Hotwire Hotel: 3.5* London (Notting Hill - Bayswater) Ramada Hyde Park

[adambevo]

I am heading to London from 5/17 to 5/21 and Paris from 5/21 to 5/24 with my wife, her parents and my parents. Needless to say, I'd rather not spend that much time in a room with either my parents or my in laws.

How well does Priceline work for getting 3 rooms, and specifically in London and Paris? Should I expect to pay about the same that I would if I was looking for just one room? Are there any tips that could help?

Thanks!!!

[thereuare]

Three rooms is usually not an issue depending upon dates, high season/low season, special events in the area, etc. If multiple rooms is a factor it's usually a negative one, but hopefully it won't be an issue for your dates above.

If/when you're ready to move forward, we'll use this thread for you first segment, London 5/17-5/21, please start a NEW TOPIC for the second leg of your trip for Paris.

For London, which zone(s) are you willing to accept and what is your maximum bid?

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

[adambevo]

For London, I'd prefer Bloomsbury-Marble Arch or Mayfair Soho, but would be fine with Chelsea-Knightsbridge, Regents Park-North London, Notting Hill-Bayswater and maybe Westminster. Would rather be closer to fun neighborhoods/restaurants/nightlife than tourist attractions.

Trying to keep it under $100 a night per room. I bid for four stars in the above areas at $85, $90, $95, and $100 last night but didn't have any luck. I am willing to bump down to a 3 star to get my price.

[thereuare]

I bid for four stars in the above areas at $85, $90, $95, and $100 last night...

To confirm, did you include Westminster in this bidding or not?

You included all of the following:

Bloomsbury-Marble Arch

Mayfair Soho

Chelsea-Knightsbridge

Regents Park-North London

Notting Hill-Bayswater

Westminster (???)

I am willing to bump down to a 3 star to get my price.

We'll be happy to suggest a 3* strategy, but if you're not aware, star ratings in Europe are a bit more 'generous' than a similar hotel in the United States... a 3* hotel in London (or Paris) could be more like a 2.5*/2* hotel in the States/North America. Is this acceptable?

Please confirm regarding which zones you have already bid and whether Westminster was included in that bidding or not. If not, did you first want to try bidding 4* again while including Westminster OR did you want to move on to 3* bidding? If moving on to 3* bidding, should we include Westminster?

Please let us know the above and we'll advise accordingly.

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

[adambevo]

To confirm, did you include Westminster in this bidding or not?

You included all of the following:

Bloomsbury-Marble Arch

Mayfair Soho

Chelsea-Knightsbridge

Regents Park-North London

Notting Hill-Bayswater

Westminster (???)

We'll be happy to suggest a 3* strategy, but if you're not aware, star ratings in Europe are a bit more 'generous' than a similar hotel in the United States... a 3* hotel in London (or Paris) could be more like a 2.5*/2* hotel in the States/North America. Is this acceptable?

Please confirm regarding which zones you have already bid and whether Westminster was included in that bidding or not. If not, did you first want to try bidding 4* again while including Westminster OR did you want to move on to 3* bidding? If moving on to 3* bidding, should we include Westminster?

Please let us know the above and we'll advise accordingly.

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

Did not include Westminster before but probably will on my next bid tonight. I'll try 4 star again tonight with Westminster then probably work my way down to 3 star if that doesn't work.

I'm definitely fine with whatever I get. I have a budget to stick to and just about everything I find in my budget looking at Kayak is either out of town or shared bathrooms which the old folks dont want.

[vanpoodle]

I've had success with booking 3 rooms in London for one stay.

If you are bidding for 4* and bid in Chelsea, just be forewarned that you are likely to get the Copthorne Chelsea Football Club by the Fulham Broadway tube station. In my experience it comes in signifantly cheaper than the other more desirable zones so if you're okay with that hotel be sure to start your bids very low for Chelsea and read the reviews first to make sure you're okay with it. I have yet to see anyone have better luck in Chelsea/Knightsbridge for a 4*, you'd almost think that's the only hotel they use there. The only reason I was happy with that hotel was because everything else that trip was much more expensive and I got a good deal. But it's my "desperation" play when I can't get any cheaper bids accepted in the zones I like (Mayfair, Bloomsbury, Regent's Park, Westminster, Notting Hill).

I would take that 4* in Chelsea over a 3* in London any day though, I will not go for 3* there.

[thereuare]

If you want to try for a 4* again you could use the following strategy:

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair...

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Chelsea and Regents Park

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Notting Hill and Westminster

Bid $65, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Notting Hill and Mayfair...

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Regents Park

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Chelsea and Westminster

Bid $70, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Chelsea and Mayfair...

Bid $75, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Notting Hill and Regents Park

Bid $75, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Westminster

Bid $75, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair and Chelsea...

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster

Bid $80, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Mayfair and Chelsea...

Bid $83, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Notting Hill and Westminster...

Bid $83, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Notting Hill and Chelsea...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Mayfair and Westminster...

Bid $85, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair and Westminster...

Bid $88, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Chelsea...

Bid $88, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair and Chelsea and Regents Park...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair and Chelsea and Notting Hill...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Bloomsbury and Mayfair and Chelsea and Westminster...

Bid $90, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster and Bloomsbury...

Bid $93 if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster and Mayfair...

Bid $93, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster and Chelsea...

Bid $93, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster and Bloomsbury and Mayfair...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster and Bloomsbury and Chelsea...

Bid $95, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Mayfair and Chelsea and Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster...

Bid $98, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Mayfair and Chelsea and Regents Park and Notting Hill and Bloomsbury...

Bid $98, if rejected close browser and use this link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 4* Mayfair and Chelsea and Regents Park and Notting Hill and Westminster and Bloomsbury...

Bid $100

You can follow the above and if rejected, you can then simply repeat using 3* instead of 4* if you choose to lower your star rating.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[vanpoodle]

hey thereuare,

I just thought I should opine on your bidding strategy just because Chelsea isn't really a "fair" zone in PL's world since the Copthorne at Chelsea Football Club is likely what they'll give you when you bid in that zone and that hotel is not up to par with other 4*s.

I would only bid separately for Chelsea after reasonable bids in other zones have been rejected (you can use those other more desirable zones as re-bid zones and just work the bids on this zone starting really low) and the cost savings out there make up for the fact that it's not that great a hotel and it's out of the way and its rate is quite a bit cheaper than other comparable hotels and for good reason. (ie I knowingly bid this zone and won this hotel for $120 a night when bids into the $160s were getting rejected for 4* in the Westminster, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Bloomsbury, Regent's park).

If there really was a chance of landing a hotel that truly is in the Chelsea/Knightsbridge area it would be fine, but it is the Football Club that seems to be their go-to which is far away from there (closer to Fulham and Hammersmith) and that zone just needs to be bid with that knowledge. You are highly unlikely to get something in walking distance to Harrod's or anywhere walkable to Sloane Square -- there are a ton of great hotels in this zone but PL doesn't seem to use them for Name Your Own Price. There is no point bidding this zone plus a nicer zone at a fair price for the nicer zone because you'll end up with this hotel and be overpaying for it! (the only caveat is that if Chelsea happens to be playing a home game next door (which isn't very often), then they likely haven't given any rooms over to PL for that one night)

M

[adambevo]

Just out of curiosity, what is the deal with the Copthorne? Is it location or the hotel itself?

[thereuare]

vanpoodle,

Thanks for your comments/thoughts on this region/zone.

I originally was going to ask the OP how s/he wanted to proceed based upon your comments, but as s/he had already bid up to $100 and was rejected, and you finished your comments with:

I would take that 4* in Chelsea over a 3* in London any day though, I will not go for 3* there.

I assumed that while not ideal, it was the likely next step based upon the previously rejected bids.

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

[adambevo]

I ran through your bidding suggestion and still came up empty. I will probably try for a 3* tomorrow.

[thereuare]

At the 3* level you can simply repeat the same strategy, but use 3* instead of 4* (you could do this now if you'd like, as lowering your star rating qualifies as change to bypass the 24 hour lockout).

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[vanpoodle]

The main issue with the Copthorne Chelsea Football Club is its location. It is not in a spot that commands the same rates as the other zones and will always be cheaper than anything you'll land in the other zones and for any hotel that is actually in Chelsea/Knightsbridge. It's a 10 minute walk to the tube but is considered to be in Fulham, quite close to Hammersmith. (the 5* in that Chelsea zone, the Wyndham, is similarly poorly located albeit in a different part of Chelsea). The hotel itself is nothing I'd rave about, let's just leave it at acceptable.

With that knowledge I will bid that zone if nothing is coming through for me in the other central zones and the savings are getting to be hefty enough to make it worth putting up with.

I would consider a 4* in Docklands though before I'd consider going 3*. There have been a few postings lately for a Hilton in that zone at $85 a night. Docklands also isn't exactly central but it is on 2 different tube lines so reasonable for getting to the main places of interest and there is an excellent museum very close to the Hilton Docklands. That hotel is pretty good and I'd be open to saving money by staying there rather than taking my chances at a 3*.

[adambevo]

We extended the budget up to $130 and dropped to 3 star and couldn't get anything in the zones we wanted. I think three rooms may have made the request a tough one to come by. We ended up getting rooms on Hotwire. I'll put a thread there for what we got.

[adambevo]

Just got three rooms for $136 for a four night stay in London.

Amenities listed were:

-Free Internet

-Restaurant

-Laundry Facilities

-High Speed Internet Access

Booking through Ramada's Web site would be $180 per night.

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

Certainly not a bad deal for this property! Hope you are pleased with the result and are looking forward to your stay.

Thank you for sharing your win and please use the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

Enjoy your stay.

[adambevo]

Just FYI, just before my stay here the hotel changed from the Ramada Hyde Park to the London Hyde Park by Doubletree. Didn't know if anyone else had noticed this.