Doubletree by Hilton Ft Lauderdale

[lukesgrammie]

Made a HUGE mistake with Priceline and I have been on the phone for two hours. Booked Doubletree by Hilton not realizing it is 30 minutes from the airport and hotel. NO SHUTTLE SERVICE. They will not let me change my reservation. Any suggestions. Has anyone stayed there and if so what did you use for transport. OMG Priceline is so hard to deal with. Understood their policy but did not realize how far the hotel was from the airport and pier.

[skynight]

Made a HUGE mistake with Priceline and I have been on the phone for two hours. Booked Doubletree by Hilton not realizing it is 30 minutes from the airport and hotel. NO SHUTTLE SERVICE. They will not let me change my reservation. Any suggestions. Has anyone stayed there and if so what did you use for transport. OMG Priceline is so hard to deal with. Understood their policy but did not realize how far the hotel was from the airport and pier.

What one? Gallery One, Bahia Mar, Sawgrass Mills.

How many nights?

[lukesgrammie]

sawgrass one night

[skynight]

sawgrass one night

Don't worry. Just a little extra taxi fare. For one night you will be fine. It's a straight 20 to 30 min drive on I 595 into Port Everglades. You will have to take a taxi. Regarding activities for one night, Sawgrass Mills Mall is a super size mall and is a destination in itself. The mall has lots of restaurants, and stores of all kinds. Within walking distance of the hotel are many other chain and other restaurants.

[caribill]

Made a HUGE mistake with Priceline and I have been on the phone for two hours. Booked Doubletree by Hilton not realizing it is 30 minutes from the airport and hotel. NO SHUTTLE SERVICE. They will not let me change my reservation. Any suggestions. Has anyone stayed there and if so what did you use for transport. OMG Priceline is so hard to deal with. Understood their policy but did not realize how far the hotel was from the airport and pier.

 

So I am not sure what the problem is. You know their policy and they are enforcing it.

 

Whether you were purchasing an opaque (know hotel after successful bid) or visible (actually select which hotel) reservation, it is up to you to select the area that the hotel might be in.

Edited June 20, 2015 by caribill

[lor74]

Curious as to when your stay is and what it cost you? I am staying there in jan, and booked a hotel with car deal for the day. I think my total was $174

Edited June 20, 2015 by lor74

[lukesgrammie]

We'll be there January 22. So annoyed with myself....I was told via the chat that it was close to the airport and pier. It is totally my fault...got the room for 120..140 total.

[lukesgrammie]

I know..thanks for your input!

[eandj]

You have to look at the area maps carefully on those discount sites.

Often much of the savings will be wiped out by cab fares if at the edge of a defined area.

I'd call the hotel and ask what typical cab or shuttle rates are.

[riclop]

Will never deal with priceline and you have to do your research before booking anything that you cant change.

[rdsqrl]

Once you find out how much the taxi fare is to the hotel, compare with a rental car -- it might work out cheaper to just do a rental than take taxis back and forth, and then you have some flexibility to roam if the hotel turns out to be not near anything decent in terms of restaurants, etc. Budget, Sixt, and I think Avis, too, all have locations on 17th Street near the pier.

[MJSailors]

Take a taxi!

Also, try booking directly with Hilton for future reservations. Their chains include Hampton Inn ,Embassy Suites and Doubletree.

They have a simple online process or you can call them .

They also offer a fair cancellation policy.

You are going on a cruise.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

By taking a taxi to get to the hotel and to the pier ,you will be traveling without much stress.

IMHO the cost of transportation is all part of a vacation budget.

Enjoy the cruise!

[caribill]

ignore

Edited June 21, 2015 by caribill

[HUNKY]

It looks like you got a pretty good deal on the cost of your hotel room. I'm seeing a $191 rate for the night of 22 JAN 2016.

 

Since your hotel is about 17 miles from the airport and Port Everglades a rental car will be your best option. Pick up your car at the airport and do a drop off near the port. Make sure the rental car agency has a shuttle to get you to your ship!

 

A taxi from the airport to the Doubletree Sawgrass Mills will be about $43 plus tip. A Budget rental car is about $60 for the day.

 

The Florida Panthers hockey team plays at BB&T Center at Sawgrass Mills, you might be able to get tickets and see the Red Wings play!

[pablo222]

Don't worry. Just a little extra taxi fare. For one night you will be fine.

 

Yellow cab estimates the cab fare at $42 - $46 each way.

'don't worry' seems a little flippant.

 

http://yellowcabbroward.com/fare.aspx

 

I would either eat the hotel cost, or rent a car.

 

Sawgrass mills is the most popular tourist destination in Florida,

if you have time to go there.

 

(of course, the more famous destinations charge $100/day)

Edited June 21, 2015 by pablo222

[trixiegal]

Listen to the locals. Rent a car. It's an easy drive to/from the airport and port. You will have many, many options to choose from as far as dining and shopping at Sawgrass Mills.

 

http://www.simon.com/mall/sawgrass-mills

[Marie51]

We'll be there January 22. So annoyed with myself....I was told via the chat that it was close to the airport and pier. It is totally my fault...got the room for 120..140 total.

 

Close to the airport and pier means different things to different people. To one person it is a mile and to another the term "close" can mean 20 miles.

Nothing you can do about it now. This is why I do not use Priceline anymore.

Enjoy your cruise.

[Pmorton3360]

Did this once. Saw by the airport and picked wrong airport. The cab fare would have been over $45. Rented a car and still saved money.

[Coral]

Priceline and Hotwire are great companies to work with if you understand their process. I suggested a "better bidding" website which helps you figure out the areas and what hotels are available in the area so that you can target the correct area. Once you figure out how it works, it is like clockwork, pretty predictable. In FLL, I prefer Hotwire as I know I can always get Renaissance on 17th Street.

 

I would just rent a car or just book a different hotel and consider it a lesson learned.

[Coral]

Well - I looked at Hotwire and it looks like Renaissance is $203 and Embassy Suites is $255.

 

In the scope of things, you probably did ok. You would have had to spend quite a bit more to get a hotel on 17th Street.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the information everyone.

[DanJ]

I don't think you need to be upset at all. We are cruising the same weekend, and are paying almost $300/night for the hotel. $140 for a name brand hotel is a great deal, even if you are a little out of the way. I would definitely rent a car though, (I always do). If you rent from Alamo or National, you just deal with the airport and they have a free shuttle bus from the airport to the port on your return.

[Seacreature101]

Lukesgrammie: Now listen here. You just get right over this little situation and move on. You have lots of good advice on previous posts. Do not think about the mistake made any more and line up your transportation. Figure out what you want to do and pay for it. Cut corners somewhere else if you need to do so. It is done. And yet all is still do-able. :D Get this off your mind and focus on the good stuff, woman! You are cruising!!!!

[lukesgrammie]

Lukesgrammie: Now listen here. You just get right over this little situation and move on. You have lots of good advice on previous posts. Do not think about the mistake made any more and line up your transportation. Figure out what you want to do and pay for it. Cut corners somewhere else if you need to do so. It is done. And yet all is still do-able. :D Get this off your mind and focus on the good stuff, woman! You are cruising!!!!

 

You're right and awesome!!!! Thanks for the advice!!!!

[cruisequeen4ever]

Now get back on Priceline and bid on a dirt cheap car rental! Problem solved! Then, you can opt to never use Priceline again (if that's what you want, of course). It serves a purpose, and I used to love it, but I don't use it anymore because of its lack of flexibility to make changes and the unknown of where I'll be staying. After some bad experiences, it's just not worth the savings to me.