Hotwire Hotel: Help ID 4* Beverly Hills 1/22-1/25

[bjcinbc]

hi,

i see a hotwire hotel 4* (beverly hills/westwood/century city) similar to this one with the same tripadvisor ratings, but only thing different is golf nearby instead of spa services. its offered at $163. do you think its still the sofitel? i plugged in check in of Jan 22 - until 25th.

4.0 out of 5 Based on 180+ customer reviews (Last reviewed November 2008)

thanks in advance...bjc

[Colfax]

I see a 4* in BH-WW-CC for $172 now with these icons:

fitness, pool, restaurant, business, highspeed, golf

That's a match for the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. The Hyatt shows in Vacations Packages with those icons and the TripAdvisor stats match.

If you purchase please use this HOTWIRE link and let us know what you get.

[bjcinbc]

thanks. i did some research and figured that out. i'm trying to get the Sofitel for this trip....

can you help me with my strategy to try to get the Sofitel? i've noticed that if i bid low (under $135) i would end up with the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. But i noticed that the winning bid of $150 or up on priceline (via the calendar of wins) shows that i may get either the Sofitel or the Mondrian. I've actually won the Mondrian recently back in Nov. Of course, this is using the Beverly Hills-West Hollywood as the area of choice.

any help regarding this plan is appreciated.

thanks!

[Colfax]

On Hotwire Sofitel is a 4.5* in Bev Hills-Westwood-Century City zone. Hotwire isn't offering any 4.5* there for your dates now. If Sofitel's not on Hotwire it's probably not on Priceline either. Sofitel's best rate is $286.67, btw.

Unless you need to book something right now I'd suggest checking Hotwire every day to see if the 4.5* appears. You can also check to see if one or two of your three-night stay is available on Hotwire now. I didn't check that.

There's no bidding strategy that insures you'll win the Sofitel on Priceline. It might only participate in Priceline on select days. It doesn't come up that often and when it does it usually has a fairly high Priceline rate, like you saw when you won it at $150.

You could bid $150 and win the Hyatt on an overbid if Sofitel isn't participating for your dates. But bidding low probably guarantees you won't get Sofitel. It's called gambling.

I'll be interested to hear what you decide and where you land.

[bjcinbc]

my plan at this point is to check hotwire everyday like you said. another thought i had was to ask the manager at sofitel if they would consider matching the $150+ a night that i've seen won on priceline....the reason for the visit to L.A. is for a surgery at Cedars Sinai which is walking distance from that hotel, so...not for fun or vacation. what do you think?

[AaronJB]

I would negotiate and tell the manager your situation of why you are in-town and see what kind of price you can get them down to. From everything that I've read, hotels do not seem to take well to people asking to match PRICELINE or HOTWIRE wins, especially when they're from other dates (I've seen people ask in person, and believe me, it didn't work.)

One particular time, I was checking out of a hotel after a $75 PL reservation and someone came up to the clerk to check-in and asked if they "would match Priceline" (of course, the person had absolutely no idea what the hotel's priceline rate was for those dates or if they even had any PL inventory.) The clerk flatly said, "No, but you can take the $309 walk-up rate."

While you still very well may get a "no", the hotel will likely be more understanding if you approach them in the way I suggested instead of just asking them to match a Priceline or Hotwire rate, as if you simply ask them to match a Priceline or Hotwire rate, they will very likely turn you down.

[Colfax]

In addition to AaronJB's good suggestion, you might call the Admitting Department at Cedars Sinai and ask if they have negotiated discount rates at nearby hotels. Most large hospitals do.

[Colfax]

Another thought.

If you're looking for a quiet place while you recover from surgery I don't think I'd bid for a 4* on Priceline. You might win the 4* Mondrian, which is perfect for some purposes, but not yours.

What about the 3* Residence Inn Beverly Hills? The rooms are small suites with a full kitchen. It's very quiet and a short cabride from the hospital. I think it's a good alternative if you can't get the Sofitel you prefer.

[bjcinbc]

hi all,

I was just researching for my continued quest for a hotel in Beverly Hills area (hoping for the Sofitel if you read my earlier posts) and noticed that Hotwire now has Beverly Hills - West Hollywood as a zone and Century City - Westwood as another. Previously, they had Beverly Hills - West Hollywood - Century City as a zone together. Having said that, I noticed someone recently won the Sofitel for a March booking and she described that win with the 3 cities still all together in a zone... Most 4* Beverly Hills - West Hollywood - Century City wins I've seen go to the Hyatt Century Plaza.

Do you think this re-zoning affects that? The 4* Beverly Hills-West Hollywood description is fitness center, pool, and high speed internet service.....any thoughts as to which one it is?

I'm trying to book a stay between Jan. 22nd to Jan. 25th...

Colfax, I have made a note of the Residence Inn and have it as my plan B...thanks for that suggestion!

Reason i'm trying for the Sofitel is that my gf is coming down with me and I'm trying to make it convenient for her to visit at Cedars Sinai where I will be....

bjc

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

Unfortinately the 4* above has not yet been identifiied... perhaps somebody who is more local to the area may be able to take a guess as to a 4* property without a Restaurant. As there is no Restaurant icon shown it does assure that there is no Restaurant on the premises, but given this is a 4* hotel, that would probably be a good start.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.