Hotwire Hotel: Help Identifying 3* Orlando - LBV area

[shayde]

Hello,

We're hoping to book a hotel for a getaway to Disney this coming weekend (April 15-17). We tried Priceline today (using free rebid zones and two of us trying) and bid from $42 up to $57 for a 3* with no luck. So I tried doing a search on Hotwire, and found two options that we're considering:

Disney Main Gate - Champions Gate

3* "Best Value"

Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

$56/night

(I'm guessing this is the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird, which seems to have very mixed reviews)

Lake Buena Vista - Downtown Disney

3* "Best Value"

Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center.

$65/night

(The Grosvenor is the only 3* LBV hotel on the posted list, but the list shows more amenities for that hotel)

So...any ideas as to what the LBV area hotel might be? Aletrnately, any feedback on the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird (assuming that's the 3* Main Gaste hotel)?

Thanks a million (in advance) for any feedback/ideas!

[thereuare]

HOTWIRE recentlly created the LBV zone as well as the Maingate zone... both used to be part of the WDW zone and we have not yet had the time to map out the WDW hotels and figure out which new zone the reside in. So... you may want to check the reported WDW zone too, although i gave a quick look and didn't see any direct matches.

I have not heard great things about either of these properties... have you checked to see if EasyClickTravel had any inexpensive offerings? Maybe you can find a diamond in the rought there.

On HOTWIRE there is also a 3* in the Universal zone for $58 that is likely either the Radisson Barcelo or the Clarion.

[shayde]

Thanks so much for recommending EasyClickTravel - that was a great suggestion! :) I did a search for our dates, and found a number of discount "opaque" hotel options...however, many of their hotel descriptions gave enough detail that I was easily able to figure out which hotel it was. For example, there was a 3&1/2*for $52/night; the description mentioned that the hotel has 566 rooms and a restaurant that features American and Caribbean food...so when I googled those details, I found out that it was the Radisson Worldgate Resort. We stayed at that hotel before on a Priceline bid and were perfectly satisfied with it for the price. So I went ahead and reserved it; however, availability is "on request", so I'm just waiting for them to confirm the reservation.

Anyway, thanks again for your advice - I'll definitely check EasyClickTravel the next time we need to book a hotel!

[ufjoe21]

Don't mean to rain on your parade but....

USUALLY EasyClickTravel can take OVER 48 hours to confirm a reservation, sometimes it can take days, if your trip is this weekend I suggest you call up and cancel your request to reserve a room

I went through a similar incident.........mid-week I requested a room thru EasyClickTravel for the weekend and then after waiting a day or so called up and found out that they wouldn't have the reservation in time most likely...............

cancel now while it's still a request and you won't have to pay any charges.....

HURRY!!!

:)

[shayde]

Thanks for the advice, Joe. I actually called them shortly after I placed the bid, once I realized that it was "on request" and that we'd have to wait for a definite answer. The person I spoke with said they should have an answer by the end of day; she said the request had been submitted and we'd have to at least give the hotel a chance to respond. I'm half hoping that it doesn't get accepted, as I found an "available" opaque hotel that I'm almost certain is the Embassy Suites for just $71/night. (I've always had good exepriences with that chain in the past.) So if I don't hear anything back by end of day, I'll call them to see if they can cancel the request and instead book the $71 "available" hotel.

Anyway, thanks again for your feedback - I appreciate it!

[shayde]

What timing...right after I posted my last message, I got a call back from EasyClickTravel. (It was good of them to call, as they knew I was waiting for an answer by end of day.) The Radisson WorldGate accepted our booking at $56/night (I mis-typed in my earlier post; it was $56, not $52). I'm a bit bummed that we missed out on the Embassy Suites (next time I'll have to read through the results list more carefully), but hopefully we'll have as good an experience at the Radisson as we had last time.

Thanks again for your help, "thereuare" and "ufjoe21" - I appreciate it!

[ufjoe21]

If you really don't want that hotel

you can still cancel I BELIEVE

I BELIEVE the RULE is cancel 72hrs before Check-in time (let's say 3:00pm) and you won't get charged anything

they might be lenient since they only informed you less than an hour ago

but if you want to stick with this hotel go ahead

just wanted to let you know you still might have a chance to cancel if you're really unhappy with it but you'd have to call IMMEDIATELY

otherwise, enjoy and report back a review then!

:) :) :o

[shayde]

Hmmm...good to know. I didn't realize that EasyClickTravel allowed you to cancel reservations with opaque booking hotels. That said, I think we'll just stick with the Radisson WorldGate this time around. They have a good location with a "secret back entrance" to the parks and plenty of cheap buffet breakfast restaurants nearby. Last time, we asked if we could get a room on an upper floor and they actually gave us a room on the top floor with a great view of the fireworks displays at the parks. The rooms are starting to show their age, but the staff kept them very clean. So that's my review - a decent hotel for the price. :) I'll post again if it's any better or worse than our experience last time.