Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I stayed at an absolutely awful hotel two nights ago, especially for the price. I made the mistake of checking the reviews online after purchase. When I called to cancel, I couldn't because it pre-paid, yada yada.
Is there any recourse to maybe get money back or anything. I booked through priceline and will contact them. It's just not right for what they are doing? Or am I missing something?
Every once in a while you get a bad hotel , just move on and if friends ask your opinion of the hotel just tell them to look elsewhere.
Out of curiosity what did you find wrong with this hotel and would you say those faults apply to the entire chain or just this particular hotel?..
I pre-paid for a Priceline hotel...and you get what you pay for...it was a Days Inn, so I thought it would be okay...WRONG...it was so bad...I called to upgrade, or whatever...they blah blah...so, my solution was to just leave, eat the money, and stayed in a decent place...and learned not to do that again.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,023,210 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk
Days Inn's are notoriously gross.
My friend (who is extremely picky) had positive experiences with several Days Inn here in So Cal ... I'm not sure if I'll book with a Days Inn though unless I read enough positive reviews that seem genuine though ...
Days Inn can be real hit or miss. There is one in NJ we use from time to time that is terrible. However, 8 miles away is another one that was re-modeled in 2008. For the price it is very acceptable.
i avoid days inn like the plague. unfortunately it seems like 75% of the 2* bids accepted on priceline are for days inn or extended stay, both of which suck. so im extremely hesistent when bidding 2*, try to make sure neither of those hotels are in my bid-zones.
as far as reimbursement thru priceline ... not gonna happen. don't even bother trying. all you can really do is write a bad review on priceline and tripadvisor.
i live in hotels when i am working in the US (six months out of the year) and use priceline the majority of the time. stay in around 40 or so hotels per year on average. some of them will suck, can't really do anything about it.
my biggest pet peeve is hidden charges. parking, internet, room "upgrades", etc. just had to deal with it today actually. in the last year a lot of marriott-brand hotels have been trying to charge extra for "upgrading" to a double bed room. when checking in today the clerk tried to hit me up for an extra $20/night. fortunately i came prepared, having a print out of standard prices on their own website and priceline, showing that king bed rooms and double bed rooms are the exact same price, so was able to avoid being hit with the bogus $20 charge for an upgrade after he called his manager. this is happening more and more those, extremely annoying.
The hotel room was just dirty. The carpet was BLACK, the furniture was beat up, there were weird stains on the walls, the towels were greyish in color.
I was in LA for an interview for 36 hours and didn't want to spend a ton of money.
It was my fault. I was on priceline looking at two different hotels. It was late and I was tired and I actually thought I was on the page for the other hotel I was looking at, and then booked this one by accident.
When I got to the room, it was just like the reviews. There was no point whatsoever to speak to the front desk, because the woman up there was a witch with a capital B. They weren't going to give me my money back and if they moved me to another room it could be worse! So I just didn't bother. I am just disgusted that this place keeps rooms in such shape and charges people to stay there. But I guess since they have a no refund policy and no reason to provide customer service they don't care.
i avoid days inn like the plague. unfortunately it seems like 75% of the 2* bids accepted on priceline are for days inn or extended stay, both of which suck. so im extremely hesistent when bidding 2*, try to make sure neither of those hotels are in my bid-zones.
as far as reimbursement thru priceline ... not gonna happen. don't even bother trying. all you can really do is write a bad review on priceline and tripadvisor.
Actually. at the 2* level, I have been getting a lot of the LaQuinta properties with an occasional Comfort or Quality Inn.
As for the Extended Stay and other 2* properties, there are some great ones in Chicagoland and Wisconsin. In the Deep South, avoid them like the plague.
i spend most of my time on the west coast. have gotten a few 2.5* la quintas (lax and ontario airport) and they were defo good value although nothing spectacular but i wouldnt complain staying at one. i just checked into a 2* ramada in the valley and it confirms my opinion of 2* on priceline, its awful. wish i had just bid on a 3* in one of the suburbs, wouldve been much much nicer and same price. most of the 2* out here from my experience are extended stay (or equally bad homestead suites) and days inn. considering that extended stay doesn't even offer maid service and has a $5 charge for internet im surprised to hear theyre nice in chicago. sure some of the newer ones have nice buildings but its a cutthroat company, even if its new it will still have low quality furnishings and no amenities. often i can get a residence inn/staybridge suites/summerfield suites/embassy suites etc for slightly more than an extended stay and all those brands are significantly better. those are what i shoot for most of the time. was just staying at a rocking residence inn in the inland empire, would have just stayed there but needed to come to LA city for a job for the next couple weeks.
considering that extended stay doesn't even offer maid service and has a $5 charge for internet im surprised to hear theyre nice in chicago. sure some of the newer ones have nice buildings but its a cutthroat company, even if its new it will still have low quality furnishings and no amenities. often i can get a residence inn/staybridge suites/summerfield suites/embassy suites etc for slightly more than an extended stay and all those brands are significantly better. those are what i shoot for most of the time. was just staying at a rocking residence inn in the inland empire, would have just stayed there but needed to come to LA city for a job for the next couple weeks.
When I spend $23-28/ night to stay at the Extended Stay in Oakbrook or Lisle in a great secluded area - secluded office park, I am happy. i use my cell phone to connect to the internet so I am not paying for that charge. And for maid service, I prefer to keep them out of the room. I don't change my linens/towels daily at home.
The problem with shooting for the Residence Inns or Staybridge Suites at the 3* is that you are just as likely to get an older Holiday Inn or a Marriott where they will nickle and dime you to death.
If you are traveling in SoCal all the time, have you considered just negotiating a rate with your preferred property? When I was out there a few years ago, I negotiated a monthly rate of $850 at one of the Hampton Inns.
unfortunately i can't commit to a hotel on a monthly basis, i rarely spend more than a couple weeks in the same city. my work requires that i move around a lot. ive negotiated weekly deals with good properties in competitive zones in the past but have never been able to match priceline price, usually $10-15 more per night than i was paying before.
i generally share a room with someone else to cut my costs down (particularly splitting rental car) and am not in the US enough to justify paying for a cell phone contract with wifi capability so when i get an extended stay to me it means $10 extra per night for double bed and $5 for internet. never had a holiday inn charge for either - the main thing i worry about with HI is how old the property is. if its new they are very good (just got the irvine spectrum HI for $45 a couple weeks ago ... very nice property, no complaints). the old ones can be dreadful tho obviously. HI express i have had good experiences w/ and they have free breakfast - only complaint is the small rooms. marriotts charge for internet but honestly i get them so infrequently its not a major concern. most of the time i get a marriott its a courtyard, fairfield inn, or residence inn which don't charge for internet (and the last two have pretty substantial breakfast buffet).
i have my preferred bidding zones up and down the west coast and am reasonably sure which properties i will get before i even bid, so that helps. wish i didnt have to move around so much, especially to undesirable zones like right now (the san fernando valley is awful for priceline).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
