Hotwire Hotel: 4* Orlando (Sea World-I-Drive South) Sheraton Vistana Villages

[cr8zymike]

I'm writing this post for my brother who doesn't know about the site.

He booked this hotel a LONG time ago on Hotwire.

When he got there the reservation desk told him that he wasn't in the system. When he gave the desk guy the confirmation number, the response was "OH HOTWIRE....".

He told my brother that he MUST attend the 1 hr seminar about the condo-share property OR he must pay the hotel $75. If he does attend then it is $75 off.

That was a surprise to me because I booked via hotwire last year and got to stay in the St. Augustine (newer) units. His unit was old, dirty, moldy ....when you wear your socks in the room and they turn all black, then it's bad. I felt so bad for recommending him to use hotwire and hope to get the Sheraton Vistana resort.

So he went to the seminar but was told that if the wife and 2 year old baby didn't attend then they'd be charged $75 because it must be attended by all occupants in the room. That's just plain STUPID. I hope that others who get this hotel won't go through the same thing that he did.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the post.

I'm not certain how much of this story was lost in translation since it's coming to the OP from a 3rd party, but HOTWIRE guests are not required to attend timeshare presentations (although they may be offered an incentive, such as a $75 credit towards anything they charge to their room at the property, to attend a presentation). If he was told he must attend then it could have been quickly resolved with a phone call to HOTWIRE.

Can you also please confirm the date(s) of stay for this trip... they were originally posted as 5/6/11-6/18/11 but this can't be correct since HOTWIRE purchases are for a maximum of 30 days.

Assuming you've made some of your own purchases thru PRICELINE or HOTWIRE in the last 4 years, it would be appreciated if shared your results with the board... not just when you have an issue/warning to report. :)

[MIChessGuy]

This is actually something that I wondered about while reviewing the list of Hotwire hotels for Orlando. For example, I snooped around for 7/31/11 thru 8/6/11 and one listing in Lake Buena Vista/Downtown Disney appeared to match up with the Hilton Grand Vacations International Drive. Assuming this is correct, you are sure the person taking that deal would not be subject to constant timeshare come-ons upon arrival and afterwards? I have this mental picture of enduring a long timeshare speech by the front desk staff, daily voicemails asking me to attend a presentation, etc. I would feel better about trying a Hotwire property if it were indeed true that they "hold their fire" with Hotwire guests.

[thereuare]

You may get solicited to attend a presentation (since their viewpoint is that it is for your benefit :) ) but your attendance is certainly not a requirement nor a condition of the rate you received.

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