Priceline Hotel: 4* Manchester (City Centre) Marriott Victoria and Albert

[LoneStar]

Thanks to paulieuk, I had reason to believe this hotel was "out there" at a good price. After reading the tripadvisor and guidebook reviews (both extremely favorable), I was quite interested in trying this hotel. It's apparently a restored Victorian-era cotton warehouse, with large rooms and lots of character. It started its modern life about 10 years ago as a private hotel for a nearby TV studio, and until last year was a Le Meridien. Summer weekend rates start at 95 pounds (incl. tax -- unlike priceline bids!), so the savings are considerable, although perhaps not as huge as on luxury hotels in the US these days.

As my travel plans are firm, I wanted to bid now for this hotel just to make sure another property didn't step in at a lower price (apparently unlikely, though, given reports of earlier woes with Manchester bidding). I started bidding a couple days ago, and was slowly marching my bid up. My last unsuccessful bid was $72, so if anyone wants to try to shave it closer, you've got 3 bucks to play with!