biduk Posted June 16, 2015 Report Posted June 16, 2015 Won on 06/15/2015 ( 2 adult & 2 Kids) My guess based on discounted price from 279 to 182 for 4.5 star hotel was Sofitel Chicago Water Tower but ended up getting Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile. I am not sure why hotwire categorizes a 4 star hotel as 4.5 star. Details: 4.5 Star 95% recommended Magnificient Mile North - Water Tower Area Amenities Published: Free Internet Indoor pool(s) Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access This is second time where star rating of Hotwire did not match the star rating on all the popular online booking sites (including thier own... Expedia). Previously in March 2015 I had won The Hyatt Lodge at McDonald's Campus as 4.5 * which is barely 4 star hotel but Hotwire categorizes that as 4.5*. My experience on Hot.wire for over last 10 years has been great but from this year it seems that they are changing thier model and tricking people (borderline cheating). I hope this is helpful.
AaronJB Posted June 16, 2015 Report Posted June 16, 2015 Sorry to hear that the result is a disappointment. This is a nice Hyatt property in a terrific location so hopefully the hotel will exceed expectations. The "retail price" showing on Hot.wire is not the retail price of the underlying hotel, but an average of comparable hotels for your date/s. You can find the list of hotels previously reported to the board, including the Hyatt here: Hotwire Hotel List Illinois Please let us know if you have any Chicago city questions. Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches. Enjoy your stay.
biduk Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Posted June 16, 2015 I have stayed earlier at Hyatt Chicago Magnificient Mile...its a great property but lot of ambulance noise at night as it has hospitals close to the hotel. My disappointment is more with the deception not the property. It is important to use Universal star rating standards especially when it is an opaque bidding......they cannot come with thier own standards (especially when the rating goes up compared to the rating in the open marketplace)... They should simply provide the correct options to the customer based on star rating on most popular online boking sites and let the consumer decide. Thier star rating does not even match with whats on thier parent company website (expedia.com). Thier trick may work in the short term but may alienate thier most loyal customers in the long term. The reason I bidded for 4.5 star was to avoid ending up at Hyatt Chicago Magnificient Mile ......there were lot of cheaper options available with 4 star rating at the time I was bidding. This has happened for the second time in just 3 months. I never had hotel rating issue with priceline. But when traveling with 2 kids I try to avoid priceline (as it assumes only two person traveling). I heard similiar hotwire booking issue from my friends recently ...I am more inclined towards avoiding hotwire in the future especially when the difference in the price between hotwire rates and open marketplace rate is marginal for same or 0.5 star more rating. Hotwire customer service representative mentioned that they changed the star rating based on feedback from thier customers. I don't get that I can stay at 2 star hotel and be extremely satisfied with thier 2 star rating . It does not make the 2 star hotel a 3 star property. Similiarly a 4 star hotel does not become a 4.5*. Just my thoughts
AaronJB Posted June 16, 2015 Report Posted June 16, 2015 Thanks for your thoughts and sorry to hear that you were trying to avoid this particular property. I'd call ahead and try to ask for a room on a higher floor - I've stayed here on a few occasions and (at least in my experience) I've stayed on higher floors and have had no problems with street noise. With Price.line and a party of four, you can look at PRICELINE EXPRESS to see if there are any listings with bed choice (which may have two beds as one of the choices.) Sorry again to hear that this was a disappointment, but hopefully it will turn out better-than-expected. Please let us know if you have any questions for future stays - we would be more than happy to help. Enjoy your stay.
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