Hotwire Hotel: 2.5* Santa Rosa Comfort Inn Santa Rosa

[okiestate]

I just registered for betterbidding to post my disappointment with Hotwire on my recent stay in Santa Rosa, NM. I actually did not even know this board existed until I was complaining to my brother about Hotwire and he suggested that I should have consulted this site. How I wish I had! A day before traveling I selected the 2.5 star hotel in Santa Rosa and paid with my credit card. I was initially perplexed when I found out that the 2.5 star was the Comfort because Hotels.com (where I was also shopping for hotel rooms) listed the Comfort as a 2 star. I checked Tripadvisor, however, and the property got good reviews so I thought perhaps the Hotels.com rating was low. I arrived after 12 hours on the road and was told that I had a king room. I went to the room and found out that it was a smoking room facing I40 (less than 200ft from I40 and extremely noisy with road traffic) The hotel staff did relocate me to a non-smoking room further away from the interstate for an additional fee. So, word to the wise - if using Hotwire definitely check the amenities and if it does not include a no-smoking icon, you will be given a smoking room at the Comfort Inn.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Sorry to hear you had a disappointing stay...

First, if you haven't yet, please read your messages.

Next, can you please add a reply to this thread with the dates of your stay (so this purchase can appear in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins) amenities shown before your purchase (so we can properly add this hotel to the Hotwire Hotel List... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Lastly... did the first room you receive happen to be on the 2nd floor and the room you were moved to was on the 1st floor? How much was the additional charge?

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

[okiestate]

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[okiestate]

Sorry about leaving out information; just getting acquainted with betterbidding.

I stayed at the Comfort Inn Santa Rosa New Mexico for one night on 8/2/2012. I paid Hotwire $54.00 and with $12.55 in tax recovery charges and fees the total came to $66.55. (An interesting side - when checking in the very pleasant and very young female desk clerk wanted me to verify my room rate. I told her that I had already paid and she still wanted me to verify that $39.99 was the rate that I paid! Perhaps that is the rate Hotwire paid?)

The initially assigned smoking room was on the second floor (no elevator) and as mentioned faced the interstate. After asking about a non-smoking room, I was told I could pay an additional $10.00 for the non-smoking room. I asked if it was further away from the interstate and was assured it was. It was also on the second floor but much further away from the road and less noisy. So - I paid the $10.00 and moved to a much better room.

The amenities listed were: Indoor pool(s), High-Speed Internet, Free Parking, Free Breakfast, Free Internet, and In-room accessibility.

When I booked the room it displayed that the hotel was recommended by 90% of Hotwire guests. Today, I did a similar search and the 2.5 star in Santa Rosa listed with the same amenities says Hotwire is still gathering reviews for this property! (I did not recommend the hotel in my Hotwire review simply because it is not smoke free and has no elevator)

Looking forward to using this wonderful site in the future!

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up!

What i'm guessing (and hoping) happened is that this hotel charges more for some rooms than others. From their website this is not a smoking/non-smoking room distinction, but rather location within the hotel (1st floor rooms cost most than 2nd floor rooms... there may be other price differences between one side of the hotel to the other). It's possible that you were assigned the least expensive room class and there were no other non-smoking rooms at that price level available... therefore in order to change rooms you also needed to change room categories and that is the reason for the additional charge.

If the room change resulted in a change of room class to a more expensive room (when booking direct) then the upcharge makes sense and (imo) is acceptable... if the hotel was simply charging extra for the non-smoking room, and on their own website there is no price difference between smoking/non-smoking rooms, then the additional charge is not acceptable (imo)

I'm hoping the change in room resulted in a higher priced room, although it might have only been explained to you that "to change to a non-smoking room it will cost an extra $10", and that a more proper explanation would have been "we don't have any non-smoking rooms at the class you're booked for, but i do have a non-smoking room at a higher room class, to change to that room class it will cost an extra $10".

Note that if you require a non-smoking room you should seek out HOTWIRE hotels listed Smoke Free rooms as an amenity, as that is the only way to ensure such a room type. While most hotels will try to work with you for your room preferences, there are some situations where it's just not possible (hotel is otherwise sold-out of rooms that meet your preference), and the hotel does have discretion as to what room type to place you in.

Hopefully with the help of BetterBidding we'll help you land hotels that are more to your liking in the future.

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

[okiestate]

I will use the links on betterbidding when I access their sites in the future, thanks! I do agree that if only higher class non-smoking rooms were available then an up-charge would be warranted. However, upon reviewing the Comfort Inn website, this particular location charges the same for smoking and non-smoking. Additionally, I was given the excact same room type for $10 more. Live and learn; as I noted earlier, I will not ever again book a Hotwire room that does not display the no-smoking icon in the amenities list:)