bluedevils Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 3* Detroit (Auburn Hills - Lake Orion) Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza $64 4/18/09 - 4/19/09Read many good things about the pool area at this hotel, and that was the major reason we booked it.$64/night + $16 (!) fees. 25% taxes/fees is crazy high. Rate for 2 adults + 2 children.Amenities shown before booking were an exact match for this hotel as reported in the Pinned Hotwire Michigan hotel list:Fitness / Pool / Restaurant / Business Center / Laundry / High-Speed Internet / Golf.Price on Hotwire fluctuated the past 2-3 days for the same 4/18-19 stay dates - starting at $59, $61, $59, $57, $65, and $64. I was at the final part of the booking earlier today @ $57 and pressed 'Book My Trip' only to be told that the specified room/rate was no longer available :)For comparison, I tried Priceline for a 3.5* room in Auburn Hills or Troy areas, but got rejected @ $35, 37, 40, 42, and 44 (plus tax). Re-bidding several times is possible because 3 areas (Sterling Heights/Utica, Warren, and Bloomfield Hills) in Detroit Suburbs lack 3.5 star properties, so you can add one as necessary and re-bid immediately. Probably could have gotten something for $50+tax at Priceline, but unsure which hotel and I was a bit wary of the Hilton Suites Auburn Hills and Ramada Plaza Troy (until days/weeks ago the Hilton Troy) both of which are reported to be pretty worn, dated, and/or dirty.Would have liked to get the Crowne Plaza Auburn Hills (1500 N. Opdyke Road, Auburn Hills MI 48326) at a lower rate thru Priceline, but too many other Priceline 3* hotels made it impossible to know which one I'd get.In the end, it was worth an extra 20 bucks or so to be almost 100% certain I'd get this exact hotel thru Hotwire.I *THINK* I used the TOBB.com HOTWIRE link. If not, my apologies. Ran so many searches for this room and had some website issues with Hotwire, that I may have forgotten to link from BB to Hotwire on the session where I finally booked the room.One other note: same date and area search with 2 adults and ZERO children -- saw a $49 rate in Auburn Hills / Lake Orion. Not sure if the same Crowne Plaza or a different property -- nothing on betterbidding.com was an exact or close match.Amenities for zero children room that I did NOT book:Pool / Fitness / High-Speed Internet / Business / Laundry / Tennis / Breakfast / Kitchenette. Compared with the room I booked, this zero-kid room added tennis, breakfast, and kitchenette and was missing restaurant and golf.Great site, very useful! Link to comment
bluedevils Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 mods, I did not realize my Thread Title would get truncated. I re-entered it at the beginning of the original post but could not figure out how to edit the thread title as I can do on other forum sites. Is this possible for me to do, or will I need you clean it up for me? Link to comment
yellowdog Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 Thank you for sharing your win with the board :) And please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.Yellowdog.PS. I have edit your title. Link to comment
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