Hotwire Hotel: 4* San Juan (Isla Verde - Carolina - SJU) InterContinental

[qsand13]

Hi ,

I was looking for help IDing a 4* hotel in Isla verde that's being offered on Hotwire :

$137 per night 8/21-8/24:

Resort

Pools

Internet access

Beachfront

Casino

Business center

Fitness center

Laundry.

I think it's the el San Juan or intercontinental .

Not sure if anyone knows how determine which one it is.

Thanks

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

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.

This is what I see when replicating your search,

Resort

Beachfront

Casino

Fitness

Pool

Restaurant

Business

Laundry

Hi-Speed Internet

Tennis

Spa

Blind Accessible

Deaf Accessible

Travel Accessible

Room Accessible

Bathroom Accessible

Handicapped Parking

Roll-in Shower

If this is what you see would my best guess be Intercontinental.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know what you ultimately decide or if we can be of further help.

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

Yellowdog.

[qsand13]

I see that now, thanks! I would be pretty happy with the intercontinental (or El San Juan for that matter).

However the bargain hunter in me is really tempted to try a bid on Priceline for a 4* hotel in isla verde.

My only problem is that I'm worried about getting the San Juan beach and water club from the bid.

Has anyone done a blind bid and got the beach and water club?

My other idea is bidding a very low amount, and seeing if I get a better express/counter from Priceline. I seem to remember something like this happening to me before.

Any thoughts/tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!

[AaronJB]

You can get any potential 4* in the zone when bidding, which does include the Water Club. There is no way to increase the odds of a particular property or avoid a particular property, so if you are eager to avoid a particular property I'd rather suggest HOTWIRE (such as the listing above) or PRICELINE EXPRESS where you can try to make educated guesses as to which hotel is showing.

 

Please keep us updated with what you decide and if you have additional questions.

 

Thank you for using the board's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[qsand13]

So I bit on the Hotwire 4* in Isla Verde described above for $137.  Turned out to be the Intercontinental which I'm very happy about.  

 

After fees and taxes the total came to $560... So average for each night turned out to be $186.. this made me take a step back, because I've seen the average night for this hotel priced at $178, not sure if this included resort fees, but I think its something I'm going to look into. 

 

I'm especially concerned because I've had a very bad experience booking with Priceline and  at the same hotel company as the Intercontinental (at a Holiday Inn Express at Mrtyle Beach Maryland last summer). The hotel was pretty empty, and we were given the worst room (1st floor, bedroom 3-5 feet from a very noisy kiddie pool). The hotel management refused to give us a different room because we booked through priceline...After several phone calls to corporate (and several hours of stress), we were actually upgraded to much better ocean front room. I've always booked through third parties, and generally kindness and politeness have usually helped me get great rooms, so I was extremely shocked by this experience.

 

My point being, saving $10 dollars a night, might not be worth the hassle of being given a terrible room and/or treated like a second class citizen. 

 

Any recommendations on how to avoid this situation would be greatly welcomed. Has anyone had any positive or negative experience staying at the San Juan Intercontinental and getting decent rooms?

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Sorry to hear of your past experience at the Holiday Inn... if you experience similar treatment (at any hotel regardless of how you booked) i'd handle just as you did. Try first to resolve with the hotel front desk, if unsuccessful speak with the manager, and continue your way up the corporate ladder.

Hopefully all will go smoothly and you'll have no issues, but i will add that often times a hotel is full (or near full) and the hotel is unable to accommodate any room requests you have... even if they wanted to. I've posted the story before where i was at a hotel that was near full and somebody and a guest at the front desk was complaining as he requested a non-smoking room but all that was left was a smoking room; and this guest had actually booked directly with the hotel. If he had booked thru a 3rd party it would be very easy to say "I was assigned a smoking room because i didn't book direct with the hotel...", but this is a perfect example of how sometimes there simply isn't much that the hotel can do.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.