Hotwire Hotel: 3* San Jose (Airport SJC) San Jose Airport Garden Hotel

[SabrinaMichele]

Wanted to get the bidding board's help with a current bid I've been working on. Trying to get a 4* hotel in downtown San Jose (preferably the Doubletree by the San Jose Airport) for 10/11 thru 10/12.

I've looked on the boards and there are 3 different 4* hotels that people have won bids with in San Jose:

The San Jose Marriott

The Fairmont

The Doubletree

I'd prefer the Doubletree since we're flying out of San Jose early the next morning and they are the only 4* with a free airport shuttle.

So far I've used the PRICELINE link and bid $55 and then again today at $63 (both past winning bids) with both bids being rejected. Open to any tips and ideas for a successful bid in this area. Thanks! :)

[thereuare]

When using PRICELINE there is no way to target a specific property in the zone. However, rates at the properties above start at ~$200/nite, which makes your current bidding only about a third of prevailing rates, which does not have a very high probability of success... what is your maximum bid for this stay?

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

[SabrinaMichele]

After trying my luck on the Priceline board for a hotel near the San Jose Airport for the night of Oct. 11th, I decided to take a look at what Hotwire had to offer. I was happy to find that at least I could book a hotel that had a guaranteed "Free Shuttle" as one of the amenities and immediately went to work to try and determine what the 3 star, $76 hotel near the San Jose Airport was. Using both Priceline and TripAdvisor's process of elimination, I had it narrowed down to a few select hotels: with the Clarion Hotel San Jose Airport being the best probable hotel. Hotwire listed a 3* hotel, near the SJC Airport, with: a Pool, Fitness Center, Hi-Speed Internet Access, Business Center, Restaurant on site, and an Airport Shuttle.

I was sadly and sorely disappointed. Unfortunately this was a case of false advertising. The San Jose Garden Airport does NOT list the free shuttle as one of their amenities on many travel sites so I had no idea that it would be the hotel I would end up winning. Alas the reviews on TripAdvisor are a mixed bag with some as dismal as to say there are "rodents in the ceiling" and other foul odors coming from the rooms. :) Unfortunately a free shuttle near the airport that didn't cost $185 a night was more important to me so I guess I will chalk it up to bad luck and hope for the best! *sigh* Needless to say I will be extremely cautious about ever booking another room on Hotwire. This is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for such a crappy hotel (midweek). After taxes: $93.91.

P.S. I did use the HOTWIRE link from the site before booking. :)

[SabrinaMichele]

Yeah, unfortunately San Jose currently has outrageous rates for a midweek stay. I find those rates to be exorbitant considering how old some of these hotels are. :)

I actually just posted a new topic on the Hotwire forum as I decided I should check out the best they had to offer. I have an early morning flight out of San Jose the next morning so Airport Shuttle was the most important amenity to me and unfortunately Priceline can't guarantee that whereas Hotwire can. Unfortunately I ended up with a 3 star hotel with about 1 star ratings. :o I will *definitely* be hesitant to ever book on Hotwire again after getting such a dog of a hotel. :)

[AaronJB]

Very sorry to hear that the result was a disappointment. :)

Hopefully the property will work out better-than-expected for one night. Thank you for letting us know about this new HOTWIRE property so that we can update the site's Hotwire Hotel List.

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

Enjoy your stay.