Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Docklands) Hilton Canary Wharf

[grayh]

Didn't want to open a new thread for this, so some advice would be appreciated.

I have 2 dates where I could fly to London for a very cheap price. The first one is 25. December - 28. December and the 2nd one is January 6 - January 8. Flights cost the same and it wouldn't matter to me whether it's the first or the 2nd date, however I'm wondering which one would be more clever in terms of getting a good 4 or 5* Hotel for a rather cheap price. I'm thinking January might be better because the other date is so close to Christmas?

[vanpoodle]

I've been to London over Xmas. It is the only day that the Underground is closed so the only way to get in from the airports is via Taxi which runs at surcharge (i.e. 3 x the usual) rates. I found that airport buses only ran until noon -- so depending on when you arrive you might have that option. The trains are shut and getting dinner can be a challenge as most of the restaurants are closed, though the hotel ones are probably open, but they seem to be doing expensive holiday buffets. So you definitely don't want to arrive on the 25th if you can help it, arriving on the 24th or 26th are better.

The museums and galleries will also be closed that day. About the only thing going on that we could find on the 25th was London Walks had two really good special walks leaving from Trafalgar Square -- but what a pain in the neck to get there with no tube running! (when I complained to someone at TFL about it I got a curt "it's only one day a year, deal with it" kind of response)

We did manage cheap hotel rates though on our Xmas visit. A quick look at the PL retail rates show that the Xmas ones are priced about the same as the January ones -- in January the Hilton Paddington is showing $115 which is REALLY low and it's $177 at Xmas, and Holiday in Mayfair is $169 at Xmas and $155 in January.

My preference would be to go in January -- the British Museum will be open and will be very quiet, the same with almost everything else in London.

[grayh]

Thanks, so January it is. That's a no-brainer. :)

[grayh]

So, here it is:

4* Hilton Canary Wharf

01/06/12 - 01/08/12

$90 per night (+$5 Bonus Cash per night)

I had tried to get the 5* Marriott West India Quay at first but I wasn't successful with my $120 bid (had started at $100) for that one so I checked some reviews which said the Hilton Canary Wharf is one of the better Hilton properties in London and my first bid was successful.

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you received this well reviewed property and are pleased with the results... i'm sure it's a good feeling that all your plans are now set.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[vanpoodle]

Just curious -- I like Docklands but I'd choose to stay somewhere more central -- why do you like Docklands? That's a great hotel price for a pretty new property.

While you're there, the Docklands Museum is free and very, very worthwhile.

[grayh]

So far, I've always stayed in more central regions (Earl's Court, Hyde Park, Westminster ect) but this time, I prefered a property which is more outside. I remembered the Docklands as a very nice region with many caf