Priceline Hotel: 3* Las Vegas (Airport LAS) Silverton

[buteos]

I have used Priceline a lot and should have been a little more leery on using it for Las Vegas with the lack of posts of winning bids.

I originally was going to bid for resorts knowing there was only one in the Summerlin area. The Priceline site kept kicking me back to their hotel area after each bid.

For the heck of it, I bid for the airport area for the 3* hotels, having seen the Residence Inn and Courtyards come up, not thinking there were the other options-like Silverton Casino, which is what I got, for 40 a night

Initially surprised, but not alarmed since the place gets good reviews and the rooms are supposed to be nice. And the resort fee is not outrageous.

I then checked Tripadvisor for reviews and did the price check they offer. All the sites, including Priceline's returned a ~35 a night price.

I got on the phone with Priceline right away , and after dealing with a way offshore service person who took forever to "check websites" out, and then transferred me to another "supervisor", I was supposedly refunded the difference of the total trip's cost originally and the going rate. plus 25.00. So instead of paying the original 280.38, I am supposedly paying 229.35. And Priceline is emailing me a coupon for 50 off a vacation package, which I probably won't use since their packages are for two people, and I travel solo.

I used the word "supposedly" because I have to wait to see the charges removed from my account.

So the "Priceline Guarantee" is real and it's up to each person to decide whether it's worth it.. or not.

BTW the Priceline website states that there is an option to cancel the reservation and rebook it at the lower rate, but the service people I was dealing with, were adamant that I couldn't do that.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Sorry to hear that the deal guarantee had to be used in this case, but on a positive note, this looks like a nice, well-reviewed property.

Thank you for letting us know about this new Priceline Hotel List for the state. New hotels are reported to the board often.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.

[buteos]

Thanks

Footnote: the charges have been indeed modified and better than I originally thought. If nothing changes, I am paying 204.00 for my stay.

Now I'm hoping it's a nice place for my first visit to LAS!

[AaronJB]

Glad to hear that the charges have been adjusted, and hope you enjoy your first Vegas visit.

[buteos]

Postscript:Late but I was waiting for the refund Priceline promised before I posted this. It finally showed up today in my account.

My stay at the Silverton was short but not sweet. I could not lower my expectations enough to stay my entire vacation there, even with three room changes. I decided my vacation was not going to be spoiled by a bad hotel choice, and I went down the road to a different hotel after two disappointing days and nights.

With the amount of hotels in Las Vegas, there is absolutely no reason to stay at this hotel/casino. None. I've stayed at glassed in desk clerk Motel 6 types that were better than this place.

This isn't the only hotel in Las Vegas that will charge you for just about everything that is free elsewhere, and then slap a resort fee (7.99-15 for suites in Silverton's case) on top of everything for good measure. But you get nothing for that fee-nothing.

Since the only free WiFi was in the very small lobby, I was there with my laptop a couple of times a day checking my email, and on my last morning, looking for another hotel. There were patrons checking out early EVERY time I was there. The clerk would say that the person had a pre paid reservation through IVegas, and they would have to go through them for a refund.

After making reservations at another hotel, I returned to the Silverton, and checked out. The clerk never asked why , or said anything except to almost give me a refund then and there. She asked another front desk person, and then corrected herself. Without my saying a word, she told me I would have to go through Priceline for a refund for the remaining days of my stay. They only charged me the resort fee for two nights.

As soon as I left, I got Priceline Customer Service on the phone. I told the person that I had checked out early, and the hotel had offered a refund. The guy said he needed a name. I called the hotel, got a name although the woman said anyone on the front desk would do. I called Priceline back up , asked for the guy I had dealt with, and he said he would have to check with the hotel first. Five minutes later, he came back on the line, and said I would get a refund for the unused portion of my stay. Just like that. He gave me a cancellation number, and I received an email from Priceline confirming the refund.

However, it took longer than the promised 5-10 days , and I had to finally INSIST I had called my bank, and the money wasn't pending. When I was finally switched to a special customer service, she confirmed I hadn't received the refund, told me I would hear from accounting in two days, and asked if I had other questions. I said what if I don't hear from them? She said convincingly, "Oh you WILL hear from them." And I did, and the refund was credited to my account within a day of that last contact.

I know I'm not supposed to be able to get a refund from Priceline. I have never ever tried to get one before. But then, I never stayed at a hotel so bad that I was ready to eat the money I spent just to get out, and find someplace better. The key here , I think, was that the hotel offered the refund. Why? I don't know, other than other people were being offered the same thing.

I have no hankering to go back to Vegas, but if I did, I would never use Priceline. It's just too much of a crapshoot. There's so many offers from hotels that could beat any savings from Priceline , why bother?

Where did I end up staying? The Staybridge suites, just down the road from the Silverton, within spitting distance of the Mandalay Bay. I never said a word about my bad experience at the Silverton, but the clerk knew I was checking out of there early . She gave me a 5th floor corner studio suite with a magnificent view of the Strip in one direction, and of the mountains in the other direction. That place is deserving of the high Tripadvisor rating it has.

[thereuare]

Sorry you had such an ordeal, but glad to see PRICELINE came thru with the refund as promised and you enjoyed the rest of your trip.

Thanks for the follow-up.