Hotwire Hotel: 3* Rome (Central) Hotel des Artistes

[chemist661]

I'll explain what I did. To take advantage of the $30 rebates, I did 3 separate reservations. (I have 3 different entertainment books). The prices are as follows:

11/25 $99 ($106.15 total)

11/26 $99 ($106.15 total)

11/27 $92 ($99.15 total)

On each of these dates, it said that the tax/tip was already included in the bid. That means that the hotwire fee is $7.15. Since there is a $30 rebate on each bid, I did 3 bids. I was fairly confident that the same hotel would come up since it said on each bid that tax/tip was already included.

I did get the Hotel des Artistes for all 3 dates. Trip advisor reviews rated the hotel decently. (avg 3.5 out of 5).

I checked the www.hoteldesartistes.com website & each night only costs 66 euro ($80.77 US) if prepaid. I will talk to hotwire & check into low price guarantee.

Bottom line: Lets get some more date points & check what other booking sites/individual hotel prices compare to the hotwire price. Should be interesting. :)

[chemist661]

I talked to hotwire.com and I submitted claims for "double the difference". I should get the following amounts back:

$99 minus $81 = $18. double difference is $36.

$99 minus $81 = $18. double difference is $36.

$92 minus $81 = $11. double difference is $22.

The Customer service rep told me I can put in for the $30 rebates because the rebates & the "double the difference" are separate programs. Too bad they work with pretax amount & not give the booking fee back. Oh well, the deal is sweet if I get both credits. (double difference & rebate). :)

[thereuare]

One potential problem is that the terms of the Double the Difference Guarantee is "only one claim will be honored per household per 6 week period".

[chemist661]

I spoke to the CS rep & she told me that all 3 bids would qualify since I did them all within an hour. She noted my account to that effect. She went over with me that the first one was done at a certain time, the second one 15 min later & the 3rd one 6 min after that. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Thanks for bringing up the one claim per household no less than every 6 weeks.

[thereuare]

Can you please also add the amenties that were shown before purchase so that others can try to identify this property before purchase in the future. You can still view the amenties by going to Hotwire and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Thanks.

[chemist661]

The amenities are the following:

Hotel, restaurant, comp breakfast, high speed internet.

Also, it is likely this hotel if under the base price quoted, it says "taxes, tip included". If it doesn't say "taxes, tip included", it is likely another hotel.

[chemist661]

If one bids direct with the hotel at www.hoteldesartistes.com, they have a cash rate of 66 euros/night. If hotwire did not have a rebate, booking at the hotel site will save $$. 66 euros is equal to about $80.77. If one don't care about paying cash when checking in, booking with the hotel direct may be better. Non opaque, and cheaper. The other thing is that you don't have to pay until you check in. I only skimmed their terms/condition, but I would imagine that their cancellation policy would be better than hotwire's. With hotwire, you are stuck with their choice.

It just happen that I like getting this hotel. Decent reviews on trip advisor, close to the station, etc. With the rebate, it is less for me. Next time, I will book direct.

[thereuare]

If the hotel direct rate is cheaper than apply for Hotwire's Double the Difference Guarantee.

[UAFlyer]

I talked to hotwire.com and I submitted claims for "double the difference". I should get the following amounts back: 

$99 minus $81 = $18. double difference is $36.

$99 minus $81 = $18. double difference is $36.

$92 minus $81 = $11. double difference is $22.

The Customer service rep told me I can put in for the $30 rebates because the rebates & the "double the difference" are separate programs. Too bad they work with pretax amount & not give the booking fee back. Oh well, the deal is sweet if I get both credits. (double difference & rebate).  :)

Chemist661,

Are you able to get the "double the difference" refund ? I checked the hotel website

http://www.hoteldesartistes.com/, I did not see any prepaid rate. There's a cash discount rate of US$81. Would Hotwire match (double difference) the cash discount rate ?

Thanks for the useful information. :)