Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Orlando (Intl. Drive - Convention Center) Allure Resort International Drive near Universal Orlando

[beantown24]

This was technically a Priceline "win", but I'm incredibly disappointed because this Allure Resort hotel does not appear at all desirable, and should not be 3.5 stars.  

 

I'm travelling to Florida in November with my 3-year-old son, so after seeing some BetterBidding.com wins in the Int'l Drive - Sea World area for the DoubleTree Sea World at the $45 level, and reading some of the hotel amenities (including games and put-put golf), I wanted to try for that DoubleTree (which was a 3.5 star).  

 

I started bidding at $40 with the following six zones (in the following order), playing the odds that the winning bid would indeed end up being the DoubleTree Sea World in the $45-50 range:

1.  Int'l Drive - Sea World
2.  Disney Downtown - Lake Buena Vista
3.  Disney Area - Lake Buena Vista East
4.  Disney Maingate - Celebration Area
5.  Int'l Drive - Convention Center
6.  Windermere - Bay Hill

 

The $49 win was the Allure Resort Orlando.  On the bidding win confirmation page, it indicated that this hotel was in the Int'l Drive - Convention Center zone, so I'm going to assume that is how Priceline officially has it mapped for bidding.  However, under the Priceline hotel search feature, note that the Allure Resort is listed under the Int'l Drive - Sea World zone.  Geographically (per the bidding map), it is definitely in the Convention Center zone.  

 

The reviews for this hotel are atrocious, and it garners a guest score of only 6.5.  In addition, some of the reviewers challenge whether or not this hotel would even qualify for a 2 or 2.5 star.

 

On the first page where I reviewed the bidding request parameters, there was the following statement:

Guaranteed Amenities: Fitness Center, Business Center, Guest Score 7/10 or Higher

 

Since the guest score at the Allure Resort wasn't a 7/10, I called Priceline customer service and was able to get a refund.  The rep did tell me something about how their internal rating (which includes surveys with no additional comments) was higher than a 7.0.  This sounds to me like a possible "ballot box stuffing" scam pulled off by the hotel.  Or at best a situation where the hotel manager pleads with guests to give a good rating unless there was something blatantly wrong that the hotel was unwilling to address.

 

For your own sake, please don't repeat my mistake.  Stay away from bidding at Int'l Drive - Convention Center zone, 3.5 Star.  When I restart bidding tomorrow, I simply plan to drop the Convention Center zone from the list of zones I would accept.

 

Administrator / thereuare, perhaps you might consider putting out some kind of warning in the title regarding this "win".

[yellowdog]

Thank you for sharing your result with the board.

Sorry to see that you didn't like the outcome but it looks like everything worked out well with PRICELINE in the end :)

 

Rates are date specific and we don't see the DoubleTree in the $45 range very often.

 

However, under the Priceline hotel search feature, note that the Allure Resort is listed under the Int'l Drive - Sea World zone.  Geographically (per the bidding map), it is definitely in the Convention Center zone.

The bidding service (NYOP) and the retail section use different zones and hotels. This is the explanation for the different zones.

 

When I restart bidding tomorrow, I simply plan to drop the Convention Center zone from the list of zones I would accept.

This is the best thing you can do if you want to avoid Allure. Please start a new topic and just let us know if you need any help with your upcoming stay.

Please use the board's PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your purchases and searches

Yellowdog.