Hotwire Hotel: Help ID 2.5* Pacifica

[team ace]

Located in the "Pacifica" zone of Pacifica.

Amenities: Near beach, Fitness center, Pool, Restaurant, Business center, High speed internet

My research tells me this could be a match for the Best Western Lighthouse, which is currently 'on sale' for $119/nt on their website. My thinking is, and please tell me if this is unsound thinking, but with the "double the difference" Hotwire guarantee, if it is the BW Lighthouse, it would drop this to a $93/nt property rather quickly.

It doesn't appear to be the previously reported win of the 3* Holiday Inn Express, which I believe is currently listed on Hotwire at $109/nt. The only other option I can find is the kind-of-scary-looking Pacifica Beach Resort, with some rooms retailing for under $145/nt and other rooms retailing for more than $145/nt, and is only available through the hotel's own site with no vacancy available on the other hotel channels. If this is the PBR, I can see having a uphill battle utilizing the Hotwire guarantee, not to mention having to stay at a hotel that shows pictures of each room on the web (all of which appear "a little on the trashy side").

Not many wins reported in Pacifica. Does anyone think this is worth the risk to try to save $26/nt? Has anyone had a positive/negative experience dealing with Hotwire's guarantee?

If the feedback suggests an attempt, I will definitely use this site's HOTWIRE link. Otherwise, I will likely attempt to book the BW Lighthouse, naturally using another link provided on this site as well. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

[Colfax]

If you click "Continue" after the listing you'll see this mystery Pacifica 2.5* has a 3.5 TripAdvisor rating.

The Best Western Lighthouse has a 4 on TA and the Pacific Beach Resort is a 2. So I don't think this hotel is either of those.

The Sea Breeze Motel is "Near Beach", has a restaurant, and a 3.5* TA rating. Sea Breeze would be my best guess.

Please use this HOTWIRE link if you purchase and let us know what you get.

[team ace]

Thank you for the response.

The Sea Breeze Motel retails for $89 to $99/nt according to their website, so it seems odd that the price would be so extremely different. I'll decide what path to take soon and update this thread accordingly.

Should I decide to go for it, I will use the HOTWIRE link.

[team ace]

This can't be the Sea Breeze as the Sea Breeze doesn't have a pool or a fitness center.

[Colfax]

This can't be the Sea Breeze as the Sea Breeze doesn't have a pool or a fitness center.

Eek!

I can't find a website for the Sea Breeze but I don't see any mention of pool or fitness in the Sea Breeze TripAdvisor reviews so you're probably right.

I guessed Sea Breeze because the HOTWIRE listing has a 3.5* TA rating, and Sea Breeze and Days Inn are the only Pacifica hotels rated 3.5* on TA. I don't see that Days Inn has a restaurant, so I came up with Sea Breeze by process of elimination. But without pool or fitness Sea Breeze doesn't sound right either.

Best Western Lighthouse is 4* on TA, but the nine most recent BW reviews are all either 4* or 5*. It's possible that run of good reviews lifted Best Western from 3.5* to 4* overall but that revised rating hasn't transmitted from TripAdvisor to Hotwire yet. Sometimes there's a lag.

The HOTWIRE listing is $149 now and Best Western is $119 on its own website and at Expedia. If you purchase the Hotwire and it turns out to be Best Western you'd be entitled to a $120 credit from HOTWIRE (double the difference x 2 nights), bringing the effective rate down to $89/night.

But if this ISN"T Best Western then you've got a 2.5* room for $149.

I applied for a Double the Difference credit once and was promptly refunded with no fuss. Most of the reports I've read about Double the Difference here say the same: if you qualify HOTWIRE refunds promptly.

[team ace]

Thank you for your response, Colfax.

The Sea Breeze only has a page on the website of Nick's Restaurant. I called to inquire if they had a pool and fitness center and the receptionist said no.

I'm not at all comfortable with the risk of this potentially being the Pacifica Beach Resort, of which 13 of the last 20 TA reviews are 1* and a few others being 2*. I decided to call the Best Western Lighthouse directly on the off chance they had a special that was not offered online, and I was offered a slightly deeper discounted rate of 30% off as compared to the 25% off the websites are offering, so I went ahead and booked it that way. It's not the $89/nt that I might be able to get through HOTWIRE via the guarantee, but the risk of potentially paying $149/nt for the PBR just doesn't outweigh the $22/nt that I "might" save in this case.

Sorry that I was unable to help support the site with this booking, but I will DEFINITELY use the HOTWIRE link as well as the PRICELINE link for my travels ahead and will encourage my family and friends to utilize this site and do the same.

[thereuare]

Glad you found something which works well for your plans.

Hopefully you'll have better luck with PRICELINE and HOTWIRE for your next trip.

Thanks for helping to spread the word about BetterBidding! :)

Enjoy your upcoming stay.