Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Regents Park - Baker Street - Camden Market) Holiday Inn London-Regents Park

[Smeggo]

Hi all,

I am looking to find a hotel in London December 2nd- December 5th. I understand the bidding process and have been using the links. I am travelling alone and have tried Mayfair-Soho up to $131 for a 4 star hotel. After reading the boards it seems like I might not be able to get a hotel room for my $130 maximum. ($150ish a night after taxes)

What other areas should I look at that would be a good alternative to Mayfair - Soho? I am in my late 20s and want to be near an active area as I plan on going out for drinks as well as being a tourist for those 3 days. I just don't want to bid on an area that gets me put in the outskirts of London. Any help would be appreciated.

[vanpoodle]

Mayfair is usually the most expensive zone (Westminster is as well but it's traditionally the business zone and maybe not what you're looking for). It has exclusive shopping neighbourhoods but also has Soho which is loud and nightclubby and in places borderline seedy and a lot of fun at night!

Deals can be had in Notting Hill and I quite like it there, lots of restaurants and young people and quite central. I have also had good luck with Bloomsbury, which is near the British Museum and a real hub of its own with lots of students hanging out and having fun.

I avoid Chelsea just because half of how PL has the zone set up is definitely not central. (though I did win a bid there recently just because my stay was looking like it would be very expensive in my preferred zones and for the 4 rooms I needed the tradeoff made sense, I saved about $30 a night by bidding that zone. I'll see how it turns out!)

Islington can be a cheaper zone and is getting its own nightlife but it was traditionally part of the poorer East End and has parts that aren't quite as nice.

London Bridge area has parts that are absolutely hopping and fun at night (but the City part of the zone is business), but some of the hotels PL uses aren't quite central. Docklands also can have deals, but it's a business area and definitely not central and thus will likely not have the activity you'll like close by.

Regent's Park zone includes Camden Town which definitely would qualify as an active area.

Kensington has spots of activity but is a bit more residential, most of the hotels are central but I'm leery of it now because PL upgraded the Hilton Olympia from 3* to 4* and it's a bit too far from the tube and knowing my luck that's the hotel I would land and not the dozen others that would all be good! (I also won't bid on less than 4* in London because some of the hotels can be dodgy)

I HIGHLY recommend that you read through the rebidding process, there is a ton of information here to help explain how to squeeze the best deal out of PL without bidding too high. smilingboy posted a very useful re-bidding permutation table on Sept 7 2008 which has helped me immensely. I didn't do as well the first time I used PL because I didn't take enough time to read up -- I didn't realize that I could close my browser and start up a new session when I ran out of bids and that alone likely cost me about $30 a night that first time.

You can use the search function on this site to filter through postings just about London as well. I hope that helps!

[thereuare]

Smeggo,

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Based upon the information provided by vanpoodle, let us know which zone(s) you decide upon and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[Smeggo]

I am Going to try to bid on Mayfair/Soho and Bloomsbury and eventually open up to Regents park in the next week if nothing gets booked. I am currently using all 12 of my possible bids but having little success with me going up to $130. I am thinking I will have to branch out of these two zones to have a chance at hitting a hotel in my price point. Thanks for the advice!

[thereuare]

Still some time between now and your stay, but at current rates i think you'll likely need to be closer to $200 to be successful at a 4* hotel in these zones for these dates.

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

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

[booster]

I've been trying to get a London 4* for a 6 night stay starting November 30th. I went up to $150 (with tax), but I got nothing for the following zones:

- Mayfair-Soho

- Notting Hill-Bayswater

- Bloomsbury-Marble Arch

- Regents Park-North London

[vanpoodle]

If you don't mind switching hotels you can split your stay. That's what I did for my upcoming stay. Got nowhere trying to book 8 nights in all of those zones up to $130. Weekends are much cheaper in London. Then split it to 2-3-3 and it's $84 for the 1st two nights, $120 for the next 3 nights and $83 for the last 3 nights. It will be a big pain in the neck to switch hotels, but sometimes availability is weird to get so many nights together at discount pricing and we saved a lot of money that way since I was booking more than one room.

[thereuare]

I've been trying to get a London 4* for a 6 night stay starting November 30th.

If you'd like help with your own stay please start a NEW TOPIC and include the information above, but please provide the maximum bid price (before taxes and fees) you have already tried; and please click this PRICELINE link before posting.

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

Thanks.

[Smeggo]

Thanks for your help.  

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the follow-up and hope you enjoyed your stay.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.