Priceline Hotel: 3* London (Bloomsbury-Marble Arch) Holiday Inn Blm

[mallu2u]

This is my first post and therefore might not know how to ask this Q.

I am booking a hotel on hotwire for London. Details are as under. I want to know if one can tell me which hotels are being offered:

Area: Bloomsbury - Marble Arch

Date: May6th-May7th

Hotel 1: 4 stars: $110

Hotel 2: 3.5 starts:$92

Hotel 3: 3 stars: $126

Thanks guys. Please let me know if I should be providing more info.

[mallu2u]

Guys:

Discovered this forum only a few minutes back and posted a thread here: http://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?act...176&t=12313&st=

Basically I am looking for a room in London for May6th and want to find the cheapest way to stay. Want to try and see what Priceline and Hotwire offers but am a bit apprehensive since I am not sure what hotel I might get. The room is for my parents and want to make sure they are comfortable and does not involve too much walking.

What is the best way for me to determine which hotel is being offered by the two websites? Your help shall be appreciated. My thread above was hopefully with needed info.

[Blueskies]

The best way to learn is to read through the posts. I believe Hotwire has only recently started in UK. London has a reasonably good underground train system, which can help get you around the city. After you read the posts and do research on what your parents want to see and do in London then if you post this on to your thread then it will help others help you. Also if you let everyone know the standard of hotel and also the length of stay and dates that will help the board give you the best advice. Mayfair is probably the best area but it really depends what your parents plan to do. The hotel lists are very helpful and you can also check more reviews on tripadvisor or fodors so you are a bit better informed prior to bidding.

Good luck. London is a great city for your parents to visit.

[WillTravel]

It's helpful if you put in amenities for each of those. That said, I think the 3.5* one could very well be Holiday Inn Bloomsbury. That's what shows up as a 3.5* hotel in Bloomsbury on vacation packages on Hotwire.

If it is that hotel, it would be very convenient - so many places are within walking distance and the tube is about a 2-minute walk.

[WillTravel]

How much walking would your parents be comfortable with?

Using the tube requires a fair bit of walking as you go underground, walk long distances under there, climb up and down to ground level, and so forth. My rule of thumb is that if I can walk from Point A to B in 20 minutes, I'm probably better off doing so rather than taking the tube.

Buses may be a little easier for them.

Cabs might be easiest but are quite pricy. Also make sure they get legitimate cabs - there have been criminal problems with the unlicensed ones.

I agree Mayfair is probably the best zone if they are willing to pay for it.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

I have merged your posts as it will be easier to keep everything straight with the infomation being in one thread.

Regarding the specifics of yoru stay, please go back to HOTWIRE and list all of the amenties that hotwire associates with each property you are interested in.

[mallu2u]

I am looking into Mayfair, Soho, Bloomsbury and Kensington, in order of preference. Since the stay is only for 1 nite, I do not want a very expensive hotel. Sub $150. Would really like the breakfast to be included. Due to age, I want a hotel not far from tube and a Big Bus Stop so that they can take the hop-on-hop-off bus. Currently booked Tavistock since I could not find anything else in the range with decent hotel.

Your recommendations shall be appreciated along with where to book. Tried the regulars- Expedia, Travelocity, Londontown, etc.

As for hotwire hotels, will check on amenities and report back.

[mallu2u]

Here is the list of hotels with prices and amenities:

Area: Bloomsbury - Marble Arch

Date: May6th-May7th

Hotel 1: 4 stars: $109 : Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

Hotel 2: 3.5 stars :$91: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

Hotel 3: 3 stars: $125: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Business Center

What hotels are above?

[mallu2u]

Here is the list of hotels with prices and amenities:

Area: Mayfair- Soho

Date: May6th-May7th

Hotel 3: 3.5 stars: $144: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

What hotel is above?

[mallu2u]

Here is the list of hotels with prices and amenities:

Area: Kensington - Earls Court - Knightsbridge

Date: May6th-May7th

Hotel 1: 2 stars: $137 : No Info Shown

Hotel 2: 2.5 stars :$145: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s).

Hotel 3: 3.5 stars :$149: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

Hotel 4: 3 stars :$149: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Pool(s), Fitness Center, Spa Services, Business Center.

What hotels are above?

[mallu2u]

I am looking into Mayfair, Soho, Bloomsbury and Kensington, in order of preference. Since the stay is only for 1 nite, I do not want a very expensive hotel. Sub $150. Would really like the breakfast to be included. Due to age, I want a hotel not far from tube and a Big Bus Stop so that they can take the hop-on-hop-off bus. Currently booked Tavistock since I could not find anything else in the range with decent hotel.

Your recommendations shall be appreciated along with where to book. Tried the regulars- Expedia, Travelocity, Londontown, etc.

I had only been looking for hotwire hotels, but I guess I should not be ignoring Priceline at all! Please help me figuring out what I should be bidding for 3/4 start hotels in the above areas and which hotels can I get for those prices/via priceline.

Thanks a ton!

[WillTravel]

Here is the list of hotels with prices and amenities:

Area: Bloomsbury - Marble Arch

Date: May6th-May7th

Hotel 1: 4 stars: $109 : Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

Hotel 2: 3.5 stars :$91: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Fitness Center, Business Center, Laundry Facilities (self-service).

Hotel 3: 3 stars: $125: Selected amenities include: Restaurant(s), Business Center

What hotels are above?

I think it's a fair guess that the 3.5* is the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury - but it could be one of several others.

The Laundry Facilities (self-service) appears to be incorrect for almost all European hotels on Hotwire. They do offer dropoff laundry service, but not access to a washing machine and dryer.

It's very hard to tell with London hotels and Hotwire - there are so many hotels, and few if any distinguishing amenities.

[thereuare]

PLEASE keep all of your posts regarding this stay in this thread.

[mallu2u]

PLEASE keep all of your posts regarding this stay in this thread.

That I did. The only time I ventured out was to post in Priceline forum, which is correct since i wanted to bid on priceline as well. Is that a concern?

[mallu2u]

I do not see my thread in Priceline section. It saddens me to see that the thread was deleted. Priceline and Hotwire are different sites and therefore different forums. Hotels are different. Therefore it was right to post separately. I thought I could get help here and not be non-welcomed.

[WillTravel]

You can post your Priceline question here. Then when you buy from either Priceline or Hotwire, the thread will be moved to the correct column.

It's just that with one stay, it's easier to give an all-encompassing answer in one thread. How much do your parents want to spend? How much can they be reasonably expected to walk?

[mallu2u]

I want to spend around $125. Walking. 5-10 min to a metro or bus stop is OK. You think if I bid $90 for Mayfair or $80 for Kensington or Bloomsbury for 4 * hotels is a good start? what do u say? Want to start with a decent bid on Mayfair, then bloomsbury or Kensington. Not sure b/w the latter areas.

[WillTravel]

I think I'd start out with $100 for a 4* in Mayfair on Priceline. No one has succeeded with anything less lately, and many have required more. You're fairly likely to get a counteroffer. If so, report back.

$80 would be a good starting bid in Kensington or Bloomsbury. But it would be the safest to just stick to Mayfair, given your parents' walking restrictions. There's a possibility of getting a further-out hotel with the other zones. It wouldn't be terrible, just not as central.

Have you read the tips at this site on how to figure out your rebid zone?

[mallu2u]

thanks for taking the time out to reply to me. If you're talking about the strategy where you find a 'dummy region', then yes. if there is something else I should be reading, please point me to the right place and I shall surely read it.

I guess you're idea is right. Mayfair should be the right region for me. Just that those hotels shall not offer breakfast at all...in fact I think most hotels using priceline shall not, most prob. You know, I would have taken the $91 from Hotwire if I was quite sure, the 3.5 was Holiday Inn as you were guessing. Seems like a good location and good price.

Seems that priceline could be used to get lower prices than hotwire.

[mallu2u]

one more Q, if I started out with $90 on Mayfair, u think they won't even give me a counter-offer? Just wondering. If not, then I shall start out with $100 or so.

[WillTravel]

You have enough time to try a lower amount. So try $90 if you want. You may be lucky.

[thereuare]

mallu2u,

WillTravel has it right... just ask all of your question(s) for this stay in this thread, we'll eventually move it to whichever service is ultimately used.

We have found that keeping all posts for the same stay in the same thread keeps the board much better organized. Anyone following along, as well as future users, can then see the complete thought process involved for the stay (as well as alternatives tried) from start to finish.

Using this posting format has developed overtime based upon our running of the board, and it has worked well for everyone so far. An additional problem with having two concurrent threads for the same stay is that users seldom follow-up the non-winning thread... thus leaving future users who land upon that thread in the dark regarding what eventually happened and if the original user ever had success.

[mallu2u]

I put in $93 for 4* in Mayfair and got a counter offer of 108 plus tax...coming to $135. How long do I have to accept to reject the counter offer?

[WillTravel]

There's always a chance that the hotel will fill up or raise its Priceline rate, but otherwise the offer remains open. You may be able to wait days to accept it - or not.

If you want to preserve access to your counteroffer, make sure you start a new bid the next time, by closing your browser first.

[mallu2u]

Thanks! You're fast. So can I keep that counter offer on hold and bid on another area for the same dates? I want to go lower on Bloomsbury for a 3* at about 75 now. Since you got a Holidyay Inn Bloomsbury at 77, I want to give 75 a shot. I like the hotel. 4* seem to be more distant than this hotel. You bid for 3* right?