Hotwire Hotel: 2* Los Angeles (Santa Monica - Marina Del Rey) Ramada Limited Marina del Rey

[jabbawabbi]

To begin, Hotwire is advertising this hotel as a 2* hotel which retails for $329/night with free parking, internet access, etc. The are saying it is a "SUPER SAVER" hotel. I looked through hotels until I found 'The Shore Hotel' in Santa Monica on the Hotwire section which shows the hotels that you can purchase at the no-discount rate. 'The Shore Hotel' was listed at $329, AND had 2*'s,so I just KNEW I had found a great deal! Now, I did realize that the Ramada Lmtd was also a 2* but common sense and the website will tell you it certainly doesn't retail for $329, and even at $136 it wouldn't be a "SUPER SAVER" deal. Anyway, after I made the purchase, Hotwire notified me that I received the Ramada Lmtd!!! At $136 is this a SUPER SAVER?? I would love to find one website, just ONE that states it retails for anything over what I paid! I am outraged that they are using fraudulent advertising on their website. I could have purchased this rate from the Ramada.com website directly! Probably could've even gotten it for less than $136 if I had shopped around! Hotwire has no business saying this hotel retails for $329 on other websites. It's just a lie! Now, I am out $300 for a hotel that I wouldn't ever stay at. I have written a letter of complaint to them asking for a refund. I truly feel they are deceiving paying customers by advertising this hotel retails for $329. Everyone is going to think it is The Shore Hotel and it's not! I am posting this because I was looking for a posting on this hotel prior to my purchase and couldn't find one. I will update this when I hear back from customer service at Hotwire.

High-Speed Internet Access

Free Parking

Free Breakfast

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Sorry to hear you're disappointed with the results.

The crossed out rate is not necessarily for the hotel you're about to purchase, but as defined on the HOTWIRE website:

Savings based on median published rate we've found on leading retail travel sites in the last 24-48 hours for the same neighborhood, star rating, and stay dates.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Let us know if you find any resolution with HOTWIRE.

[jabbawabbi]

.........................UPDATE............................

OK, so last night I had emailed customer service about my dissatisfaction regarding the hotel and my feelings of having been mislead by their advertising in saying it was listed as $329 on other sites. I waited all day and never heard back so I called them. The first cust svc rep I got was sympathetic to my issue and agreed with me initially. Then she placed me on hold to" investigate". She came back and said what the betterbidding.com admin stated, "Savings based on median published rate we've found on leading retail travel sites in the last 24-48 hours for the same neighborhood, star rating, and stay dates." So, I argued that not all hotels in Santa Monica-Venice-Marina Del Rey that were 2* are listed at normally being $329. I'm not sure if that was true or not but I cannot imagine that they would do that. I also told her that most people using hotwire do not look at the prices listed as being a general average of the neighborhood and star rating of a hotel, rather what that particular hotel might retail for on other websites. Anyway, I could tell she was not going to help me so I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was patched through to a woman who seemed very unsympathetic at first. She stated that hotwire has an obligation to their hotels to stand by their reservations, blah, blah blah. Then, she started hearing what I was saying. I paid $136 to stay at a Ramada Limited on Hotwire, that it was advertised as a 'Super Saver', listed at $329, etc. She ended up agreeing with me that it was somewhat misleading and refunded my money on the condition that I re-book with her immediately at another hotel. I told her that I had seen one in Century City-Westwood for $146 3 1/2*, and that I would be happy with whatever the outcome was. It ended up being The Hotel Angeleno which I am satisfied with. I feel fortunate that I spoke with an understanding supervisor because there are probably many within the company that wouldn't have given me a refund. Now, I understand that the crossed out price next to the hotel isn't necessarily the price that hotel and * rating might be on another website.

[AaronJB]

Glad you are pleased with the new reservation and are looking forward to your stay.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could post the details of the new booking as a separate thread and confirm the amenities that were showing with the Ramada. This information is available under the trip information in your HOTWIRE account.

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.