I booked a full travel package with lastminute.com and got a surprisingly decent deal on a flight to San Francisco for Startup School. I also booked a car from Avis for a reasonable rate. Then I booked a hotel.
Big mistake.
The best “deal” turned out to be a room at the SF Hilton in the financial district. Its not a great location but its close th chinatown and north beach. Room was about $42 per night. What they do not tell you is:
1) Parking is an additional $42 per night
2) Internet access is an additional $10 per 24 hour period
and upon learning of these atrocities, lastminute invokes the “all sales final” attitude and is completely unapologetic about the situation.
Henceforth I will never ever book a hotel online without first calling said hotel and asking how much is parking and is there internet service included?
I managed to find cheaper parking around the block for $24 per night. It seems only the hotels gouge their patrons.
BTW, the desk guy told me this room normally goes for over $350 per night. Its not worth it. Its just a room with a really lame view. This also matches my rule “the more the hotel costs – the less they include”.
So that settles it. No more big name hotels in big cities. I would have been happier in one of the small older hotels on Nob Hill.
Now I’ve got to decide between Italian (North Beach) and Chinese (Chinatown) for dinner.