Priceline Hotel: 3* San Luis Obispo Holiday Inn Express

[acchang4]

My girlfriend and I are planning a Highway 1 road trip from Aug 7 to Aug 11. I was hoping to find a nice place to stay in the San Luis Obispo - SLO area for around $100. It's a weekend, so I know I'm facing some challenges -- but I've also found some options, and I was hoping y'all could help give me some idea before I make a move.

I'd like to stay close to the coast, so Pismo Beach is my first preference, Morro Bay less so because it's more of a working waterfront, and SLO least of all because it's a bit city. Smaller areas like Cambria and San Simeon are somewhere in the middle.

To wit, I've come across:

2* Pismo Beach Hotel with pool and laundry for $124 (70% recommended) - Holiday Inn?

3* Morro Bay Hotel near beach, no smoking, pools, restaurant, Internet and golf for $129 (60% recommended) - Embarcadero Inn?

and most intriguing of all

2* Pismo Beach Condo with resort, near beach, studio, smoke-free, daily housekeeping, pool and front desk. It was $119, but seems to have risen to $139. (85% recommended)

Also lastminutetravel has a 3* hotel in Pismo Beach for as low as $87. Is there any way to find out what that is, or if it's worth it?

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Based upon the dates of your Priceline Monterey thread, and the fact that i'm not seeing 2 out of the 3 hotels you've mentioned above, i'm assuming that the above search is not for your complete stay of 8/7-8/11, is this correct? If so, what are the dates of the search you did above?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[acchang4]

Oh yes, my apologies. Sloppy post -- forgive me. I searched HOTWIRE for 8/7 to 8/9. We plan to stay in the SLO area for only two days. Then we'll head up to Monterey (thanks for your response there too!)

[thereuare]

Searching HOTWIRE for your dates i'm only seeing the 3* Morro Bay property above and it has not yet been reported or identified... i'm not seeing any Condo property or the 2* you mention above.

Are you still seeing these on your own HOTWIRE search? If so, are you searching for more than one room or for more than the default 2adults/0children?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[acchang4]

Shoot, the condo was there when I checked this afternoon, back to $119. It's no longer there. It seemed like a pretty good deal, maybe someone snatched it up.

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that the listing is no longer available. :)

Please let us know if you would like us to help confirm another HOTWIRE listing and if you have any questions.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[acchang4]

More data points here, as I'm still trying to book two nights for this area:

3* SLO 80

+ Pismo 90

+ Morro 100

- No luck

2.5 Pismo 105

+ Morro 120

- End

[acchang4]

Can you help identify this HOTWIRE hotel for the same area?

Pismo Beach - Shell Beach area Hotel

2.5* -- Breakfast, pool, internet -- $164

95% recommended in HOTWIRE reviews

[thereuare]

The Holiday Inn Express has previously been reported with this amenity combination but at the 3* level. My guess is that this property has been downgraded to the 2.5* level, as it has been nearly a year since it's been reported to the board thru HOTWIRE, so certainly some time to believe a downgrade may have taken place.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[acchang4]

Phew, still working on this reservation... haven't even gotten to the Monterey portion of this trip yet. The good news is, prices seem to be dropping. The 2.5* in Pismo Beach that was $164 is now $124. But since suspicions are that it's a Holiday Inn Express, I don't think I'll make the bid.

Instead, can you help with another that's shown up?

Pismo Beach - Shell Beach area Hotel, 2*, $96. Near beach, no smoking, and Internet. The 2* level in Pismo beach varies wildly, so I'd like to get a definitive ID before I bid. Otherwise, I might go retail .*gulp!*

[Colfax]

I'm not seeing any TripAdvisor stats with the Pismo 2* listing and without those there's not much basis for guessing which hotel this is. No Hotwire review numbers either. At $96 it seems like a risky purchase because it could be almost any motel in the zone.

I'll mention that your two night stay is a Saturday and Sunday night. I haven't checked rates but sometimes Sunday costs a lot less than Saturday. It's possible you can get your Sunday accepted for lower rates than you've bid for Sat + Sun together.

[thereuare]

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

... and your searches too!

[acchang4]

Oh, I didn't know it was important to use the links for searches too! I thought only for purchases. Y'all have been such great help, I will do so.

About identifying properties, do you guys just use TripAdvisor stats? I've been cross-checking features with Hotels.com and the assembled lists on this site. If that's all it takes, I suppose I can stop asking and do the work myself... at least until I get stumped!

That said, a property I had my eye on previously has returned, if only for one day. I found it upon Colfax's suggestion that I break up the days. It's tempting -- lots of features, and not a bad price. Any ideas what it might be?

2* Pismo Beach Condo for 8/8 to 8/9 with resort, near beach, studio, smoke-free, daily housekeeping, pool and front desk. $119. (85% recommended)

[thereuare]

Not sure which information you're trying to cross-reference, but the "percent recommended" info shown by HOTWIRE is not take from Tripadvisor. The best start for IDing hotels is the hotel lists there, then use any other resource you can find to confirm (or negate) your best guess.

Unfortunately we don't see too much activity in this area so the condo property has not yet bee reported to the board or identified.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[acchang4]

Closing this thread -- I've finally booked this portion of my trip. I decided to go with a PRICELINE special, Somerset Inn for $109/night.

I tried bidding the same price ($110) for a 3* in the area, but was turned down. I did not feel comfortable going lower in star rating, since hotels there can be so variable, and would thus be a bit of a risk.

I didn't think it was worth the extra cash for a 3*. After all, I was hoping for $100/night! I'm pretty comfortable with this choice, especially since I know what it is and there's a flexible cancellation policy. I'm staying hopeful that I'm right!

Thanks for the guidance!

[yellowdog]

acchang4

Thanks for the follow-up and closing this thread.

Please use boards PRICELINE link to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[acchang4]

I'm back at searching for a hotel in SLO area from Sat Aug 7 to Mon Aug 9.

I see a hotel in Hotwire for $134. It features breakfast, fitness, laundry and internet.

All other 3* in the area have pools. The only one that doesn't is The San Luis Creek Lodge.

I've gone down a level to 2* and checked if any of the those fit the mold, in case Hotwire over-rated.

Only the Rodeway Inn and the Los Padres lack pools, but they lack gyms too.

So, chances are the Hotwire property is The San Luis Creek Lodge. What do you think?

[Walshman]

My guess is Holiday Inn Express in SLO. They have a whirpool, not a swimming pool. Hope that helps.

[acchang4]

Oh, that's sneaky. But are you sure?

They list an outdoor pool among their amenities, but do not list laundry facilities.

San Luis Creek lists laundry facilities

I'm very close to pulling the trigger!

[acchang4]

I pulled the trigger. Alas, suspicions that the hotel in question was the SLO Holiday Inn Express were correct.

However, I made my case that the amenities were inaccurate. They listed laundry facilities and no pool. To their credit, they said they would check -- but it could take 10 days.

When I protested, they expedited, and confirmed the lack of laundry facilities. They offered me $50 Hotwire credit to keep my reservation.

I asked if they would raise the compensation, but they declined. I asked them to cancel my reservation. I've decided to try elsewhere.

And that's the end of my journey! Shoulda known San Luis Creek was too good to be true. Nevertheless, I think Hotwire comported themselves well (Pending cancellation of my reservation).

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and helping us add this property to the Hotwire Hotel List.

Can you please confirm which amenity it is that the hotel didn't have which entitled you to a refund... does the hotel not have a pool, a laundry facility, or both?

Please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases.

Thank you.

[acchang4]

The hotel didn't have laundry facilities, which earned me a refund.

The hotel has a pool, but it was not in HOTWIRE listing. They confirmed this later, but I'm not sure if it would have earned me a refund.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the clarification.