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Priceline Hotel: 4* San Diego (Downtown-Harbor Island) Sheraton Marina


Silberrick
By Silberrick,
in

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I actually wanted a 4* Hotel in San Diego Downtonw and Harbour Area. But I recieved the Sheraton Hotel and Marina which is nowhere a 4* hotel??? I started bidding at 60$ for June 3rd until June 15th and went up 5$ every day. I got this bad deal at 125$. Im very disappointed. Why didn't I get a 4* hotel???

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Welcome to the site and thank you for posting your win.

Not sure why you would have gotten a 3.5* if you selected 4* only, as while PRICELINE can upgrade, it doesn't downgrade. If you are sure you only checked 4*, I would contact PRICELINE immediately.

While you didn't get the star rating you wanted (3.5 instead of 4), you did technically at least get a deal, as the lowest rate for these dates at this hotel is about $200.

Please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start future purchases.

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I actually wanted a 4* Hotel in San Diego Downtonw and Harbour Area. But I recieved the Sheraton Hotel and Marina which is nowhere a 4* hotel??? I started bidding at 60$ for June 3rd until June 15th and went up 5$ every day. I got this bad deal at 125$. Im very disappointed. Why didn't I get a 4* hotel???

I'm not sure if I follow you....What was the ammount of your last rejected bid and the star level that you bid? With your winning bid of $125, what star level did you choose?

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I'm not sure if I follow you....What was the ammount of your last rejected bid and the star level that you bid? With your winning bid of $125, what star level did you choose?

My last requested bid was 120$, then my winning bid was 125$. I was bidding for a 4* hotel in the San Diego Downtown area from June 3rd until June 15th and I received the Sheraton Hotel and Marina, which is a 3* on tripadvisor and on this website a 3.5*.

Unfortunately it is not easy (not cheap) to call them from europe.

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Welcome to the site and thank you for posting your win.

Not sure why you would have gotten a 3.5* if you selected 4* only, as while PRICELINE can upgrade, it doesn't downgrade. If you are sure you only checked 4*, I would contact PRICELINE immediately.

While you didn't get the star rating you wanted (3.5 instead of 4), you did technically at least get a deal, as the lowest rate for these dates at this hotel is about $200.

Please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start future purchases.

No the deal is not good anyway. I would even have gotten better deals on Hotels.com or Expedia and there I would have chosen a high class room and could cancel the deal until june 3rd...

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Great! And what can I do about this as a user? Im bidding every day and suddenly they change a hotel grade without signaling it somewhere. That changes the whole situation. I don't think this is fair!

unfortunately, star ratings change (both up and down) with the hotels that participate with PRICELINE. You may want to contact PRICELINE about this recent star rating change, click "help" and then "contact us" and send an email. Ask to have your bid cancelled with the condition that you will rebid in the same area. Good Luck and let us know if you are successful.

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Sorry you received a property that you didn't expect, but I don't think you have much of an argument... you agreed to purchase an opaque hotel at the 4 star rating (as determined by PRICELINE). Based upon feedback that priceline has received they now determine that this property warrants a 4* rating and have upgraded it accordingly. If this property was rated much lower elsewhere you might have a case, but PRICELINE now considers this property 4* (as is the current rating at Expedia as well as a handful of other sites i just checked.. only found one site which rates it 3 stars, but the majority in my brief checking is 4 stars).

It would be appreciated if you used the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your future travel purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Priceline downgraded the Sheraton Marina from 4* to 3* last summer. At that time Priceline hadn't yet introduced the 3.5* rating, so 4* to 3* was the smallest downgrade Priceline could do. When Priceline started the 3.5* rating in Sept 2008 the Sheraton was upgraded from 3* to 3.5*. Now it's 4* again.

For those six or seven months when the Sheraton was rated 3*, then 3.5*, you could bid for a 4* in Downtown-Harbor Island zone without risk of winning a hotel on Harbor Island, as the Sheraton was the only 4* on Harbor Island. Now the "Harbor Island Issue" is back. (The Sheraton is about 3 miles from the Gaslamp District.)

Rating and placing the Sheraton Marina is probably a challenge for Priceline. If Priceline rates the Sheraton 4* they anger some customers who only want to stay in the downtown core. But if Priceline rates the Sheraton 3.5* then Sheraton/Starwood, one of Priceline's largest suppliers, gets little Priceline business. We see virtually no 3.5* bidding in the Downtown-Harbor Island zone.

Priceline could create a new Harbor Island-Airport zone, but the Sheraton would be the only 4* or 3.5* in that zone. The hotel wouldn't have any opacity. Same thing if Priceline moves the Sheraton into the adjacent Point Loma-Shelter Island zone; Sheraton would be the only 4* or 3.5* hotel in Point Loma zone, which only goes to 3* now.

I'll mention a couple good things about the Sheraton Marina:

1) They've got one of the largest outdoor pool areas in Downtown San Diego---two adult pools and a separate pool for children.

2) It's a bayfront location and most rooms have bay views. Even a number of Priceline customers have commented that they've been given bayview rooms (although that isn't guaranteed).

The pools and bay views might not fully compensate for not being right Downtown, but I don't think that winning the Sheraton needs to ruin your trip, by any means.

Sheraton probably won't come up often on Priceline, since it's just one of ten reported 4* hotels in the Downtown-Harbor Island zone. Still for those who don't want to take the chance the safest way to avoid Harbor Island now is by purchasing a known hotel on HOTWIRE.

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I actually wanted a 4* Hotel in San Diego Downtonw and Harbour Area. But I recieved the Sheraton Hotel and Marina which is nowhere a 4* hotel??? I started bidding at 60$ for June 3rd until June 15th and went up 5$ every day. I got this bad deal at 125$. Im very disappointed. Why didn't I get a 4* hotel???

Sorry but I disagree with you. You pressed the button and bought it under Priceline guidelines. It is a 4* in the quoted area and is good value at $125 per night. I believe that I am correct in saying that apart from a period of about 6 months the Sheraton Hotel and Marina has always been a 4* property as far as Priceline is concerned.

Like you I am a European visitor, and I have stayed at six different 4* properties in the San Diego area over a five year period: Solamar, Omni, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Westin Gaslamp, Sheraton Hotel and Marina and Loews on Coronado. In fact I am happy to report that I have stayed at the Sheraton on two separate occasions in both the Marina and Bay Towers - 7 and 5 nights respectively. It really is a great marina-type hotel with excellent pools, good bars and restaurant. Rooms were fine on both occasions. Staff friendly but efficient. A relaxing marina hotel. In my view, it deserves a 4* rating.

Its only drawback (or advantage for me!) is that it is not in the Gaslamp District nor downtown. But it's only a 10 minute cab ride away! So why not enjoy your stay in San Diego - what is the problem?

Colfax made some excellent points. Regarding future classification, could Priceline switch the current grouping of Downtown and Harbor Island into two as follows:

1. Seaport/Harbor Island (all next to the water): Marriott Hotel and Marina, Manchester Grand Hyatt and Sheraton Hotel and Marina

2. Gaslamp/Downtown: Hilton Gaslamp, Solamar, Marriott Gaslamp, Omni, W, Westin Gaslamp, US Grant.

If Priceline made this switch from the present unwieldly grouping, it would help those who only want to stay in either Gaslamp or Marina areas. It would still be a problem for those attending conventions but then again they get the advantage of choosing their hotel at a heavily discounted rate.

Flusters

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