Hotwire Hotel: 4* Whistler (Main Village-Village North) Hilton

[ntcanada]

Should have posted first...

I was looking for a 4* hotel in Whistler for 2 people mar 31-apr 5. I had been bidding on PRICELINE but checked HOTWIRE today and saw 4* for 209, which was lower than my last PRICELINE bid so I thought it was worth checking out.

After reading posts on hotel ID I was certain it was the Westin based on 4* and resort. Amenities listed were resort, slopeside, fitness, pool, restaurant, business, laundry, internet, golf, tennis, spa.

I ended up getting the Hilton which according to just about every other travel site and the HOTWIRE list here is 3.5*.

Do I have any recourse here other than maybe trying to cancel the charge with the credit card company on the basis that it's not what I thought I was purchasing? I know that kind of risk is inherent with HOTWIRE / PRICELINE but it was an informed bid, just misled by star rating.

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Edit: Furthermore, on Hotwire's own star rating guide under "star rating descriptions" Hilton is listed under 3.5* hotel suppliers -- very misleading...

[tilepusher]

Hotwire does give refunds if you can show that its rating for a hotel is out of line with that of other travel websites. Unfortunately, that's not the case here: Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz all rate this Hilton 4*. There's no recourse if you misidentify a hotel based on information you found on websites like this one.

When using the hotel lists, keep in mind that Hotwire can change a hotel's star rating and amenities list at any time. Ever since Hotwire substituted Expedia's vacation packages for its own, we don't know of any method of tracking these changes, other than through reports from other members. And it's been a long time since anybody has reported or inquired about the Hilton.

Therefore, you must use the hotel lists carefully when trying to ID a hotel. If you look at the list again, you'll notice that the list of amenities you gave is an exact match for the Hilton, but not for the Westin (it was last reported with the Kitchenette amenity, but not Golf or Tennis). If you had asked us for an ID, I'm sure we would have guessed, based on the amenities, that the Hilton had been upgraded to 4*.

As for the examples given by Hotwire in its star rating guide, you should just ignore them, as they've long been obsolete. Also, Hotwire doesn't necessarily give every hotel in a chain the same rating.

[thereuare]

Therefore, you must use the hotel lists carefully when trying to ID a hotel. If you look at the list again, you'll notice that the list of amenities you gave is an exact match for the Hilton, but not for the Westin (it was last reported with the Kitchenette amenity, but not Golf or Tennis). If you had asked us for an ID, I'm sure we would have guessed, based on the amenities, that the Hilton had been upgraded to 4*.

Feel free to ask for help before your next opaque booking... and please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your future travel purchases.

Sorry to hear you didn't receive the hotel you were hoping for, but hopefully you can make this work for your needs and you enjoy your stay.

[ntcanada]

Thanks for the replies. I will know to inquire before I make a booking next time.

Re: other travel sites' star ratings, would Priceline count? They only rate the Hilton 3.5*, and that was the rating I was going by.

[tilepusher]

Re: other travel sites' star ratings, would Priceline count? They only rate the Hilton 3.5*, and that was the rating I was going by.

Not by itself. This is from Hotwire's Star Rating Guide:

"How we calculate our Star Ratings:

* Take the average rating on three top travel sites

* Factor in customer feedback -- we receive over half a million reviews per year

* Adjust the ratings downward if a majority of customers say we should"

The three websites I cited above would justify Hotwire's rating of 4*.