vanpoodle

Here is my take for bidding in London. I have heard that there are apparently rooms still available during the Olympics so you may not have to pay to pitch a tent in someone's backyard! Theoretically, Mayfair is the most expensive zone, and perhaps lower bids in Notting Hill or Bloomsbury are worth trying. I consider both of those zones as being worthy central bases for a visit to London. I think Westminster (also very central) is likely to have similar pricing to Mayfair. Docklands would be less expensive (I have seen winning bids at what I thought were expensive times below $100) but it is not central (though has good tube access), worth bidding on if nothing within budget working in the more desirable zones and the hassle of getting in and out of there is worth it considering the savings. The two Docklands 4* appear to be a Hilton or a Crowne Plaza and they're both pretty new. And the tube is close. Docklands also isn't exactly central but it is on 2 different tube lines so reasonable for getting to the main places of interest and there is an excellent museum very close to the Hilton Docklands. Consider starting off low with Regent's Park as well. That zone is fairly central. The worst of the hotels PL uses there appears to be the Holiday Inn Camden Lock there which is middle of the road in terms of the hotel itself (not a TERRIBLE place or anything, just average) but it is in a really neat part of the city and still close in. Or you might get lucky and land one of the better hotels they are known to use for that zone. Careful with Kensington as the most likely hotel is the Hilton Olympia I recommend to only bid there if you can't get reasonable bids in another zone and this one gets accepted at a low price. The hotel is actually pretty good but there is no tube closeby, so you're most likely going to take the bus to get to the tube to go out. There are many wonderful hotels in that zone but I know how my luck tends to be and to brace myself for a less desired property. There's nothing really wrong with City/London Bridge either, it should be cheaper than Mayfair/Westminster. The 2 known 4* in Finsbury are both very nice hotels, they're just more than 10 minutes' walk to the tube. The east end is really getting revitalized and there is certainly night life there and it is hopping. It wouldn't be a hardship to take the tube to get to a more central zone from there to see the sights. If you bid on Chelsea you're likely to get the Copthorne Football Club which is entirely decent, less than 10 minutes' walk to the tube, but in zone 2. Or maybe you'll have really good luck and not get this property but instead get a better one. I would only bid separately for Chelsea after reasonable bids in other zones have been rejected (you can use those other more desirable zones as re-bid zones and just work the bids on this zone starting really low) and the cost savings out there make up for the fact that it's not that great a hotel and it's out of the way and its rate is quite a bit cheaper than other comparable hotels and for good reason. (ie I knowingly bid this zone and won this hotel for $120 a night when bids into the $150s were getting rejected for 4* in the Westminster, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Bloomsbury, Regent's park). You are highly unlikely to get something in walking distance to Harrod's or anywhere walkable to Sloane Square -- there are a ton of great hotels in this zone but PL doesn't seem to use them for Name Your Own Price. There is no point bidding this zone plus a nicer zone in the same opening bid at a fair price for the nicer zone because you'll end up with this hotel and be overpaying for it! (the only caveat is that if Chelsea happens to be playing a home game next door (which isn't very often), then they likely haven't given any rooms over to PL for that one night)

It's quite rare to get a good price using regular PL for bidding for such a long stretch, there's not as much chance that a hotel will offer up their inventory for so many consecutive nights. I love exploring London so I don't mind switching it up a bit when I'm there so I get to check out another area. I did once manage 7 consecutive nights at $88 a night in Bloomsbury about 2 years ago in early September, but thought that was flukey. So it can happen, but if you have no luck getting a cheap bid accepted do consider making the move. My husband agrees with you about not liking switching hotels, but sometimes the savings can be significant.

I'm thinking it's not the Hilton Hyde Park only becasue, after having stayed there 3 times I am quite certain that they do not have a fitness centre. However, that being said, if you look at the calendar of wins for that time frame, I am betting you can do better with regular PL, or possibly by splitting it into 2 or 3 separate stays using PL express. I have found that very often in London the weekends are quite a bit cheaper and I have never paid more than $100 a night for Fri-Mon nights for stayes in Regents Park or Notting Hill.

I think that PL 4* has to be the Copthorne, since it does not have a pool listed as an amenity on PL (though in looking at the hotel's website it does) and is about $118 on the retail site while the Marriott is $296 (and it has a pool). The Copthorne's website says it has airport transfer service, so not sure what that is. I think it means they'll book a taxi which costs GBP25 to get to Heathrow. I'm not as familiar with Hotwire, but caution that what is a 4* there is often a 3-3.5* on PL. But then -- if it is $92 as a PRICELINE EXPRESS deal, I wonder if you can get something in the $70 range if you were to bid on PL?

I saw a posting that Starwood's "beat the timer" had deals for the Sheraton Heathrow so I took a look. It is 80 euros a night for July 1 -22, but of course the night you're looking for it's 130 euros. It seems that there is not a lot of availability July 9-12 which probably also fits in with that airshow.

Hey, that's a good deal and about the price I would expect for a 4* at Heathrow. Sorry that the July 12 stay is proving a little more frustrating!

Sadly, I think it's a tough time to be getting hotels as people start arriving in London to get ready for the Olympics, I am betting that the rooms are being taken by people who will be working on the setup. It might come down to the old "either bid higher or go for 3*" adage. Usually you can get something at 4* with a max of $90 at Heathrow from what I understand. It's just a bad time to be looking for a hotel there. There are other budget chains there like Ibis (2*), Premier Inn or Novotel (3*), you can probably look at those using the links on "Support Page" on this site. I think there are links to Orbitz and Hotels.com there too, but if Priceline doesn't have it at $90, none of the 4* on those sites will have it. I always see the "Heathrow Palace" from the Picadilly Line when I take the Tube into town and I've always wondered about it.... (I am kidding about staying there, it would be a 1* if that and definitely out of the Hoppa's range). I took a look at Hotwire, they have NOTHING for that night at any * level. I did note that they have hotels in the Slough/Windsor area at about $95 a night and that should be close enough that a taxi wouldn't be outrageous. PL's retail site's cheapest 4* is $165 (the Renaissance), but they have stuff like the 3* Days Inn for about $100, but no guarantee that it would be on the Hoppa route. It said that it is 110 yards from the tube, which would be just as convenient. Take a look at the known 3* hotels on here and on the PL retail site and see how comfortable you would be if you won one of those. Unfortunately, you will either need to try for 3* or increase your budget. I think it's doubtful that rates are likely to come down between now and then. If it were for my family, I would sigh and keep increasing my bids and keep aiming for a 4* if I wasn't sure about the quality of the hotel I'd be getting if I were going for 3*. If $ was a real issue, then I'd try to save $ by going 3* figuring it would be for one night only and wouldn't be likely to kill me. If the Renaissance is at $165, I would guess that you're not too far off, with the proviso that the city is gearing up for the Olympics and hotels are tougher to come by. Unfortunately nothing in the calendar of wins for that night anywhere in the UK, so I have nothing else to gauge it by.

Just wanted to update. My bidding got up to $162 for a 5* and I was still being counteroffered $201. The Grace Hotel was available for $125 a night so I booked it for the first two nights -- PL gives it 5*, other sites give it 4*. Maybe I could have done better bidding a 4* but as long as that Mercure was in the zone I didn't want to chance it with PL. Mercure's rate online was about $130. For the second two nights I found a friends rate at the Radisson Blu Sydney for about $100 a night. That one is cancellable so I'll see what else comes up in the interim.

ugh, upped my offer today to $159, and the counteroffer got increased as well, to $201. I was doing a bit of reading that suggested Sydney has high hotel rates because occupancy levels are always high, thus no motivation to have deals in order to increase occupancy. Also offered $145 for the last 3 nights and was rejected. That Grace (now at $137) is looking more tempting. I'm also wondering about aiming for a 3* because the known hotel is the Holiday Inn Darling Harbour. With my luck I'll probably get the "lucky upgrade" and be given the 4* Mercure that I'm trying to avoid!

Ugh -- Since I was counteroffered $187 when my bid reached $152, I have re-bid every day $1 more at a time and received the same counteroffer of $187. Today I reached $158 and now they've upped the counteroffer to $198. Retail PL site is showing the Hilton at $194 and the Grace at $192. Kayak has the Hilton at $189 and the Grace at $144. I am feeling very frustrated. I have been bidding the final 3 (cheaper) nights as well, up to $145 for those with no luck (then I would chance the 4* for the first night).

My husband gets a little ticked at me for splitting up stays since he hates changing hotels, but because there are so many different zones, one zone might have something with a better deal on the weekend, while another zone might have better weeknight pricing as they serve different clientele. Try the whole stay first because it could work, then try that strategy. 3* in Europe can be a little dicey -- it's not for me. I've posted recently about bidding in London in a fair bit of detail, if you search my posts you can get more information there, too.

Try for a 4* and see what happens. I wouldn't chance a 3* in London. I have found weekend nights at the end of Sept this year for about $100 for 4*. I have found that I tend to do better in London splitting up my stay since weekends seem to be where the deals are. I am quite happy to be able to stay in a couple of different zones and see different parts of the city and I tend to save money that way. Be sure to click the links that thereuare requested, and use the PRICELINE link above to throw in some low bids to get started and see if anything gets accepted. Try your whole trip first, then consider splitting to 2 and 3 nights if you don't mind changing hotels. I'd say the nights from Thursday to Sunday will be less expensive, just based on experience, though this year may be a bit of an anomaly.

I'd start as soon as my trip is booked, I would start bidding at the low end of the range and slowly work my way up, being willing to take a month or two to do it. Occupancy levels can change at any time. My only caution is that the Paralympics are still underway at the beginning of September, so the first couple of nights might be the expensive ones. I have found that I tend to do better in London splitting up my stay since weekends seem to be where the deals are. I am quite happy to be able to stay in a couple of different zones and see different parts of the city and I tend to save money that way. Hotel rooms are perishable inventory and if occupancy levels are low great deals can be had just before your trip. But you can get burned that way if it is a busy time, too. The deals seem to come up even 8-10 months ahead. I suspect that if hotels aren't at their target levels even that far out they'll make rooms available to PL at a good price.

I just came across this link to a Jan 2012 thorough review of the Guoman Tower (formerly Thistle Tower), with tons of photos. It actually looks quite nice! So not sure how your bidding is going but thought the info would be helpful. http://www.sitinfirst.com/2012/01/the-guoman-tower-hotel-london/ I found the review thanks to a forum that Romelle introduced me to, thanks Romelle!

That's what I was thinking, that there is no guarantee that they will honour the price match so I'm leery about that unless PL just isn't coming through. I'll still go with PL, though at some point soon I just might go for the Grace at $137 a night (I will endeavour to use a link off the site to do so). It is a well-regarded 5* -- I am hoping that one of my husband's colleagues in Sydney can tell us how it compares to the Hilton or Sheraton, I am still waiting for a reply from there. I bid $152 ($142 + $10 bonus cash) today and had my first counteroffer of $187. I'll see how far I get when I up it by $1 tomorrow! I tried a lower bid of $142 ($132+$10) for the cheaper last 3 nights thinking that I'd then try a 4* for that most expensive night and take my chances there. Nothing doing there, but will keep working that angle too.

In looking around, I have found that the link above for Hotelscombined is just as good as Kayak. I also did more looking and found that Starwood and Hilton will price match prices found online. Those hotels (Sheraton and Hilton) come in at about $175 and $185 a night respectively on hotelscombined, then Starwood will match less 10% while Hilton will give an extra $50 off the booking. So if something doesn't come through soon I might give that a go. My husband is a Hilton Gold member which would give us free internet, breakfast and an upgrade so that is getting tempting if PL isn't giving me a good deal. I have never tried the pricematching thing, but am not keen on the idea of paying for everything with Hilton and then having to submit a claim form to get the price match. Normally I do fantastically well on PL (well, other than that time in Arizona when it didn't pull through and I went Hotwire to disastrous effect), so I'm a bit frustrated that the magic just isn't there for Sydney! This means that if I can't get a PL deal for less than about $155 I'm better off booking directly with Hilton or Starwood and price matching -- unless I just book the even cheaper rooms at the Grace or Sofitel. This is just so un-priceline like!

Thanks -- if anyone familiar with Sydney can share advice that would be appreciated. Am carrying on bidding every day. Also, it seems that the first night, the Saturday, is the expensive night. I had thought of splitting my stay into two, but since Sydney has only one zone I don't think that will result in savings like it would somewhere like London which has so many more zones to bid on, any one of which could be the cheapest one going. I am contemplating going for 4* for the first night and chancing that Mercure, then bidding 5* for the balance since those nights are cheaper (or at least they are from what I see on the retail sites). I still think that PL is the way to go, though the Grace Hotel for $140 a night on Kayak is tempting me. Does better bidding have a link to Kayak? I don't see it on the Support Page. Just checked, Grace Hotel is $136 a night and the Sofitel is $137 a night. I have no idea what these hotels are like (TripAdvisor rates them # 29 and #26 of 209, respectively), so I don't know if I should keep plugging away with PL and hope for something better or grab one of these. I am now within 60 days and only have so much of increasing by $1 a day ahead of me!

Am now at $150 ($140 + $10 bonus cash) and still nothing accepted and no counteroffer. It's a little surprising considering that the Hilton is still on the retail site for $191 now, I thought I might be within striking distance. I am starting to get to the point where I won't be saving a considerable sum below retail pricing on a hotel (Kayak has the 5* Grace hotel for $140 on its site) so am considering other options.

There WAS a winning bid for the Tower in 2010 where the winner made a comment that it used to be the Thistle Tower, now known as Guoman Tower, but I think the hotel list just didn't get updated. But Romelle is right, be prepared to accept whatever they give you for that * level in the zone because these unlisted hotels show up from time to time as winning bids, which can be good or can be disappointing. I can't find the Guoman Tower on PL's retail side so I can't find out if they give it 3* or 4*, but if it is a 4*, there is a possibility it could come through as your hotel when you bid. Probably not with a high probability, but that possibility is still there. Daitoshi, I hope the fact that it is no longer the Thisle Tower makes you more comfortable to try a bid in that zone. I checked on TripAdvisor, the Guoman Tower gets middling reviews, much like many of the 4* hotels in London seem to get! I was also thinking that some parts of Bloomsbury are adjacent to the City, but it is a big zone so there is a chance that you get something closer to the edge of the zone up by Baker Street. It would then be a fairly short tube or bus ride, which might not be ideal.

I dug around a bit to see if I could find out more about the Thistle Tower and I can't seem to find it. I did lots of searching on the PL retail site, looked at other dates and don't see it. I tried Kayak, no listing for a hotel with that name. PL has a few Thistles with ratings varying from 3-4*. I went to Thistle's website and they don't have a hotel by that name. Have you come across it elsewhere? I don't know if it's undergone refurbishment or was sold and re-named or if I just can't find it for no particularly good reason. In searching this forum I found a winning bid for the Guoman Tower in 2010 and I think that might be the same hotel, the thread says that the name was changed. I don't see it on the PL retail site either. The rule with PL is that you risk getting a hotel you don't want in a zone that has the same * rating. I was looking to see what PL had it rated at because sometimes that changes and if it now has a different * rating in which case it wouldn't be a risk. I don't know if that helps or not! This zone is likely marginally cheaper than Westminster, which is the only zone that I think would be walking distance to the City.

I think that Priceline maps uses those zones for the retail side. For Name Your Own Price they like to keep us guessing so they make the zones that little bit different to make it harder for us! Location-wise I think you did great, better than had you got the Football Club or the Olympia. I don't know much about that Holiday Inn. My guess is that it will be acceptable, not luxurious, possibly worn here and there! It gets middling reviews on TripAdvisor, much like the other Holiday Inns I've stayed at in England. I see people griping there that it's not a true 4*, same as they do for the Hilton Olympia which is what most people win for the Kensington zone -- so you've probably got something comparable to that but in a better location. There are a ton of places to eat closeby, so you should be able to get a much cheaper breakfast than what the hotel will have, and if you walk almost across the street (if the hotel is where I think it is), the Starbucks and the Pret a Manger will have free wifi. There's also an internet cafe in a basement store across and to the right from the SB/PaM that is much cheaper than computer access at the hotel. You did a great job bidding, but there are also two free re-bid zones in London which maximize the number of bids you can do in a day -- plus you can bid on zones you haven't bid on before as fresh bids with the rejected zones as re-bids if you close out of the browser and log back in (might also work by just pressing the hotels tab and starting over). Take a look at the re-bidding explained part of this forum which should put you in good stead for bidding in Switzerland with some helpful hints. Once I got that sorted I did much better with PL -- they make it seem like you can only add additional zones to what you've already bid, but it's not the case.

wow, it must be a busy time because generally one of those zones will have something closer to the $100 range, though I have found that weeknights are more expensive than weekends. I am also very surprised that with your bidding Chelsea that you didn't end up with the Copthorne at the Football Club for less, which I think is a good thing! (Chelsea for me is the desperation zone as that's the hotel they give for that zone which is so-so, but not terrible if the other zones are more expensive at the time) Also surprised that the Hilton Kensington Olympia didn't come through because that seems to be the go-to for Kensington. The hotel you got has a better location than that one, so I think you've done quite well.

Thought I'd give an update. I posted a new topic when I won the Melbourne Marriott alleged 5* for $125 + $7 in bonus cash for a total of $125. (I say alleged because it appears that it was upped from 4* not that long ago and there have been a few gripes in the reviews that it's not really a 5*). But still decent enough hotel for a fair price! Am still working my Sydney bids, now up to $137 a night ($127 + $10 in bonus cash). Will slowly keep working away at it while also keeping an eye on what's out there for retail hotels. A 5* Swissotel is priced at $139 on Kayak ($195 on the Swissotel site). Crowne Plaza $168, Radisson $175, Holiday Inn Darling Harbour $185, Hilton Sydney $186. So I should be getting close, in fact, I'm a little surprised that the Hilton hasn't come through yet since it seems to be part of Name Your Own Price and I'm not that far off what PL has it listed for on their retail site. I put an alert on for bidds at less than $150 for 5* in Sydney and haven't seen anything, though an alert I did for less than $102 for 4* in London and less than $150 for 5* in Melbourne have generated emails. fyi -- got more bonus cash ($10 a night for up to 5 nights) I did a live chat session with PL because I never got an email confirmation of my Melbourne booking, and they gave it to me when I raised the issue with them as an apology for the hassle. Then I emailed them again because the bonus cash wasn't working and then got another. So, if you have any trouble with bookings it seems easy to get. It doesn't appear in the profile, only off the link in the email which is why I'd emailed for help. This means that I cannot use the link on this site to use the bonus cash which I apologize for -- I always make a special point of heading to PL using links on this site.

Actually, I am staying there the same dates and upped my bid $1 at a time and ended up at $99 (it was $93 plus I had $6 in bonus cash). So if they haven't lowered the price for the room in the past two weeks, if you overbid, it would only be by $1!

That sounds about right, it is a good alternative when getting priced out of the more expensive zones! Very smart, once bids up to $150 are getting rejected in the other more desirable zones, you were wise to start bidding lower for this zone. Just check the bed as soon as you get to the room to make sure it is in decent condition, they seem to try to extend the life of the mattresses a bit too much and I've had trouble in two different rooms I've been in there.