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Inside The W Atlanta Buckhead's Close Quarters

Where: 3377 Peachtree Road [map], Atlanta, GA, United States, 30326

We spin you right round, baby, right round. Sorry, for the shakiness at the beginning of the video. The room was a little cramped.

So we told you yesterday we got a stonking deal on Hotwire, bagging a $259 room at the W Atlanta Buckhead for just $95. Here’s how our stay measured up.

Room Reaction
We got a room on floor 10 - just two levels under the Whiskey Blue rooftop bar – and overlooking the Financial Center. It wasn’t the finest view we’ve ever had, to be fair, but we won’t blame the hotel for that.

W have done quite well with the layout – it wasn’t the biggest room you’ll get, but lots of white and an open plan bathroom meant that it didn’t feel cramped. Note: we were staying on our lonesome so the open plan bathroom wasn’t a problem – had we been in a pair, it might have been an issue. But the nice guy at check in had given us the option of a room with a separate bathroom, so don’t lose too much sleep over that.

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Tags: Deal Drop / Hotwire Hotels / → All Tags

The Good News: You Got a Good Deal on Hotwire; The Bad News...

Where: 450 Powell Street at Sutter [map], San Francisco, CA, United States, 94102

Yo, this is a story all about how your life could get flipped, turned upside down, and we'd like to take a minute, just sit right there — we'll tell you the bad news about getting an awesome deal on Hotwire. Oops, that didn't rhyme.

Still: Twitter-er DrewMeyers scored a kickass deal on Hotwire. Which is awesome. Remember, Hotwire is an opaque booking site — which means you can get serious deals on your hotel stays but you don't know the name of the hotel until your credit card has been charged for the non-changeable, non-cancellable, non-refundable reservation (you can specify your star class and the general area that you prefer, though).

In this case, the Hotwire game worked out for Drew, who ended up scoring a room at Sir Francis Drake for August 4-7 at a rate of $78 per night. But there is bad news: parking is $46. EW.

The lesson? Hotwire is a gamble. Oh, wait, we knew that. But be super-aware of parking fees — no matter what kind of a deal you get, those extra charges can add up quickly and hit you pretty hard.

Score an awesome deal lately? Tell us where, when, and how much in the comments below.

Tags: Hotel Deals / Paris Hotels / Hotwire Hotels / → All Tags

Spring Deals in Paris From Hotwire

Where: Paris, France

This week the dollar is flirting with a record low against the euro--as in it will take you $1.37 to buy one euro if you get the official rate. So Paris is looking like a pricey proposition, even before the summer high season kicks in. When Travelocity lists a 4-star hotel for $577 as a "Good Buy," you know the greenback is in trouble.

There are nearly always back door options, however, if you take some time to look around. We haven't used Hotwire for Europe because the coverage has been pretty spotty (some major tourist cities still don't have any hotels listed), but if you stick to Europe's tried and true capitals, like Paris, the selection can be pretty good. The MapQuest picture above plots where Hotwire's Paris hotel listings are located for the weekend of May 18. There are over 30 hotels in this central area to pick from.

How do they compare? Much easier on the wallet. Here are a few options:

4-star hotel in Champs Elysées - Trocadero: $134
4-star hotel in Eiffel Tower - Musée d'Orsay - Invalides: $149
3.5-star hotel in Montmartre - Moulin Rouge: $147
2.5-star hotel in Montmartre - Moulin Rouge: $89
3-star hotel in Louvre - Marais: $159
4.5-star hotel in Champs Elysées - Trocadero: $285

Unfortunately, the message board at Betterbidding.com is not as much help for Europe as it is in the U.S., so you're taking a wild guess on what some of these hotels will be unless you can deduce it from the listed amenities. Figure you're most likely to end up with a chain hotel brand from Hilton, Accor, or Starwood. (A new ad slogan: "With Hotwire you can get Paris Hilton on the cheap.")

As always though, Hotwire works best if your plans are solid (you prepay for the room) and a certain star level in the right neighborhood matters more to you than whose sign is on the building. You don't know where you're sleeping until it's booked. That uncertainty can easily save you a hundred dollars or more per night though, which will at least cover a meal or an airport taxi ride...