Mass Travel Sites?

I'm looking to book three nights on site at Universal Orlando. Every site I check seems to have the same rate, give or take a dollar. So, I thought I'd see if I could get cash back. Expedia seems to have higher fees, which I think are inaccurate. The other mass travel sites ~ Orbitz, Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, Priceline and Hotels are all about the same as booking directly through Universal or Loews. I have not used any of these sites since having a bad experience about 10 years ago. So, my question to the experts are... Do you usually get credit? Is there anyway to ask for a non-smoking room? Are there any hidden fees that I missing that will show up later? Anything else I should be aware of if I go this route? Thanks so much!

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Originally Posted by fanofree

I'm looking to book three nights on site at Universal Orlando. Every site I check seems to have the same rate, give or take a dollar. So, I thought I'd see if I could get cash back. Expedia seems to have higher fees, which I think are inaccurate. The other mass travel sites ~ Orbitz, Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, Priceline and Hotels are all about the same as booking directly through Universal or Loews. I have not used any of these sites since having a bad experience about 10 years ago. So, my question to the experts are... Do you usually get credit? Is there anyway to ask for a non-smoking room? Are there any hidden fees that I missing that will show up later? Anything else I should be aware of if I go this route? Thanks so much!

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All of the onsite Universal hotels are non-smoking as of May 1 (Hard Rock Hotel has been non-smoking for a while) = it could have been since May 2010, but I remember them saying May 1 when I booked for this summer.

Universal frequently releases Stay More Save More rates for onsite - are you seeing those on the website, or just the seasonal rate? I'd also check the code APH on the Universal site- it is for AP holders. When we booked three nights last summer, the AP discount more than covered the price difference between regular tickets and the AP. You need to show the AP at check-in, but you don't need it to check rates or book. A non-resident AP is about $240, I think. Depending on how many days worth of tickets you were planning to buy, the AP rate might be a good deal, and the room savings might cover the ticket price difference. You also get AP discounts on food and merchandise in the parks.

Loews also usually has a good AAA rate, but you need to call. You can't check it on the website.

Can't help with the travel sites - we always book directly with Universal/Loews.

I pretty much use Priceline exclusively for hotels, rental cars, and some airline flights (last last minute ones). I've never had an issue receiving credit nor have I had an issue upon arrival at the hotel.

I've always been able to get a king and non-smoking which are my preferences so I'd say if you can't give a preference just call the hotel after you book and tell them what you need. I emailed the Hilton in Venice and they were cool with my request. No issues.

Thanks for your help!

I really like hotels.com, personally. Although there have been trouble tickets, I have *always* gotten credit from them.

And unless you get a nonrefundable rate, or if you try to cancel it too late, you can cancel and rebook later, if the rates get better. (read through every bit of info about your particular rate and your particular cancel policy before booking, though!)

Last I checked (the other night) their rates for the Universal hotels were the same as the lowest non-AP rates. So it was a good deal, unless you're like me and getting an AP to get a lower rate (though now that they raised the AP price it's less of a deal).