sally

we are traveling to San Francisco in August. I am able to get Hotel Monaco for $139.00 per night, Orchard Hotel for $149.00 (w/breakfast) and the St. Francis for $159.00. Any advice on which to choose?

Michele

Hi Sally! We reserved two nights at the Monaco for $89 using priceline.com. In reading info on this hotel, it is suppose to be nice. Sorry I can't offer hotel info; however, try priceline and see what rates come up. The Hotel Monaco is listed as a four star with SPA on hotwire.com and priceline.com (they won't give you the hotel name until you book).
Good luck.

Sally

I tried priceline.com last night. I picked "boutique hotels" which they say average $190.00. I bid $79.00 and got the Hotel Union Square, which looks pretty shabby on their website (and I could get for $119.00 without even shopping around). I am very unhappy, but am not sure what to do about it since they have a "no cancellation policy". I e-mailed them saying their guidelines were misleading, but haven't heard anything. Any advice?

Michele

Hi Sally! My only suggestion is to talk to someone at Priceline and tell them that you just want to switch hotels, using their services. I have no idea if a "But this is the first time ..." sob story thing will work; but, there is no harm in trying. Worse case is that you get what you booked. Maybe even tell them of all the good things that you read on this "FREE ADVERTISING" site! Good luck and please keep us posted with the outcome.

Sally

Thanks Michele, but I can't seem to find a phone number to talk to anyone. Am I missing something? I thought about calling my Mastercard and holding payment. I wonder how that would work.

xxx

Have stayed at Hotel Monaco and loved it. Large rooms, nice staff and very convenient location.

stopwhining

Didn't you understand that you are obligated to take whatever hotel Priceline offers? If you would have taken the advice of countless people on this website and looked up biddingfortravel.com you would have seen that the Hotel Union Square is listed as a 3 star hotel. The star ratings are so subjective, I doubt you'll have any luck using the tactic that it was misleading. Stopping payment on the credit card is also a longshot, because you agreed to accept whatever hotel was given when you used Priceline, so there was nothing done wrong on their part.
Using Priceline has certain risks, and getting a hotel that you're not wild about is one of them. You knew it was a possibility when you used them. You took a risk in exchange for a low price. Don't whine about it now...

sheryl

Unfortunately you listened to Michele, whose advice was not trustworthy. First of all, there is no way to guarantee that you would be getting the Hotel Monaco because that is not the way Priceline works. Secondly, her advice to call Priceline to switch hotels is laughable. And stopping your credit card payment is not an option either as you did enter into a contract in which you agreed to accept whatever hotel met your criteria. Or did you not read the fine print before hitting the send button?

Michele

Sheryl- this message is for you. If you will notice the time sequence, you will then note that the HOTEL was booked prior to MY message. Don't use this page as a place to take your own frustrations out on others! I gave the info on how priceline lists the Hotel Monaco (Four stars and SPA) as it is the only hotel that has a SPA listing.
Good luck Sally and I hope you enjoy your holiday, wherever you may stay.

Sally

Thanks Michele. I must say that I feel a little beat up by the responses I got, so thanks for yours. I was frustrated and hoped I could get some good feedback from others. I have noticed that other folks have been responded to even much more rudely. Come on folks, the idea of the board is to get some help. not be jumped on !

Mike

Sally,
I think people here were rude to you because you failed to do your research then tried to blame Priceline when your expectations weren't met.

But you did get a decent hotel (perhaps a notch below your other choices) in a good location for a pretty good price. It was not the kind of bargains that people usually get from Priceline, but you could have done worse.