Priceline Hotel: 4* Ottawa-Hull (Ottawa) Arc Hotel

[corwin]

Started at $90 up to $121 (accepted) in about $5 rebids. Lots of free rebids for Ottawa. I wasn't too happy with the price, probably only saved a little over the web rates. In retrospect I should have taken a 3* at less than half the price, as I wasn't overly impressed with the Hotel itself.

[opus]

Hi Corwin,

I was thinking of booking here - what dissapointed you with Arc?

Perhaps you could also tell me

What is their parking fee?

What is their Internet access fee?

thanks

[corwin]

I can't comment on their parking fee, I wasn't driving. There are many lots around the hotel, however.

I believe the wireless Internet was $30 CAD per day (!!) There were coffee/sandwich shops within a few blocks offering free wireless, although I didn't try it (obviously you can't access it from the hotel, but just saying there are options).

I wouldn't say I was disappointed with our stay, just not sure it was worth the money. Pros--the lobby and coffee areas were extremely nice, and the staff was fantastic. The restaurant and breakfast seemed reasonably priced, although we did not dine in the hotel. Cons--High priced internet. The room was small and laid out strangely; you can tell it used to be some other chain and was bought out (Howard Johnson in this case), and their new decor didn't exactly fit the old room layout. My wife and I were on the 3rd floor, and 2 mornings we awoke at around 5:30 when the dumpster below our window was being emptied. Good morning!

I've seen winning bids posted for central Ottawa for 3* properties at say $60; some of the 3*s are located mere blocks from where we were (for example, Marriott, Sheraton). I think my stay in a 3* property would have been worth the price difference, as I saw some of the 3* hotels and they were very nice as well and similarly well-located (can't say this for all possible 3*s you might get, but the ones I saw at least..).

Note that if you're bidding 4* in central Ottawa, the Westin is a possibility. I liked the location of Arc (and the 3* ones i mentioned) much better than Westin.

Hope that helps you decide!

cor

[opus]

Thanks for the info. After seeing your bid result I booked direct on their package rate of $175/nt inc parking & breakfast

I guess the 4* market is too small in Ottawa for much Priceline margin...