Hotwire Hotel: Please help identify in USE 3.5* & 4*

[Tilli]

Hi:

Trying to figure which hotel for 3-19-09 - 3-26-09. 3.5 in USE shows fitness, restaurant business, Hi-Speed and Spa, would guess it is the Sir Francis Drake, price is $106 for 3 people. 4* in USE, shows fitness, restaurant, business, Hi-Speed, not sure which one, price is $156. There is also a 4.5* for $143 which would be the Inter-Continental. Any suggestions or recommendation would be appreciated. We wanted to be close to Union Square and it looks like the Inter-Continental is alittle further away. My husband and I are traveling with our 21 year old daughter. Thank you in advance for your help!

[Colfax]

Welcome to BetterBidding, Tillli.

I searched 3/19-3/26, all for three adults. I'm finding higher prices than you did at all three hotels.

1) 3.5* USE. I agree this looks like the Francis Drake. I get $126 vs. $106 you found.

2) 4* USE. I see a different hotel than you reported and it's $204 vs. $156 you saw. Icons are Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Highspeed, Spa, and it looks like a match for the Palace Hotel.

3) 4.5* USE. I agree this is the Intercontinental but it's $206 now vs $143 for you.

(A little wrinkle: Hotwire says the 4.5* in USE has a 4.5 TripAdvisor rating and the Intercontinental is now rated 4.0 on TA. But the Intercontinental's last five reviews have been 4.0 or less and those reviews might have brought the overall rating down from 4.5 to 4.0, which maybe hasn't transmitted to Hotwire yet. Other than that small rating discrepancy the TripAdvisor stats and Vacation Package icons are a match for the IC.)

The Intercontinental is about 6-8 blocks from Union Square. MapQuest calls it 0.66 miles.

Are you wanting to stay in the same hotel all seven nights?

At these $200+ rates you're in territory where you might win TWO 4* rooms on Priceline for less.

[Tilli]

I'm sorry I got the dates wrong, we are going to Sonoma the last three nights, so I only needed the USE Hotels from 3-19-09 through 3-23-09. I checked this morning and the rates are $143 for the 4.5 star, Inter-Continental and 4* for $156 not sure which this is, fitness, restaurant, business center, and hi-speed internet, any ideas? No 3.5* today. Would you recommend using priceline since we have 3 people? Thanks again for your help and sorry about the confusion with dates!

[Colfax]

No problem about the dates, Tilli. You'll have more options for a four-night stay than a seven-night stay, so this makes things easier.

4* for $156 not sure which this is, fitness, restaurant, business center, and hi-speed internet, any ideas? No 3.5* today.

The USE 4* is probably the Grand Hyatt or Palomar. Both have been reported with those icons. Hotwire doesn't provide TripAdvisor stats that would help narrow down which of these it is for your dates.

Would you recommend using priceline since we have 3 people?

Probably not. Priceline guarantees double occupancy, which could be one double bed. I think most 4* hotels in Union Square would be able to give you two beds but that's not guaranteed and some hotels (e.g. Westin St Francis) reportedly charge Priceline customers an upgrade fee for two beds.

Searching Hotwire for "2 adults" I get 34 hotel options in SF for your dates. When I search the same dates for "3 adults", which guarantees two beds, only 17 options are offered. That means 17 hotels are willing to guarantee one bed for your dates but not two beds.

I would recommend Priceline if you want to try for TWO 4* rooms. Rates aren't that high for your dates so you might win two rooms for $75-90 each on Priceline and have two bathrooms, two showers etc. If you want to be in one room then I'd favor Hotwire over Priceline, or booking something conventionally.

Orbitz has some nice deals on two-bed rooms for your dates:

Hotel Diva $122

Handlery Union Square $127.61

Hilton Financial District $107

Diva and Handlery are within a block or two of Union Square. They're more 3* than 4* but both get generally good reviews. Hilton Financial is a little further from Union Square but it's 4* and $107 is a good price for a two-bed guarantee.

Your thoughts?

Please use these links when you're ready to purchase: PRICELINE, HOTWIRE, Orbitz.