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Pittsburgh PA Luxury Hotels in Allegheny County

If you are looking for 5 star luxury hotels in the Pittsburgh area, you’ve come to the right place!

The top rated luxury hotels in the Pittsburgh area:

Pittsburgh Airport Hotels

Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh International Airport: If you are looking to get quick shut-eye after arriving in Pittsburgh, look no further than the Hyatt because it is directly connected to the Airport. Because Downtown Pittsburgh is located 30 minutes from the airport you can sleep in at this hotel and them move closer the next day. Amenities include a business center, internet access, restaurant, business center, fitness center, jacuzzi, and pool. With some of rooms you are going to be able to see the airplanes going up and down the runway. Although the staff is very friendly, the food delicious, and the rooms clean, the main draw of this hotel is its proximity to the airport. Expect to pay around $150 per night at this luxury hotel.

Pittsburgh Marriott Airport: If the Hyatt regency sounds too expensive you can always check out this hotel as it is only 5 minutes away from Pittsburgh International Airport. Amenities include a Jacuzzi, fitness or workout center, on-site restaurant, available internet access, and a swimming pool. Although this hotel is not in the airport like the Hyatt is, it is only about 20 minutes away from the Fort Pitt Tunnels. It is somewhere in between the airport and downtown, which is convenient in its own right. The staff is friendly, the rooms are clean and comfortable, and the cost is around $100 for a standard room.

Pittsburgh Hotels Station Square

If you stay at a hotel in Station Square, be sure to go up on the incline to Mt. Washington to see the gorgeous skyline!

Omni William Penn Hotel Pittsburgh: If you are looking for a luxury hotel that is right next to some of the best night clubs and restaurants in Pittsburgh, this is your best bet. Downtown Pittsburgh has a reputation for having no nightlife. Not so here! It is located along side Station Square, which is a hot spot at night. Amenities include internet access, business center, fitness center, and restaurants (The Tap Room and The Terrace Room). This hotel has very friendly service, clean and comfortable rooms, and interesting architecture. You can expect to pay between $200-$300 per night for this hotel. A lot of Steelers and Pirates fans recommend this hotel even though it is a good sized distance from both Heinz Field and PNC Park.

Sheraton Station Square Hotel: This hotel is also in Station Square except it is closer to the river, offering exceptional views of the skyline of Pittsburgh. Station Square attractions include the Amphitheatre at Station Square, the famous Pittsburgh inclines, and the Gateway Clipper Fleet, which is teasing you to go on it considering that the Sheraton is right alongside the river. The Gateway Clipper Fleet offers game day shuttle service to both Heinz Field for Steelers games and PNC Park for Pirates games. Both the SAmenities include swimming pool, available internet access, an on site restaurant, jacuzzi, and fitness center. You can expect to pay just over $200 a night for this hotel.

Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel: If you are looking to go to a Pirate game, this is the hotel to go to as it is located directly adjacent to PNC park, which is on the other side of the river. During Pirates games, the Roberto Clemente Bridge is closed, giving you an easy walk from this hotel to the ball park. Although the downtown of Pittsburgh is know to be a lonely place at night, downtown’s cultural district or theater district (where this hotel is located) is the place that is known to be very lively at night with its resteraunts and entertainment. The Renaissance Hotel is located near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Heinz Hall, Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, and The Andy Warhol Museum. Amenities include a fitness center, on-site restaurant, jacuzzi, baby sitting service, available internet access, and a business center.

Downtown Pittsburgh Hotels

The Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh: If you are looking for hotels next to the Convention Center in Pittsburgh, this is the best in terms of proximity because it’s connected directly to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center by skywalk. Its amenities include a swimming pool, a restaurant that is onsite (there are 3 restaurants on site including the Penn City Grille, Pizza and Panini, and The Original Fish Market), fitness facility or center, business center, and available high-speed internet. The fitness center consists of a aerobic equipment, weights, steam room, massage, sauna, aerobic classes, and an indoor swimming pool. Like the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel it is located at the center of downtown Pittsburgh’s historical or cultural district. You can expect to pay around $200 for one night at this hotel.

Hilton Pittsburgh: Virtually every Pittsburgher knows where this hotel is located (right in front of Point State Park, commonly know as The Point), with its simple red “Hilton” letters on top. If you happen to be staying in Pittsburgh Hilton during a fireworks, you’re going to have the best seat in town because the city’s fireworks (4th of July Celebration and The Regatta for example) take place at Point State Park. Because this hotel is located in front of Point State Park it is as close to the center of Pittsburgh as you can get. As such, it is within minutes’ walking distance of Heinz Field, The Convention Center, PNC Park, and the Cultural District. There is available high-speed internet access, business center, a restaurant on site, fitness center, hot tub, golf course, and tennis courts. Overall users were expecting more from this hotel in terms of cleanliness, service, and pricing. You can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $100 per night to stay in this hotel.

Marriott Pittsburgh City Center Hotel: This is a very popular hotel for out of town visitors who want to go to Penguins games, concerts, and other shows at Mellon Arena (soon to be the Consol Energy Center). Sometimes the visiting NHL teams stay in this hotel as well. Amenities include a business center, shuttle service, available internet access, swimming pool, fitness center, and a restaurant. Because this lodging destination is located right next to Mellon Arena, it is short walk from the heart of downtown Pittsburgh. For a standard room you can expect to pay around $150.

Pittsburgh Hotels Southside

Holiday Inn Express and Suites South Side: Aside from Station Square, The Strip District, the Waterfront, and the Cultural District, Southside is also one with a ton of night life. Amenities include an indoor swimming pool, exercise room or fitness center, whirlpool, business center, complimentary highspeed internet access in the lobby area, and a restaurant on site. Overall, users felt that the staff was polite, and that the rooms were clean and comfortable. Users also liked the fact that parking was cheap (when compared to hotels closer to the city). Expect to pay in the $300 range to stay in this hotel.

Hotel Guides

This post is going to soon be static and permanent so that access to the hotel guides for visitors can be easier:

Omaha Cheap Hotels Guide

Savannah Cheap Hotels Guide
Chattanooga Cheap Hotels Guide

More guides to come.

Now save some money! :)

Colorado Springs Hotels Case Study

If you are looking for a cheap hotel, there’s a very good chance that you sort your search results from the hotel booking sites by “lowest price”. Have you ever wondered how the big hotel booking sites compare to one another when you sort by lowest price? That’s what I decided to find out in a case study.

Here’s how this experiment was conducted: From each of the big hotel booking sites (Hotels.com, Travelocity.com, Priceline.com, Orbitz.com), a list of 10 hotels was obtained with the following search parameters used on each site: a stay for 2 adults for 1 room from May 27, 2009 to May 29, 2009, with search results sorted by lowest price. I then found out the lowest price of each hotel from the following sources…

1) the original site from which the list was obtained
2) the remaining 3 hotel booking sites
3) the website of the hotel itself
4) a call to the hotel

To make an apples to apples comparison one room type was used in determinng the price for each room. In all cases, this same room type was also the lowest priced room type from each of the booking sites as well as the individal hotel sites.

How did the prices listed on each of the hotel booking sites compare to the competition? (to see the full results, check the bottom of the page)

Hotels.com: Had the lowest price for 4 out of the 10 hotels from its list

The hotel’s own sites had the lowest price on hotels.com’s “lowest priced” 10 hotels, 5 out of the 10 times. Orbitz.com beat out hotels.com for one of the hotels from hotels.com’s list.

Orbitz.com: Had the lowest price for 2 out of the 10 hotels from its list.

The hotel’s own sites had the lowest price on Orbitz’s “lowest priced” 10 hotels, 6 out of the 10 times. Hotels.com beat out Orbitz for 2 of the hotels from Orbitz’s list.

Priceline.com: Had the lowest price for 1 out of the 10 hotels on its list.

The hotel’s own sites had the lowest price on Priceline’s “lowest priced” 10 hotels, 4 out of the 10 times. Hotels.com beat out Priceline for 2 of the hotels from Priceline’s list, as did Orbitz. Also, Hotels.com and Orbitz had the same exact lowest price for one of Priceline’s hotels.

Travelocity.com: Had the lowest price for 1 out of the 10 hotels on its list.

The hotel’s own sites had the lowest price on Travelocity’s “lowest priced” 10 hotels, 5 out of the 10 times. Orbitz.com beat out Travelocity for one of its hotels. Hotels.com beat out Travelocity for 2 of its hotels. Hotels.com and Orbitz.com had the same lowest price to beat one of Travelocity’s hotels.

The findings are not very impressive from the hotel booking sites’ point of view. Does this mean that the hotel booking sites have bad prices all the time? No, most of the hotels from the lists of each of the 4 booking sites were linked to Choice Hotels, which, at the time, this article was written, was having a 15% off sale. In my Omaha Hotels Case Study, Orbitz and Hotels.com dominated in terms of pricing.

If we only look at pricing, for most of the results for the Colorado Springs area, Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, and the hotel websites differed in pricing within a $1 range! From what I’ve seen so far, you’d be safe booking with either Hotels.com or Orbitz.com in terms of pricing (although I’d use Cheaptickets.com over Orbitz because it has the same prices but a better price assurance policy). Travelocity.com typically has a price which is $3-$4 higher than the other 3 options. Priceline’s price’s are just way above everyone else.

But what about cancellation policies?

Although Priceline’s pricing was not impressive compared to everyone else, it should be noted that Priceline allows to you cancel your hotel without penalty for all of its listings. It allows you to cancel your stay for a full refund as long as you cancel the day before your first day in the hotel. Most of hotels.com’s, Orbitz’s, and individual hotel website’s low rates were low in the first place because they were “advance purchase rates”. Low prices have a lot to do with cancellation policies. This makes sense from the hotel industry’s point of view, they reel us in with a low price and get guaranteed money.

If you want a low price and don’t mind making a non-refundable purchase, Hotels.com, Orbitz.com, and the individual hotel websites will give you low price, non-refundable deals. If you are not firm whether you are staying at a certain place or not, I suspect that Priceline, Hotels.com, Orbitz, and the individual hotel websites will give you similar deals, although another case study has to be completed to see how similar they would be. Although Travelocity did not fare too well in this case study, it might give you lower prices for another area.

Hotels.com

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Orbitz.com

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Priceline.com

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Travelocity.com

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