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Hotwire.... should I regret it?

SailingGrace

By SailingGrace,
in Florida Departures

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SailingGrace

SailingGrace

Posted
Posted

Was going to stay at the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort because I wanted a mini-vacation before my cruise...arriving FLL on Friday and sailing Sunday.

 

But the hotel gets mixed reviews and they are renovating so it's hit or miss on getting a decent room. When they said they'd charge for the free airport shuttle (they only allow 2 free so they charge if you are a family with a kids)- I thought I'd cancel that reservation and go elsewhere.

 

But where? For a beach? I found this site that helps you bid on Hotwire.

I followed all the advice and got:

W Fort Lauderdale Hotel for $109 nightly.

 

The taxi will be about $20 each way, right?

 

Anyone ever stay here or know of this place? The website looks cool- but looks can often be deceiving.

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aarep

aarep

Posted
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I think you did great. We are staying here for 3 nights early November prior to being on the Solstice. We paid approximately same price through priceline and were pleased. We have been to Ft Lauderdale numerous times and are very familiar with the area. Everything we have heard and read about the W is great and we are really looking forward to staying here.

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BlueHerons

BlueHerons

Posted
Posted
Was going to stay at the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort because I wanted a mini-vacation before my cruise...arriving FLL on Friday and sailing Sunday.

 

But the hotel gets mixed reviews and they are renovating so it's hit or miss on getting a decent room. When they said they'd charge for the free airport shuttle (they only allow 2 free so they charge if you are a family with a kids)- I thought I'd cancel that reservation and go elsewhere.

 

But where? For a beach? I found this site that helps you bid on Hotwire.

I followed all the advice and got:

W Fort Lauderdale Hotel for $109 nightly.

 

The taxi will be about $20 each way, right?

 

Anyone ever stay here or know of this place? The website looks cool- but looks can often be deceiving.

 

The hotel is cool as hell and the pool is great! Your kids will have a blast!

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  • 2 weeks later...
dotcomgirl

dotcomgirl

Posted
Posted

sandybeach, I haven't tried it yet, but I think they're talking about going to http://www.betterbidding.com and using the information there to try and get a certain hotel. There really are no guarantees though.

 

For info on the FLL hotels using Hotwire, from the Better Bidding home page, scroll down to the section that says "Hotels". Under "Florida" click on "Hotwire - Florida". At the top of the next page, click on "Hotwire Hotel List - Florida". That post lists areas and hotels. Scroll down in the post to find "Fort Lauderdale" and under that section you will see amenities for each hotel in the area.

 

I think the idea is that when you're on Hotwire and get a price for a mystery hotel, it shows the amenities that hotel will have and you can cross reference to the Better Bidding list to see if that is likely to be the hotel that you want.

 

Here's a link to a page about the amenities: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=101&

 

Again, I haven't actually tried any of this myself, but it appears that there is a lot of good info on the Better Bidding website.

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dotcomgirl

dotcomgirl

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I just booked the W Hotel in FLL for our pre-cruise night for $130 total after taxes! (Didn't want to bother with the hassle of bidding, so I just opted for the government employee rate...) Never stayed in a W before, but advertised prices on Expedia are $469 per night for the same room, so it's got to be good! Lol.

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sargenet

sargenet

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One thing about the W.. we were going to stay there and switched to the Westin Diplomat. Had a free certificate we needed to use....

 

The reason we switched is someone said there is no "privacy" in the rooms...meaning you can see the shower from the sleeping area. Something about a glass wall! Since we are traveling with a 7 year old we thought a room with a little more privacy might be a better option!

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SailingGrace

SailingGrace

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That's true...if everyone is sleeping in 1 bed, then they don't have much to separate the bathroom shower/tub from the bedroom.

 

But if you have 2 beds, they do. The W recognizes the need for privacy when it's more than just a 'couple'.

 

Hope I don't feel out of my element as I usually travel on the cheap and swanky, expensive places are just things I dream about.

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