Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* Huntersville - Cornelius Ramada Huntersville At Lake Norman

[LPines]

I have used your excellent website for more than 10 years I believe. I've never been deceived, until now.

Checking your otherwise updated and accurate PINNED LIST of Hotwire Hotels (for NC) I found 2 properties listed for NC - Huntersville - Cornelius (Huntersville - Cornelius):

3* Comfort Suites

Amenities: Complimentary Breakfast, Hi-Speed Internet

2.5* Country Inn and Suites

Amenities: Suite, Complimentary Breakfast, Pool, Fitness, Business, Laundry

As is my practice, I cross referenced the Country Inn & Suites to TripAdvisor's reviews, and found that property to be clean, attractive, and getting overwhelmingly positive/effusive reviews. Hotwire was quoting a property with virtually identical amenities at 2.5* for $43 ($55 with taxes and fees.)

Based upon and relying on your inventory list for Huntersville-Cornelius, and seeing no reference to the Ramada Inn or any other 2.5* hotels, I booked my wife and daughter in the Hotwire property you listed: Country in & Suites.

As soon as my Visa cleared, I gazed at my screen in horror: Ramada Huntersville at Lake Norman, which is rated second from the bottom in the Area. The reviews posted by the overwhelming number of travelers is strongly negative. The place is run down and filthy, and the management unresponsive.

I am appalled beyond words. If it was just myself traveling, I would suck it up. Now I have to answer to my wife and teen daughter on her first college trip. Please tell me I'm wrong and that the Ramada here is not a pit !

You need to keep your data base of hotel inventory up to date. :(

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear you received a hotel you didn't expect, but a few comments:

Hotwire was quoting a property with virtually identical amenities at 2.5* for $43 ($55 with taxes and fees.)

If the amenities were not an exact match, then that would have been your first clue that you were seeing a different property than what you had thought.

I cross referenced... and found that property to be clean, attractive, and getting overwhelmingly positive/effusive reviews.

If this is the same 2.5* hotel that is currently appearing in this zone, HOTWIRE indicates that this offering is recommended by 50% of previous HOTWIRE guests... a second indication that it may be something other than what you were thinking. As well, the current HOTWIRE offer shows a 3.0/5.0 Tripadvisor rating, which is not consistent with the current TA rating of the Country Inn and Suites, which is another clue that perhaps this wouldn't be that property.

Based upon and relying on your inventory list...

See the comments at the top of the Hotwire Hotel List... the hotel lists only contain hotels reported to the board. This is the first time this property has been reported to the board, so therefore we would have no way of knowing about it until now.

You need to keep your data base of hotel inventory up to date...

We do update the board anytime new information is received. So that we can properly add the Ramada to the hotel list, can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

I have used your excellent website for more than 10 years I believe.

Ten years and your first purchase of receiving something other than you had thought it a pretty good track record, imo ;) However, as per the first comment above, you bought a hotel which was not an exact match for what was on the hotel list, which should have been an indication that it was likely/possibly something different.

In the future feel free to post to the board and ask for help confirming what you believe you're seeing and about to purchase. We can't see the hotel name either so there are never any guarantees, but as per above, there were more than a few reasons to believe that this was something other than the Country Inn and Suites. However, we can't help if you don't ask :)

It would be appreciated if you would add a reply to this thread with the amenities shown before your purchase, and please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases.

Thanks.

[LPines]

I think you have it right, that the Ramada does not post Laundry, but internet access.

Other than that, they're identical. But from a practical user perspective, when you ONLY LIST ONE 2.5* as available Hotwire Inventory, the eye does not train meticulously on a long "laundry list" (no pun intended) of amenities. The amenities were extremely similar, but for the laundry at the end. Unfortunately for us, it was dirty laundry.

I suppose when the market (or sub-market) is comparatively rural, and less traveled, one has to view your Pinned List of Hotels with great care and circumspection, as travelers don't often post results in those less traveled destinations.

For example, I quickly notice that Hotwire also offers a 2.5* property Charlotte North, and I can not find any mention of this property, or this zone/market in the Hotel List.

Another tip off that the lists are incomplete and inaccurate.

I'll definitely have to book in the morning when I'm fresh, or hire a college of scholarly monks to review the amenity lists for perfect symmetry, before I book.

[thereuare]

Another tip off that the lists are incomplete and inaccurate.

Incomplete and inaccurate are two different things; again, read the comments at the top of the Hotwire Hotel List. We take great pains to keep the lists updated (and accurate) with new information whenever it gets reported to the board, but the comments at the top of the list make it quite clear that no list can be, or should be considered, complete.

As requested, can you please provide the full list of amenities that were shown before your purchase (afterall, this is what helps us keep the lists up to date), as i believe there is more of a difference than just 'Laundry' between this property and the Country Inn and Suites.

It would also be appreciated if you used the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases.

[Gallus50]

LPines - I know you are looking for someone to blame for this, but you are being unfair.

As I typically travel to Huntersville yearly for the HIghland Games, I am the one who posted both the Country Inn & Suites win and the Comfort Suites. The Country Inn and Suites clearly had a Suite icon in addition to the Laundry icon. Both of these should have been clues that it was not the CI&S. The 50% approval rating was another clue - people usually rate the CI&S 4/5 or in other words, more than 85% typically approve.

If you had asked for help, others would have told you this was an unlikely match. Matter of fact, I researched this new listing for my yearly trip and figured it was the Ramada, which is why I didn't book it. I suspect thereuare would have said the same.

BB can only add to their list when people report their wins. As no one had reported this property before, how could they have added it to their database? If you would post the amenities, thereuare will add it to the Huntersville listing and others will be informed, or warned, as it may be.

Sorry you're unhappy, but you can't blame anyone else. You took a risk and it didn't turn out like you wanted. It's the nature of risk taking. If you're that averse to the risks, maybe HW and PL are not for you.