Priceline Hotel: 3.5* San Juan Radisson Ambassador Plaza Hotel and Casino

[VacationDude]

Purchased this property via a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal and not via bidding. I felt a little deceived, because when trying to figure out which hotel this was beforehand, the casino was not listed among the 5 amenities displayed beneath the Express Deal (meaning, the little blue icons representing amenities that display beneath the mystery hotel featured in the Express Deals).

I rate this an OK win, as the price is great. But I'm mostly interested in a beach vacation, and although there is a beach within walking distance, it's not a great one (I've been to San Juan several times). I can always take the bus to Isla Verdes, I guess. Solid hotel for a discounted price near a beach, can't complain.

Price: avg. per room, per night $87.00

Rooms: 1

Nights: 4

Room Subtotal: $348.00

Taxes & Fees: $53.20

Total Charged to Card: $401.20

**Another $45 will be charged to me at checkout (resort fees probably). Priceline informed me of this *before* I purchased the property, so it's ok. I'm not sure if Priceline has always displayed these resort fees beforehand and I just never noticed them, but I'm so glad they are doing it now. Makes me feel less like I've been conned.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

Can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities that PRICELINE EXPRESS associated with this property.

It would be apprecaited if you used the previously requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future bidding, searches, and travel purchases.

Thanks, enjoy your stay.

[VacationDude]

Not that I think it makes any difference in identifying the hotel (it didn't for me), but the amenities listed were:

• Free Internet
  
• Indoor/Outdoor Pool
  
• Restaurant
  
• Business Center
  
• Fitness Center

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the follow-up. :)

Enjoy your stay.

[sailinghobie]

I bid on priceline for 4 stars and won at $87. This hotel is not 4 stars. They also charged an extra $9.60 surcharge because I paid via priceline. I was not notified beforehand. Be careful bidding on 4 stars in San Juan.

[thereuare]

I bid on priceline for 4 stars and won at $87.

Thanks for your post.

Can you please add your win to the board as a NEW TOPIC so that others will be aware of your win when searching the topic titles on the board and in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins and Priceline Maps.

In your post please include the star rating, city, zone, hotel name, room rate per nite, and dates of your stay... you can still view all of this information by going to PRICELINE and clicking the MY PROFILE >> MY TRIPS link near the top right of their home page.

They also charged an extra $9.60 surcharge because I paid via priceline.

I doubt it... more likely this is a resort fee charged by this hotel which all guests pay regardless of how the stay is booked. When you bid on PRICELINE it is within their terms that any resort fees are in addition to your winning bid price and paid directly to the hotel.

[VacationDude]

I bid on priceline for 4 stars and won at $87. This hotel is not 4 stars. They also charged an extra $9.60 surcharge because I paid via priceline. I was not notified beforehand. Be careful bidding on 4 stars in San Juan.

Hey, I'm the original poster of this topic here. If you're sticking with this hotel, note that Ocean Park beach is just a 5-minute walk away, and it's a pretty decent beach (although you start out on the wrong side of it where the surfers are and rough waves). You might ask how to get there since it's not visible from the street.

It's true, this is in no way a 4-star hotel, and I'd complain to Priceline if you want to try and cancel. It was just a really average hotel, and they will stick you with one of their lesser rooms because of the price you paid. As someone who's done several PRICELINE hotel bids, the $9.60 fee is pretty standard and is actually pretty low. I now always price in on around $30-$50 total to whatever I win on Priceline these days. The good thing about using PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals instead of bidding is that they tell you about these fees before you click the confirm button.

[sailinghobie]

I called priceline and they called the hotel. The hotel told priceline that the resort fee was charged to all guests. I knew this was BS so I called the hotel and was told that if you book online at Radisson.com there is no resort fee.

[thereuare]

At the Radisson website they may bundle the fee into 'taxes' (since i think technically it is a 'casino tax' that is charged to all hotels in San Juan that have a casino, although some may call it a 'resort fee')... a random date i chose for this hotel direct shows a room rate of $211/nite and a estimated taxes of $48/nite, making the total fee as a percent of purchase ~23% (which is less than the percentage of the cost breakdown posted above by the OP... but if you add in the expected resort fee listed it comes to about the same percentage). So call it what you will, but 'net net' i don't think there is any special fee charged by the hotel solely for PRICELINE bookings, the hotel just calls/bundles the fee under a different name.

Even if this is an additional fee (which i don't think it is), the prices thru PRICELINE more than compensate for a few extra dollars that you could potentially have to pay directly to the hotel (which again, i don't think is the case).

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