Priceline Hotel: 4* Key West Reach Resort

[eaglssong]

Hello,

This is my first post here, and my first successful bid, so I hope I get it right.

This morning, I placed a bid of $119 for a 4 star hotel in Key West for one night. July 22nd 2010. This bid was rejected, but I received notice that if I wished to bid $23 more, I might be successful. I did that (probably should have waited and just gone up incrementally, but I'm learning).

My bid of $139 was accepted.

Taxes = $26.77

Total: = $165.77

I called the resort, and found out that parking would run me $15 plus tax to self park, or $20 plus tax for Valet Parking. The resort fee is another $28.13 including tax. All of these fees to be paid at the hotel.

After my bid was accepted, I called the resort directly to request two beds in the room, as I will be traveling with two children (ages 9 and 15) and was informed I would have to do that at checkin. I just checked the hotel site itself and acted as if I was going to make a reservation, and it said there are no two bedded rooms available, so that's pretty scary. Should I bother to pack an air mattress, just in case? :)

If anyone has stayed at the Reach Resort, I'd love to hear about your experience with them.

And yes, I did use the PRICELINE link at the top of the page, so thank you!! I've learned a lot here already.

[nd88]

There is no guarantee you will be able to get 2 beds on any PRICELINE purchase and from the research you have done it appears even more unlikely in this instance since their website shows no 2-bed rooms available. Be prepared, bring the air mattress. The usual advice on this forum for PRICELINE counteroffers is to rebid near the mid-point of your original bid and the amount of the counteroffer. Most of the time you would be successful at an amount below the counteroffer, although this may require waiting 24 hours if there are no free rebids in the zone.

[eaglssong]

Thanks for the advice to bring an air mattress. As of now, I'm not so sure I am thrilled with this whole thing, but I'm going to just suck it up and hope for the best. The kids will love it no matter what. I've seen some really nasty reviews about this place, but the majority seem to be pretty good, and it's only for one night. As for the accepted price, that's actually much lower than what I was being shown on the resort's website, so perhaps that was a deal, even with the extra fees.

[kiltman]

Looking at their website for the same night, the price is $149 plus all the extra incidentals.

You got hosed man.

[yellowdog]

eaglssong

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding :)

Yes, it looks like it's best to bring an air mattress. PRICELINE only guarantee a room for 2 adults. That could mean 1 bed.

We hope you'll get a nice stay.

Yellowdog.

[eaglssong]

Thanks everybody,

Kiltman, I don't feel as if I got hosed, but would have preferred to get a better price than $10 under what the hotel is asking for directly. And who knows? Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised when I get there.

What really got me upset a little was that I deliberately didn't click the resort button, knowing there were extra fees involved.

The resort really does look very nice, and the good reviews (the majority) seem really happy with the place.

As an update, I tried that pretend reservation request again a couple of times, and have not seen that "two beds not available" message again. It may not mean anything, but I did send a written request to the hotel, just so it's in their records. I know we don't get HHonors points when booking through PRICELINE, but I am a member, so hopefully that will help me get the two beds too.

I'll follow up with a review after we get back.

[thereuare]

eaglssong,

Just wanted to say that i think you have a great attitude. :)

I suspect you'll have a great trip with your family no matter where you would have ended up staying.

[Judy958]

Hello!

I stayed there just a few weeks ago through PRICELINE and I think you got a fine rate. The hotel itself is lovely and right on the water. Nice pool and beach area with jet ski rental. Nice restaurant, outdoor porch with billiards and hammocks. Very nice. Outdoor sitting areas throughout the hotel. We booked two rooms, for a couple and then three women. We, as the couple, arrived first and got I believe room 216? which turned out to be a King suite, corner unit, with ocean view, overlooking pool and promenade. Gorgeous. We were extremely pleased. Then, the three ladies arrived and for the same price were show to a room in the back with double beds and a street view. Standard hotel room, no suite. They were far less excited and after viewing our room and having their expectations set, it was both a let-down and a bit uncomfortable for all of us, having paid the same rates. So, my best advise is to smile and be as nice as possible to your hotel clerk. And show up early so you have the best choice of rooms available. Enjoy!

[eaglssong]

Thank you Judy. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I just saw your answer. I'm going to be as nice as possible to the clerk (and everyone else). I do that as a matter of course, having spent years in customer service jobs, so I know what they go through. I'll be very happy with whatever we get, as long as there are two beds. I had emailed Hilton's HHonors program and made the request, and I did get a very nice reply that they'd marked my reservation with that request, so I'm hopeful. I'm not sure how early we'll be arriving, as we're booked for the morning at Theater of the Sea, and then it will be a couple of hours drive down to Key West (with a stop for lunch on the way down). Should be fairly early though.

Again, thanks for your input. I'm now feeling much better about the resort, and I'm sure the kids will just love it too.

:) Anne

[eaglssong]

I am now considering canceling my reservation, as money is extremely tight and having to deal with that extra $50 when we get there, in addition to meals is just not making me happy, especially since the Priceline booking isn't really saving me much at all ($10??). I probably won't decide until the day we're scheduled to be there though.

I have contacted Priceline about my concerns, and they haven't even had the courtesy to reply to my emails, as submitted through their website, and that makes me really unhappy. I'm just so unhappy that after NOT clicking the resort box when bidding, that I actually got stuck with a resort. We're not going to be there long enough to enjoy the resort facilities.

Sorry if my attitude isn't quite as good as it was before, but this just has not been the greatest experience for me, and I am (and have informed Priceline) loathe to ever use Priceline again. I'll let you know if I ever do hear from them.

Thanks for letting me vent.

:)

[esd087]

eaglssong -- sorry to inform you, but you won't get a refund on this. Priceline offers are non-refundable. The only time I got a refund was for an airline ticket, because of a death in the family.

Don't shy away from Priceline -- I am a Priceline addict and it's a wonderful way to get a nice vacation at a cheap rate. You didn't get the greatest deal this time because it was your first time and you didn't know all the inside tricks -- plus that's an expensive area anyways. Just do TONS of research -- peruse this website and learn how it's done. There's all kinds of tricks and strategies that you can use to get the best deal on the best hotel.... anyways, I hope your vacation goes well.

[eaglssong]

Thanks ESD,

I didn't really expect them to refund my money. I would however have appreciated the courtesy of a reply, but after two submissions, I've heard nothing from them.

I'm still not sure if we'll be using the reservation or not, but I suspect not, and I'll just eat the costs expended so far.

And while I know people who have gotten some great deals with Priceline, I just don't see me trying them again. I spent a lifelong work career in customer service, and not replying to an email is just not the kind of company I want to do business with.

[eaglssong]

Update in the interest of fairness.........

Yesterday I sent them one more email. Rather a scathing email about their lack of any sort of customer service. That seems to have shaken them up enough to have sent this:

Dear Anne,

Thank you for taking the time to send us an e-mail. We apologize if you

found our customer service to be unsatisfactory regarding your

reservation at the Reach Resort Waldorf Astoria Collection.

We take your comments very seriously and have forwarded them to the

appropriate individuals for consideration. We apologize for any

inconvenience.

We once again apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Namrata K.

Customer Service Specialist""

Now let's see if I hear anything further from them. Time is getting short, so I would really like to hear what they have to say (if anything).

Also in the interest of fairness, many of my friends use Priceline and love it. They've gotten many great buys on hotels, and that's what brought me to this site to begin with. My main complaint with this reservation is that I deliberately did not request a resort, but if I keep the reservation, I will be stuck with an additonal $48 or so for parking and the resort fee. That's what I was trying to avoid.

Okay... enough griping from me. Another few days and we're off on an adventure. Whether or not that will include Key West? Guess we're going to have to wait and see. :)

[eaglssong]

I finally heard from Priceline, and frankly, they were pretty nasty in tone, and reminded me about the agreement I'd made and that there would be no refund. The funny part is that I never once asked for a refund. I only asked about the policy where I'd been given a resort when I had not checked off the box for a resort. What I myself had missed in the agreement was the sentence that stated I could be given a resort, which might incur additional costs. Live and learn, huh?

As it turns out, we did not go to Key West. With Tropical Storm Bonnie breathing down our necks rapidly, we spent one night on Islamorada, where we had a great time at the Theater of the Sea, and then headed for home. Given our weather on Friday, I was glad we didn't attempt Key West. It wasn't bad here, but it was worse, anywhere south of Miami. Out of courtesy, I did call the Reach Resort when we got home, and let them know they could release our room. A very nice woman thanked me for calling. She also noted that it was a Priceline reservation, but she said that because it was a late cancellation, there would be no refund. Makes me wonder if the resort itself would have given a refund had I made that call early on Thursday, or even on Wednesday. Oh well. Like I said, given the weather issues, I was glad to be safe and sound in my own place

So, to conclude this saga, we had a great time, although a very short vacation, and the kids are still talking about their adventure and their swim with the dolphins, so it was worth it all to see them so happy. Will I use Priceline again? Maybe..........maybe not. If I do though, I will be much wiser in my bidding. Right now though, given their total lack of customer service, I'm inclined to do as I always have, and just book directly with the hotel of my choice.

Thank you all for your very helpful comments and advice. This is a great site, and the information provided is priceless.

:)

[AaronJB]

I'm very sorry to hear that the situation with PRICELINE did not turn out well, but glad to hear that your stay in Islamorada went very well.

Thank you for your compliments on Betterbidding, and we look forward to helping with your next stay.