded rooms available. At that point, my friend immediatly went to the hotel's website and checked availability only to find that the only rooms that displayed were ones with two double beds. Upon check-in, he inquired again and was told that the hotel only assigns rooms w/one bed for Priceline customers. He discussed the situation with the Manager who agreed to assign them a room with two double beds and waive the additional charge. I've also read many Priceline reviews of this hotel, and it seems their normal practice is to offer customers an upgrade to a King room for $20-30. Despite the fact Priceline only guarantees one bed per room, I believe it's bad business on the part of member hotel chains to have such exclusive policies. Are hotels such as Ramada Canoga Park and The Benson trying to make additional revenue because they believe their Priceline rates are too low? Do they need to nickel-and-dime the Priceline customer any way they can in order to bring the room revenue up to what they feel is an acceptable level? If so, they should just increase their Priceline rates, enabling them to be a little more flexible when it comes to room type assignments. Practices such as those in this thread only make the Priceline customer feel they as though they are being punished because they didn't book directly with the hotel. And that doesn't go too far to try and impress the customer to book directly with them next time.

On my last Hotwire stay at the Burlingame Embassy Suites, I did *not* mention my leaving my car for two weeks. Nor did the clerk at check-in even ask if I was parking a car. No auto information such as make, model, license plate number, etc was ever asked for. In other words, parking at this hotel is pretty much "don't ask, don't tell." Yes, you're right, neither Burlingame or South San Francisco Embassy Suites are showing on Hotwire for your travel date. The Sheraton is very close to the ES. Hyatt perhaps 1/2 mile away (within eyesite). I can only wonder how many people staying at nearby hotels actually park their cars at ES.

Hotwire wants $133 for the same hotel, same date. Completely useless information, except to reassure you you're still ahead of the game despite the higher weekday rate you paid! :)

Hotwire seems to be a crap shoot from my observations. Sometimes the fares are practically the same as conventional fares (if not higher) then other times I've found them to be quite the bargain, as was the case in my SFO-MIA search. Because of this, I always check Hotwire because you never know when they're going to surprise you.