Hotwire Hotel: which San Jose hotel does this sound like to you?

[elviswife]

4* boutique hotel, downtown San Jose, fitness center, restaurant, high speed internet access, business center, no pool. $159/night.

Right now Montgomery is about $189 on their site, and DeAnza is $229 on theirs.

The DeAnza says they do release inventory to Hotwire, and Montgomery says "call back in the morning and ask so and so."

Anyone here have any insight so I can maybe get my vacation booked tonight (finally!)? :)

THanks!

[Colfax]

What exact dates are you finding these amenities and price for?

[elviswife]

dates searching July 29 check in, Aug 2 check out.... hotwire rate $159/night with these amenities:

Boutique Hotel

Property offers a distinctive, unique or eclectic atmosphere. Many boutique hotels are smaller, hip properties in an urban setting, or renovated hotels with historical flair.

Fitness Center

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

Restaurant(s)

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

Business Center

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

High-speed Internet Access

Guestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access; an extra charge may apply.

No San Jose Downtown 4* boutique hotel for check in July 29, out July 30.

Back in rotation for check in July 30, out July 31.

Up to $162/night for check in July 31, out Aug 1.

Back to $159/night for check in Aug 1, out Aug 2.

I read in an earlier post the Hotwire lists only one hotel per star level at a time/per area. That it lists hotels with the lower nightly rate (per the hotel) first, and then once it sells those, goes to the next expensive and lists that. IS that true? Cause if it is, this might be the Montgomery (which is what I am hoping for) and not the DeAnza. Thoughts?

[Colfax]

This looks like a match for Hotel De Anza in Downtown San Jose. That hotel hasn't been reported on Priceline.

In HOTWIRE Vacation Packages (where I go to try and identify hotels) the Montgomery shows up with different icons than you posted. (No Boutique icon.)

The De Anza's best rate for your dates is $229.

Looks like an interesting place and right Downtown. Check the reviews at TripAdvisor.

I also see there's a Hotwire 3* for $126 and that looks like a match for the Crowne Plaza. (No guarantee on the ID.)

If you purchase either of these please use this HOTWIRE link.

[elviswife]

i have checked the reviews for the DeAnza on tripadvisor.com and see two fabulous reviews and two horrible reviews - all within the past couple of months. Yikes! Anyone have any insight??

Good catch on the "B" icon not matching, Colfax. Darn. I am asking Trip Advisor San Jose for more insight as well. sigh. I am so close to finally finishing the booking for this vacation.... :) sigh.

[Colfax]

TripAdvisor Forums are a good place to gather opinions about a hotel quickly. I've never stayed at the De Anza and don't have a personal opinion of it.

You can't put too much faith in any single review on TripAdvisor. It's more about the overall pattern. De Anza is rated #13 out of 63 hotels in San Jose on TripAdvisor, with an overall score of 3.5 out of 5. I'd scan all the reviews there to get the big picture and not focus on one or two.

The location is definitely Downtown and walking distance to lightrail and the downtown museums.

I see HOTWIRE's 4* in Los Gatos is $289 for these dates!

[elviswife]

yeah, I try to take into account that one person may have just had a bad experience or is a grumpy hard-to-please person overall. It was just that there were only 4 reviews listed, and 2 of them were from bad experiences. And all four reviews were recent, so it's not like they went through a bad spell and now they cleaned up their act, y'know? So I posted a thread in the San Jose forum there and asked for more insight...

Yes, I saw the (ridiculously high) rate for the 4* Los Gatos. I am so sad, cause the more I looked into it, the more it seemed the area and the hotel are what I was really looking for (the theme parks are for my husband, these days are for me). Sigh. I will keep keeping on and hopefully get these booked sometime before our trip. :)

[Colfax]

I find 22 reviews of the De Anza at TripAdvisor, not 4. Of the six most recent reviews, four people rated it 5 out of 5; one rated it 3; and one rated it a 1.

I'm not trying to convince you to stay there (I haven't been there myself), but there's a lot more feedback posted about the De Anza than what you found.

[elviswife]

Colfax, you are right! I missed the little "next" that takes you to the additional reviews. I have gone and checked it out and am still worried because people either seem to "love" or "hate" the DeAnza. And often when traveling we get the "gee, that's never happened before" response whenever something goes wrong. So we are a little leery of this property.... I am thinking of just breaking down and purchasing the Moorpark which is a 3* but is ranked #1 of all the hotels in San Jose on Trip Advisor. And I can only find one or two "bad" reviews on the place. AND they have a pool - which I really want. ALthough it sounds like to get a "walk around and shop" experience we would have to drive a couple miles to Santana Row. That doesn't seem so bad, when it seems like we are almost certain to have a good experience based on the reviews. And when you factor in parking fees at the DeAnza, you end up with the same rate as at the Moorpark (which has free parking). Soooooo....

Can't resist, though. Still going to try Priceline for Los Gatos before booking Moorpark! ;0

[Colfax]

Well I'll be interested to hear where you end up, elviswife. Are you talking about trying to get the Moorpark on Priceline/Hotwire? Or booking it conventionally?

The drive from Moorpark to the places you want to see---Downtown, Santana, Los Gatos---really isn't bad.

[elviswife]

So I ended up just booking the Moorpark through the hotel. I ended up with 4 nights at $179/night AAA rate. I decided that once you took the $159 Hotwire rate (on whatever that hotel actually is) and added a $20/night parking rate it was a wash anyway. PS - I got this rate by calling the hotel. It had been removed from their website, so if I had booked that way, it would have been $189/night. So I called them directly and had no problem booking it.

And this way I KNOW for sure where we are staying and I am almost certainly going to be happy with it (if all the glowing reviews and the #1 most popular hotel in San Jose ranking on Trip Advisor are to be believed.). Based on the reviews, it sounds like there are two restaurants next door, a gas station across the street (convenient for someone who is going to be doing day trips), and it is "one freeway exit away" from Santana Row - so lots of things nearby. Good enough. :)

Thank you for all your help - the only way we could afford the Moorpark is because we got such a great deal at the Hyatt through Priceline for our other days in San Jose. So thanks!!

Now back to my problem with Portland... sigh. :)

[Colfax]

Thanks for the update, elviswife. The Moorpark ought to work out just fine. Have fun!