Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Kensington) Millennium Gloucester

[lwitchel]

Basic Facts

Going to be in the UK in late May through early June, broken down as follows:

Morning flight to the UK, so thinking a hotel for the first might (5/30) at the airport is a good idea and a savings.

London 5/31-6/5

Bristol 6/5-7 (staying with my brother)

London 6/7-9

Birmingham 6/9-12

At leisure 6/12 (Wales? Stratford?)

Here

[WillTravel]

Transport is very easy from Heathrow to an airport hotel if you don't mind taking public buses, and now I've done this at several times of day including after midnight. At least transport should be easy for all the 4* hotels (I think) and for the 3* Holiday Inn Heathrow Ariel. If you are within a defined zone, the public bus is free for that short ride. If you are arriving at Terminal 1, 2 or 3, just head to the area where the tube is, and look for the signs to the Central Bus Station (almost adjacent). I can't say anything about Terminal 4. As usual, you won't want to have a mountain of luggage if you do this, but the space is reasonable.

[lwitchel]

Thought it would be easier to resurrect this thread than start a new one for advice.

So far, I have:

5/30 - Sheraton Skyline (I'm arriving 10:30 pm, figured it was easier than trying to get to London - I'll sleep, work out the next morning, then go in.)

5/31-6/2 - Hilton Olympia

6/2-6/5 - Millenium Gloucester (That's what you get for experimenting :) A split stay. Oh well!)

All of these wins have been reported.

I'm having more trouble with the 6/7-8 London stay and the Birmingham one.

On my earlier London wins, I was getting counteroffers (4*) of $91 and $99. I'm now getting the following - by zone:

Kensington - $118

Bloomsbury - $119

Westminster - $146

Mayfair - $151

Regents Park - $158 (!)

I did lowball bids in the last three zones just to see what the counter would be. $90 was rejected in Kensington, $88 in Bloomsbury.

What do you folks think? Bid higher now or wait a bit and hope for inventory to appear? If I had my druthers I'd stay in Mayfair those dates (I'm going to Covent Garden) if there wasn't much more than a $20/nightly difference from Kensington.

Adding: Just did an imaginary vacation packacge leaving NYC on 6/6, returning 6/9. Here's what comes up (selecting the lowest few in the zones I bid)

Millenium Gloucester - $860

Hilton Euston - $928

Copthorne Tara - $938

Holiday Inn Ken Forum - $970

Hilton Metropole - $980

Dolphin Square - $1112

Royal Horseguards - $1172

As for Birmingham (6/9-12) - here's what's happened so far:

Prices as of 3/10 in USD

TH F-Sa

4* Crowne Plaza 179, 130

Marriott 243 151

Hyatt 224 151

3* Jurys 119 all nights

Holiday Inn 160 94

Bids to $85 for 4* and $60 to 3* have been rejected. It's early, so I haven't gone past lowballing yet. No counteroffers. I only want Birmingham Center, not Edgebaston.

Any thoughts? I'm trying to decide at what point a standard booking for a 3* becomes a better option than Priceline for a 4* (I should look again and see if breakfast is included in any of those rates.)

Maybe I should also bid on the Thursday only first in a 4* up to a certain value, see what I get, and then decide if I want to add the nights at a lower weekend rate via the website or re-bid on Priceline?

[lwitchel]

Never mind. (at least for London)

I was bidding a single night only. I bid both nights at once and the counter offer dropped to $90. Got the Millenium Gloucester at $82. I gather certain hotels charge more for single night stays.

I still need help for Brum, though!

[lwitchel]

As I reported on this thread, I was having trouble getting a hotel at the usual rates. It seemed to be because I was trying bidding night by night. For June 7 only, the counteroffer in Kensington was $118 and bids up to $90 were rejected. For June 7-8, the counteroffer was $90 (on an $80 bid) and $82 was accepted.

Millennium Gloucester London 4-star

Check-In Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Check-Out Date: Thursday, June 9, 2005

Kensington - Earls Court - Knightsbridge

4-18 Harrington Gardens

London, United Kingdom

44 20 7373 6030

Check-In Date: Tue, Jun 7, 2005

Check-In Time: After 02:00 PM

Check-Out Date: Thu, Jun 9, 2005

Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM

Payment Information:

Your Offer Price: $82.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 2

Subtotal: $164.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $37.71

Total Charges: $201.71

[WillTravel]

I've been doing bids for London and Amsterdam (only lowballed, so no successes).

But it seems that if there is inventory in a zone, Priceline throws me a counteroffer every time, even if the new asking price is more than twice what I bid. That's been my experience in every European city so far.

So I would guess, based on your lack of counteroffers in Birmingham, that Priceline might not have any inventory.

[thereuare]

Glad to hear of your partial success!

If you search this hotel for the nite of 6/7 you'll see the hotel is sold-out (but is available if searching both nites together).

Enjoy your stay.