Meridian Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Please help ID the following resort. I was guessing Newport Beach but it does not quite match the description by other posters.Miami Beach North - Bal Harbor - Sunny Isles Star rating: 3-star Resort Beachfront Fitness Center Restaurant(s) Business Center Laundry Facilities Golf Nearby . Spa ServicesTripadvisor 3/5, 260+ customer reviews.Thanks! Link to comment
thereuare Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Welcome to BetterBidding!Unfortunately this property has not yet been identified. As you point out, this doesn't match the amenities of the Newport Beach, so i woudln't bet the ranch on this being that property.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Let us know what you decide to do for this stay or if we can be of further help. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Meridian Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 How accurate are the TripAdvisor information found on Hotwire? From the TripAdvisor site, I narrowed down to 3 possible North Miami beach hotels (assuming star ratings of Hotwire and TripAdvisor are the same)...All rated 3 stars by TripAdvisor:1) Deauville Beach Resort > 293 reviews. User rating: 3/5 2) Howard Johnson > 190 reviews. User rating: 3/5 3) Ramada Plaza Marco Polo Beach Resort > 180 reviews. User rating: 2.5/5 Only #1 matches perfectly. I just hope it is not #3 as it had some terrible reviews. Likely will take the plunge tomorrow and hope it will be a decent hotel. My ideal choice would be Newport as my friends are staying there but booking them directly is too expensive. Therefore, I would be happy somewhere close to them and decent. Link to comment
yellowdog Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 MeridianI took a search today but no match :) . And the TA rating is now updated to 280 and 3/5 for the hotel you look at.How accurate are the TripAdvisor information found on Hotwire? From the TripAdvisor siteIt's pretty accurate but there's allways a span since the rating isn't static.I narrowed down to 3 possible North Miami beach hotels (assuming star ratings of Hotwire and TripAdvisor are the same)Big no when ID hotels. TA uses a diffrent grading system. Even if you can find hotels at TA and HOTWIRE with same * is this way not to recommend. A typical example from your TA list is the Marco Polo Beach Resort this is rated 2.5* by HOTWIRE and 3* by TA.Only #1 matches perfectly. I just hope it is not #3 as it had some terrible reviewsIf just looking at the TA rating. I would rule out Marco Polo Beach Resort and the HoJo. I can't and will not comment on the Deauville Beach Resort since I don't know the area well enough.But just looking at the TA rating is sound like a pretty solid 3* hotel. And you should allways take the TA ratings with a grain of salt. Sure, it's a clue but people bash hotels for the wrong color in the lobby and bad weather.Please use the boards HOTWIRE link if you decide to go for this.Good luck and keep the board updated.YellowDog. Link to comment
Meridian Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Thanks yellowdog for the helpful feedback. I still have yet to book and trying to get Newport Beach or a resort very close to it. One thing that strikes me odd is that when performing a search "north miami beach" in this forum, all Priceline 3* and 4* winning bids are Newport Beach and Le Meridien respectively. No one posted winning bids of other 3* or 4* hotels, despite Priceline showing four 3* and three 4* resorts in this region. I was wondering if it was worth a gamble to bid for a 3* "north miami beach" in Priceline. All winning 3* bids posted on this forum ended up with Newport Beach. However, with my luck, I'll probably be the first to get one of the other 3* hotels. 2 of the 4 3* hotels are not beach front which I don't want.Using Hotwire, I get beach front 3* for a very attractive $72. However, it may be far from Newport Beach. If it turns out to be Deauville Beach Resort, it is about 7kms away (which is a bit far).Anyways, I just thought it was odd no other 3* or 4* hotels came up. My dates are coming up soon and I am having trouble deciding. Link to comment
yellowdog Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Thanks yellowdog for the helpful feedback. I still have yet to book and trying to get Newport Beach or a resort very close to it.You better get buzy :) One thing that strikes me odd is that when performing a search "north miami beach" in this forum, all Priceline 3* and 4* winning bids are Newport Beach and Le Meridien respectively. No one posted winning bids of other 3* or 4* hotels, despite Priceline showing four 3* and three 4* resorts in this region.North beach zone is not a typical "tourist" zone. Many choose a more central location unless you have a special reason to vist the North zone.I was wondering if it was worth a gamble to bid for a 3* "north miami beach" in Priceline. All winning 3* bids posted on this forum ended up with Newport Beach. However, with my luck, I'll probably be the first to get one of the other 3* hotels. 2 of the 4 3* hotels are not beach front which I don't want.Or a hotel that never has been reported to the board. This is a question you have to answer yourself. I can't predict the hotel in this zone. But I do understand your concern about the "luck" factor. But it sounds that you should avoid PRICELINE in this case.Using Hotwire, I get beach front 3* for a very attractive $72. However, it may be far from Newport Beach. If it turns out to be Deauville Beach Resort, it is about 7kms away (which is a bit far).We don't know if this hotel is the Deauville Beach Resort. And more important, the hotel got a beachfront location that you want. My dates are coming up soon and I am having trouble deciding.Go for the HOTWIRE hotel. How bad can it be with that TA rating. The drawback is the unknown location. Let us know what you decide. And please use boards HOTWIRE link if you decide to go for the hotel.yellowdog. Link to comment
Meridian Posted April 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 It looks like I pondered for too long. The hotel is no longer available. It was taken off the site around Apr 10th. Foolishly, it never occurred to me that these deals are limited. I've been logging on daily hoping it will come back. The next cheapest Hotwire 3* North Miami Beach resort is $150+. If nothing comes up within the next few days, I will have to take my chances with Priceline and hope to get a similar deal ($70 - $80 range). Link to comment
Meridian Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 I am not getting much luck with Priceline. Latest bid of $96 for 3.5* in Miami Beach and North Miami Beach were rejected. I will try 2 more nights with Priceline. If unsuccessful, hopefully the below Hotwire deal is still available. Can anyone identify it? There was one old post that matched it but did not state the hotel. It simply indicated "$103 on Hotwire, Retail $186.90"3* Miami Beach Beachfront Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Tripadvisor 0.0 out of 5 Based on 260+ customer reviews (Last reviewed March 2009) > Hopefully that is an error!Catalina Hotel & Beach Club in Central South Beach is available for $77 on Hotwire. Despite its 3* rating, 1/3 of users gave it one star so I am avoiding it, and prefer to take my chances on the above resort. Link to comment
thereuare Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 HOTWIRE offerings can, and do, change all the time, just as you saw above with your previous HOTWIRE property; so the property above may not be the one offered once you're ready to commit to it (once you've done more PRICELINE bidding).Once you try PRICELINE up to your limit and are ready to commit to a HOTWIRE purchase, please post the current hotel offered at that time and we'll try to identify it.Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.Good luck and keep us updated. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
Meridian Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 The following Priceline bids were unsuccessful...> $115 for 3.5* North Miami Beach> $100 for 3.5* Miami BeachI decided to book the 3* Miami Beach Hotwire deal. $80 May 2 - 4. Resort was "Riu Florida Beach".Ammenities:Beachfront Fitness Center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Actual Trip advisior rating is 3.5 out of 5 based on 261 reviews. Although I will not be near my friends staying at Newport (North Beach), I am quite content given it is last minute and my options were running out. Also, it appears to be a decent hotel:)Hotwire indicated savings of 19% as other sites are $99. However, when I checked other sites for my dates, they were all over $200! Therefore it appears I got a great deal. Link to comment
yellowdog Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Thank you for sharing your win with the board!Good to see that everything worked out ok and that you got a nice deal in the end. also thanx for adding this new hotel to the board's Hotwire Hotel List.Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.Yellowdog. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Register now, we have a huge community of travel enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have.
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountAlready have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now