Priceline Hotel: 3* Seattle (Airport SEA) Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport

[deborahallyson]

3* Seattle (Airport SEA) Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport, $56 per night for 10/18-10/21/11

So, when I scored this hotel with a bid of $56 a night, I was very happy, BUT then I started reading the reviews on Tripadvisor.com and learned that this hotel charges $20/day for parking and $15 for wi-fi. Of course, there was no mention of these extra charges on priceline.com, otherwise I would have been more careful in how I chose my bid zones.

So with parking fees and wi-fi fees, i'm REALLY looking at paying $91 a night for a 3-star in the SEA airport area. If I had actually bid that much on Priceline I probably would have gotten a 3.5-4 star hotel in downtown Seattle.

I'm disappointed, to say the least.

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that you're disappointed with the results. :)

PRICELINE does not list all of the optional charges (parking, internet) when bidding given the opaque/bidding nature of the service, but this information is available online. HOTWIRE is a somewhat better choice in terms of trying to see if you can find a property with free parking, but that's not guaranteed and in zones like airport zones, parking charges are becoming increasingly common and difficult to avoid (and with PRICELINE, you have to be willing to accept any hotel in the area you bid on at the star rating you bid on.)

Most hotels in downtown Seattle charge for parking and internet, and likely charge higher for parking than the airport properties.

Also, the same optional charges for parking and internet are also charged extra to those who pay full price (the lowest price on the hotel website for these dates is about $119.)

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

Enjoy your stay.

[beerisgood77]

it is likely you would have won a downtown hotel for $91, but they too have internet charges, and parking fees downtown range from $24 to $43 daily for overnight.

[Romelle]

Their web site talks of wireless high speed internet in public areas. Perhaps that is free? And the cookies are still free.

While it would involve some time and aggravation, there are some $6-$10 off-site airport parking sites with free shuttle to the airport.

Romelle

[deborahallyson]

Yeah, every time we stay in downtown Seattle we NEVER pay for hotel parking because we park on the street. You have to move your car around a bit during certain times of the day, but it is much cheaper that way.

[thereuare]

I think Romelle's suggestion of off-site parking is a good one... drop the car off once and forget about it until you need it at the end of your trip, which should make your trip more enjoyable then when you have stayed downtown in the past and needed to watch the clock to continuously monitor when it's time to move the car again.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.