Hotwire Hotel: 2 1/2* Help Waikiki Beachside

[bqredsox24]

Does anyone think this is the Aston Waikiki Beach Circle?

Selected amenities include: Near Beach, Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Tennis Nearby

5/10-5/13...$67 a night.

Sounds low but their standard rooms are around $100 now on Expedia.

I really want a partial ocean view one with hope of getting an upgrade to ocean view. Those POV rooms are $113 on Expedia. Might be worth it?

Never new Hawaii hotel search would be so complex :) :)

[LoneStar]

I think it is probably NOT the Aston Waikiki Beach Circle. Unfortunately, there are LOTS of 2 1/2 star Waikiki hotels popping up on hotwire for those days, and hotwire's Waikiki zones are very precise. So you're going to need to invest at least a half hour of time going through them on a "packages" search and figuring out (with a map) which hotel is the cheapest in each zone and star level.

That said, the general reviews I've read of priceline 2 star Waikiki hotels (which is what a 2 1/2 star hotwire hotel would be) are almost uniformly unfavorable. Almost everyone agrees it's worth "upgrading" to the 3 star level. And looking at priceline for those days, there are good deals on 3 star properties, probably under 70 bucks. So why do you want to fool around with a 2 star?

BTW, if you decide to bid on priceline for a 3 star, look very carefully at the available options. There seem to be 3 or 4 properties going for almost exactly the same price in a packages search, so you could get any one of them. Make sure they're all acceptable to you!

[bqredsox24]

Oh ok...well I only chose Beachfront, Waterfront and Beachside and this was listed as Beachside. The list on this site shows the Aston Waikiki Beach Circle as 2.5...but that is ok. I already screwed myself with the Royal Garden (my mistake)...there is NO way I am bidding on Priceline again for a 3star...even with a packages search. I'll just go with what I know...

Thanks!

[LoneStar]

Hey, making one mistake doesn't mean you'll make another! Just check the right boxes. :)

Believe me, based on what I saw on the hotwire package page, it would be FAR easier to get an unexpected hotwire hotel. The zones they're offering are near baffling (they're pretty much dividing Waikiki block-by-block), so you'd have to be incredibly careful in trying to dicipher your probable hotel.

In contrast, princeline just offers 2 Waikiki zones. And if you follow the bidding strategies outlined here, you are likely to get far more value on priceline (heck, the mistake you made on priceline is STILL a better deal than hotwire!). That's because everyone at hotwire pays the same markup. On priceline, you can use bidding smarts to reduce that markup.

[bqredsox24]

you're right :) I'm going to go back after the prince on priceline...I'll post the results!! :)