Priceline Hotel: 3* State College (South) The Atherton

[dahammer]

I was asked to make a PRICELINE bid for a relative so just for laughs ang giggles, I submitted a lowball $39 bid and was accepted immediately. After seeing the mixed reviews of the Atherton, I think I will ask to be reimbursed before the travel date.

Your Offer Price: $39.00

Taxes & Fees: $10.88

Total Charges: $49.88

The purpose of this trip is to take a tour of the University, get some Peachy Paterno Ice Cream at the Creamery, and attempt a case study at the Rathskeller, although I understand that they no longer sell cases of Rolling Rock ponies. The location of The Atherton can't be beat for these activities. The PRICELINE "Shop and Compare" rate was $117 plus tax.

made my bids through the PRICELINE links on the board.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

While the reviews may be mixed, i bet they get their $39 worth, and it sounds as if this location should work well for their needs!

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

[Peter Piper]

I was asked to make a PRICELINE bid for a relative so just for laughs ang giggles, I submitted a lowball $39 bid and was accepted immediately. After seeing the mixed reviews of the Atherton, I think I will ask to be reimbursed before the travel date.

I'm one of the people who had a bad experience at this hotel. You can read my review here--> State College Hotel Review

Out of 46 reviewers on Trip Advisor, 20 people said their stay was 'poor' or 'terrible', while 26 rated it very good or excellent. So you could say that more people liked and than disliked it. But that doesn' t tell the whole story.

Several people in the reviews complain that they were charged parking fees that the hotel never informed them about (in fact, they trick you into signing a document agreeing to a parking fee in the fine print, but never tell you about it.) Also, a couple of people have been charged a $250 smoking fee even though they are non-smokers.

The hotel never apologizes for anything and whenever a guest had a problem it was always blamed on the guest.

You can read all the posted reviews here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g5...ia.html#REVIEWS

[dahammer]

Hope you voiced your displeasure with PRICELINE, if enough folks do this it might influence PRICELINE to downgrade or eliminate this property.

[Peter Piper]

Hope you voiced your displeasure with PRICELINE, if enough folks do this it might influence PRICELINE to downgrade or eliminate this property.

I gave it the worst possible rating on Priceline, if that' s what you mean. Or is there some other way to voice my displeasure on Priceline?

With this particular hotel being a 3-star I was expecting good service, not to be tricked into paying a parking fee and having it show up on my bill with no notice from them whatsoever. Also, many people have reported that staff has a pretty bad attitude overall. Being in a good location downtown these guys probably get a lot of non-repeat business so they just don't care.

If you stay have you may have an okay time if you don't have any run-ins with the staff or management, but I really expect more from a 3-star place then just to hope I get out of there without having to deal with the staff.

[dahammer]

Or is there some other way to voice my displeasure on Priceline?

Yes, contact customer service via email. If you log into your PRICELINE account, click "my trips" then click your trip number and it will bring you to your confirmation page.

See your complete hotel itinerary for your trip below. Be sure to print out a copy of this page for your records and have it with you at check-in. If you have any questions, please visit our Customer Service Area.

just click the highlighted words "customer service area" on your confirmation page and you can comment directly about this hotel. If PRICELINE sees a lot of recurring problems with a hotel, the Atherton could possibly get downgraded.