Kate_W

I just wanted to report that our stay at the Thistle Charing Cross went well. There were no problems at check-in or check-out (I was glad see that my non-US credit card worked). We told them at check-in that we were on our honeymoon and asked for a double bed on a non-smoking floor. We got what we wanted, and it seemed to be on a recently renovated floor (6th). The room was small but well-designed, comfortable and not very noisy (despite being over a train station). The bathroom was nice enough - not spectacular, but everything worked, was newly fitted and clean. I'm not sure the area would be my first choice for a London trip. Mostly I shop in London, and this hotel was better situated for sightseeing than for shopping in my favourite areas. But overall, we were very pleased with our deal.

I just wanted to report that our stay at the Thistle Charing Cross went well. There were no problems at check-in or check-out (I was glad see that my non-US credit card worked). We told them at check-in that we were on our honeymoon and asked for a double bed on a non-smoking floor. We got what we wanted, and it seemed to be on a recently renovated floor (6th). The room was small but well-designed, comfortable and not very noisy (despite being over a train station). The bathroom was nice enough - not spectacular, but everything worked, was newly fitted and clean. I'm not sure the area would be my first choice for a London trip. Mostly I shop in London, and this hotel was better situated for sightseeing than for shopping in my favourite areas. But overall, we were very pleased with our deal.

Actually, I didn't raise my bid while lowering the star rating. In my post, I described the bid I made for a 5* in pounds (100 pounds = approx. US$ 192). I referred to pounds because I was comparing that bid to the rate at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel. In the next paragraph, I described the bid I made for the 4* in US$ - $125. So my bid for a 4* was US$ 67 lower than the bid I made for a 5* hotel (and US$ 90 lower than the rate I'd received for the Sherlock Holmes Hotel). But the switch from a reference to pounds in one paragraph to dollars in the next might have been somewhat confusing - sorry.

This was my first foray into Priceline. We were looking for a decent London hotel for a weekend stopover at the end of our honeymoon. I was trying to beat the price I had for a regular reservation at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel (112 pounds, excluding breakfast and tax). I've lived in London, and stayed in a lot of London hotels on business and pleasure trips, so this seemed like a good place to experiment with Priceline. First I tried to find a 5* bargain, but I wasn't willing to pay more than the equivalent of 100 pounds (after a month of travelling, we need to economize a little). I didn't succeed with a bid under this price in a gradually widening circle of zones (Soho-Mayfair, Baker St-Regent's Park, Bloomsbury, Kensington). So, I bid again for a 4* and got the Thistle Charing Cross for US$125 on my first try. Which makes me think I overbid a little, but it still seems like a decent price (especially compared to 112 pounds, and compared with the rate offered on Thistle's website - 154 pounds w/ a 7 day cancellation). Tripadvisor reviews suggest that this hotel is a good value when booked at around this price via priceline (but not at normal rates). I've stayed in Thistles before, and some are a bit run down, but we don't mind a bit of shabby for our last few nights in London. And the central location will work well for us.