Hotwire Hotel: 4* London (Islington-Shoreditch-Bethnal Green) Hilton Islington

[rayh]

I am also looking for help to identify the 4* Kensington - Earls Court area property (same property that Valencia was trying to identify):

- 4* - Smoke Free; Fitness; Restaurant; Laundry; High-speed Internet Access

Also need help in identifying a 3 1/2* Kensington - Earls Court area property:

- 3 1/2 * - Fitness; Restaurant; Business Center; High-speed Internet Access

Not sure if the 3 1/2 * property is the Hilton Olympia or Holiday Inn Kensington Forum?

Thanks for your help, Rayh

[thereuare]

What are the date(s) of your stay?

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

[rayh]

The stay is for May 17-20, 2011 ... the 4* is shown at $149; the 3 1/2 * is show.n at $129

[thereuare]

A property with the amenities of the 4* has not yet been reported to the board.

As of last reports the Hilton Olympia and the Holiday Inn Kensington Fourm are 4* rated by HOTWIRE, so unless they have been downgraded to the 3.5* leve, these wouldn't be the property you're seeing above. These amenities are common to hotels in the area, and the Corthorne Tara, Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt, and Regency Hotel Queens Gate have all been seen at the 3.5* level with this combination, so any of these would be my best guess (although there could easily be others given the common-ness of these amenities)

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

Let us know how it goes or if we can be of further help.

[rayh]

Thanks for the reply .... too many options for the 3 1/2 * property ... you're right, Hilton Olympia and Holiday Inn Kensington Forum are not in the mix as they are still listed as 4* properties.

[rayh]

Is there any way to narrow down the search on the 4* property through the Customer Reviews? 80% satisfaction, 20+ reviews ... condition 3.5/5 (older or slightly run down); location 4.5/5 (near tube).

[thereuare]

The HOTWIRE data you reference above changes frequently, and some may even change slightly from search-to-search for the same hotel, so these are not reliable indicators in helping to ID properties.

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

[rayh]

No luck with $75 for 5/17/11-5/20/11 4* Mafair-Soho or $80 for Mayfair-Soho + Westminster.

Trying to get The Grand at Trafalgar Square .. winning bids for that property in 2011 are between $80-$90. I'll try again with $85 and $90.

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread... if you ultimately use PRICELINE we'll then edit the topic title accordingly to reflect your win and move the entire thread to that section of the board.

Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we can be of further help along the way.

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

[rayh]

In trying to identify the 4* Kensington-Earl's Court proerty with - Smoke Free; Fitness; Restaurant; Laundry; High-speed Internet Access - I found that the the Crowne Plaza Hotel LONDON-KENSINGTON is a Smoke Free property ... but has no mention of Laundry services. The description on the list of hotels should be updated to include 'Smoke Free' .... current listing:

4* Crowne Plaza

Amenities: Restaurant, Fitness, Hi-Speed Internet, Business

[thereuare]

The hotel list contains the descriptions of wins reported to the board... not necessarily all the amenities a hotel offers. For example, most hotels (in the US at least) now offer Hi-Speed Internet access, but there are still many that don't show this amenity icon in their HOTWIRE description.

[rayh]

Makes sense .... in addition to most properties now providing internet access (for a fee), a number are starting to become 'Smoke Free' .. another property is The Grand at Trafalgar Square (Westminster area on Hotwire; Mayfair-Soho on Priceline).

[rayh]

Up to $100 for 4* Mayfair-Soho + Westminster ... still no luck.

A earlier bid for $80 was accepted for the same time frame as me ... The Grand at Trafalgar Square ... so not sure how nuch more to go up at this time; also not sure if I'm too early or too late!

[thereuare]

The $80 priceline win you're referring to was purchased over 2 months ago back in October and it would appear that rate is no longer available.

You still do have plenty of time, but what is the best rate you're able to find thru conventional booking channels?

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

[rayh]

I checked the prices/availability of the 4* hotels on the Priceline list of hotels.

In Mayfair-Soho, the rates go from

[thereuare]

How much do you like the Crowne Plaza St James and how well would this work for your plans? How well do other parts of the zone (or the Westminster zone) work/don't work for your needs this trip and how important is location and/or amenities for this stay?

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

[valencia]

I am having to think about the same situation soon. How much money is it worth to save ( plus have the hotel/ exact location be a surprise)? You are still quite far from that HOTWIRE price.. you have to put a cap on your bidding for your convenience or pleasure and be happy with the results.

[rayh]

The price dropped to $141 for a couple of days and then returned to $149 .... I was tempted. The hotel and location work for us ... as do other locations. I'll keep looking and continue to try PRICELINE for another month ... if after then I don't find anything and the HOTWIRE deal still exist, I'll take it!

[thereuare]

The price dropped to $141 for a couple of days and then returned to $149 ....

This sounds like normal HOTWIRE price fluctuation and not necessarily a change in underlying demand, imo.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases. (and your searches too!)

Keep us udpated and let us know if we can be of further help down the road.

[rayh]

If this a typical price fluctuation, it sounds like there is a good chance that the price will come down again? The price for each of the days is at $144 .. with the 3 day price moving to $150.

I still haven't been able to identify the 2 Kensington - Earls Court area properties: 4* - Smoke Free; Fitness; Restaurant; Laundry; High-speed Internet Access - Recommended in 85 % of Hotwire customer reviews; and 3.5* - Fitness; Restaurant; Business Center; High-speed Internet Access - We are still gathering reviews for this property.

Besides continuing to monitor this site and hope that someone reports and identifies one or both of the properties, is there anything else that I can do to try to identify those properties?

[thereuare]

Yes, the price of the 4* could come back down... or it could disappear entirely. If you like a given property offered, and it's a significant savings vs. a conventional booking, i'd just take it and not hold-out to save an extra $3/nite... it's not worth the risk that the hotel disappears entirely, imo.

For the other properties, there are no amenities shown which are unique to the area, so for example, looking for a 3.5* property which has a Restaurant, Fitness Center, Business Center and offers Hi-Speed Internet will yield such a large number of potential properties that i don't think the exercise would provide much insight.

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

[rayh]

It's amazing how quickly options can come and go ... when I first started looking in mid December, I was considering two Kensington - Earls Court area properties ... 1 was a 4* Smoke Free; Fitness; Restaurant; Laundry; High-speed Internet Access (turned out to be the Nh Harrington Hall) and the other a 3 1/2* Fitness; Restaurant; Business Center; High-speed Internet Access (never identified). Both those disappeared and I then was looking at a 4* Westminster property (Fitness, Restaurant, Business Center, Hi-speed Internet, Spa - probably the Crowne Plaza St James) which was priced around $150/night that is now up to $193/night.

My best Hotwire options now are a 4* Islington-Shoreditch-Bethnal Green area property (Restaurant, Business Center, Hi-speed Internet at $116 + VAT/fees -- probably the Hilton Islington?) or a 3* Kensington-Earls Court area property (Complimentary Breakfast, Hi-Speed Internet Access at $88 +VAT/fees -- probably the Holiday Inn Express at Earls Court?). Both are great rates .. both are 5+ minute walk to the nearest tube.

By waiting, I'm sure things will change again .... maybe I can do better, then again, maybe not.

[rayh]

The 4* Islington-Shoreditch-Bethnal Green area property (Restaurant, Business Center, Hi-speed Internet) is the Hilton Islington. The total cost for the 3 days is $426. Decided to book now rather than keep looking ...

[yellowdog]

rayh

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Enjoy your stay.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[valencia]

Congratulations! Looks like a bargain to say the least! If you like dance, check out the sadler wells theater website as it is not far from there.