Hotwire Hotel: 2* Santa Barbara (Goleta) Super 8

[devinpoolman]

Took a chance because there wasn't a history of 2* hotels in Santa Barbara/Goleta, and I didn't think the Super 8 Motel would make that grade. I was wrong and now I'm stuck with a crappy motel. I called to complain to Hotwire that Super 8 doesn't compare with the Comfort Inn, La Quinta, and Days Inn (which they use as examples in that class), but they were no help.

To top it all of, the Super 8 is actually cheaper if you book directly. So I have a low-price guarantee claim now that will save me some money, but I'm still not happy with the result.

[yellowdog]

Welcome "officially" to BetterBidding!

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Also thanx for the addition for this new property to the BetterBidding Hotwire Hotel List

Can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Sorry to see that you don't like the outcome.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[Colfax]

Sorry you didn't get what you were hoping for.

Hotwire doesn't have a 1* rating. 2* is the lowest and that's where Super 8, Days Inn, Travelodge, EconoLodge usually show up.

Hotwire offers "Comfort Inn, La Quinta, and Days Inn" as examples of typical 2* chains. I think Days Inn properly belongs in the 2* list, but to my mind La Quinta is a step up from Days Inn. Comfort Inns hardly ever come up and I think of Comfort Inn as 2* or 2.5* depending on the particular hotel.

Even though Hotwire cites La Quinta as a typical 2* chain I don't think Hotwire rates many La Quintas 2*. Most LQ's are 2.5* on Hotwire and some are 3*.

This causes confusion and you're not the first one this has happened to. People read that a 2* is something like a La Quinta, which is acceptable, and they bid the class and get another brand that isn't to their mind in the same class as LQ.

I think La Quinta should be bumped from the "typical 2*" list to the "typical 2.5*" list, since that's what most La Quintas are on Hotwire. And maybe replaced as 2* by Extended Stay America---a big Hotwire participant and almost always 2*.

I've been saying this for years and it never happens. :)

Occasionally you'll run into an unusually nice Super 8 or Travelodge (or a shabby La Quinta that should be 2*). But the reviews for the Goleta Super 8 aren't so good (#6 of 6 Goleta hotels on TripAdvisor).

OTOH, this is July 4 weekend in Santa Barara area and it looks like anything nicer was going to cost more too. In Goleta Hotwire's 2.5* is $168 and the 3* $149. In Santa Barbara the least expensive is a 2* for $144.

If your Double the Difference claim goes through you'll probably have the best deal in town, if not the best hotel. Please let us know if they honor the guarantee.