Hotwire Hotel: 3* Oakland - Eastbay (Airport OAK) Holiday Inn Express

[siryn]

I am looking for a hotel on 7/25 - 7/29 (2 adults). Prices are very high during this period and I have been checking Hotwire & Priceline regularly. Suddenly, a 3.5* popped up today for $140 (which is quite low). I was excited, but when I looked up the hotel list and figured out that it is probably the Whitcomb Hotel (and then read very poor reviews), I became disappointed and scared to book the room.

I thought it was strange that the reviews were so terrible for a 3.5* hotel and was curious as to what the Priceline star rating is. Priceline says it is a 2.5*! I know that Hotwire is a bit more generous with star ratings, but this seems like a huge difference. I am not too picky about hotels, but I do want it to be clean and have a bare minimum of amenities (e.g., safe, fridge and coffee machine). Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews indicate that this is a dirty, dank hotel with no safe, fridge or coffee machine.

What gives?? Why does Hotwire not give this hotel a lower rating? In fact, the BB hotel list indicates that Hotwire upgraded the hotel from 3* to 3.5*! Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

BTW, the amenities on the hotel that I fear is the Whitcomb are:

• Smoke Free Rooms
  
• Fitness Center
  
• Restaurant(s)
  
• Business Center
  
• High-Speed Internet Access
  
• Accessible for the blind
  
• Accessible for the deaf
  
• Free Internet
  
• Accessible path of travel
  
• In-room accessibility
  
• Wheelchair accessible
  
• Accessible bathroom
  
• Handicapped parking
  
• Roll-in shower
  

P.S. I use the BB HOTWIRE & PRICELINE links a LOT (probably 100 times in the last 2 weeks).

[thereuare]

Travelocity and Expedia each rate the Whitcomb 3.5* and Orbitz rates it 3*... the average of three would yield a 3.5* rating, which is how HOTWIRE is able to justify the rating.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.

[siryn]

Thank you, thereuare. I am still not sure if I should bid on this hotel. Hopefully I disagree with the bad reviews if I do.

[AaronJB]

Searching for 2 adults and 2 children *may* (it may not) result in a different listing showing in the same spot.

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

[siryn]

thanks for the tip, aaron. unfortunately, when i put in for 2 additional kids, many of the options disappeared. also, the $140, 3.5* option disappeared altogether earlier this week. which was just as well because i was not feeling comfortable with the whitcomb.

to anyone interested, i had failed bids for these dates on priceline for downtown SF (embarcadero, civic center north and south, fish wharf, marina, soma, union square east & west). i tried multiple times over the course of the past 3 weeks up until today:

4* - bid up to $181

3.5* - bid up to $160

3* - bid up to $100

all bids were rejected. (i wasn't sure where i should post this info.. didn't feel appropriate to start a new topic in priceline thread re failed bids). i had a backup with club quarters for $204/night, but that was way more than i wanted to spend for a 3.5* hotel with notoriously tiny rooms.

ultimately, i ended up going with the 3* oakland airport holiday inn express on hotwire for $93/night. i'll post that win on the california-other cities thread, but thought i'd update people who were looking at similar dates. fyi, i called one of the hotels in the area to find out what was going on that week to make the prices so exorbitant and apparently there is a huge sorority convention in town in the middle of the week and then 7/29 is the san francisco marathon.

p.s. this website has been very helpful in my research and of course i always used the PRICELINE / HOTWIRE links on top!

[siryn]

amenities: Airport Shuttle, Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service), High-Speed Internet Access, Accessible for the blind, Accessible for the deaf, Free Parking, Free Breakfast, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Handicapped parking, Roll-in shower

i am pleased with this "win". hotels in the area are all at a premium during these dates. there were 3.5* hotels in berkeley and alameda for a little less ($88), but the free parking and free breakfast made me choose this one (i'm renting a car). also, i was pretty sure that it would be the holiday inn express from the BB hotel list and i like this chain based on my experiences in other cities.

also fyi, i bid on priceline as well, but didn't find any better deals as far as i could tell. here are my failed bids in oakland (berkely, alameda, oakland airport):

4* - bid up to $120

3.5* - bid up to $100

3* - bid up to $80

i'd like to stay in SF proper one day, but oakland is much more affordable especially during peak times. (and yes, i used the BB link for my purchase and searches)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

While not your first choice of zone, glad you found something that works well for needs and budget... and you were able to learn why the high demand for these dates.

Thank you for using the HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your purchase and sharing your win, helping us add this new amenity set for this property to the Hotwire Hotel List.

Enjoy your stay.

[siryn]

thanks, thereuare. btw, this is a 3* star hotel, not 3.5* as it states in the subject line.

this hotel is listed on priceline as a 2.5* so i might have been able to get a better price on priceline. even so, i don't regret not bidding on 2.5* since i may have gotten another hotel that didn't have free parking and/or breakfast.

also, the holiday inn website states that this location has free internet, but it is not listed on their hotwire amenities list. thought i should mention it for those researching this hotel in the future.

[thereuare]

FIXED the star rating, thanks fro letting us know!

[siryn]

thereuare: for some reason, the sub-line was changed when you fixed the star rating. for posterity, i got this hotel for $93/night (2 adults, 2 children) on the dates of 7/25 - 7/29

[thereuare]

i got this hotel for $93/night (2 adults, 2 children) on the dates of 7/25 - 7/29

This is how it currently appears on my screen... if still an issue please let us know.

Thanks.

[siryn]

my apologies.. i am running a very old version of firefox so it must be my browser. it looks fine on internet explorer.