Priceline Hotel: 4* San Diego (Coastal) Paradise Pointe

[agent099]

Was looking for a 4* either Downtown or San Diego Coastal.

First bid of $85 was rejected. Re-bid of $90, $100, $110, and lastly $115 was accepted. I added everything from La Jolla, to North County and so on to rebid as the other territories either didn't have 4* hotels or did but were too pricey to get a win at $115.

I used the PRICELINE link on this forum as always.

Here is my warning to all San Diego bidders

Paradise Pointe is NOT a 4* hotel

Do NOT bid 4* for San Diego Coastal as from what I've seen on this forum you WILL get Paradise Pointe and will end up overpaying for a 2.5* hotel.

You are better off bidding 3 star if you want to stay in this area as you are more likely to get your money's worth. In fact, I imagine many 3* hotels will give you a better quality room than you will get at Paradise Pointe. The grounds at Paradise Pointe are beautiful, but the room itself is equivalent to a 2* room. It is cramped, the furniture is old, the bathrooms are tiny, and it is not very clean. Until Priceline delists this as a 4* hotel save your money and either avoid San Deigo Costal or bid 3* or less in this area.

[madcity]

:)

I wish I'd read this before I bid today. Tried yesterday for a 4* downtown San Diego for 4/28-5/2, starting at $95 and going up to $145 with free redbids...no luck. (There's a major convention in town, I found out later.) Tried 24 hours later on a new bid, $90 for a 4* Coastal. Priceline came back with a counteroffer of $22....I bid $97 and got Paradise Point.

I guess I should have gone for a 3* Downtown...

[thereuare]

agent099,

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and the 'warning' on this property.

[agent099]

It seems my concerns have been addressed. Paradise Pointe is now a 3* hotel on priceline. Just too bad it was too late for my stay as I could have saved some money.

[thereuare]

You can still contact PRICELINE regarding this stay since your stay was within the last few weeks... since they now rate it 3 stars it most likely wasn't a 4* property just a few weeks ago. They may offer you a partial refund or some bonus money to use on a future stay.

Good luck and thank you for letting us know of the downgrade.

[Colfax]

Maybe I missed it from another post but how do we know Paradise Point has been downgraded to 3*?

[agent099]

Colfax,

Under San Diego, "Mission Bay - Sea World", 3 star hotels, Paradise Pointe is listed.

[Colfax]

Under San Diego, "Mission Bay - Sea World", 3 star hotels, Paradise Pointe is listed.

I think thereuare changed Paradise Point's rating from 4* to 3* in response to your post saying the hotel had been downgraded. But I don't see a post where someone reports winning the Paradise Point as a 3* so I wondered why you thought it had been downgraded.

When you check your Paradise Point win under the "My Trips" tab does it say 4* or 3* now? If the hotel's been downgraded since you won it the downgrade will show up in "My Trips".

[Hummer11]

Hi

I won the Paradise Point as 4* Hotel 2 weeks ago for 125$ (5/24 - 5/26). I wrote to Priceline, shortly after that win, because I've read a lot of negative guest ratings, and was taken aback when I saw, that all the other booking sites have already downgraded the hotel. The answer was standard, and no change possible.

1 week ago Priceline changed the star rating, and I wrote another email. The answer was to call the hotline. On friday I called the hotline, and they cancelled the hotel without any problems, but didn't get another 4* hotel.

I started a new bidding, and I didn't win the Paradise Point again, but I didn't get any 4* in the San Diego Coastal area for 135$. Now I have the 4* Hyatt Manchester in the downtown area for 125$, which looks nice and has very positive guest ratings.

So my experience is that cancelling in such a case is no problem, and Priceline is really understanding, and they refund the money.

Chris

[thereuare]

Hummer11,

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Thank you for confirming the downgrade of the Paradise Pointe.

Can you please post the details of your win for the Hyatt Manchester to the board as a NEW TOPIC so that the information can benefit others and your win will then also appear in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins.

Thanks.

[debkw]

For all the negative comments, I did notice you mentioned the grounds were beautiful. Is this property right on the beach? Since we don't care about the room nearly as much as the location, this would probably work for us if there's a place for the kids to chase waves right out the front door. Thanks for everyone's help!

[madcity]

I, too, contacted PRICELINE last weekend after winning Paradise Point as a 4* and becoming concerned about all the negative reviews and lower ratings by AAA, Mobil, and Expedia. I told Priceline I either wanted re-assignment to another 4* or my money back so I could start another, lower bid for a 3*. Several e-mails and phone conversations later, the day I was flying to San Diego, Priceline e-mailed and told me I could get a complete refund.

Since I was arriving so late, I decided to check in anyway and hope for the best. When I informed Paradise Point's night manager of my concerns, he told me Priceline had already contacted the hotel on my behalf - and that he was confident I'd be happy with my room (a one-category upgrade from the standard lanai patio assigned to Priceline bookings). Bottom line: Aside from a musty smell and older bathtub (mentioned by many reviewers) it was just fine - particularly for $97 a night. And I'm impressed with PRICELINE's responsiveness. Goes to show that being proactive can pay off!