Hotwire Hotel: Please help identify Hotwire hotels

[CanadianCruiser]

Hi,

I'm new to this board and would like some help in identifing 2 hotels listed on Hotwire for Victoria BC. This would also be my first attempt at purchasing a hotel through Hotwire. We are planning a trip for May long weekend May 19-23, 2004. The hotels and their amenites listed are:

1. 3* Spa services @ $63/night

2. 3.5* Ocean front, restaurant, pool, business center, golf nearby, tennis nearby @ 141/night

Does anyone know if the second hotel might be the Coast Harbourside and is this a reasonable price for the May long weekend?

Thanks so much for your assistance.

CC

[WillTravel]

There are at least three Victoria hotels, and maybe more, with a spa that could be a possibility for the first: Chateau Victoria, Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa, Magnolia Hotel & Spa.

If the second is the Coast Harborside (which is likely possible), the regular rate is $210 CAD ($185 USD) for your dates.

[thereuare]

The 3.5* property matches the amenities and star rating for the Laurel Point Inn.

[CanadianCruiser]

Thanks for your replies. Could you tell me if there are good deals to be had on hotwire for Victoria?

I did a search for the hotels on Expedia.ca and noticed that there isn't much of a discount for hotwire prices. For example, the Coast Harbourside costs $170.25 CAD, and the Laurel Point Inn costs $134 CAD. If I chose the 3.5* hotwire hotel, it would have cost $141 USD or $188 CAD, so there is actually no discount at all through hotwire.

What are my chances of getting one of the nice hotels that Willtravel mentioned with the 3* spa? Does anyone know what kind of hotels are popping up on hotwire lately for $60.00?

CC

[WillTravel]

Do you mean popping up on Priceline? As reported here, the main problem appears to be the 3* Red Lion which is not so great in terms of location and reportedly not very good in terms of quality.

[thereuare]

Some areas have greater discounts than others. To ensure their rates are the lowest, Hotwire offers a Double the Difference Guarantee in which if you find a lower rate within 48 hours of booking they will give you a refund of double the difference. Many board members have used this to their advantage and 'intentionally' bought an overpriced room in order to get it ultra-cheap after Hotwire's guarantee. Of course their is some risk involved that Hotwire honors their guarantee and doesn't sneak out of it thru some unforseen loophole, but from what we've seen they've been very good about it. Also, since we're buying an 'unforseen' hotel, we have to be right in our guess of what it is!

I see Expedia now has a Spring Sale rate for your dates for the Laurel at $101. Assuming what we see on Hotwire is the Laurel Point, it is now coming up at $145/nite. If you could successfully clamin Double the Difference you would ultimately get this for $57/nite!!

As i discussed in another thread, i just read Hotwire's full Terms on the Double the Difference Guarantee and it states that it doesn't apply to

membership or corporate rates or special discounted rates including AAA, AARP, employee, military, government or convention rates

and i don't know if their Spring Sale would qualify as a 'special discounted' rate or not... i wouldn't think so since it's available to the general public, but perhaps a call to customer service before purchase, asking a general question about Double the Difference applying to Expedia's Spring Sale would be a smart move. I wouldn't get so specific to tell them the exact hotel you're looking at since it may just then disappear after your phone call :)