Hotwire Hotel: 3* Philadelphia (K of P - Valley Forge) Staybridge

[ufauxreal]

Hi...

I am trying to get a room for 3 nites at the end of Aug. for the northwest suburb of Phila. I notice that 'Suzanne' has posted wins in that area for both Summerfield and Springhill Suites, and called them 2*. On TOBB they have those suite hotels listed as 2 1/2*, and someone even remarked that Priceline considers all Springhill Suites 2 1/2 star.

My goal is to find a hotel in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia, preferabbly a mini-suite, with a fridge, free cont. breakfast and a pool. I really don't care which hotel, or what the star level is.

Now... the plot thickens :-) Just for comparison I put our dates for that area into Hotwire. To my shock :-), they came back with a 3* with Suite, free breakfast and pool (plus other things, of course) for $50. I am very, very tempted to take this. This is in the Valley Forge/King of Prussia area. I know Priceline usually has been lower than Hotwire, but that is a pretty good deal and I know my 'goals' will be filled.

What do you all think????

JB

[thereuare]

Needing/wanting specific amenities is a classic instance of when to use Hotwire on lieu of Priceline. (IMO)

[lwitchel]

You'll save $10-15 on Priceline for a crapshoot. I've gotten the Residence Inn in Conshohocken for $45+ fees, people have gotten the Scanticon in Valley Forge for $39. One is what you want, the other isn't.

For $50, it's a sure deal.

[ufauxreal]

Well... I went ahead with the Hotwire offer... it was $52/night.... but.. I got the Staybridge Suites in Malvern. I am really annoyed. Malvern is an entirely different city than "Valley Forge/King of Prussia", which is the area I selected. It is a good 10-15 miles from Valley Forge, and that much further from our actual intended destination. I really feel that is deceptive to specify 2 towns in an area, with a big ole arrow pointing to them, and then put us in an entirely different city. I did go back to look at their map, and yes, the yellow portion extends for a bit, but no where does it list any towns in that district except Valley Forge/King of Prussia. How do they expect people who are travelling to the area, and therefore are not that familiar with it, to assume anything but that they will be in one of the two towns/cities stated on their map.

Do you think I have any recourse on this. I know it is non-refundable, and we still need a room for those nights in that general area, but this is way further out of the way than we wanted.

I have had many successful bids with Priceline and have always been very happy with the hotels/area that we got. This is my first foray into Hotwire... and definitely my last.

JB (Where's the MAD smiley when you need it!!!) :)

Edited to say: OK.. I took another look at the map and it's not as bad a location as I first thought. I will probably just go ahead with it and not try to get a refund... just not worth the aggravation. The hotel does have all the amenities that we wanted, and I am happy with the price. I did put it into the Hotwire section, and I'll write a review after we've been there. JB

[ufauxreal]

I got this hotel by checking that I wanted a hotel in the Valley Forge/King of Prussia area.. the hotel is in Malvern.

Hotel Details: 1 room(s), 3 night(s)

Staybridge Suites Malvern

20 Morehall Road

Malvern, PA 19355

Check-in: Thu, Aug 26, 2004

Check-out: Sun, Aug 29, 2004

Details:

1 room(s) @ $52.00 per night x 3 night(s)$156.00

[thereuare]

(Where's the MAD smiley when you need it!!!)

:) <-- mad

You are right, it's hard for a travler not familiar with the area to know exactly what the shaded region represents... especially when their is no scale on the map to show you what represents a mile (or some other distance).

However, i don't think this is just a Hotwire problem as we've heard similar complaints from Priceline users who were traveling to an unfamiliar area.