Hotwire Hotel: Bid help Paris: Louvre - Vendome - Concorde area (August 5-10)

[sequitur]

There was a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal on priceline earlier this week that I had pegged as the 4* Novotel Les Halles for $131, and I foolishly booked a flight before trying to snap it up.  Big mistake as it has since disappeared, along with the "spring14" coupon code that expired 4/4.  Crushing.  So... on to Hot.wire.

 

I'm finding the following in the L-V-C zone for dates Aug 5-10 (5 nights):

4*, amenities: Free Internet, Fitness, Restaurant.  That's it.  

These amenities don't correspond to anything in the hotel list, so for the first time I'm posting an inquiry rather than a result.

 

Since I'm here, I'll note that when I added St. Germain zone, I got a 5* result for $222 that was pretty intriguing.  On that result page it says "last person got Hotel Montalembart".  Looking up that hotel directly it has some appeal, but the small room size ruled it out for me which is why I'm only asking about the 4* above.  But here is the question: When hotwire says "last person got..." is that pretty much a slam dunk indication right there?  I've noticed in prior posts for Paris that the moderator best guess matched the "last person got" so I just wanted to explore that, should i get a similar indication again.

 

One last thing I wanted to comment on: the Priceline.express deals have an advantage over Hot.wire in that some results indicate "selectable bed type" or similar, which could prove very critical to some travelers.  I don't believe the same is true of Hot.wire.  This is relevant because the 4* I'm researching now has a sofabed for EACH of the available room types (which must surely make it possible to identify - sofabeds must be very rare in LVC zone).

[yellowdog]

4*, amenities: Free Internet, Fitness, Restaurant.

I believe there may have been more amenities than you listed in your post. HOTWIRE has a new interface which is not currently showing the complete set of amenities at the usual point of the search process.

Please run a new search using our BiddingHelper.com tool at the top of this page. Once the search is completed, use the EASY VIEW TAB and click the GREEN BUTTON next to this listing to view the complete set of amenities. Then copy and paste the amenities, as well as the price, in a reply to this thread and we will then have a look at this offer.

 

But here is the question: When hotwire says "last person got..." is that pretty much a slam dunk indication right there?

Our guess sometimes match the HOTWIRE hint but the "last person got ..." message shown by HOTWIRE is in reference to the last person who won a hotel in that zone at that star rating... it doesn't apply to the amenity set of the current offer nor does it say anything about the current hotel offered.

 

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

 

Yellowdog.

 

 

[sequitur]

That BiddingHelper.com is an interesting tool - thanks. When I run it, it lists one additional amenity, so here is the full list:

4*: 178.00USD per room per night*

Louvre - Vendome - Concorde

FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Internet access

Priceline.express still has (what i believe to be) the Novotel Les Halles, now for $195 through "BiddingHelper.com" but a staggering $227 if I search the PRICELINE EXPRESS site directly - strange discrepancy. Both prices are much higher than the $131 -5% deal I missed last week. Hoping it returns after the weekend, but if its true "only 9 rooms left", I'm worried.

[thereuare]

The Novotel Paris Les Halles would be a guess, but difficult to stay with so few amenities showing (and those that are showing are common for a hotel of this star rating)

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

Let us know whatever you decide to do for this stay or if we can be of further help.

[sequitur]

Well, I did as I said: I waited until after the weekend, and hotwire remains unchanged (showing same 4* hotel for $165... "9 still left").

 

What I was REALLY waiting to see is what would happen on priceline express, where a 4* in L-V-C (or equivalent zone) was showing for $131 last week - my target price.

Yesterday it was showing a 4* with "bed choice available" for $227, and I was certain beyond doubt it was the Novotel Les Halles ("NLH").  So that was the hotel I want, but not the price.

 

This morning a 4* shows up, but now the "bed choice" option has disappeared, but the price (now $129!) has re-appeared from last week. 

The only amenity PLExpress NOW shows is a symbol for "pet", and a 7.0 approval (same as was showing for the $227 hotel I figured was NLH).

 

I'm really thrown by the change in icons.  When there was the paw/internet/bed choice, it was certainly Novo Les Halles, but now that they changed the icons along with the price, I have doubts.  I'm also thrown by the deal: it says "26% off" or something, and I know that this would be a half-off deal if it really is the NLH.

Any thoughts?

I'm even doing a REGULAR search on priceline (very difficult since the zones disappear as a filter), and the only thing close to a 4* with a 7.0 rating that takes pets is the Millenium Opera Paris (7.1/10, pets allowed, and $172/night - a 25% discount on that price would be exactly $129!).

 

If I can't get Novotel Les Halles on PLExpress, I may pursue an apartment rental, since I have 5 days - enough for a short term apartment rental.

[thereuare]

I can't say what the 'new' hotel above is, but i suspect it is most likely different hotel than the one you were seeing earlier.

You can also try our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com and search for the exact location you're interested in and see if anything nearby and of interest is offered for your dates.

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

Let us know what you ultimately decide to do for this stay.

[sequitur]

I agree - when bed choice was available it was clearly Novotel Les Halles, and I don't think they would change the amenities from one day to the next, so I must conclude it is no longer NLH, and I'm GLAD I didn't get it last week for $131!

 

Because of the length of my stay (5 days), I'm finding a lot of excellent options on short term apartment rentals which I'm going to pursue.  I don't really need a kitchen, but for the same price as a (discounted) hotel room, it seems like a smart way to go for a family of 4 (which is the reason why the "bed select" option was the only option for me on PRICELINE EXPRESS). 

 

I do thank BetterBidding for all the help! 

 

PS: In the hotel list page, the Novotel Les Halles reflects "airport shuttle" as an amenity and I've confirmed with the hotel they do not have such a thing.  Not sure if that error is from PL though, but thought I would point it out.

[thereuare]

Thank you for closing this thread with your decision.

The Novotel was reported to the board with a Shuttle in this Priceline Express thread. It's possible this was in error and/or has since been removed by PRICELINE, but if/when reported to the board without the Shuttle amenity we'll simply add the new amenity set to the list. (NOTE: PRICELINE doesn't indicated if the Shuttle is complimentary or not, so it could be an outside service operated by a third party that, for a fee, will provide shared shuttle service to/from the hotel, and that could be the hotel's reasoning for including the Shuttle amenity)

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