I bid for Niagara Falls, NY for one night on priceline and got $60 plus tax/fees booking at Holiday Inn Select at 300 3rd Street, Niagara Falls, NY 140303. It is just block away from Rainbow Bridge.

When I got this booking I realized from reading in this forum that this is bad hotel for me or anyone (and for pricline to offer) as hotel is under renovation. Within few minture of booking I lodged complaint with pricline that they shouldn't offer hotel under renovation.

One hour before I was leaving home for vacation (and this hotel) I was offered by priceline manager to cancel this booking but it was too late for me to do that and find another hotel while I would be on road driving.

I checked into hotel. Parking lot is next to hotel and there is NO connection to Hotel as area connecting you from lot to hotel is under construction and barricaded and hence we had to lug all pieces of luggage from lot via main road to hotel. At hotel no sign of any bell desk help. Staff at reception/checking was always missing and you had to shout out to get them out of their inside office socializing at back.

We had asked for non smoking room and got it but at far end of 5th floor with "parking lot view". When I asked for better room, I was told this is only room they have (their way of hinting that I shouldn't have booked thru priceline")..

Tourist desk had no humna being for 24 hours I was at hotel. All other desks were closed as they are under renovation.

Out of 3 only one elevator worked. 2 were closed.

We used one working elevator to 5th floor and our room (last room) was 2 minute or longer walk without luggage and with luggage it was night mare.

Room looked worse then badly maintained 1 star motel. Fabric on furniture had big holes (cigarette burns) and this was "non smoking room". Bathtub had dark steins. Water supply worked intermittently . Water smelled and looked bad and when asked to plumbing help he said don't drink it , it is muddy (we always drink tap water as we find it safe) and when talked to front desk they said we have to "buy water". I emailed complaint to "Niagara Falls Health Department" (using their in room wireless internet which worked perfectly).

Eventually I bought water worth $5 from their soda machine for drining/brushing teeth etc.

Only phone in room was on desk (away from bed) so when call comes when asleep, you can't reach for phone without getting up and walking.

All over hotel sign "excuse the DUST" was plastered as hotel is under construction/renovation (Its difficult to excuse it when you are paying $$ for vacation).

I would have been happy if priceline had offered to switch me to some WORKING (not under renovation) 2 star hotel or 1 star.

Avoid staying here even if it is free.

If you book thru priceline, most likely you will end up with this hotel.

Definitely not 3 star property.

I have written priceline to take it off their list of offering, and if possible visit it and compare it with any 2 or 1 star hotel rooms.

Vipul

Thanks for the warning.

If more travelers spoke up there might be fewer dumps out there to sucker us in.

Did you pay Priceline via credit card? If so, challenge it with the card company - on the basis that the hotel was not fit for habitation at the time you were there.

Yes I paid by credit card.
I asked priceline to refund entire amount, but they said since they had offered me to walk out of deal before I went to hotel (and i didn't take up that offer) they can't refund my money.

May be I will talk to credit card company.

You should have walked. Since you stayed you accepted the situation. Your credit card company may look at it this way also.

There is a difference between a hotel that is being upgraded - and may have some noise or dust or a restaruant closed - and one that has completely inacessible parking, no water and no staff. The latter is not "under consruction" it is uninhabitable - and I think the CC company would agree. I hope you have pictures to show them.

Priceline eventually sent mail offering $10 coupon valid upto August but I have replied to them that nothing less then full refund will resolve this as this hotel poses health issue (muddy water on tap without any warning signs, I feel hotel should be closed down till it is ready to serve in normal routine).

Priceline has no control over the motel/hotel. You should take your complaint up with the local owner of the Holiday Inn Select and the home office of Holiday Inn. You may also want to contact the BBB.

http://search.buffalo.bbb.org/nis/ne...41000021002748

You didn't mention the date of your one night stay, but it would seem that it was recently and during the off season.

For sure, there are typically ridiculously low rates available through Priceline - often at establishments undergoing renovations.

We booked the Waldorf Hilton in London with Priceline for the ridiculously low rate of $100 US DOLLARS year before last. Believe me, this was one incredible bargain for the location and the luxurious room. For that low rate, we didn't mind the renovations going on at all.

On many other occasions we've gotten a ridiculously low rate at properties undergoing renovation ($60/night at the new Hyatt Downtown in Boston, over Valentine's Day weekend, for example, and we were assigned a gorgeous, newly redecorated, room).

You could have taken a few minutes to shop online for another room, especially in the off season. Or, even tried your luck once rolling into town. Everyone knows, too, that accommodations on the "American side" are, well, not all that appealing.

I've heard/read that if you dispute the Priceline charge with your credit card provider, you will not only not prevail, you will be banned from future Priceline bids - and Priceline is the best resource around these days for ecomonical hotel stays. You really can stay in a 4* most of the time for 2* prices.

I'm not an expert at Priceline, but I can't imagine one hour before departing for a destination to START looking for alternatives and doing the bidding process on Priceline. I rarely am sitting around twiddling my thumbs for the final hour before I depart. I believe that's when vipul said they finally offered to let her switch.

One hour before my start of trip I was on phone but didn't have access to internet to start bidding.

Also I didn't know hotel was so inhabitable that water would be issue and I wouldn't be warned about that water till 12 hour have gone into it and I have consumed that water.

I have written to Holiday Inn management but so far no response.

I wrote to Priceline and sent complaint to Holiday Inn corporate office. Priceline refused to refund me money saying they paid holiday inn for this reservation (and implying that they can't stand behind quality/lack of it of hotels offered thru their site even though we customers base our booking on priceline's reputation and don't even know hotel name till we pay for it).

Holiday Inn offered "thank you" for pointing out problems at property and 5000 priority club points (which are worth less then $25 and useless to me as it wont buy any nights at niagara falls where I tend to go). I have asked holiday Inn not to waste their points on me as I wont use it and I expected full refund.

I guess its best to

1) ask Priceline when booking goes thru, "hotel is under renovation? water is there? is it safe water?

2) ask same questions at Holiday Inn properties when you check in as they didn't tell me about water not to be used for drinking till I asked about it.

Vipul Shah

Holiday Inn finally refunded $60.48 (1 night plus tax) by check.

Balance (around $15) which was priceline's profit was not refunded. Priceline refused to take any responsibility for hotel not upto mark. So I lost part of amount which priceline decided to keep for its *excellent* service.

Vipul Shah

The $60 per night should have tipped you off... let the buyer beware!!!

gary, what are you saying? People get fantastic hotels for $60 a night on Priceline all the time. Why should that have been a tip off?

Vipul: I'm glad you got your money back from the hotel, but I can see Priceline's point of view too.

They DID offer to allow you to cancel the booking, which is quite extraordinary, and a very generous move on their part. You refused. I fail to see what else anyone could expect of Priceline.

Then you DID go and spend the night at the Holiday Inn, so Priceline had performed their part - delivered a room to you for your bid.

The room turned out not to be to your liking, so you got a refund from the hotel. Good for you!

But, if I were Priceline, I wouldn't refund you the Priceline fees charged, given the sequence of events.

So, I guess my suggestion to you is to be happy you got the bulk of your money back and not to sweat the few dollars that Priceline has kept. Most of us don't even get refunds from hotels when we lodge a complaint!

You expected help from a BELL DESK at a Holiday Inn Select? Did you think you had gotten a Crowne Plaza on your bid? I've never seen a bell desk (or asked for or expected help with bags) at at HIS!

You thought the room at the end of the hall was the worst room at the hotel? It's usually the favorite of frequent travelers and most requested because it's the quietest.

Why didn't you just call the Holiday Inn reservation # or Hilton chain or Choice hotels or any other hotel group to book another hotel after Priceline called.

IMHO Priceline went waaaayyy beyond the call of duty with their offer BEFORE you left on your trip. Sounds like you got off on the wrong foot and everything became a big deal to you.

I hope you still enjoyed the trip to Niagra Falls - and your irritation didn't ruin the trip for your traveling companion(s).

Sadly, Niagara Falls, NY seems not to be an ideal place to stay, based on our experience.

Last year, en route by car to a midwestern destination, we came across Ontario and stayed in a Comfort Inn there (okay, nothing great, I know, but many are pretty good) and it was awful. We had booked it in advance, and the listing seemed okay.

It looked kind of run down when we got there, but who knew? Our room was not so bad, but about 11:00 that night the guy next door was SHOUTING at his female companion -- and I mean screaming! He was throwing things around, slamming against the wall, threatening her and maybe even hitting her! We worried he might have a gun and start shooting up the place!

We discussed calling the police, but instead quickly got up, dressed, grabbed our bags, quietly left the room, went to the desk downstairs, explained our genuine concerns, firmly requested a different room -- and strongly suggested that THEY call the police on that situation right away!

They apologized and ushered us to a totally different wing of the place, a halfway decent room. We never found out what happened to that girl next door.

The whole experience wasn't pleasant.

Vermonter

I wondered about the bell desk too Starrsville--thought maybe things had changed at HI Select, nor do I find front desk staff missing and congregated in some back area out of sight at all unusual at that level hotel. NO hotel can operate without potable water, however, and if that is TRULY the case, you should have lodged a complaint with the health department and been refunded plus plus plus with no question. I'm sort of surprised any HI Select is considered a Priceline 3*. In Tampa, 3*s will get you the nice Marriott Waterside downtown or the downtown Hyatt Regency..not even close to the category of HI Select. Did you at least learn to do brain surgery??

Also, the "tourist desk" comment. I just don't see manned conceirge type desks at that level of hotel.

The "tourist desk" at the Homewood Suites in Orlando is not manned by hotel staff but is operated by a tourist company.

There is a "tourist desk" at the Hampton Inn in Savannah - but not manned all the time - and is highly unusual for a Hampton Inn.

The only time I approach a front desk and there's ALWAYS someone ready to check in is at convention hotels - Hiltons, Marriotts, Hyatts, etc. Front desk staff at moderate hotels have lots of additional duties to do and often come up from back offices to check folks in or to answer questions.

Chatting and visiting? Yep, we are humans and tend to chat.

The water at a resort hotel in Austin had "dirty" water due to tannic acids - but was very much potable.

I agree that the hotel would have been shut down by the health dept if the water had not been potable.

I think this is a case of a snowball rolling downhill. The irritations just grew and grew - and the roll started before they even left the house.