Hotwire Hotel: 4* Austin (Downtown-Town Lake) AT&T Conference Center

[TEXanne]

Oh how I wish I found this site a few days ago. This was my first time to use HOTWIRE. We live in NW Austin and had NYE plans to go to a party on the SW end of downtown. I knew it would be a mess trying to get a cab there and back, so on the 30th my husband and I decided to get a hotel for the night. The Hotwire map of this area is called Downtown/Town Lake. I decided to give them a try since I didn't care where downtown or on Town Lake we stayed and splurged for a 4* hotel. The listed rate was $163. Book it!

Now for the big reveal... AT&T Conference Center. Oh nooooo! My heart sank. Why oh why didn't I just pay more to choose my own hotel? Not only are we not in downtown or Town Lake, but we still have to try and find a cab to get us to and from our party 2 miles away. The whole reason for staying in a hotel was busted.

Wait a minute - the total cost was $198. I know I saw this hotel for a cheaper rate. Yep, booking.com has rooms for $139 ($170 total cost), Orbitz.com and cheaptickets.com have it for $160 ($183 total), and Hotels.com for $174 ($198 total!!). So a Hotwire rate of $163 and a Hotels.com rate of $174 are actually the same rate? I'm sure this is just a coincidence and has nothing to do with the fact that they are the same company.

The good news - The hotel itself is GREAT! It's new and pretty and has AT&T U-verse TV and internet free in the rooms. I got to withdraw money without a fee because they have my bank's ATM (University Federal Credit Union). I believe the amenities on hotwire were - pool, restaurants, high speed internet, fitness center, and business center. We spent about $20 on taxi fare and tips, but it wasn't as hard to get a cab as I thought it would be. We had a fantastic night, and I still have the headache to prove it. Unfortunately the hotel's restaurants were all closed since school is not in session, but luckily Players restaurant (burger joint that serves lots of fried goodness) was open until 3 AM.

This hotel is a good choice if you are visiting the University of Texas, the State Capital, or the Texas History museum, but I would hesitate before booking a 4* hotel through hotwire if you really want/need to stay downtown.

I requested a refund of the rate difference from Hotwire. Roberta kindly emailed me on NYE night to tell me those rates are not available, so no money back for me. Well of course they aren't available the night of! That's why I reported it a day earlier. I sent them a screen print to prove the rates existed. Elanor emailed me back to tell me they cannot accept attachments. I need to fax them my proof (who still uses fax machines??) or mail it using an overnight service with a tracking number.

Ah well... I guess I deserve to pay the idiot tax to learn this lesson the hard way. You win this round HOTWIRE, but I will not fall for your shady trickery again!

TEXanne

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Sorry to hear the location of this property didn't work too well for your plans, but that you otherwise enjoyed your stay. Hope getting a taxi wasn't too much of an ordeal.

If you did find access to a fax machine i suspect you could have received the refund that you were seeking as HOTWIRE is usually VERY GOOD about honoring thier double the difference guarantee.

Can you please add a reply to this thread with the room rate per nite and the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Other than the location, glad to hear the hotel itself was nicely appointed.

[TEXanne]

Sorry... I posted my rant without clearly posting helpful information.

Here you go:

12/31/09 check in - 1/1/10 check out

AT&T Conference Center - University of Texas campus (NOT DOWNTOWN)

Room rate quoted per night = $163 - Total Cost = $198 (booking fees appear to be around $10)

Amenities = fitness center, business center, pools, high-speed internet access, restaurant(s)

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up!

We're glad you found us... and hopefully we can help with finding hotels in the future which better suit your needs.