Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* Miami (South Beach) Royal Palms

[pcboston]

We are cruising out of Miami in May 2006 and I have been looking for a decent hotel for one night pre-cruise and one night post cruise. I thought that the prices would drop after Easter but they still seem pretty high on all the travel sites. I've never stayed in Miami so am looking for 1 night in South Beach and 1 night downtown. I've never used either Priceline or Hotwire so am a little scared of doing it for the first time. I wanted to know if anyone knows if the Royal Palms has been listed as a 3 and one half star now because Hotwire has one that matchs the description, but I thought that hotel was a 4 star. They also have a 4 star downtown, it sounds like the Intercontinental....would love to get those two but really not sure if I'm doing the right thing because it is non-refundable. I've tried to match up the amenities with all I have read on here and it does sound right. Would anyone have any idea which hotels are listed there? Thanks so much for any help you can give me.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please only post for one stay per thread, so let's use this for your pre-cruise stay and please start a NEW TOPIC for your post cruise stay.

Let us know the date of this stay, if it is the Downtown or South Beach zone you are seeking for this part of the stay, and what the star rating and full list of amenities you are showing on Hotwire.

With that information we will be in a better position to provide assistance.

[pcboston]

Wow, that was fast! I'm a complete newbie to this, so sorry I asked too much at once, this old lady is trying to learn new ways of doing things. The pre-cruise date is May 13 and I thought I'd like to stay in South Beach that night. I also like the larger hotels, not boutique. I looked on Hotwire yesterday, they listed a 3 and one half star with beachfront, restaurant, pool, fitness, laundry, said it was "customer favorite" The price listed was $145 plus tax so total would be $181. Does any of that match up? I hear about people getting these great deals...just kind of afraid of the unknown. Thanks so much.

[thereuare]

As per the HOTWIRE HOTEL LIST the Royal Palm is currenlty rated 3.5* and has the exact amenities as described above. Never any guarantees, but the Royal Palm would be our best guess and the most likely outcome based upon the information that is currently known.

Pre and Post cruise stays are great for trying the opaque services for the first time... you can usually get a very good deal, and even if you're not thrilled with the outcome (although this site helps to reduce the possibility of that as much as possible) it's just for one nite. I find it's hard to have too bad of an evening the nite before a cruise :)

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[pcboston]

Thank you so much for all the information. I really love this board and finally got up the courage to register and use it. I will be sure to let you know one way or the other what we decide to do and you are right about the night before a cruise....so exciting and only for one night if you are not real happy with what you get. I wondered if the prices are decent in terms of the time of year, don't want to go really cheap but didn't want to overpay either and be a fool! :) Just had a couple more questions..do the hotels look down on customers who book through Hotwire and Priceline? I read in some of the threads that people were given bad rooms and they felt that was the reason. I've also read that you can request 2 beds, don't always get them, but you can at least ask after the reservation is made. I travel with an adult daughter so I'm hopeful that we can do that. I'll probably be trying to reserve at the beginning of the week after I talk to her and will post the results when that is done. Again, a big thank you from this great-grandmother who is fairly new to a computer but still willing to learn. :)

[thereuare]

Just had a couple more questions..do the hotels look down on customers who book through Hotwire and Priceline?

A common question and no definitive answer.

If booking direct and given a bad room the guest typically says "bad hotel", while if staying on a discounted rate it's easy to blame that as the cause of your room assignment. More often than not if you're cordial to the front desk all goes well. If you're not happy with your room assignment simply return to the desk and explain to them that you'd like a different room and the reasons why. However, don't expect more than a 'standard' room... if beachfront rooms or rooms with balconies cost more than a standard room, you shouldn't expect accomodations.

[pcboston]

A standard room is all I expect..just clean,safe and a location close to things makes me happy. I'm also always cordial to everyone, not demanding, and I travel for the adventure and not to be catered to, so I'm hopeful that this new experience will turn out well. :)

[pcboston]

I just booked this hotel for one night pre-cruise from Hotwire using all the help I got from this board and from thereuare. I checked the package prices and matched the amenities to what I wanted...it turned out to be exactly the hotel I was looking at. All the open travel sites have it listed at $299 retail, so don't think it was too bad at $147+tax. It's my first time doing this, was more comfortable with booking with an opaque ad but will maybe try Priceline the next time for more savings. Thanks again for all the help.

[thereuare]

Please add the amenities that were shown before your purchase.. you can still view these by going to Hotwire and clicking the MY ACCOUNT Link near the top right of their home page.

Thank you.

[pcboston]

Regarding my purchase from Hotwire for one night in South Beach Miami 3.5 * for 5/13/2006, $147+tax, amenities shown were:

Beachfront, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Laundry, "Customer Favorite"

This turned out to be the Royal Palm which was what I was hoping for, not bad for a first try at this.

I called them this morning and requested 2 beds and they added this to the reservation, they also said if we got in earlier than check-in, there is a place to store luggage safely...they couldn't have been nicer.

I hope that this information helps someone else out there, thanks again to this site and thereuare.