Priceline Hotel: 3* Honolulu (Waikiki North) Royal Garden

[bqredsox24]

My mistake...anyway.....

May 7th-May 10th. $70 night.

I had been bidding $60 and Waikiki South to try and get the Prince Kuhio or (I've forgotten now...my already at 25!?) :)

I hastily added Waikiki North....and woila! Royal Garden

Trying to redeem myself for our last three nights with the Hawaii Prince.

[thereuare]

Sorry to hear of your mistake (but thanks for posting it).

If it's any consolation, mistakes happen to almost all of us. If you bid enough, it eventually will happen. Whenever possible i usually try to have somebody nearby else proof my bid before i submit it in order to try to catch any mistakes.

Good Luck with the remainder of your stay.

[bqredsox24]

thanks! I've gotten great deals on cars in the past and I scored the Embassy Suites LAX for $46 (which I will go post)...so this is ok :)

[bqredsox24]

anyone who happens to read this and might know....

honestly, is the RG in a "bad" neighboorhood?

I'm 25 and going with my 23 year old sister. The Oahu Revealed map shows it FAR FAR off the beaten path.....

[Keoni]

Well.... Suites at this hotel go for $1000.00 per night so how bad can

it be??? Actually, anywhere between the Ala Wai Canal, just to your

north, and the Ocean, three or four blocks to your south, is the same "neighborhood"

and a couple of young ladies should feel perfectly safe anywhere in this area.

Common sense rules apply just as in any big city or tourist area. This hotel is just as

close in walking distance to the Ocean as Prince Kuhio and so I don't think you have

done that badly if you were actually hoping for the PK.

Here is a look at your digs... Royal Gardens Hotel

Aloha and enjoy your visit,

Keoni :)

[bqredsox24]

thank you :)

I think walking around downtown crossing after a red sox game gave us enough experience to deal with city life :):)

I really want a base to rest our heads in between exploring the island, this will work!

[mr.drew]

Just to throw my 2 cents in... if you are in Waikiki, while there are some patches of older buildings, and areas needing rehab, I don't think I have even seen what I would consider a "bad" area in Waikiki.

[bqredsox24]

I've just been reading more reviews on tripadvisor and elsewhere...apparently the shops and the pool is closed! What kind of 3* is that?

[LoneStar]

I've just been reading more reviews on tripadvisor and elsewhere...apparently the shops and the pool is closed! What kind of 3* is that?

Well, I've seen good reviews and bad. My guess is that it's at least OK.

Given the mediocre reviews, however, compared to the usually excellent reviews for the Radisson Prince Kuhio, I would strong recommend new bidders to avoid the Waikiki North zone for 3 stars and bid for the Radisson in the South zone.

[thereuare]

While a pool is not a requirement of a 3* property, i would contact Priceline and see if they will work with you on this one due to the pool closing... explain this is a Hawaiin vacation that you have saved up for quite some time and you're disappointed that this hotel's pool will be closed, and you therefore dont' consider it to be of 3 star quality. Assuming of course you'd be happy getting this reservation cancelled.

PS- just to clarify... i wouldn't recommend this for others that received a hotel that simply didn't have a pool, as a pool is not a requirement for a 3* property; but given that the hotel is rated 3* when all amenities are functional, the fact that a pool exists but will be closed should be a factor to consider

[bqredsox24]

I know...I hate to be whiney b/c that is the risk you take w/ priceline but if all the shops and pools are closed...I would be really disappointed! I might give that a try...

[billine]

I bid $90 for a 3 star and got Royal Gardens as well. The problems (that R.G will confirm on the phone):

one of two restaurants closed, no shuttle service (tho it is advertised as having it), fountain broken (bummer if you have a baby like I do) , one of the pools closed, 2 jacuzzis closed. I think that is it... But that doesn't sounds very 3 star-ish. I contacted p-line, and I am thrilled to say that they refunded my money. Yay Priceline! I will gain some info from other posts, and try to bid again. They warned me not to re-bid in the waikiki north for 3 star, b/c they aren't removing it from their list.

So, it is definitely worth a try to contact them. Did I say yay Priceline yet? Yay Priceline! Hawaii, here we come...

ps great website!

[bqredsox24]

really? i emailed them...i think i should call...how firm did you have to be?

sorry for all the questions but i would LOVE nothing else but to have another shot.

[thereuare]

I would definately call... and be as persistent as you have to be.

I'd even tell them, "I'll give you that this hotel could be perceived as a 3* when the hotel is operating normally... but x, y, z are all going to be closed during my stay, and that is what helps make this hotel a 3*. Without them i'm not getting, nor are you giving me, what we each agreed to."

[billine]

I was veerrryy nice. I did my research, had a list (what I outlined above, or will it show up below...) in front of me. Said that we are traveling with a baby, and the pools being out would be very disappointing. I told them my main concern was that I paid for 3* and was not gettting the hotel amenities that Priceline thought I should be getting. I spun it so that P-line should be concerned that the hotel is not up to p-line's standards for a 3* right now, because all the amenities pline thinks it has are not available.

They told me they would call R.G. to confirm. I got an email 48 hours later, with the cancellation info. P-line said "the resaurant is open" (one of my concerns was that one of the two was closed) maybe they didn't realize there were 2 restaurants.

I'm going to walk over to R.G. next week and see how it looks, I can post about that upon return. I would definitely call if you plan on using the pool or other amenities. My bigger concern, that I didn't mention to p-line but maybe you should, is all the bad reviews I've read about R.G.

Hope that helps!

[bqredsox24]

hello!

my problem is I am usually too nice. with my first email i think i was. i did mention all the poor reviews i've read all over and they gave me a canned response. i emailed them again and (of course not with as poor grammar and typing as this :) and reiterated what you wrote (not mentioning any specific website) and just said that i didn't think that was up to a 3* etc etc....i received an email back with my refund and $10 bonus money towards my next hotel. i am extremely happy that they refunded my money and it only took two requests! i plan on using them again to rebook and i told them that, i will just be more smart about it! thanks for sharing, you really helped! so has this website. i'm passing the word!

*Brianna

[bqredsox24]

great advice thereuare....you both went at it from a good honest angle, and it worked!

[thereuare]

Glad to hear you had success... good luck with your replacement bid, let us know how it goes.

[LoneStar]

It's nice to see at least some flexibility from priceline. I just got stuck with a run down "3 star" Sheraton Four Points Newark Airport with terrible reviews. When I emailed them with all the details -- including the fact that the indoor pool was now closed for a many-month repair -- I got nowhere. Now admittedly, while I didn't make a capital case out of this -- it was one night at an airport hotel, not my Hawaiian vacation -- their attitude seemed incredibly uninterested and inflexible. Using the phone to complain may be smarter.

[bbq]

You guys mind helping me with a proper email to priceline about this. I got Royal Garden also (hoping for the Renaissance Ilikai)

I got this for $58 for 2 nights...May 14th. Thanks for your help. Needless to say, I'm as disappointed as you others about getting this hotel.

Thanks.

[bbq]

Thanks to your posts, I got my Royal Garden reservation cancelled also. Talked to 2 extremely nice sympathetic ears in customer service at priceline. I had called the hotel and talked to them before I contacted priceline and found out they have no room service which is a priceline 3* amenity. Anyway, thanks to all of you for these postings. Hopefully, this hotel will be downgraded shortly. :)

[LoneStar]

Nice going, bbq. Hopefully you can now bid the other zone and get the Radisson.

[bbq]

Just checked my trips. This has been downgraded to a 2*.

[thereuare]

Thank you for the update... glad to see priceline doing the right thing in this instance.