Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* Philadelphia (Historic District-Waterfront) Sheraton Society Hill

[jillSF]

Last night I essentially did the same thing as this Priceline Philadelphia post and had no luck! :) I was trying for a 4* in downtown hoping to get the Hyatt Regency, Penn's Landing. My travel dates to Philly are June 16-19 and my strategy on Priceline was as follows:

Started off with Downtown Philly, selected 4* and a $75 bid-- rejected

Next, added one zone (Cherry Hill) increased bid to $78--rejected

Added another zone (City Line) and increased bid to $82--rejected

Added another zone (Gloucester, etc) and increased bid to $87--rejected

Added another zone (Philly Airport) and increased bid to $93--rejected

Added another zone (Stadium Area) and increased bid to $100--rejected

Added another zone (Trevose/Bensalem) and increased bid to $108--rejected

I added my last free rebid zone (University Area) and increased my bid to the maximum I wanted to bid for a 4* property in downtown Philly: $112 and I was rejected!!!!

What to do now? Wait 72 hours and try this again OR try bidding on a 3* and hope I get the Sheraton? I'm fairly new to this so I could use some advice.

Thanks.

[thereuare]

The re-bid period is now 24 hours (a recent change from the previous 72 hours).

What is your maximum bid? How much more is a 4* worth to you than a 3*? Are there any 3* properties reported that you wouldn't want to stay at?

If you check a sub-set of your dates (6/16-6/18) you'll see that the Hyatt shows as sold-out, so occupancy levels (and prices) are likely high... so a low chance that they are offering deeply discounted rates to the opaque suppliers this far in advance of your stay.

[jillSF]

Thanks for your advice. I've looked at the list of 3* hotels in downtown and the only one I'm really interested in is the Sheraton Society Hill but there's no guarantee that I would get that one. SO, another alternative...I just checked out Hotwire and it is listing a 3.5* in Historic District - Waterfront for $125. I'm assuming this is the Sheraton so I might go for it. Any thoughts or opinions on the Sheraton?

[thereuare]

What are the amenities associated with the Hotwire hotel you're being offered?

[jillSF]

The listing says:

Hotel Amenities

Restaurant(s)

Property offers at least one restaurant on the premises; hours and days of operation may vary.

Pool(s)

Property offers at least one pool area; hours and dates of operation may be seasonal.

Fitness Center

Guests have access to exercise equipment; an additional charge may apply.

Business Center

Guests have access to business equipment and services; an additional charge may apply.

[thereuare]

You can book the Sheraton directly on their website for $110/nite and one of the $110/nite offers comes with a $50 credit towards incidentals... seems like a better deal than the above, and no risk of the hotel not being the Sheraton :)

Let us know your thoughts and please use the link in this post if you go that route.

[jillSF]

That's strange. Earlier today, I went to the Sheraton site and the lowest rate they were offering was $199. I'll try again, using the link above. Is there a particular place on their website you went to to get the $110 rate? I'll try again right now and will let you know how it turns out.

Thanks.

[jillSF]

The $110 rate was for the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel not the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel. It's odd because they don't show any pictures of this hotel and I tried doing a google search and can't seem to find any pictures or reviews of it anywhere (besides the description on the Sheraton site) so I'm not sure if it's a nice hotel or not.. :) O'well. Maybe I'll just do the hotwire thing.

[homeschoolmom]

I am checking out Philly rates, too, and found that the Wyndham Franklin has been reflagged as the Sheraton City Center. Reference: www.ilca.org. (I googled the address for the Sheraton, then W.F. and Sheraton together.) So, now you can find pictures and reviews! I guess this needs to be noted on the hotel list, too, Thereuare. BTW, JillSF, did you check EasyClickTravel?

[thereuare]

I think the property above may be the (soon to be former?) Wyndham Franklin Plaza.

You can't find much about it because it has not yet changed hands. From the Sheraton website:

Now accepting reservations for arrival on or after May 4, 2006.

[jillSF]

Thanks for looking into this. Because I was anxious about booking today, I ended up going with the Hotwire 3.5* in Historic Waterfront for $125/night. Itt ended up being the Sheraton Society Hill like I thought! This will be my first trip to Philly so I hope the hotel works out (b/c there's obviously no way for me to cancel). Thanks again for your help!

[themadzins]

Just a bit of info and a question regarding the Wyndham change....It is now the sheraton after May 4th. However I searched Travelocity"]Travelocity or Orbitz today and got a rate of $88 for 7/15-7/16/2006. Do you think this would convert to the Sheraton as a reservation? Will it be honored? Any thoughts are appreciated.

[dahammer]

This will be my first trip to Philly so I hope the hotel works out

the Sheraton Society Hill has a better location than the Hyatt, in my opinion, you can walk to many of the tourist areas and restaurants.

themadzins can you please start this topic as a new thread and we will comment?

[thereuare]

themadzins can you please start this topic as a new thread and we will comment?

... and also follow up your Hotwire Baltimore thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay.