Hotwire Hotel: 4* Toronto (Downtown East) Westin Harbour Castle

[reddiguy]

Hello there.

This is my first post on this board, so 'hello' first, and I'd appreciate any help you can give in identifying the two hotels that have come up on Hotwire.

My dates are well in advance. I'm booking for 2 nights starting Friday 26 June 2009 (dates will therefore be 06/26/09 to 06/28/09). Looking for two rooms, two people in each room, for Toronto Downtown.

I'm amazed to see that there are already options showing in Hotwire.

The first is 4* Downtown East. $79

Amenities: Smoke Free, Fitness Centre, Pool, Restaurant, Business Centre, Hi Speed Internet, Tennis, Spa.

If this is the Westin Harbour Castle I'm really interested in booking it, because it sounds great and is an amazing price! I don't think I'd be interested if it was anything else.

The second is 4* Downtown West. $64

Amenities: Smoke Free, Fitness Centre, Pool, Restaurant, Business Centre, Hi Speed Internet.

Reading other posts, I think this may be the Renaissance adjoining the Rogers Centre? If the one above isn't the Harbour Castle, then I might be tempted to book this one as it's a really cheap alternative.

Also, is it wise to book anything this far (8 months) out? Any suggestions would be gratefully received. Many thanks!

[slick_gd]

HOTWIRE lists the tripadvisor traveler review ratings for these hotels which helps us identify them. These are the rating of each of the hotels:

4* Downtown East: 4 out of 5 circles based on 260+ reviews with the last one in September

4* Downtown West: 3.5 out of 5 circles based on 100+ reviews with the last one in August.

Matching up the amenities and the tripadvisor traveler review rating would lead me to guess:

4* Downtown East: Westin Harbour Castle

4* Downtown West: Renaissance Hotel (at the Rogers Centre)

It does look like the 4* downtown east is the Westin Harbour which is what you wanted.

Again, these are my best guesses.

As for whether it is wise to book so far in advance, there is no consensus on whether booking far out or booking closer to the date is better as hotel availability and room rates can change at any moment. But one thing you must be sure before you book is that your plans are not going to change. HOTWIRE and PRICELINE wins are not refundable/cancelable, once you book the hotel gets charged to your card immediately.

Use this HOTWIRE link to start your purchase and let the board know the result.

[reddiguy]

4* Toronto (Downtown East) Westin Harbour Castle

$79 ... Fri 26 Jun 09 to Sun 28 Jun 09

Thank you for your advice. I plucked up the courage and went for it. Am thrilled to say that this WAS the Westin Harbour Castle. I think we've got a tremendous bargain (if I'd booked through their own web site today, it is currently costing $CAD1440!).

Hotel rate per night: $79.00

Nights: 2

Rooms: 2

Subtotal: $316.00

Tax recovery charges & fees: $44.79

Total price: $360.79

I used the link you provided, thank you (although had a computer blip during the process, so hope it did whatever it's meant to do). Thanks again :)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success... an excellent deal!

Glad to hear you received the hotel you were hoping for and that the board was able to help.

Thank you for sharing your results with the board and for using our HOTWIRE link to begin your purchase.

Enjoy your stay.