Priceline question

You're locked in:( Out of curiosity what was your bid?

I requested 5 Star rating for the Center of Rome (of which this hotel is neither!) for $200....aaarrrghhh!!!

You're right that it's not a five star hotel, but it's to the west of Termini which would be considered central Rome by most descriptions. It's a very convenient location, and it's on the edge of the hip Monti neighborhood. Monti in NYT Do Google Maps Streetview to get a look around it. Good luck.

You are so kind to put a positive spin on it! The Times article actually did make me feel a little better...Thank you. I'll report back with a review!

That's the spirit, Allison! More of your experiences in life are formed by how you "react" to what happens to you and around you. The hotel is out of your control now, but you have complete control over how you let it affect your vacation. But it seems to me you are well on your way to making the best of it. Have a great trip!!!

It will indeed be awesome. Have a great time!

Several years ago we stayed in the area near the Morgana and really liked it. From the Termini, you can get on the Metro and get most anywhere in Rome fast. If you cannot get out of it, there is quite a bit to like about the location of this hotel, and from the website, it looks like quite decent accommodations.

The only way I can think of to try to get out of it is that you requested a 5 star, and they gave you a 4 star. If you can try to argue that with them, that they did not fulfill your request so you should not be in their contract. However, I bet in the small print somewhere you clicked yes and agreed to it :/ As far as the "central Rome" thing, it depends on where they make their boundaries. If it's inside their boundary of the neighborhood, it counts to them. If you do get out of it, I can give you a recommendation. I stayed in Hotel Abruzzi (only 3 star, not 5, but it was great by my standards and definitely centrally located, and under $200/night). It's right next to the Pantheon, includes breakfast, the staff was friendly.

It probably doesn't help now, but always go to biddingfortravel.com to get info on recent bids and bidding strategies before going to priceline. You can also ask there if you have recourse. If you definitely requested 5-star. . . .

Using Priceline in Italy is a gamble. The star ratings are assigned by the number of amenities a hotel offers, not the quality. I have stayed at 2-star hotels that are nicer than 4-star hotels and B&Bs that are better than 3-star hotels.

You're not an idiot!!! It sounds like you got taken by surprise - and maybe a little by priceline's insidious advertising. I am the victim of a "name your own price" disaster that ended up costing us about two grand. Ouch! We had an EXCELLENT reason for not being able to fly on the dates we originally chose (my husband got transferred by his corporate office, and they could not be flexible about the dates) so we ending up eating the cost of RT airfare to Europe from San Francisco. For both of us. At the time, we did EVERYTHING in our power to get a refund. We tried pleas, politeness, escalation, threats, letters from a lawyer - I even tried crying. We got nuthin'. My advice is to heave a big sigh, paste on a smile, and forget about it. (Well, maybe try the 4 star vs. 5 star thing first - but don't get your hopes up.) From another poster here it sounds like you didn't do that badly, and that you will be in a cool area. You'll probably end up feeling like a local - and you've got a great Priceline anecdote to tell! Have a great trip -

Yep! I'll have to suck it up and put this one in the "lesson learned" category. I'll should also follow my husband's lead who, upon hearing the news said... "Who cares? It'll still be awesome!" :)
Thanks everyone!

Thanks everyone. I feel a million times better about it and I'm actually now looking forward to the neighborhood. Next up...airfare!!! No, I won't book with Priceline...LOL :)

Maybe it's just me but I would lock in my flight before a hotel. Unless of course it's an RS recommended hotel in which case you have to book a year ahead. Am I wrong in thinking flexibility on airline travel dates will usually save more money than hotel?

This year I booked most of my lodging well before booking my flight because some of the smaller B&B places book up quickly, even in the "shoulder" month of May. Even then, I had to go with 2nd or 3rd choices for some towns.

IMHO, if the hotel is in such high demand that they book up a year in advance, then what is wrong with booking the hotel first and looking for flights second. You will know pretty early on if getting a flight at your price point is going to work out, If not, then you cancel your reservation and kiss that wonderful hotel goodbye. There is someone waiting in the wings to snatch up your cancellation. The hotelier doesn't lose but you, on the other hand, would have been the winner if you had found the flight you were looking for. If you play this game and cancel just outside of the hotel's cancellation guidelines, you risk hurting the hotelier's bottom line and I think that is wrong. But, on the swing side, if you haven't booked something else promptly after setting new travel dates, you will be scrambling to find suitable lodgings.

Have you called priceline? If they misrepresented the hotel you might have some recourse. I bid one on Hotwire once and then read the reviews and they were horrible, so after 30 minutes on the phone, I did get them to cancel it. I don't think a flight can be changed, as there is no star rating, but it might be worth a try, or just keep your good attitude and I know I have stayed in worse places than a 4 star and still had a wonderful time. I always bid cars on priceline, never flights, and only sometimes hotels... but, if you did not think they would take the bid, why did you offer it? You can also call your credit card company and ask them to help you file a complaint.