I booked a Hotel using Hotels.com for the Mercure Santos Brazil using Hotwire Dollars from a booking with a room discrepancy. A few weeks ago I noticed the Mercure Hotel was offering their Superior room for the same cost. So I emailed the Hotel Directly and asked them nicely to be placed in the Superior Room and to see if they could include Breakfast for 2 for $129. They graciously accepted and included Breakfast for us.

If we were booked on the Original rate we would have had to pay $13 per person for one breakfast and the Superior room at the time was going for $160 per night.

I also e-mail the hotels before with requests such as on a high floor away from the elevators in a quiet location and Non Smoking being a requirement due to my sensitivity to tobacco. 99 percent of the time they have granted my requests.

My point is if you are staying on a Non Refundable rate and you find a better rate negotiate the Upgrade right away when you see the price as they cannot refund you the difference. The same room could go for more but when you can negotiate the upgrade to the next level for no additional charge this is a good way to go . Sadly a lot of people don't contact the hotel and negotiate and end up in their original room.

I have never been treated any differently by using Hotwire.

I booked a 4 star hotel in Barcelona for $88 per night +$55 in recovery fees. Now the same category on Hotwire is going for $130 per night in the L'Example District. My current hotel is going for $200 on average per night. I booked this last August and I'm very happy with the Hotel. It got an excellent rating on TripAdvisor.

People who use Hotwire and think they will be getting Hilton in Europe should think again. They clearly state Similar Hotels which can be Independent or small chains.

In the case of my Hotel in Spain(Amister Art) its part of a Spanish Chain of Boutique Hotels and this Hotel is a true 4 star in my opinion. They even offer complimentary Cava in the lobby all day. While their breakfast is expensive we are not going to partake and just find another place to eat. This is a minor inconvenience but the hotel has a nice sitting area and has lots of light.

In fact I'm happy that the hotel in Barcelona is not part of Marriott or Hyatt. If I wanted to stay at one of these hotels I would have paid the increased price. I had great experiences with Mercure in Europe and I fully know what to expect. You know people are just too demanding sometimes.

The Amister Hotel has roughly 100 rooms, bathtubs in the room, Molton Brown Bath Amenities and Art throughout the hotel. I love these charming boutique hotels. Now would the Marriott or Raddison Barcelona offer this personalized service? At the Amister you can rent bikes for about 10 Euros a day.

There are people who will pay 150 percent more to stay at a Marriott in Europe only to find out their room is small and does not even have a good breakfast. If you could stay at Mercure for less with breakfast then this is how I operate. I am not so brand specific to the point of obsession with getting points.

Our Mercure Hotels have pools, fitness center, sauna. That is enough for what I want to do. The Mercure in Sao Paulo has a mini kitchen with a stove, refrigerator and microwave. Much better than some Marriotts going for more.



Another kind fellow FTe'r from Barcelona said that the L'Example is not touristy like Las Ramblas. I would much rather stay in a quiet area and walk to Las Ramblas. The L'Eaxmple area is close to Sants Station , The AeroBus is a 10 minute walk, close to the Metro etc.



I have used Hotwire for 4 star Hotels and am happy with what they have given me.