Hotwire Hotel: 4* Baltimore (Airport BWI) Westin Airport

[KatiesMom]

I am planning a road trip with others to Baltimore to see a Red Sox v. Orioles game. We are looking for approximately six rooms. (Some one bed, some two bed.)

Check in date: Friday, May 30, Check-out June 1. Two night stay.

My first inclination was hotels near Camden Yards and Inner Harbor. Many places are already booked and unavailable. Others like the Hampton Inn were quoting me $329 a night. This is prime time apparently.

The Renaissance in the Inner Harbor (a mile form the park) offered me $229 per room (choice of two double or one king bed).

My gang is saying to find lower price if possible. Some in our party are not the best mobility-wise (one is legally blind), so if we stay outside the ballpark area we need to be able to drive in or have user-friendly public transportation.

None of us have ever been to Baltimore before. So I am trying my best. I looked on Hotwire and found a 4* hotel at BWI Airport for $84, amenities include: Shuttle, Pool, Fitness, Business, Restaurant, Internet Access. At first I thought this might be the Four Points Sheraton, but it doesn't seem like a perfect match. Can anyone help with identification or best guesses?

The price is right on this. But my next question would be how easy would it be to either drive from here to Camden Yards or get public transportation in? According to my research so far, I have read reviews that say the airport is a 15-minute drive or 25 minutes via "light rail." Neither seems bad to me....

I am open to all help and am not stuck on the airport area....any other neighborhoods I should be targeting that would be convenient???

The game is a 7:05 p.m. game and we will be out I am guessing around 10 ish.

Thanks!

[dahammer]

although this has not been reported, I think this may be the Westin BWI. The other possibilities might be the Sheraton (not Four Points), the Hilton, or the Marriott (although someone once told me that Marriott does not participate with HOTWIRE bookings). You will be in great company out at BWI as many fans catch road games, Camden Yards will likely have more Red Sox caps than the Orange and Black of the Orioles. You can take the Light Rail to the Inner Harbor from the BWI station, there is limited parking at the station. Many BWI area hotels with shuttles will take you to the BWI Light Rail station and pick you up after the game. I took the light rail about 3 years ago and it was $2.00 per person each way, the trip takes about 25 minutes. The rail cars will be packed but this station is near the end (or beginning) of the line, so you should get a seat for all in your party. I have also driven from an airport hotel to an Orioles game, there is parking at the football stadium nearby. I'm all for public transportation, but with a group, I would drive in and park. If the weather is nice, grab a late lunch or early dinner at the Inner Harbor then hit the game, there's a Cheesecake Factory within walking distance of Camden Yards. Good Luck!

PS, if you like crabcakes, some of the best are at G&N in the BWI area, this restaurant offers take out as well. The crabcakes are large, so one per person should do it, save room for a piece of Baklava, its awesome!!

[thereuare]

Also a reminder that HOTWIRE only allows for a maximum of 4 rooms per booking, so there is a chance that after your first purchase the same hotel may not be offered on a subsequent HOTWIRE search... so if you choose to split the purchase there is a chance you'll receive different hotels for each purchase.

[KatiesMom]

Thanks for the tips. I feel more comfortable with the airport area! I got a map and it has the light rail route on it, so I think the 4* that I'm looking at might be good.

Now I have to get everyone else on board and as Thereuare warns, we have to be prepared that we may not all get rooms here.

I will definitely use the Betterbidding HOTWIRE link if we go in this direction. I'll let you all know how this plays out.

[KatiesMom]

Success!

The 4* mystery Baltimore BWI Airport Hotel is indeed the Westin BWI. Amenities are: Shuttle, Pool, Fitness, Business, Restaurant, Internet Access.

I booked four rooms for a two night stay, 5/30/08 to 6/1/08. This worked out fine as others in our group have other lodging options.

The price was $85 a night per room. Which I think is a good rate (On Westin's own site, the lowest room rate for that date is $149).

There is a 3* $59 a night option on Hotwire also at BWI for the same dates. It looks like the Hilton Garden Inn and that would have been our Plan B if I couldn't get four rooms at the Westin.

One reason I did not try Priceline for this trip is we have some kids going and needed a couple rooms with more than one bed.

Reviews for this hotel are very very good. So everyone is pleased.

I used Betterbidding's HOTWIRE link to start.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to hear it worked out as expected and that you're happy with the results... i'm sure the others in your group are pleased (and amazed??) too!

Do you still need an additional two rooms?

Thanks for using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Enjoy your stay and have a great trip.

[KatiesMom]

Thanks Thereuare,

Everyone was surprised we ended up in a 4* hotel considering what prices are for this time period. And they are thrilled with the price. So my reputation in these circles as "The Travel Queen" is still intact. ;-)

We don't need any more rooms. Others had arrangements already in place, so we only needed the four.

Now I'm looking for a room for our Fenway, Boston trip (Just hubby and me)....but that's for another thread in the near future!!

This year I am spending my vacation time going to Red Sox games. I've got the fever.

[dahammer]

This year I am spending my vacation time going to Red Sox games. I've got the fever.

the Phillies host the Red Sox for 3 games starting June 16th :)

[KatiesMom]

Oh Hammer, you are so naughty!

Unfortunately, we can't go to any June games because we have two family weddings to attend. Good idea though! :)

[jereth]

The Renaissance in the Inner Harbor (a mile form the park) offered me $229 per room (choice of two double or one king bed).

The price is right on this. But my next question would be how easy would it be to either drive from here to Camden Yards or get public transportation in? According to my research so far, I have read reviews that say the airport is a 15-minute drive or 25 minutes via "light rail." Neither seems bad to me....

Thanks!

Just some info for any sox fans who read this in the future, the Renaissance is the hotel the Red Sox players stay in, you cant interact with them obviously, but getting in an elevator with Papelbon (or whoever your player is) is well worth the added cost.

Also, i would HIGHLY recommend taking the light rail from the airport to the stadium, unless you have a parking pass. they usually have multiple trains lined up at the end of the games due to the 30k+ sox fans who need to go back to hotels and such. Parking is fairly expensive near the inner harbor area. the rail drops you off right in front of the stadium. In your case i forget if the westin is in the airport complex (which i think it is), but if it isnt, i've used hotel shuttle services from BWI and they get there in 10 min. or so.

PS - thats a really good deal for a hotel in the baltimore area when the sox come into town, and i love westins, they just opened that one a few months ago i think! hope you enjoy it!