It's an impressive lineup: Fairmont, Mandarin Oriental, The Four Season, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, scads of boutique resorts. The video ad promises the best value for online booking, either through lower than published rates or with bonus perks.
The thing that really caught our ear were the lines, "What's more, we do not charge guests upfront. You only pay after you complete your entire stay at any of the properties featured on your site."
With the prepaid model dominating the online booking scene, this is welcome news indeed. Imagine not having to put all that on your credit card! Imagine not having to lock into fixed dates!
After watching the camera pan yet another Mediterranean property (the video is heavy on Italian ones), we decided to click around the website, read the fine print if you well. There, in the FAQ section we noticed somewhat contradictory information, and we quote:
At some resorts, properties may take a one/two night deposit against your charge card.
Okay, that's the way it would work if we booked directly with the property. But it seems silly that the "What A Hotel" video ad made a global claim that customers only pay at the end of their stay at all of "What A Hotel's" properties. However, not silly enough to make us not want to click-test the site.
We called the toll free number (1-877-782-9281) and checked availability at Maroma Resort and Spa in the Mayan Riviera for August 10 - August 15. The "What A Hotel" travel agent quoted the lowest rate, with an oceanfront view, as $775 per night. When we hopped onto Maroma's website moments later, the lowest rate we found for the same dates was $950.
Now, one click-test does not an investigative report make. But $175 per night is an impressive savings. We'll play around with this some more. For now, we're thinking, "What a hotel booking website." We'll hold off on using an exclamation point pending further research.


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