Money Matters
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penny wise / pound foolish -- hotel room cost

I'm struggling with a stupid dilemma. 

At the end of this month we're going to an east coast beach for a family reunion.  Most of the accommodations are B&Bs with 3 night minimums & are upwards of $300 per night. I won't pay $900 to go to the NJ Shore for the weekend.  [:|] We usually stay in one hotel I know with no minimums for $190 per night.  It's sold out this year so we are staying in a different place that isn't as  nice & will probably be noisy from the other guests & the adjacent main road. It's $212 per night & 1.5 - 2 stars. 

That's not the problem; just the context.

In August we're going to California & I'm struggling to pick a hotel.  Last year we stayed in a Holiday Inn along the I-5,  a 6 lane highway but it wasn't very noisy.  It was convenient & a surprisingly nice hotel.  This year the price of that hotel went up to $179 which I think is ridiculous for that property.  It was $102 last year.  On the other end of town there's a beautiful 4 star Wyndham on the Pacific Ocean for $222 per night. 

My Q to MM is should I book the Wyndham?  I'm paying almost as much for a crappy hotel in NJ the month before.  In the town where we will stay in California the only other options are really low end properties & the reviews on trip advisor frankly scare me because they are so bad. [:O]

Overall it's about $120 difference for 3 days.  The views from the Wyndham are awesome.  I want to go for it but . . . . all my cheapness is holding me back.

FWIW, in terms of real money there are not issues.  Only the "principle of thing" is in issue; we have the liquidity. 

 

Re: penny wise / pound foolish -- hotel room cost

  • spalkospalko member
    Fourth Anniversary 500 Comments 100 Love Its Name Dropper

    With hotels I've always felt that if you are shelling out that much money for a bed & a bathroom it might as well have an amazing view! Anytime H and I stay somewhere I always figure we deserve a nice "treat" in having a room with a view. If it isn't an actual money issue then I would just book the hotel with the great view so you can actually relax and enjoy sleeping in a nice hotel instead of worrying about what the bad reviews had to say.

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  • I would go for the Wyndham. Although, how much time do you spend in the room? If it is a getaway for you and your H, then I say go for the more expensive room.  If you will only be sleeping in it, and never there. Then I would go for the place you stayed at last time.

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  • Pay the extra money & then when you go to your hotel to sleep at night and wake up in the morning you'll enjoy what you're seeing. I learned my lesson the hard way.

    My husband and I like to go to Niagara falls and tend to stay in nice rooms with a view of the falls. The rooms aren't cheap but we manage to save money thanks to Groupon Deals.

    Last month we had to go a family event out of town & due to the cost of travel, food, etc, I tried to find the most affordable place with good reviews. Well, as soon as we woke up, we showered & left and didn't go back all day & just went straight to bed & sleep when we got back. The room was clean & decent for the price, but not enjoyable or relaxing.

  • I know this is not what you are asking but I would suggest trying Hotwire.  I've also been happy with what I have received for the cost of the room.
  • I agree with the hotwire thing- or hotels.com (benefit with them is if you book X nights, you get one free). It's worth one more look to see if there is a better deal out there.

    Having said that, I would spend the money on the hotel room. Assuming this is a vacation, and you only do so many of those with DH each year, it's worth having the nice experience.

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  • dalm0mdalm0m member
    Eighth Anniversary 1000 Comments 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Normally we do use Hotwire or Priceline when we book rooms.  Unfortunately, the geography is too large for where we're going.  Other than the hotels I mentioned, everything else is more than 1/2 hour away which doesn't work because everyone will be drinking so we have to have places within walking distance.  Those limitations rule out the random elements of HotWire & Priceline. 
  • Have you ever tried lastminutetravel.com?  You might be able to save a TON of money. Many times you will not get to know the exact hotel you will be staying at, but you do get a defined radius. We have stayed a five start resorts on Disney property for $100 a night using this site. You might want to look into it if you're ok with not knowing the exact hotel until you book.
  • dalm0mdalm0m member
    Eighth Anniversary 1000 Comments 5 Love Its Name Dropper

    The high-end property turned out to be condos / time shares.  While I was dithering, the price also went up a bit. 

    Another property next door to where we stayed last year & which got good tripadvisor reviews was now listed for $139.50 per night.  I found it cheaper on Priceline (the pay option not the bidding) & then got a AAA discount so it went down to $110 per night.  For $100 per night difference, we booked that. 

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