Priceline Hotel: 5* London (Mayfair - Soho) Sofitel St. James

[CBC373]

Hi everyone, will be in London on the following dates:

May 5-7

May 13-15

May 27-31

I am thinking of staying in the Mayfair/Soho district and Chelsea/Knightsbridge for the 3 date ranges.

What would be a realistic bid for the 2 districts? I am thinking 5* for both districts.

Also, I understand there are free re-bid zones for if I am bidding for 5* Mayfair or Knightsbridge? What are those free re-bid zones?

[vanpoodle]

Just a caution -- the hotel that you'll probably win on PL for a 5* in Chelsea is the Wyndham at Chelsea Harbour, which apparently is a nice hotel but has no tube closeby, just a bus stop. Read the reviews for that hotel first and be sure you'd be okay winning it before proceeding to bid 5* in Chelsea. Same caution applies with the 4* hotel that they use most often for Chelsea, too (Copthorne at Chelsea Football Club). I can't tell you what the re-bids are (rules of this forum), but there are certainly lots of re-bidding FAQs which explain it.

[CBC373]

Thanks a lot for the tip.

What about for the Mayfair area, any hotels I should be wary of in the 5* or 4 * category. Or rather, which hotels are most likely to be won. The travelers will be in age category of 60+ and probably convenient tube connections is a plus but of course I understand we cannot choose the hotels.

[vanpoodle]

The Mayfair hotels are fine. That is the most expensive zone. I like Notting Hill (one of the cheapest of the zones I like), Regent's Park, Bloomsbury and Westminster. I'd consider City/London Bridge at a lower bid than those zones. I would only bid on Kensington if I had reached my bid limit in those zones and hadn't scored (because a couple of the hotels PL uses in Kensington aren't as nice as some in the other zones, though they are generally okay enough), then I would start bidding again at a lower price for Kensington and City/LB. I only bid in Chelsea when I'm completely desperate as I'll get something more or less out of the way and to be worth it it has to be sub-$100 when I'm getting rejected up past $150 in the zones I like (for 4* that is). There is a list of hotels on this part of the forum. You can also search "London" in the search box top right, there has been lots of discussion about London in the last little while.

[thereuare]

As far as your re-bid zones, you can learn more about them, as well as how to determine, in this thread: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained

Feel free to ask any questions you have and confirm your re-bid zones with the board before bidding (NOTE: at the 5* level you have FOUR re-bid zones... at the 4* level you have TWO re-bid zones)

Once you have your re-bid zones confirmed let us know which zone(s) you decide you're willing to accept and your maximum bid at each star level and we'll take it from there.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Dr__dawggy]

FYI, I have been bidding for 5 star hotels May 14-20. I started at 140 and my last bid was 230. All rejected for Mayfair, Bloomsbury and Westminister. There are plenty of free rebids, or just wait 24 hours and start over. But I am thinking Priceline simply does not have any inventory for this time frame. One of the hotels on the list is the Sheraton, which is available for 285 on Booking.com, so I am reluctant to go any higher than 230. I have bid up to 170 for four stars in Mafair, again with no luck. Since I am new to this board, I have not used the links from here but will in the future.

[thereuare]

Dr__dawggy,

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Thanks for your post and details regarding your rejected (thus far) bids.

If you haven't yet, please start by reading your messages.

Since rates are date specific, if you'd like help with your own stay please start a NEW TOPIC.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Thanks.

[vanpoodle]

I have seen the Hempel come up as a 5* in Notting Hill. Take a look at its reviews and maybe start bidding again lower in that zone if you think it would be acceptable. I really like staying in that area.

[CBC373]

Tried bidding for mayfair 5* for May 13-15 and was unsuccessful from 155-175 (in 5 $ increments). I made the mistake of adding all the zones one after the other, so I cannot bid anymore. I wonder if changing computers will allow me to start rebidding once again.

[CBC373]

Just a quick question, is the Wyndham at Chelsea Harbour considered in Mayfair or Kensington?

Found the answer, Wyndham is at Kensington. So Kensington is not a free re-bid zone then.

I bid up to 190 and PL was countering at 225 which I did not take up.

[CBC373]

After several attempts, got a winning bid at $195 per night for May 13-15 at Sofitel St. James.

Compared to prevailing rates in other websites, my winning bid seems like a great deal.

On to my next assignment May 27-30. What is a nice area for senior tourists, after Mayfair?

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Looks like a very nice deal for this 5* rated property.

Just a quick question, is the Wyndham at Chelsea Harbour considered in Mayfair or Kensington?

IMPORTANT NOTE: do not use the hotel lists on the board, nor the 'retail' listings from PRICELINE, to determine your re-bid zones. The method to use is outlined here: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained, feel free to ask any questions that you have in this regard.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board. For help with the next leg of your trip please start a NEW TOPIC.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Enjoy your stay.

[vanpoodle]

Actually, as to that Wyndham, I thought it was in the Chelsea zone which is why caution should be exercised in bidding in Chelsea because that zone's boundaries are apparently very fluid! thereuare is correct though in saying not to rely on the hotel listing to determine which zones are free re-bids, one must always double check on PL before beginning to bid. In the retail side they might put that Wyndham in the Kensington zone, but as of this very instant, there is no 5* for Kensington on the bidding side.