Eeyore

Having found a good price of $79 plus tax for the Mirage on Travelocity"]Travelocity (with $50 off the total by paying with Mastercard), I tried a longshot on Priceline to see if I could improve on the hotel rating for around the same price. Unsurprisingly, no joy. Decided not to submit a new bid for a 4* as I was happy with my price at the Mirage and prefer not to risk getting a less nice place at 4* level with Priceline. Used the link here to book on Travelocity"]Travelocity.

Courtyard LAX/Century City/BH 10320 West Olympic Boulevard Los Angeles, California90064 (310) 556-2777 1 room(s) @ $64.00 per night x 2 night(s) Hotel subtotal $128.00 Taxes, recovery charges, and fees $23.14 Total $151.14 Amenities: Fitness center, Hi-speed internet Used the savingsbarn link. ** NB ** After reading the posts on the Tips forum about possible better rates with Netscape, I did the same search using 3 different browsers, and Netscape was the lowest: Netscape - $64 IE - $68 Safari - $69 Not a huge difference, but it all adds up over time! Will definitely be checking different browsers from now on. Also, I bid unsuccessfully on Priceline for a 2.5* over the past few days from $50 up to $60, hoping to undercut the Hotwire rate by a few more dollars, but no joy.

1st bid of $40 was rejected, waited a day and $45 re-bid was accepted. Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $90.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $26.22 Total Charges: $116.22

I know it's not a super deal, but it's still a slight saving off the marriott.com rates, which work out to about USD60-65 after tax. The best non-Priceline rate for this hotel is actully on a Malaysian consolidator (www.marimari.com) -MYR 240 including breakfast, but I prefer not to prepay for breakfast in KL as there are many great cheap places to eat outside the hotels.

Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel (New World Wing) Corner Of Jalan Sultan Ismail And Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st bid at $40 rejected, but received counteroffer of $12 more. Re-bid $45 immediately by changing dates (no free re-bids as there is only 1 zone in Kuala Lumpur). Your Offer Price: $45.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $90.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $21.70 Total Charges: $111.70 I have a lot of trouble using savingsbarn.com because of firewall problems (I live in China), so was not able to use it, but thought I should give it a mention anyway...

Check-In Date: Thursday, February 2, 2006 Check-Out Date: Saturday, February 4, 2006 Your Offer Price: $53.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $106.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $26.74 Total Charges: $132.74 1st bid accepted.

Check-In Date: Saturday, January 28, 2006 Check-Out Date: Monday, January 30, 2006 Your Offer Price: $53.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 2 Subtotal: $106.00 Taxes and Service Fees: $26.74 Total Charges: $132.74 1st bid of $52 was rejected, added Mayfair-Soho, tried again immediately and was accepted at only $1 more. :) We stayed at this hotel (also though Priceline) in August and were very happy with it, especially at such a great price.

Your Offer Price: $116.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $348.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $58.49 Total Charges: $406.49 $105 rejected, then added East HK Island and increased to $116 - could have tried a smaller price increase, but since it's relatively short notice, wanted to play it safe. Special thanks to LHFlyer, whose recent post basically told me how much to bid!

4 nights 16-19 Aug 05, on first try: Your Offer Price: $60.00 Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Subtotal: $180.00 Taxes & Service Fees: $40.73 Total Charges: $220.73 My main fear was getting a hotel in Euston or Kings Cross, which in my view are not particularly pleasant areas, so would have been happy with any hotel in the Marble Arch area. Have seen mixed reviews for this hotel on Tripadvisor.com, but really - how bad can a 4* hotel be at this price.....? Thanks again to everyone who has posted on this forum.

1 room(s) @ $86.00 per night x 4 night(s) $344.00 Hotel Taxes and fees: $6.95 Hotel Subtotal $350.95 Total Price $350.95 This hotel was listed as 3* in Bloomsbury-Marble Arch area, amenities Restaurant, Business Center. I figured there was a pretty good chance it would be the Holiday Inn Regents Park after doing a dummy package inquiry on Hotwire, and was right! Thank you to everyone who has posted on this forum - the information here has been really helpful in assessing price levels and in giving me the confidence to bid.