Hotwire Hotel: 4* Fort Lauderdale (Hollywood Beach) Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort

[beantown24]

I'm looking for a Hollywood Beach hotel for the wife and kids and I for a beach vacation, and the only true pre-requisite is that it is on (or VERY close) to the beach.

 

Hotwire Hot Deals is listing three 4* hotel alternatives in the Hollywood Beach area.  The best deal (38% off) right now has the following amenities:

- Free Internet

- Business center

- Fitness center

- Spa services

 

Hotwires traditional hotel search engine only lists the following 4* options with on-site spa services:

- Diplomat Resort and Spa Hollywood

- Turnberry Isle Miami

- Margaritaville

- Trump International Beach Resort

 

However, the BetterBidding Hotwire hotel list for Hot Deals lists the following:

- Crowne Plaza (no spa)

- Diplomat Resort & Spa (was Westin, now Hilton)

- Diplomat Country Club & Spa

 

The only objectionable option within either of the above lists is the Diplomat Country Club & Spa because it's not on the beach.  However, is that option even a bookable hotel?  I can't find it in the Hotwire search engine, and even on the Diplomat Country Club website (diplomatgolf.com), I do see an option to book rooms.  Is there a chance that the Diplomat Resort (on the beach) takes a Hotwire Hot Deal customer and puts them up over at the Country Club?  That's my big worry.  

 

Please help me ID this deal, and provide any insight into the Diplomat Country Club that you have.

[thereuare]

The best deal (38% off) right now has the following amenities...

Don't use the percent discount as an indicator of the deal as the discount shown is based upon an average rate of hotels of this star rating in the zone for your dates... not necessarily the price of the specific underlying hotel.

So we can replicate your search can you please confirm how many rooms/adults/children you're including in your search?

Also, if you repeat your search using the EASY VIEW TAB at BiddingHelper.com, are there any more amenities then the four you listed above?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[beantown24]

Thanks thereuare.

 

I was looking for a single room, 2 adults, 2 kids.  

 

The rate of the hotel that I am looking at has bounced around a bit, between $223 and $235 per night.  Last I checked it was $228.

 

Using the Easy View Tab, there was another amenity listed ("internet access").  Here was the complete list:

FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Fitness center, Business center, Internet access, Spa services

 

Appreciate any insight into which hotel this is, and also whether you believe it may be possible to be the Diplomat Country Club, which I want to avoid because it is not on the beach.

[thereuare]

Unfortunately i don't have any insight into this property and with such a limited amenity set i don't have any guess for this one.

Does it have to be in the Hollywood Beach zone? If not, i'm seeing what appears to be the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach for $225/nite for your dates... or if you do need Hollywood Beach i also see this offer:

4 star Hollywood Beach hotel (confirm your dates on the landing page) for $254/nite with: Indoor or Outdoor Pool, Free Internet, Business Center, Fitness Center... my guess for this one would be the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort Hotel, and while this PRICELINE only guarantees double occupancy, one of the options offered for this property is to choose two double beds, so i don't think there should be any issues with the two children.

Does this one work for your needs... what are your thoughts?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[beantown24]

We would prefer the Hollywood Beach area, and one of the reasons is that most of the Hollywood Beach resorts are right on the beach, as opposed to across the beach.  My wife wants to avoid the Crowne Plaza if possible for that reason, and the Sonesta and Atlantic, while nice, face the same hurdle.  Given that Hotwire only lists these four 4* hotels with Spa services in the Hollywood Beach area:

- Diplomat Resort and Spa Hollywood
- Turnberry Isle Miami
- Margaritaville

- Trump International Beach Resort

 

...do you think it is relatively safe to assume that I would get one of these four?  I'd be ecstatic to land the Diplomat, Margaritaville, or Trump at this price, and the Turnberry (where a double is currently $600+) seems unlikely.  Might I be on to a great deal here?  Or is there a decent chance that Hotwire pulls a "fast one", and offers up a different hotel that they don't list on their primary hotel search engine (i.e. something other than the four above)?  This is my first time venturing away from Priceline bidding into Hotwire deals, so I don't have a feel for how "sneaky" they are, or whether things are more or less straight-forward and "by the book".  It has me puzzled why they are listing so few amenities for this property.

 

If you agree that there is a high chance that the spa services amenity offered means that most likely I'd be getting a hotel choice from the list above, then I'm probably willing to roll the dice (perhaps starting with a one-night reservation at first instead of the full three night, in case Hotwire provides something off-the-radar) and give it a try.  Thoughts?

[thereuare]

We do somewhat often see hotels won that are not listed in the 'retail' side of HOTWIRE for the same dates, so it's a leap of faith that i wouldn't necessarily be willing to take on a $200+ per nite hotel.  Perhaps with some other indication that you know it would work for your needs this trip (Beachfront amenity, high user review rating(s), etc) but not with so little information.

 

To limit your risk you could see if this same property is offered for the first (or last) nite of your stay and then again for the balance. If so, you could purchase the solo nite in order to 'look behind the curtain'. If you're happy with the results purchase the remaining nites, if not, make alternate plans for the balance of your stay.

 

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

Let us know what you decide and how it goes or how we can be of further help.

[beantown24]

I took the plunge and booked the hotel with the limited amenities shown, and was ecstatic to get the Margaritaville at this nightly rate, which is low for prime spring break time.  I executed it like I described above - booking the first night (to make sure I was happy with the property), then the rest of the stay after that.  

 

In hindsight, Margaritaville made more sense than Diplomat because Margaritaville was one of the few Hotwire Hot Deal listings in the area that didn't have a satisfaction % recommended figure, and I saw somewhere on the Hotwire site that they were "still collecting enough reviews".  This makes sense because the Margaritaville just opened last year.  

 

Rates varied by the night of my stay (Friday night was ~$20 more per night than Wednesday / Thursday), averaged $233 per night:

- Rate for 3 nights:  $701

- Tax recovery charges + fees:  $154.97

Grand Total:  $855.97

 

 

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see it was one of the hotels that you had considered and that you're pleased with the hotel and deal you received.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and helping us add this property to the Hotwire Hotel List.

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

Enjoy your stay.