Leslie28

Just a quick note to warn others to be careful when using Priceline to bid for 4-star hotels in Budapest. After seeing the success that others have had over the past few years and after much research on bidding for travel, etc., I took the leap and bid for a 4 star hotel in Budapest, hoping to get the Marriott or Art'otel that seem to come up for 4 star Budapest hotels. Instead I got a new hotel, the Budapest Ramada. The hotel is in a horrible location (the 9th district described as "up and coming&quot and a subway or tram ride just to get into town. Reviews on tripadvisor (which lists it as a two-star hotel) are pretty bad, describing the rooms as small, basic, uncomfortable, and with small bathrooms with no bath. Everyone complains about the location. Hardly what one thinks of as 4-stars and a far cry from the Marriott. I've tried to reason with Priceline's customer service (an oxymoron if ever there was one) to no avail. If the hotel says they are a four star hotel, then Priceline says they are,too. Anyway, I'm stuck, but just wanted to warn others to be very careful. There are no zones when bidding in Budapest so there is no way to ensure an actual 4-star hotel in a reasonable location in Budapest with Priceline.

nytraveler

This is the risk with Priceline - there are no guarantees. and understanding the location parameters is the first issue.

Don;t know why you bothered to try to reason with them - you knew the rules when you bid.

And - Priceline doesn't visit and grade hotels - they just have the hotel fill out a form.

IMHO you need to bid one star higher than you really want to be sure of getting expected quality.

Leslie28

You're right, Nytraveler. Expensive lesson learned. I'm new to Priceline. I'll never bid again in a city without zones. I thought by researching endlessly all the bids previously won that I was pretty safe with location. I also now realize that any hotel can call themselves 4-stars. I didn't realize that Priceline just relies on the hotel's word -- thought they did a little research, but apparently not.

zwho

Well, this is a pretty upsetting thread, because we were all set to use Priceline for hotels in Vienna and Budapest this summer. I honestly care more about location then I do amenities. As long as it's clean and has a private bathroom, I'm good. Once my eyes close it can look as beat up or small as it wants to be! If I bid 5 star (Yipes!) are all those located in the historic center of either Buda or Pest? Thanks in advance.

Fidel

Stay at the Pension Pertschy in Vienna; just a block away from St. Stephen's. the location could not be better and they are a very good value for money.

www.pertschy.com

And for Budapest, just research and you'll find something; it's still reasonable there.

You're going to have a great trip!

Leslie28

Zwho, it was pretty upsetting to me, too. All the 4-star hotels I saw listed (in better bidding and bidding for travel, etc.) were in the center. The hotel I "won" had never showed up before. Even if you bid 5-star, there's no guarantee there won't be a "new" hotel that is outside the downtown area. I guess that is the risk with bidding in a city without zones. I feel the same way you do -- I can pretty much sleep in anything as long as it is centrally located. I hate the fact that I can't walk to anything from the hotel I won and I have to rely on pubic transport to go downtown.

Kellye

I hate to read this because I hope to go back to Budapest and was planning to bid on Priceline like I did last summer--I'm one of those who got the art'Otel and it was terrific.

On a more pleasant/upbeat note though, while we didn't use public transport while we were there--we walked everywhere--I've heard it is very affordable (read, cheap) and easy to navigate.

Sorry to hear about the experience--maybe if enough people complain, they will change the star rating for the hotel or something.

WillTravel

I wrote to Priceline a few years ago asking about the case where there is no zone map. The response was that anything that has the city name in the address will qualify. So with a city like Budapest, this extends pretty far.

If you still really did want to use Priceline for Budapest for 5* hotels, I would double-check the location of all known 5* hotels using various hotel sites. Then if I decided those were all acceptable in terms of location, I'd proceed to bid. Of course, this is still not risk-free, as you might miss one, but there would be very few 5* hotels so your risk is lower.

However, I feel the same as most posters here, which is that I'd rather have a perfect location than a 4* or 5* hotel, so I would just not use Priceline for Budapest. Thanks for the warning.

travelgirl2

Thanks for letting us know. I'm sorry you got stuck with a non-central location.

kybourbon

Leslie - Next time use Priceline's regular hotel booking process (not the bid one) to determine which 4 star hotels Priceline has access to. It still won't be 100% accurate, but you would have seen the Ramada listed as a 4 star.

Leslie28

Kybourbon, that's a good strategy if I ever get the courage to bid on Priceline again. I think I'd feel a little more secure using them if I thought they actually had customer service or evaluated complaints, but it really was shocking talking with several of their customer care executives who flat out told me that they don't care. I think my personal strategy for now is no zones, no bids. Good luck everyone with your hotels in Budapest -- I'll be figuring out the subway system now ....

kybourbon

Leslie - I've use Priceline for years and have saved tons of money. In the old days, you could only bid for hotels, the regular booking process didn't exist. It was really a gamble what hotel you might end up with until someone figured out that if you tried to purchase one of the hotel/flight packages you could actually see the hotels that might pop up.

Perhaps you could spend some of the money you saved by bidding on taxis?

FWIW - Betterbidding.com does have Ramada on it's Priceline Budapest list, but it's list as a 3 star. Perhaps they've remodeled or upgraded.

5* Le Meridien
5* Sofitel Atrium REVIEW
4* Art'otel REVIEW
4* Marriott REVIEW
3* Ramada

Leslie28

Sadly, it does not appear that the Ramada upgraded anything except its star rating. It is listed as a 3-star in Betterbidding and on Expedia and as a 2-star on Tripadvisor. Unfortunately, the hotel has decided it is a 4-star and that is what Priceline relies on. Wish I could say at least I saved a good amount of money, but for what I bid (and it wasn't that much) plus fees, I could have gotten this hotel on venere for about the same price. I'm sure it is the location that drives down the price. I know other people have had wonderful luck with Priceline and I am envious. I feel like the Charlie Brown of Priceline -- everyone else got the Marriott or Art'otel and I got a rock ...

thursdaysd

Public transport in Budapest is fine - see www.bkv.hu/english/home/index.html. Not sure how long you'll be there, but I bought a transport pass, which meant I could just hop on and off the trams and metro whenever I wanted. (3-day travel card 3,100 HUF, 7-day travel card 3,600 HUF.)

kybourbon

I see it's listed as 4 star by Venere also. There are good and bad reviews on Venere with several saying the location is great and close to restaurants.

L84SKY

Like, thursdaysd said, public transpo in Budapest is fine, easy to use.
Not everyone on TripAdvisor complained about the location. It's right across from Margaret Island, which isn't exactly in the boonies.

kenderina

I don't trust too much Tripadvisor either...yes, I take a look at it, but I've been in hotels rated not very good there..and were really good for me.

Leslie28

Fingers crossed that it is not that bad. (By the way, it is not the Ramada across from Margaret Island -- wish it were. That's the Ramada Plaza. I'm in the Ramada Budapest on Tompa Street.) I've heard good things about Budapest public transport and I have my streetwise map that shows the subway stops. I will buy a pass. I honestly wasn't looking for luxury in a hotel, just a good location and maybe a nice view. But I am still thrilled about seeing Budapest and don't plan on spending anytime at the hotel anyway ...

thursdaysd

Yes, that is a bit out of the center, but it looks quite close to the Ferenc Krt. metro stop, which is only 3 stops from Deak ter. Budapest is great - have you read my trip report? http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35096856

shangrila

Leslie, don't despair. It really is not a bad location. You are actually only 2 metro stops from the center of everything. Tram 4 or 6 run just a few meters from it, as well as tram #2 wich runs along the river.

I am sure it is not what you hoped for, but it is still close to everything and in a very good locale. I have not been in the place, so I don't know what the *rating should be, but the location is very good, easy accessible to everything and if you feel the need, can acutally be walked long different routes from the city "center". Metros and trams run about every 5 minutes, so it should not be a problem.

Get a good map when you get there, any bookstore will have good ones. The book stores to look for have blue signs stating Libri Konyves Bolt (Book store).

It is an amazing city, you will have a blast, don't let your anger toward Priceline ruin your vacation. You never know, you may have found a diamond in the rough.