Priceline Hotel: London 7/4-7/13 - 3* or Better - Help

[JerLon]

I'm looking for a hotel in London for 7/4/12-7/13/12.

I would prefer a 4* but would go down to a 3* if it has a decent reputation (ie: I stayed in the Novotel in the Docklands once and I'm fine with it due to it's proximity for the DLR and relative cleanliness due to it's new construction).

I would like to keep my budget around $100/night. I am looking at quotes for apartments around $150/night and would like to see if I can't find a hotel that would be cheaper and make up for the fact that we would have to eat out each night if we stay in a hotel.

I would prefer being central but am okay with being outside a bit (ie: Docklands) as long as transportation is easy. The wife and I rarely stay up late or go out late into the evening. However, we are planning on several day trips that may require us be at a central station by 6:30 am or so and I am unfamiliar with the transportation to know if this would be difficult if we don't stay central.

So:

1. Any suggestions?

2. Help with a bidding strategy? I would like to start bidding today as I want to book air before it is too late.

[thereuare]

Welcome (officially) to BetterBidding... we've been waiting for your first post!

If you've made any PRICELINE / HOTWIRE purchases in the last 4.5 years since joining the board, it would be appreciated if you begin to share your wins so that the information could help others with their own travel purchases.

...if it has a decent reputation.

As you won't know the name of the hotel until after your purchase, there is no way to know of the hotel you're going to receive 'has a good reputation'. Probably best to try a 4* up to your limit, then evaluate whether you want to bid higher (vs. your $150 fallback options) or lower your star rating to 3 stars.

I would prefer being central...

Which zones, by PRICELINE name, are you willing to accept? We'll then be able to suggest a strategy for you to follow.

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

[Romelle]

Regarding being out as far as the Docklands area, I looked a little at the Underground schedule from there. Using Canary Wharf as an example, it looks like the Jubilee Line trains start running about 5:30 am. They do run every few minutes though, so minimal waiting time. Depending upon where you mean by "central" for the day trips, the ride could well involve a transfer to another line to complete the trip. I didn't look at the Docklands Light Railroad, which can be the other option out there.

However, the trains can have some issue or another from time to time. You might want to situate yourselves where cabs can be the back-up plan for the day trip days.

Sometimes longer stays are hard to nail on Priceline anyway, so you might consider splitting your visit into some shorter blocks of nights. Then, if they group right, you could bid the nights involving the day trips in the more central areas closer to where you would start the day trips.

If you are arriving via air late in the day and or departing via air early in the day, you might consider airport hotels for those nights.

Romelle

[vanpoodle]

I wouldn't want to risk a 3* hotel in London. There's enough good zones though to try. It is summer so it will be a bit more expensive.

My favourite zones are:

Notting Hill

Regent's Park

Westminster

Bloomsbury

Mayfair

I will bid on these ones using caution:

Chelsea -- because I'm most likely to get the Copthorne at Chelsea Football Club which is way far out but at least close to the tube -- if nothing low is accepted in other zones then I'll start bidding that zone in the 80s figuring I'll put up with the hassle for the savings

Finsbury -- It's the old east end, not as nice as the other areas but the two hotels they are known to use are nice ones but quite a long walk from the tube

Kensington -- I like Kensington a lot, but I fear winning the Hilton Olympia which recently got upped to 4* but is tired and sounds like quite a walk to the tube. I'd risk it at a low bid if nothing was being accepted in the other zones.

Kew -- too far out, won't bid there

Docklands -- location is a bit too far out, but I'd consider it if I were desperate because the hotels are nice there at least.

City and LB -- half the zone is great, the other half is on the south side of the river so not ideal (and if you look at their rates, they are usually quite a bit cheaper on the other side of the river so I'd expect that would be where I'd end up).

Take a look at the postings explaining re-bidding, especially the permutation table that Smilingboy posted in 2008 to help maximize your bids at one sitting. I'd start slightly sub-80 if you have a good grasp of the permutations and then slowly raise the bids working your way through all the different combinations of the acceptable zones and the re-bid zones. I've done this before and once got up past $140 for the zones I like, then started looking at the other zones and ended up at Chelsea Football Club for $120 which was a decent compromise considering. I look at bidding on PL as a process requiring patience and don't mind taking a few days to do it, always ignoring any counteroffer and working my bidding up slowly and methodically. Always with a pen and paper in front of me to keep track of which bids I made.

[Romelle]

would like to see if I can't find a hotel that would be cheaper and make up for the fact that we would have to eat out each night if we stay in a hotel.

1. Any suggestions?

It took me a while to figure this out in London, so thought I'd mention it. The department stores tend to have quite nice grocery stores in their basements. And the grocery stores carry a nice selection of take-out single-serve foods.

Romelle

[vanpoodle]

The dept store idea is a good one. We discovered a love of Pret a Manger, I don't normally like sandwiches but they put some nice ones together affordably with some pretty creative and tasty selection, so we ate there quite a bit. Also check out Time Out London's website for cheap eats, they have a section devoted to it. There is a small chain called Hummus Bros that can put together a fairly inexpensive meal, too. We also found some good options at train station food courts which often happened to be at a tube station we ended up at anyway. We found Cornish Pasties there that we like. I probably wouldn't eat train station food here, but it was much more exotic and interesting to me there, with so many train commuters wanting good cheap options. I just felt there was no point in going for fine dining every night. We did a bit of that at Wagamama and the like, but lots of cheaper options exist there.