Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Mayfair - Soho) Thistle Charing Cross

[Kate_W]

This was my first foray into Priceline. We were looking for a decent London hotel for a weekend stopover at the end of our honeymoon. I was trying to beat the price I had for a regular reservation at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel (112 pounds, excluding breakfast and tax). I've lived in London, and stayed in a lot of London hotels on business and pleasure trips, so this seemed like a good place to experiment with Priceline.

First I tried to find a 5* bargain, but I wasn't willing to pay more than the equivalent of 100 pounds (after a month of travelling, we need to economize a little). I didn't succeed with a bid under this price in a gradually widening circle of zones (Soho-Mayfair, Baker St-Regent's Park, Bloomsbury, Kensington).

So, I bid again for a 4* and got the Thistle Charing Cross for US$125 on my first try. Which makes me think I overbid a little, but it still seems like a decent price (especially compared to 112 pounds, and compared with the rate offered on Thistle's website - 154 pounds w/ a 7 day cancellation). Tripadvisor reviews suggest that this hotel is a good value when booked at around this price via priceline (but not at normal rates). I've stayed in Thistles before, and some are a bit run down, but we don't mind a bit of shabby for our last few nights in London. And the central location will work well for us.

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Thank you for sharing your winning bid with the rest of the board.

It sounds as if you raised your bid from $100 to $125 when you lowered your star rating from 5* to 4*; this usually isn't recommended as discussed in this thread: IF YOU LOWER YOUR STAR RATING THEN LOWER YOUR BID.

Next time you bid feel free to ask for help and we'll be happy to suggest a bidding strategy to follow.

Enjoy your stay.

[Kate_W]

Actually, I didn't raise my bid while lowering the star rating. In my post, I described the bid I made for a 5* in pounds (100 pounds = approx. US$ 192). I referred to pounds because I was comparing that bid to the rate at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel. In the next paragraph, I described the bid I made for the 4* in US$ - $125. So my bid for a 4* was US$ 67 lower than the bid I made for a 5* hotel (and US$ 90 lower than the rate I'd received for the Sherlock Holmes Hotel). But the switch from a reference to pounds in one paragraph to dollars in the next might have been somewhat confusing - sorry.

[thereuare]

Understood... thanks for clarifying.

[Kate_W]

I just wanted to report that our stay at the Thistle Charing Cross went well. There were no problems at check-in or check-out (I was glad see that my non-US credit card worked). We told them at check-in that we were on our honeymoon and asked for a double bed on a non-smoking floor. We got what we wanted, and it seemed to be on a recently renovated floor (6th). The room was small but well-designed, comfortable and not very noisy (despite being over a train station). The bathroom was nice enough - not spectacular, but everything worked, was newly fitted and clean.

I'm not sure the area would be my first choice for a London trip. Mostly I shop in London, and this hotel was better situated for sightseeing than for shopping in my favourite areas. But overall, we were very pleased with our deal.

[vvrok]

Kate, thanks for sharing you experience.

You mentioned that you know something about shopping in London and that Mayfair-Soho area is not your favorite. May I aks you what is your favorite shopping area in London? I am taking my wife to London for the first time this summer and she loves shopping. She doesn't usually go to really upscale places, but doesn't like dirty cheap places either. What would you recommend?