Traveling, whether it's close to drive of far enough to fly, can be costly!
I love getting away, booking a hotel and sometimes renting a car, if driving to our destination is out of the question.
I used to pretty much research with Expedia it and rely on their results. I would do some minimal checking and comparing but not a full-scale research! ( I need to pack!)
A few months ago, I decided to treat Erik to a Montreal get-away! I checked on TripAdvisor for some reviews (You should definitely not read into everyone comments, some people are just picky and believe their are entitled to a royal treatment while paying peasant fares!) and while reading certain Montreal Hotel reviews, a commenter mentioned he saved BIG using Hotwire.
Intrigued, I visited their site.
Indeed, I found great prices for hotels! Some 25-50% off from the hotel's official site. Although the prices are in US funds (the dollar was doing good, so no biggie), there was a BIG catch!
You didn't know exactly WHICH hotel you were booking for.
Yup!
You can choose the location, the star rating and even view which amenities are available, but the name of the hotel is not available until AFTER you book with them.
Frightening? Yes.
Obviously, I was torn! I wanted the savings, but I needed to know with which hotel I was booking! I read their F.A.Q and found out why they could not tell us who we are booking with:
When brand-name hotels have unsold rooms, they use Hotwire to fill
them, so you get them at prices lower than any other travel site, .
For us to bring you these great deals, we can't give you the hotel or
street address until after you book. Once you book your room, we
immediately confirm your reservation and show you the hotel's complete
details, including its name and exact location.
Despite this, you can ballpark which hotels are possible. I knew that since I book a 3 and a half star hotel, in downtown Montreal, with a pool, spa, no hot tubs... It was clear to me that it was going to be Delta Centre-Ville! Which was exactly the hotel I wanted.
It was beautiful. We had the premium corner room. Non-smoking! It was PERFECT! If I head back to Montreal, I would definitely book there again.
Hotwire got me a ridiculously low price! I paid even less than what they were offering for a regular smoking room!
The only problem I have with Hotwire is that if I want to rebook with Delta Centre-ville, I would not risk it with Hot Wire, since I could end up in another hotel.
Furthermore, you cannot ask your a non-smoking room. You can end up in a less desirable room, so watch out!
My experience with them has been great, but I can imagine others being quite disappointed.
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