Hotwire Hotel: 3* Tampa (Westhore-Aiport TPA-South) Radisson Bay Harbor Inn

[matt_tx00]

We tried to book a hotel for 12/27 to 12/31 in Tampa. We found one - regular $80 - "49% savings" at $41/night in the Busch Gardens area. Turns out to be the Days Inn Busch Gardens. First off, this place is a total dump (check out Tripadvisor website for more information). Second off, Hotwire's site said we were given a 49% savings for this room. Bottom line - this room never goes for $80/night and we even called the Days Inn direct to do a mock booking and the price they quoted was $49/night. Some "49% savings". We called Hotwire customer service to complain and they offered us the Clarion Busch Gardens for a slightly higher price - another dump. Finally, we got offered the "3 star" Radisson Bay Harbor, which still doesn't look great per Tripadvisor reviews, but we took it since it was better than the other two choices. This one we got for $70/night or so.

Granted its the holiday week and granted we weren't going for anything great. However, I've been using Hotwire for years - probably booked 15 or 20 hotels on there - and this is the first time I've ever gotten a really bad one, not to mention three in a row. In addition, none of these three hotels are featured on this website. Bottom line - Hotwire's starting to put some stinkers in there and I will highly question ever using it again. However, on the plus side, if you call to complain about "misrepresented advertising" they will work with you.

[matt_tx00]

By the way, these were our search terms for the Hotwire Tampa hotel

12/27/06 to 12/31/06 - 1 person

2* Busch Gardens "Best Value" $41/night pool + laundry -->

Days Inn Busch Gardens (a dump per Tripadvisor)

2.5* Busch Gardens $68/night fitness pool restaurant laundry -->

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center (also extremely poorly rated on Trip Advisor)

3* Westshore - Tampa Airport - South Tampa $71/night pool + restaurant -->

Radisson Bay Harbor Inn (better but still not great)

Fortunately customer service worked with us. They offered the second one - we turned it down - then they offered the third one and we ok'd it since it was better than the other two. They also gave us a $100 discount on the total stay.

Despite this, I'm very, very disappointed after lots of "wins" on Hotwire in the past. We *should've* gone with the sure-fire listings on this site but didn't think about that beforehand.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results and experience with the board... at least you were able to sort it out with HOTWIRE customer service and they were helpful in finding a resolution.

If there are hotels that you're considering purchasing and are not sure of, feel free to ask for help as we can often help.

Enjoy your stay.