Save some money, why not?
Written: Feb 02 '04
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| Full Review |
Hotwire, is my favorite travel site.
Since I discovered Hotwire about two years ago (it was suggested on a travel thread on loneleyplanet.com) I have saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Now if you read any of my reviews (mostly travel related) you will see I am quite a regular traveller, so to save as much money as I have, you would need to travel almost as frequently.
Hotwires premise is quite novel, and possibly a little scary to a first time visitor.
I generally use Hotwire to book hotel rooms, so I cannot comment too much on the other sections (for the record the other sections are Flights, Car Rentals, and Cruises)
The scary part is that, you do not know where you will be staying until you have paid for your room.
Basically, once you have created a profile, you type in the name of the city you want to stay in. (or you can choose a city from the drop down menu provided)
You will then be shown a map of the city you have selected.
Along with the map, there is a brief description of the different areas in the city (the areas are highlighted on the map)
You are then asked to choose up to three areas in the city you want to search for room availability.
You will then be shown a listing of all the available rates for rooms in your chosen area.
The hitch is, as I mentioned previously, you are not given the name of the hotel.
Only the price of the rooms available, and Hotwires own rating of that particular establishment. (the scale runs from one to five stars)
As I said, choosing a room based only upon a rating bestowed upon it by Hotwire can be a little daunting, but I can honestly say I have never been disapointed, or surprised.
I have stayed in one star rated rooms (a Travelodge in Orlando)
And in as high as a four star room (The Sheraton Centre here in Toronto)
Hotwire only deals with major chain hotels, so you will never be stuck in a mom and pop inn.
Every time I've booked through Hotwire, I have made a point of trying to book the same room through the hotels web site, and through Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotels.com, and have never found a price anywhere near what I've found on Hotwire.
As for navigation, the site is quite user friendly, my only tip would be to review a map of the city you are staying in so you know the neighborhood you want to be in.
The maps on Hotwire are very cartooney, and usually not a great representation of the city.
Another plus is I've never had problems with a Hotwire reservation (the same cannot be said for the previously mentioned travel booking web sites)
Check in is always a breeze, and there have never been any extra fees tacked on by the hotels (even though Hotwire warns this can happen e.g. resort fees)
The Bottom Line is that I love this site, and highly eccommend it to anyone who I know will be travelling.
Good value on a consistant basis.
Thank You for reading.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Hotel Rooms
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Epinions.com ID:
bbbradk
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Location: Toronto
Reviews written: 119
Trusted by: 42 members
About Me:
Hi there, I'm 37 live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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