Hotwire Hotel: 4* San Francisco (USE) Westin St. Francis

[mistermer]

First post. I've been looking on Hotwire for the past week or so for a 4* place near Union Square, preferably USE. I've only run into one actual 4* in USE - the others are all outside that area. Last week, this 4* (Customer Fave, best value, restaurant, fitness center, business center) joint was $110/night and I was pretty sure that it was the Westin St. Francis, mostly because of a customer review reference to heavenly beds.

Now there's a 4* at $88/night, essentially the same description, but I can't deduce from the customer reviews where it is. I don't know that anyone else can either - but does it make sense for the same hotel to have such a big drop in price? Do other hotels in USE fit that description? Thanks for any help - this is a pretty cool board. :)

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!... and thank you for the compliments on the board.

The description (star rating and amenities) of this hotel not only matches the Westin but also that of the Grand Hyatt and the Argent. The Argent has been reported previously as a Customer Favorite, it's unknown if the Grand Hyatt is designated as such. With that said, i too think this is the Westin and that would be my best guess. The 'heavenly beds' is a good 'tell' (as i learned this term from watching celebrity poker the other nite :) ). There is a another comment that mentions "grand and historic hotel" which sort of led me to look at the Grand Hyatt a bit closer, but that hotel doesn't seem very historic from what i could gather. Another users mentions a great fitness center, but this seems to apply equally to both of them.

As i said, my best guess would be the Westin, but a slight possibility of the Grand Hyatt as well. You may know San Francisco better than i do, but assuming it is one of these properties, could you really go wrong with either? The price is certain very good.

[mistermer]

Well - tried it - got the Westin. Thanks for your help. :) Of note - they offered a King sized bed upgrade for $30/a night more. Not sure if that's common or what...I think most of the kings are in the tower building but I could be horribly off base there.

[mrk]

I can confirm that Grand Hyatt is a customer favorite too. I booked a stay there yesterday (for 3 adults in 1 room). There are reviews that mention "the bar at the top" and "cable tv in the bathroom", those pretty much confirmed that it was the Hyatt instead of Argent or Westin according to the websites of the hotels.

[thereuare]

mrk, thanks for your additional comments.

Please post the details of your win in a new post (along witht the dates and price paid) so that the information will help others and be in the same format as the rest of the board (ie- one win per thread).

Thanks.

[thereuare]

mistermer,

Glad you gave it a shot and were successful!

Are you saying that Hotwire offered you the upgrade on the confirmation screen?

Thanks... and enjoy your stay at this historic hotel with the heavenly beds! :)

[mistermer]

No - I went through customer service for the update. I'm hoping that the strike will be over by then, but if not, I didn't want to be stuck in a lower level floor close to the street and noise. I called the Westin and they said I needed to go through Hotwire customer service, which seemed odd. I have read some reviews about the Westin that noted preferential treatment given to people who paid "full" price.

So I contacted Hotwire customer service; they worked with Westin and said the guranteed king size and no smoking would be an extra 30/night. I checked the Westin site and it seems rooms with King beds/no smoking are on higher floors - they were running 219 and up. Anyway - hopefully it's a good experience. Whatever the case - I paid 1/2 the going rate.

:)

[BEAV]

Thanks for reporting your experience working with Westin via Hotwire. This is valuable information in my opinion. Who would have thought such an arrangement could be made while booking through a source as restrictive as Hotwire.