Priceline Hotel: 5* London Mayfair-Soho HELP

[cranberryAli]

Greetings!

I am traveling to Luton, England for business from November 7th to 11th.

On Friday, November 12th and Saturday, November 13th, I am looking to stay in London to explore the city. I am a 27 year old female who will be alone and am hoping to stay in an area that is safe, but also has easy access to fun activities.

My coworker suggested the Mayfair-Soho area.

I put a bid into Priceline for a 5 star hotel in Mayfair-Soho for $120 from 11/12/2010 to 11/14/2010. My bid was not accepted :) . Any suggestions? Is my bid too ridiculously low? I'm not entirely opposed to dropping to a 4 star. Also, perhaps you have ideas for other areas besides Mayfair-Soho that would be a good fit for me. I get easily lost :) , so I'm hoping for an area that isn't too inconvenient to get to from Luton and then back to the Heathrow airport.

Many thanks! :o

- ali

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Your budget is not realistic for a 5* hotel in this zone. We have seen 4* hotels in this zone at prices less then $120, but i don't think you'll necessarily be able to score such a deal for these dates, although you have nothing to lose by trying.

Is $120 your maximum bid? Are there other zone(s) you find acceptable? (Bloomsbury-Marble Arch, Kensington-Earls Court, Notting Hill-Bayswater are often bid at the 4* level and are usually a bit more reasonably priced)

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

Let us know regarding the zones and your maximum bid we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

[cranberryAli]

after my failure for $120 at Mayfair - Soho, I added Notting Hill - Bayswater and changed my bid to $126...no good again

I then added London Bridge area to my zones and upped my bid to Bayswater with an increased bid of $141

still no good

these were all prices I saw had worked on the forum here, but with different dates, I'm not sure how much that will affect things. I assumed November is the off season.

Not sure how far I am willing to go above $141...I think that might be my max I'm comfortable spending...I'll try again today for Mayfair - Soho and add 4 star's to the mix...

[Romelle]

ali,

Compared to other major cities, London is pretty compact. Well marked. The "tube" can move you quickly and inexpensively and I think is part of the whole London experience.

I've visited there a number of times as a single female, and always felt safe. I don't do a lot of wandering after dark though, so I can't speak for that. Major age difference here.

With only a couple of days, you might like to purchase one of the "hop-on-hop-off" double-decker bus tours. That will loop you though all the major sights and help with the directional-challenge thing. Also, I find the maps in the Lonely Planet guide books particularly easy to use. There is one just for London. Your local library probably has a copy, or you can buy one from Amazon or any of the major bookstores. You can even link to Amazon from here via the link under the Support/Travel Links tab up above.

If you move to 4* hotels, you don't want to jump in and do it at the $141 level. It usually works better to come up from below with your bidding. Do wait for the strategy, as it likely will save you a $$ (more to spend in London!).

Romelle

[cranberryAli]

Great tips Romelle! I really appreciate your feedback and will be sure to check out the Lonely Planet guide books as well as look into one of those bus tours. Glad to hear you felt safe in London. Once my 24 hour hold lifts from Priceline, I will be sure to use your tip to lower my bid now that I'll be including the 4* range.

[Romelle]

Ali,

If you've just been bidding at the 5* level, when you change to the 4* level that constitutes a "different" bid so the 24 hour hold doesn't apply.

I still think you will want to wait to hear any suggested strategy, but wanted to be sure you know you are already free to bid again.

Also, as you are looking at those maps of the different bidding areas, do notice you can use that "+" to get finer detail. Especially, the odd little red circle with the blue bar through it - a metro or "tube" station. Wonderful for getting around.

Romelle

[thereuare]

after my failure for $120 at Mayfair - Soho, I added Notting Hill - Bayswater and changed my bid to $126...no good again

I then added London Bridge area to my zones and upped my bid to Bayswater with an increased bid of $141

still no good

The above was at the 5* or 4* level?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... please click this PRICELINE link before replying.