Priceline Hotel: 4* London - 03/12/2010 to 06/12/2010 - NEED ADVICE

[Ladybeki]

Hi!

I'm new here and i'm looking for a double room in a 4* hotel in london from 03/12/2010 to 06/12/2010.

I'm looking to spend about 100 to 120$ per night.

My first preference goes to Notting Hill - Bayswater Zone.

The second one is Kensington-Earls Court.

Can someone please advise which is the best strategy to get a hotel?

It would be very nice to get some help.! :)

Thank you

[Ladybeki]

Can anybody please give me a strategy?

I might be open to other areas, but at the moment, up to $100 per night (excluding taxes), haven't been lucky, and tried 6 areas...

Thank you

[Romelle]

Hotels this year seem generally higher than last year. Also, the dollar has gotten weaker against the pound lately. This suggests higher bids than one sees in history. From the Calendar of Wins (above), there is only one London hotel reported for your dates - a 12/4 Kensington for $101.

Hotwire has some odd results. For your three dates - Kensington 4*s - I got $159, $229 and $86?? When I threw all three dates in at once, I got the Hilton Olympic at $221.

When I looked at the Priceline retail side, the results varied. Sometimes one day was higher than others, but sometimes not. And the high day varied. If one day is consistently bad this can indicate splitting one's bid, but that wasn't clear for your dates.

You don't have a lot of time now.

I'm assuming you mean a 12/3 arrival and a 12/6 check-out for a 3 night stay. If you meant a 4 night stay, adjust my comments below accordingly.

If I were you, I'd include as many areas as possible. London public transportation really works pretty well for getting around, so one can be quite a ways out and still manage well. (I even have stayed at the Newark airport for a New York trip, when closer options were WAY too expensive.)

I'd bid up to whatever my budget would stand. I would maybe try bidding just two of the three days, 12/3-12/4, and then 12/4-12/5. Priceline can offer one the ability to "extend" a bid, but only for up to the number of days for which the original bid was.

And someplace in there when I'd used up all the options within my budget and acceptable areas, I'd start looking at the 3*s. Various brands, but they include nice Holiday Inns and Thistles.

Come to think of it, when my budget was really tight, I even stayed at a London youth hostel. A bit of a challenge, but .... I still was in London!

And finally, if you are flying in and have a very late arrival and/or early departure the London airport hotels are much less expensive and work well for first and/or last nights.

Hope something works for you pretty soon.

Romelle

[thereuare]

Can anybody please give me a strategy?

I might be open to other areas, but at the moment, up to $100 per night (excluding taxes), haven't been lucky, and tried 6 areas...

You previously mentioned your maximum bid being $120... when do you intend to increase from the $100 you have already tried?

Are any other zone(s) acceptable?

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

[Ladybeki]

Thanks for your reply.

I already bided up to $108, no lucky yet.

The thing is, I mentioned my maximum price being $120, not my maximum bid and I was not aware of the high taxes that are applied...

Kept adding all the zones, with $1 increments, except Docklands and The City... Even included Hammersmith and Finsbury, that I'm not so fond of...

[Ladybeki]

Thanks for your reply, Romelle!

Meanwhile I contacted an appartment website that told me the hotels are filling up quickly because it's a bank holiday on Spain... That can explain my dificulty on Priceline?

My really stretched budget is €300 for the 3 nights, including taxes but I'm starting to get worried, since that's only equal to a maximum bid of $113...

The thing is, I have been in London twice before, the one with my fiance, he didn't like it much (we arrived amazingly tired, slept everyday until 1pm and saw everything in a hurry, which didn't caused a good impression to him). So, because of that, I had some troubles trying to convince him to go London, instead of Paris (also again). My argument was "Give London a try, since flight and hotel price is the same!" - since I found priceline... The hotel in Paris, a suitehotel that I can totally advise costs €230 for the 3 nights! :X So, you can see why I'm getting nervous about this... I can support the diference, if it's up to €300, but no more... But, at least, I want to find a good hotel :)

That's also why I'm afraid to bid for just 2 nights and win, but don't get the extend option...

Well, I will try again tonight... Let's hope for the best!!

Thank you,

Noemi

[Romelle]

Did you consider spending your last night at an airport hotel (assuming an early departure the next morning? They really tend to be less expensive, and that would let you bid a little higher for the first two nights. Plus, it is very comfortable/relaxed, knowing you don't have so far to go to get to the airport. Most in-town hotels will let you leave your luggage after check-out so you don't have to schlep it around all day.

If you want to see recent bidding results for the airport hotels, just enter "london gatwick" or "london heathrow" or whichever airport you are using.

Romelle