sequitur

Rojiviris: if you have that large a group, then an apartment rental is going to be your best bet, especially an apartment with multiple units allowing the group to stay together. Example: If you google “old Compton house 3” the first result is Airbnb, and the second is the agency that list on Airbnb (direct with them is cheaper). My family settled on an apartment rental from a company called “oasis” where we got a huge 3BR apartment in Pimlico for 250 a night, which I think was an excellent deal.

Thanks for the ID help. Because of the group size (4) and prices, I re-focused on a short-term apartment rental. Haven't made final decision yet, but I don't expect to update this post with a 'win' and wanted to advise.

In a first for me, I'm doing a search for 2 adults, 2 children (which I didn't even think would work at all). Because of the group size, I thought we'd be limited to renting an apartment, which isn't cheap for my June dates, so I'm surprised to see these 2 results: #1: 5*, $345/night, 80% recommended (on hotwire.com it says 85%, same price) Full amenities list from biddinghelper.com: Free Internet, Boutique hotel, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Self-service laundry, Internet access, Children's activities #2: 5*, $386/night, 70% recommended FULL AMENITIES (from Biddinghelper.com): Boutique hotel, Indoor pool(s), Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Internet access, Spa services, Accessible for visually impaired, Accessible for hearing impaired, Accessible path of travel, In-room accessibility, Accessible bathroom, Roll-in shower I suppose if you disclose you have 4 people, they can't turn you away, but it's especially important to identify the hotel and do research, to ensure we aren't packed in, like "kippers in a can" (practicing my 'english' for the trip to England)

Very helpful. $199 at first seemed pretty good, but the whole point of ID is to compare to the hotel's own website, and in this case the Hotwire price with fees is $711, vs €818 direct (which includes other incentives like wine, cocktails and water), so with the added uncertainty of bed type when you have 4 people (kids have really complicated travel plans as they've aged), Hotwire makes less sense for this trip. Thanks again for explaining that the discounts aren't property-specific (posting to this site for years, I never knew that). I'm finding some good 4* offerings at places like "petit palace" and "Madrid smart rentals" that are more suitable with bunk beds for kids, and for under $200.

I'm looking at 2 date ranges because I'd planned 2 or 3 days at Toledo in between. I'm flexible on the before and after, but just wanted help with the ID because they appear in search results both before and after the Toledo leg. Thanks for explaining the crossed out price - I never knew. Through your sister site there are many 5-star places for well under $200, making HOTWIRE not necessarily such great deals.

Dates in Madrid are firm: 4/8-15, but I supplied dates for specific searches I'd conducted for convenience of reproducing my results (since prices change based on dates selected). I'd really like to see if a claimed 53% discount on the latter property is legit by checking rack rates after identifying the property.

Looking at April 8-10 (and also 12-15) in zone "city center - gran via..." for 2 adults/2 kids (does that make help impossible?), and getting this property pretty consistently: $200 Pet friendly Restaurant Free Internet Fitness Center No Smoking Rooms/Facilities Business Center Self-serve laundry 85% recommended another one one that comes up (this time using dates 4/14-15) in zone "Barrio Salamanca (shopping)..." $243/night Restaurant Free Internet Fitness Center Smoke free Rooms Business Center Self-serve laundry spa services children's activities 100% in the reviews, one of them mentions being across from and embassy in a side street. Thanks!

I'm looking at different dates (April 8-15, with 2 adults/2 children), but getting similar search result as original post: 85% recommended 4.5/5 TA (1001-1500 reviews) But the rest of the parameters aren't even close: Free Internet, Pet friendly, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Self-service laundry, Accessible path of travel price is $206/night, but I'm also concerned with the bed choices, which don't seem to correspond to my request for 4 people ("king, 2 twin, or hotel's choice", none of which would sleep 4). Any thoughts? The Principal Madrid shows up on a Kayak search for $1043/night, so I can't imagine I'd ever be that lucky.

Pasting Full list from the "my account" page: Free breakfast Free Internet Indoor pool(s) Airport shuttle Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center Internet access Golf nearby Tennis nearby

I searched 1adult/2children and got a rate of $115 for a 3* which i snapped up. I figured with breakfast and 95%, it would be the Hampton Inn, which is what I got. Very happy with not having to worry about breakfast for the kids, and getting 2 beds in the summer for $115 The amenities listed were Free breakfast Free Internet Indoor pool(s) Airport shuttle Fitness center Pool(s) Restaurant(s) Business center

Your post was verbatim what I was seeing, and it was indeed the WARWICK when I pulled the trigger. I added a separate post with the details (basically: 6/14-17: 3 nights; 2 adults 1 child; $199 per night). Make sure to support the board by using the HOTWIRE links, and posting your results.

Thanks Better Bidding for taking the guesswork out of this - the WARWICK was a regular guess, and an accurate one in my case. The amenities listed were: Fitness center Restaurant(s) Business center Self-service laundry Internet access I think the rate was even less with "2 adults" but for once I was honest and listed a child also, to make sure there are 2 beds (so the win was "2 adults, 1 child"). I was certain enough that it was the Warwick that I first called them up to get a "pay up front" rate for comparison, and it was $330/night (so not quite the "57% off" mentioned at hotwire, but a very healthy 40% discount nonetheless - I guess it becomes 57% off if you are comparing to cancelable rates, but that's not apples to apples). Location looks very good, and I searched my old notes and found I last stayed at the Kitano for $192, which was 4*, without a child included, and THREE YEARS AGO. So to pay $7 more, get another .5 star, and fess up to the kid being there, is pretty good to me in 2015. Of course I used the board links to get to HOTWIRE, and thanks for the $10 off too! BetterBidding is a great resource, which I support by using the links and by posting my wins without asking too many questions of the tireless moderators - thank you mods!

I agree - when bed choice was available it was clearly Novotel Les Halles, and I don't think they would change the amenities from one day to the next, so I must conclude it is no longer NLH, and I'm GLAD I didn't get it last week for $131! Because of the length of my stay (5 days), I'm finding a lot of excellent options on short term apartment rentals which I'm going to pursue. I don't really need a kitchen, but for the same price as a (discounted) hotel room, it seems like a smart way to go for a family of 4 (which is the reason why the "bed select" option was the only option for me on PRICELINE EXPRESS). I do thank BetterBidding for all the help! PS: In the hotel list page, the Novotel Les Halles reflects "airport shuttle" as an amenity and I've confirmed with the hotel they do not have such a thing. Not sure if that error is from PL though, but thought I would point it out.

Well, I did as I said: I waited until after the weekend, and hotwire remains unchanged (showing same 4* hotel for $165... "9 still left"). What I was REALLY waiting to see is what would happen on priceline express, where a 4* in L-V-C (or equivalent zone) was showing for $131 last week - my target price. Yesterday it was showing a 4* with "bed choice available" for $227, and I was certain beyond doubt it was the Novotel Les Halles ("NLH"). So that was the hotel I want, but not the price. This morning a 4* shows up, but now the "bed choice" option has disappeared, but the price (now $129!) has re-appeared from last week. The only amenity PLExpress NOW shows is a symbol for "pet", and a 7.0 approval (same as was showing for the $227 hotel I figured was NLH). I'm really thrown by the change in icons. When there was the paw/internet/bed choice, it was certainly Novo Les Halles, but now that they changed the icons along with the price, I have doubts. I'm also thrown by the deal: it says "26% off" or something, and I know that this would be a half-off deal if it really is the NLH. Any thoughts? I'm even doing a REGULAR search on priceline (very difficult since the zones disappear as a filter), and the only thing close to a 4* with a 7.0 rating that takes pets is the Millenium Opera Paris (7.1/10, pets allowed, and $172/night - a 25% discount on that price would be exactly $129!). If I can't get Novotel Les Halles on PLExpress, I may pursue an apartment rental, since I have 5 days - enough for a short term apartment rental.

That BiddingHelper.com is an interesting tool - thanks. When I run it, it lists one additional amenity, so here is the full list: 4*: 178.00USD per room per night* Louvre - Vendome - Concorde FULL AMENITIES: Free Internet, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Internet access Priceline.express still has (what i believe to be) the Novotel Les Halles, now for $195 through "BiddingHelper.com" but a staggering $227 if I search the PRICELINE EXPRESS site directly - strange discrepancy. Both prices are much higher than the $131 -5% deal I missed last week. Hoping it returns after the weekend, but if its true "only 9 rooms left", I'm worried.

A bit of a surprise given that the BW did not show in the BetterBidding hotel list for Orly. No matter to me: just need a proximate hotel to catch an early flight, and this fit the bill. $80.00 /per room night Taxes and Fees $14.35

There was a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal on priceline earlier this week that I had pegged as the 4* Novotel Les Halles for $131, and I foolishly booked a flight before trying to snap it up. Big mistake as it has since disappeared, along with the "spring14" coupon code that expired 4/4. Crushing. So... on to Hot.wire. I'm finding the following in the L-V-C zone for dates Aug 5-10 (5 nights): 4*, amenities: Free Internet, Fitness, Restaurant. That's it. These amenities don't correspond to anything in the hotel list, so for the first time I'm posting an inquiry rather than a result. Since I'm here, I'll note that when I added St. Germain zone, I got a 5* result for $222 that was pretty intriguing. On that result page it says "last person got Hotel Montalembart". Looking up that hotel directly it has some appeal, but the small room size ruled it out for me which is why I'm only asking about the 4* above. But here is the question: When hotwire says "last person got..." is that pretty much a slam dunk indication right there? I've noticed in prior posts for Paris that the moderator best guess matched the "last person got" so I just wanted to explore that, should i get a similar indication again. One last thing I wanted to comment on: the Priceline.express deals have an advantage over Hot.wire in that some results indicate "selectable bed type" or similar, which could prove very critical to some travelers. I don't believe the same is true of Hot.wire. This is relevant because the 4* I'm researching now has a sofabed for EACH of the available room types (which must surely make it possible to identify - sofabeds must be very rare in LVC zone).

So am I right in saying that this property was never determined? It's not in the hotel list, but is showing up regularly again (searching August 5-10). Amenities now: Free internet, Pet Friendly, Fitness Centre, Restaurant, Business Centre, Self Service Laundry. If I'm missing it, would dearly appreciate being directed. Price quoted is $227 on Hot.wire.

Used BB HOTWIRE link to bid. Amenities were "Boutique, Business Center", so it was a certainty that it was the Kitano. I considered messing around with Priceline to get something a little closer to $150, but settled on this "sure thing" (thanks to this board), because the smallest possible bed type is a king or 2 doubles (many others have a queen, or even ONE double!!). I'm stowing away 2 kiddies (both very young, but when you put in kid parameters is messes everything up), so this minimum bed size was critical for 4 nights. Thanks better bidding! I'm sorry to see that these days there are mostly questions, and few "win" posts, but I'm doing my part today. Price Per Night: $192.00 Nights: 4 Taxes: $76.92 Occupancy tax: $54.96 Fees: $30.98 Total: $930.86

thanks to poster Norry, I scooped this up for $72. He failed at $70 and succeeded higher in the $70s. I think $72 is the rock bottom price here, and I got it on my first bid. In addition to close airport proximity, it is 1 mile from a drop off for BMWs purchased in Europe under the "european delivery" program (a program where Americans save 7% off the MSRP of the car, and get to use it on european vacations). I mention this in the event other bimmerfesters choose this location for drop off, and are looking for a convenient hotel deal. Thanks betterbidding!

Another thread suggested this could be had at lastminute.com for only a little more. Not so! After finding it for nearly double the hotwire price, I rushed back to HOTWIRE to lock this one up. The rate even dropped from several recent posts and searches. Hotel rate per night - HOTWIRE hot Rate: $95.00 Nights: 2 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $190.00 Tax recovery charges and fees:$32.07 Total price: $222.07 Amenities: Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, Internet, Spa. Euro may weaken further, but 5 stars for under one Benjamin is fine by me.

It was: 5* Milan Westin Palace, now $95 ... 8/8/10-8/10/10. I'll start a new thread to reflect this. Hotel Hotel rate per night - Hotwire hot Rate: $99.00 Nights:1 Rooms:1 Subtotal:$99.00 Tax recovery charges and fees:$19.95 Total price:$118.95 Total charges to your credit card $118.95 Amenities: Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, Internet, Spa. See my Hotwire hotel thread for more info.

I'm also getting this mystery 5* for weekend dates in August for $99/night. A $24 discount to lastminute.com isn't a huge one, but since the reservation is so far in the future, it's pretty worthwhile (if indeed it is that property). I'm not ready to set my dates in stone yet, but I'm hoping the original poster (OP) will update this thread if they went for it.

After successfully getting the Pan Pacific thru Hotwire for 7/29-8/1, I booked this second room (excluding the Saturday) for $10 less per night! For both purchases, I used the betterbidding HOTWIRE.com link to support the site - thanks!

Saw close dates come up for this price and decided to go this route over priceline. Then booked a second room with similar (but not exact dates) for even less, but that is for another post.