Maleficent

Many thanks for that, I'll give that a try and report back to you.

PRICELINE links for searches and bids used. Very last minute bid. Parents were comp'd the Riviera through friends and hate it so wanted a new hotel without getting ripped off. Bid all the way to $130 for a 5* which was clearly not going to happen so gave up and started at 4* at $90/night. Priceline gave me a counter offer of $115. Declined that, added the trump condo zone and bid $96 which was accepted. Wanted to avoid the South strip as I was afraid they'd be picky about the MGM or NYNY if they have it. I love them but I'm not so sure they would. Anyway the breakdown is: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $96.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 6 Room Subtotal: $576.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $87.42 (USD) Total Room Cost: $663.42 (USD) Particularly pleased as Hotwire was offering a 4* North for $122/night which I guessed was TI so saved $160. Additionally, $300 was saved compared to TI's own site.

Apologies for the delay in replying! I have bookmarked the links appropriately, I have not simply used the landing page address so you will receive your credit. As for the zones, they are all absolutely fine.

Least expensive 3.5* or better would be the goal as most that come up on this board seem to be of satisfactory quality. I'd rather spend excess money in Manhattan. As I said above however, I'd exclude the zone with the hotel that's 15mins away from the subway and likewise the Hudson in CPS. Given that Hotwire is about 175/night before tax what should I begin at? $135? And I'll replace my browser bookmarks with your Priceline and HOTWIRE link addresses so I remember when searching.

Hi there, Looking for some advice for this early June stay. Budget is max $220 (would prefer to be under that if possible) and would consider 3.5* or 4*. Hotwire seems to have a midtown central 3.5* for $175 or MTE for $178. Hard to identify the MTE as it shares a lot of amenities with others (unless I'm reading it wrong). Should I consider splitting my bid because of the length of my stay? Any advice would be appreciated. Oh and I would not accept the CPS or MTE (I think that's the one with the 15 min walk to the subway) should I go for 3.5* Many thanks for any advice.

Very last minute booking for a night out tomorrow. Excellent price and saved about 30% compared to the website rate. Breakdown: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $57.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $57.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $18.75 (USD) Total Room Cost: $75.75 (USD) I used the PRICELINE link. Regards.

Hello, Got this on my second try. ($30 first then $50 with Edinburgh West) This is obviously a last minute bid, if I'd had more time I would have bid a little more strategically. Still, this is the same price I got this hotel for back in February and that was with proper bidding so nothing lost really. I dare say you could have got it cheaper though, if you tried for $45. This was with the warning of "Your price has only a small chance of being accepted." Breakdown: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $50.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 1 Room Subtotal: $50.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $16.36 (USD) Total Room Cost: $66.36 (USD) The reason for this stay is the continued bad weather in the UK - I have an exam on Monday and can't afford to be delayed so this seemed a better option. I used your PRICELINE links for all bids. Thanks again for the site.

Hello, Used the PRICELINE links and scored this beauty at $97 and a $5 Bonus Cash making a total of $102 per night. 16th December to 19th December (I put this in the title bar but it has cut out the 19th for some reason) Breakdown: Offer Price Summary Bonus Cash Per Room, Per Night: US$5.00 Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$97.00 Total Offer Price Per Room, Per Night with Bonus: US$102.00 Total Charges to your Credit Card Your Offer Price Per Room, Per Night: US$97.00 Subtotal: US$291.00 Taxes & Fees: US$65.34 Total Charges: US$356.34 I used: Docklands, Mayfair, Westminster, Bloomsbury, The City and Chelsea (was running out of combinations by that point). This works out to be about

I stayed here myself. Location cannot be faulted, just watch out for the Jubilee being down for maintenance at the weekend. Can go up to road though for the Metropolitan line or the excellent buses. The hotel is very average, certainly not worth 4* but the beds are very comfy at least!

At last, some success! Have won the Marriott Regent's Park, 4*. Bid up to $101 on Priceline. While I re-attempted my bidding the Hotwire hotel went up to $93/night and I decided I'd rather pay the extra to be closer to the city/tube station. The hotel gets decent enough reviews so I'm perfectly happy. Total was $366 all in. I used the PRICELINE link for all my bids (which were numerous!) and for the eventual winning result. I honestly cannot remember my bidding history in detail but for the win it was: Regents Park Docklands Westminster Finsbury Soho Full breakdown: Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $101.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 3 Room Subtotal: $303.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $63.00 (USD) Total Room Cost: $366.00 (USD) Thanks again for this great site.

Haha, that's quite alright! Unfortunately Transport for London (TfL) only publish the maintenance stuff about 28 days in advance. So you'd need to check around the end of October. Bookmark here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/r...be/default.html You'll notice there's an option for a calendar to select dates - click on that and then you can select the appropriate dates you'll be in London to make sure. You can also sign up for the weekend closures email, which would probably work better for you! The location of the Hilton is a bit out of the way but you can use the boats to get to Big Ben etc - they accept Oysters too now :) Ideally I'm wanting in the city so $95 will be my max I think. Otherwise I'll grab the Hilton and make do with travelling!

There is a bus that goes directly to Victoria from that area but the weekend I'm there the Jubilee is fine. Service is affected to stations after Victoria in the other directions. There is the overground service too though so I'm not too concerned. Thanks for your 2c though! :) Nothing has been accepted up to $90...trying again tonight then I'll probably take the plunge with HOTWIRE.

Just a small update - still bidding - up to $80 but nothing yet. Still trying but have to wait due to duplicate requests from yesterday when I tried.

Thanks very much, shall start now!

Sorry for not replying quicker, been asleep. Yes, I think that would be wise as I'd be happy with the Hilton if I can't get anything cheaper.

Thanks for the quick reply. I done some further research on the zones and actually the Docklands wouldn't be bad as it's well connected it seems. Willing to accept: Bloomsbury/Marble Arch Kensington (although highly unlikely I'd guess) Docklands Mayfair/Soho The City/London Bridge Westminster And to be honest I'll probably just stick to 4* and pay the little extra if I have to. 3* UK hotels aren't the greatest.

Hi there, I'm looking for a bit of help with a bidding strategy for a London stay between 9/30 - 10/3. Zone wise I'm not too bothered but of course closer to the city centre would be a plus - Docklands is not an option however. I'd prefer a 4* but if I need to dip down to a 3* then so be it. Max budget would ideally be $100/night. I see on HOTWIRE there is the Crowne Plaza in Ealing (I think guessing by the amenities) for $83/night which is pretty good but it's 30 mins on the tube. If you think this is realistic could you please let me know of a strategy and if you need any other info please let me know. I'll of course use your PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to try the bidding. Many thanks, M

A win for the Moevenpick at $85/n - June 17 - June 21. Room Cost (avg. per room, per night): $85.00 (USD) Number of Rooms: 1 Number of Nights: 4 Room Subtotal: $340.00 (USD) Taxes and Fees: $50.84 (USD) Total Room Cost: $390.84 (USD) I was very lucky, apparently there's a huge conference that weekend but I couldn't change my dates due to a concert. Very pleased and relieved.

Just to give you a small update - just tried $75 and they offered me a rebid if I increase my price by $15. Hopefully getting close now.

Thanks. I asked on the topic on Trip Advisor and the advice was similar. I'm up to $69 and it keeps offering me the $93 deal, must be getting closer. I'll update the topic if/when I win.

Hello all, A little advice please on a bidding strategy? Started off with $60 which immediately came back with a counter offer of $93, which I rejected. This is for 4*, I'm not really willing to go down to a 3* unless I really have to. $93 is stretching it a bit. I should also let you know that unfortunately my dates are not flexible - seeing Muse on the 19th. I can't bid on the North zone so not really sure where to go from here apart from waiting. Some help would be greatly appreciated! I also started the process with your PRICELINE link. M

Hello again, I just went for it and it was indeed the MGM. Extremely pleased; saved a bunch from the hotels own website and I'm seeing a concert at the MGM so it works rather perfectly. Summary: Hotel rate per night - Hotwire hot Rate: $99.00 Nights: 1 Rooms: 1 Subtotal: $99.00 Tax recovery charges and fees: $19.10 Total price: $118.10 I also found the HOTWIRE link and used that. Thanks for the great hotel list :)

Hello all, At $99/night on Hotwire has the following: Casino Property offers a full-service casino accessible from the lobby. Fitness Center Guests have access to exercise equipment; an additional charge may apply. Pool(s) Property offers at least one pool area; hours and dates of operation may be seasonal. Restaurant(s) Property offers at least one restaurant on the premises; hours and days of operation may vary. Business Center Guests have access to business equipment and services; an additional charge may apply. High-speed Internet Access Guestrooms are equipped with high-speed Internet access; an extra charge may apply. Golf Nearby Property is located within walking distance or a short drive of at least one golf course; an extra charge typically applies. Tennis Nearby Property is located within walking distance or a short drive of at least one tennis court; an extra charge typically applies. Spa Services Guests have access to a spa facility or spa services; an extra charge typically applies. From looking at the hotel list posted I think it's the MGM Grand? What do you think? If you could also provide your HOTWIRE link I'd be glad to go through that. Thanks.

Hello all, I'd like a little bit of advice on a strategy for Vegas on 08/13. It's only for one night and my max budget is about $100. Do you think this is feasible? I really don't want to stay in a dive so I'll put more up if necessary. Location wise I'm not too concerned - I'm planning to see Lady GaGa at the MGM Grand that night. Do you think I should start looking now? But then again, Vegas must have tens of thousands of rooms. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

Sure. From the HOTWIRE confirmation e-mail: Wyndham Garden Hotel - Midtown Convention Center 341 West 36th Street, New York City,NY,10018 Also the trip date is from 1/6/10 - 1/11/10. I added a day at the last minute before confirming through HOTWIRE.