Hotwire Hotel: 4* DC (Dupont Circle-Embassy Row) Hotel Palomar

[yuna1971]

Hello,

looking at booking a washington DC hotel - must be 4* - in the capitol hill (near a metro station) or downtown washington, nice location near a metro, or again, near a metro in the foggy bottom/george town area. My dates have already been set (flights etc) for april 19 - april 25. I am currently booked in at the Westin DC City Center but have been dismayed at the reviews of late at trip advisor where i am also a member. Yes, I know the westin is 3-4 star hotel but have saved for over a year for this vacation and just cant be bothered with any hassles. Maybe...i will regret but not from the success stories on here for great hotel prices.

can any one give me any advice for a complete NEWBIE and a list of what hotels are 4star and what i need to look for that stands out as a dead-giveaway for that particular hotel. Need one with good reviews, and near attractions.

Also, tips and advice for me being a starter and all. Any advice from winning bidders appreciated and any forum administrators. I have searched through your forums here and i think i am clued up with how much to bid, but would hate to get lumbered with Best Western Capitol Skyline !!!

Thanks.

yuna1971

[blindman]

Welcome to BetterBidding.

What is your maximum budget?

You want

April 19-25th 6 nights.

Washington DC 4*

Capitol Hill OR Downtown OR Foggy Bottom

I take it you have seen the previously reported Priceline wins for hotels

The HOTWIRE reported hotels

The Priceline Maps of hotel locations.

[yuna1971]

hello there!

Thanks for replying. my max budget is $130 per night incl taxes (if that is possible)

I have looked at the calendar for the priceline/hotwire wins - i could only see 1 win per day - is that right??? It doesnt seem very much...

kind regards, hope you and any one else can help. Am still bit nervous about doing this. Are there hidden charges that they only tell you about after, are the rooms not so good as the ones reserved via the hotel website?? Is your credit card charged straight away??? Hotwire offers insurance per room per night, is this worth doing???

Thank you.

[yuna1971]

Hello again..

This is one on hotwire at the moment. It is for $89 per night and has these icons in this order:

fitness center/pool/restaurant/business center/hi speed internet

4-star hotel in Dupont Circle - Embassy Row This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details Area Details

Area Details

Dupont Circle - Embassy Row

Walk Embassy Row or see The Phillips Collection's van Gogh artwork.

Points of interest:

1. The Phillips Collection | 2. Dupont Circle

Can anyone tell me which hotel this is??? Omni Shoreham? or Westin Embassy Row?

[thereuare]

Are there hidden charges that they only tell you about after

Some hotels have resort fees but most hotels in the DC area don't have these and i woudln't worry about it too much (especially at $89/nite :) )... plus, lateley HOTWIRE has been disclosing resort fee amounts prior to the purchase.

are the rooms not so good as the ones reserved via the hotel website??

There are some hotels which do discriminate again 'opaque' purchasers, but fortunately this is the exception and not the rule. Some claim that they get "the priceline room" but this is hard to quantify as somebody got that room long before priceline and HOTWIRE even existed. So much depends upon how the check-in clerk perceives you when you check-in... if you rub them the wrong way, if they happen to be in a bad mood (or a good mood), etc, etc can affect the type of room you receive. Should you expect the top floor suite with the best view... "no", as that will likely be going to a customer paying the top rack rate or one who has a relationship with the hotel chain. Bottomline is that you should be treated like any other customer, if you're not happy with the room, ask <politely> for a new one expressing your concerns with the room assigned. If you can't have it taken care of with the front desk, ask for a manager, if no satisfcation, try calling the vendor (priceline or hotwire).

Is your credit card charged straight away???

Yes, once you buy it you own it.

Hotwire offers insurance per room per night, is this worth doing???

I don't think so, as it typcally only covers sickness and other limited situations... i don't take the insurance as i usally assume i won't be covered under any of the limited terms. (NOTE: it doesn't cover "I changed my mind")

This is one on hotwire at the moment. It is for $89 per night and has these icons in this order:

fitness center/pool/restaurant/business center/hi speed internet

This is a match for the Hotel Palomar so that would be our best guess. The important thing to note here is that the property offered has a tripadvisor user review rating of 4.5 out of 5, which is very high, i think you should feel reasonably secure that you'll receive a "good" hotel.

Please use this HOTWIRE link to begin any purchases you make.

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[yuna1971]

Hi thereuare,

thanks for all your help. I am liking the look of the Rennaisance Mayflower, the Hyatt Regency (Capitol Hill), the Omni Shoreham and most of all the Crowne Plaza. Are these Hotwire or Priceline hotels and roughly what rates (ball park) do people, if bidding right, get them for??

The Palomar looks fine, and yes, 4.5 out of 5 by tripadvisor guests (ranked 5 out of 115 hotels) is pretty good too. Of course, everyone has the ones they really really want...(to coin the Spice Girls!!)...

Any advice?

Best Regards.

[thereuare]

You can't bid on a specific hotel thru Priceline nor can you 'make' HOTWIRE offer you a specific hotel (they'll only show the least expensive hotel at each star level in each zone).

Essentially you have to weigh the cost associated with what you want (for example, i presume most of the hotels above are in the $200-$300 range for your dates... i looked earlier and the Westin you refered to earlier is $300+ for these nites) vs. the value of an 'unknown' opaque property (in this case a 4* hotel for $89/nite with a Tripadvisor rating of 4.5... presumed to likely be the Palomar)

The opaque providers offer great value for those who are flexible in their plans. If you need a specific hotel than booking direct may be the best option for you (and we have links to most of the major hotel chains in our support page), but if you're flexible in the specific hotel you will receive, looking for the best value, and to possibly save $100's per nite or over the cost of your stay, then the opaque providers are usually the answer.

[yuna1971]

Thereuare,

My dates are concrete but my hotel choice is flexible. It has to be a 4* or 3* (as i currently have the Westin DC City Center) but i do have a few that are my favourites to land. So basically, price line is like - to compare with like - an ebay auction, whereas Hotwire is like ebay's Buy it Now???

But as for the hotels, i would preferably like the ones i mentioned but hey, I am open to a good deal that can save money so i am trying to weigh up the 2.

Any advice for how to use priceline or shall i just go to a specific help section on here. Its the rebidding and the zones and the time constraints that baffle me.

Thanks

[thereuare]

So basically, price line is like - to compare with like - an ebay auction, whereas Hotwire is like ebay's Buy it Now???

Yes and No... the analogy holds true in terms of price, although with priceline you're not bidding against others.

i would preferably like the ones i mentioned but hey, I am open to a good deal that can save money so i am trying to weigh up the 2.

Based upon on your previous above, i really think you'd be making a mistakce if you didn't go with HOTWIRE on this purchase given the high tripadvisor review rating. Price does not seem ike the most important factor to you, and a 'good' hotel does seem important... the tripadvisor rating ensures (as much as it can be used) that this hotel is a 'good' one, and the price is less than 1/3 of the Westin hotel which you're considering. It provides a great combination of savings and quality for your first opaque purchase. The other hotels you've mentioned are in a few different zone, so if you try to get any of them via priceline, you then subject yourself to any of the other similarly rated hotels in those zones. (and if you don't get the hotel(s) you're hoping for, it could be one of the other similarly rated hotels in the zone... which may not have as favorable reviews)

The opaque services are not for everyone. Given the parameters of an opaque hotel purchase, you have the best assurance you can that the hotel you're purchasing is 'good' (based upon the TA reviews), and it's $200/nite less than your alternate plans... if that doesn't get you excited and you're still sitting on the fence in regards to whether you should go for it or not, then perhaps the opaque providers are not for you are you better off choosing your own hotel and paying 3x as much.

[yuna1971]

Thereuare,

YIPPEEEEE!!!!

I did it!!!! Its all mine. I had a good look at the reviews and decided that I must be barking mad if i passed this up!

I mean ranked no 4 out of 115 hotels on TA and with such great reviews....

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I used your HOTWIRE link and I will post my purchase for all to see now on the Hotwire wins board for DC.

MANNNNNYYYY thanks for all of your help!

Rachel

[yuna1971]

Got it for $89 per night + taxes.

It has these icons in this order:

fitness center/pool/restaurant/business center/hi speed internet

Description: 4-star hotel in Dupont Circle - Embassy Row This upscale establishment offers thoughtful features, quality rooms and a high level of service. See hotel details Area Details

Area Details

Dupont Circle - Embassy Row

FANTASTIC!!!!!! Betterbidding (thereuare!) you were spot on!

Many thanks!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success... your first "opaque" purchase.

Glad to hear that you gave it a try as this one was really an easy decision (imo).

It all worked out well and now you have some extra money (over $1000+ by my calculations) which you can use part of to treat yourself to something special in DC.

Have a great trip... please report back as to how you enjoyed your stay.