Anyone ever do Groupon or travel zoo

I've used groupon to book a hotel room multiple times. Not my honeymoon but anniversary getaways and such!

You can get GREAT deals from both. My co-worker (we're in California) uses Travelzoo.

When we went to the Bahamas one year I paid $5000 for 3 people all-inclusive (8 days) including airfare from CA. We met a mother and daughter who came to the same place and paid $500 all inclusive including airfare from Ohio for 5 days. Not exactly the same time frame, but I could have saved A TON if I used Groupon, even if I had to pay a couple of hundred $ to fly to another airport.

One of my BM used Groupon for her HM. She does not recommend it. It was an all inclusive package but they didn't get all that was advertised. Also, the hotel wasn't as nice as pictured. Seems like a lottery toss-up and not something you should risk on a HM but maybe just a normal vacation (because you can have many more of those).

I completely disagree with Yoomie (sorry). There is nothing about using Groupon or Travelzoo that is any more "lottery" like than a vacation booked any other way. I mean yea, if you don't bother to research the place and fine print then surely it is like rolling the dice. But you should be doing your research regardless of whether you book direct with the airlines/hotels, with a travel agent, or through an online aggregator. I know plenty of people who have ended up staying in dumps because they didn't bother to check any traveler photos on tripadvisor to see if the place actually still looks like the advertised photos.

I have seen fantastic resorts that I have previously stayed at offered on Groupon at favorable rates. I have also seen places offered on Groupon that receive terrible reviews. The variety offered on there is just as wide as on Expedia etc.

I've booked 3 AMAZING deals through Travelzoo over the years, where people were astounded when they heard how cheap my trip was. I did on one occasion have a small problem with the resort trying to charge me for something that was supposed to be free according to the package, but I just showed them my printout of the deal and they removed the charge. If they refused I would have just disputed the charge with Visa later.

In my opinion the only downside to these deals is the same as the downside with any online aggregator, by booking that way you end up at the bottom of the hotel/airline's priority list. Like you might end up with 2 double beds even though you requested a king, or in the case of an oversold flight you are at greater risk of getting bumped than someone who booked direct etc.

So it all depends on how good the deal is and how risk averse you are. Sometimes I have had luck with contacting the hotel directly and having them price match the deal advertised online.

Edited to add: If the deal is for a voucher for undefined dates remember to call the hotel first to make sure the dates you want are available before you buy the voucher.

Also, I forgot that you asked where - the times I used travelzoo was for

1) a package deal to Iceland that was absurdly cheap and exactly as advertised - no problems

2) a guided tour to Peru and Brazil that was as advertised but we decided we hate guided tours (not travelzoo's fault though, thats just a personal preference) and

3) a deal to the St. Regis in Puerto Rico at like 70% off rack rates. Gorgeous property we would normally never have spent the money on.

We booked our anniversary trip through Groupon!

I'm not sure how great it would be for a honeymoon because often dates and cities where you fly out from are limited. However, if you find a resort that has the features you want on the dates that you want, then go for it!

I definitely recommend reading reviews on trip advisor/other sites prior to booking so you know what you are getting into.

Also keep in mind there might be additional fees -- such as airline fees, baggage fees, or shuttle fees. We had about $200 additional (total) with our Groupon for our anniversary trip which was all airline and shuttle costs. However, there really wasn't any way to know about them prior to booking the trip.