Hotwire Hotel: 4* London (Bloomsbury - Marble Arch) Ambassadors Bloomsbury

[greatdeals]

Been trying to get a night (1/5-2/5) at a 4* Hotel in the London City area, particularly Westminster, Mayfair, Marble Arch, London City/Tower Bridge areas, but can't seem to get it.

Bidding $130 and up, went to $152 and still nothing. Is it advisable to wait till I'm closer to May to book (like say, 3rd week of April), or are prices for this time normally unusually high?

Any help is appreciated! (And yes I've been using site PRICELINE links to search and bid).

Budget's around 155 tops excl taxes.

[vanpoodle]

oh, I guess it's midweek and it's May so that might be why. I would consider bidding in Notting Hill, I have had great luck there in the past when other zones wouldn't come through for me. Regent's Park could be good, too (most likely hotel is the Holiday Inn Camden Lock, but people have had better hotels than that one come through). Consider starting low bidding with those zones, in the past I have had bids in the $83 range accepted in those zones, but it was not in the spring. If you want to do a search (top right, you can search by user names for postings), I have posted quite a bit about London ideas recently. You will find some debate about Chelsea and Docklands when desperate measures needed because bids not being accepted in the more desired zones)

[thereuare]

Nobody can say if rates will come down, or continue even higher, between now and your stay, as it will be dependent upon how actual hotel reservations/cancellations come in relative to expected reservations/cancellations (all of which are unknown factors). This is Springtime which can get quite pricey, but for a further discussion see the related 'Bid Early or Close to Check-in' link in our PRICELINE FAQ.

Are any of the other zone(s) mentioned above of interest or do you prefer to hold out and hope for lower prices and/or bid up to your maximum for the current zones?

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

[greatdeals]

Thanks for the inputs :) Will keep trying and post any win I get accordingly!

[greatdeals]

Looks like this is one of the worst days to go to London. Tried $110 bids for 3 Stars in Westminster, City & Mayfair and couldn't get it either. Bayswater, Kensington 4* @ $120 no luck as well.

Guess I'll try again tomorrow!

[AaronJB]

Sorry to hear that your bids weren't accepted. :( Hopefully tomorrow will bring better luck and a winning bid.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches, and thank you for keeping us updated.

[vanpoodle]

Consider starting off low with Regent's Park as well. That zone is fairly central. The worst of the hotels PL uses there appears to be the Holiday Inn Camden Lock there which is middle of the road in terms of the hotel itself (not a TERRIBLE place or anything, just average) but it is in a really neat part of the city and still close in. Or you might get lucky and land one of the better hotels they are known to use for that zone.

Warning about Kensington: It appears that the grim Copthorne Tara has now been upped 4*, along with the Hilton Olympia, so only bid there if you can get something considerably cheaper than in another zone. I think I'd sooner go stay in Docklands for less money (bids sub$85 have been accepted at times when bids in the $140s rejected for the more central zones) than stay at either of those two Keinsington hotels! The two Docklands 4* appear to be a Hilton or a Crowne Plaza and they're both pretty new. And the tube is close.

Another cheap zone is Finsbury/Islington on the east side, they also use a new-ish Hilton or Crowne Plaza, but it's a 10 minute walk to the tube from either.

when the budget gets blown in my preferred zones, I consider those ones. I also consider Chelsea but I have to be getting a very cheap hotel because I'm not crazy about the Copthorne Chelsea Football Club which I'm most likely to get.

[greatdeals]

Consider starting off low with Regent's Park as well. That zone is fairly central. The worst of the hotels PL uses there appears to be the Holiday Inn Camden Lock there which is middle of the road in terms of the hotel itself (not a TERRIBLE place or anything, just average) but it is in a really neat part of the city and still close in. Or you might get lucky and land one of the better hotels they are known to use for that zone.

Warning about Kensington: It appears that the grim Copthorne Tara has now been upped 4*, along with the Hilton Olympia, so only bid there if you can get something considerably cheaper than in another zone. I think I'd sooner go stay in Docklands for less money (bids sub$85 have been accepted at times when bids in the $140s rejected for the more central zones) than stay at either of those two Keinsington hotels! The two Docklands 4* appear to be a Hilton or a Crowne Plaza and they're both pretty new. And the tube is close.

Another cheap zone is Finsbury/Islington on the east side, they also use a new-ish Hilton or Crowne Plaza, but it's a 10 minute walk to the tube from either.

when the budget gets blown in my preferred zones, I consider those ones. I also consider Chelsea but I have to be getting a very cheap hotel because I'm not crazy about the Copthorne Chelsea Football Club which I'm most likely to get.

Thanks for all the tips and advice so far, much appreciated! Alright, more updates - basically tried up to $100 for 4* at Regent's Park which were all rejected. Noticed that Regent's Park is now listed as best deal for 4* instead of Kensington so I'm hopeful. Other observation is that Hotwire also added one of two other zones in the past 24 hrs. All in all, I'm thinking that the hotels have pretty good occupancy so far and the only chance of me getting a good place at a good price is if I book last minute close to the date. Will keep trying till then, but I've also booked a backup that can be cancelled just in case. Wish me luck!

[Romelle]

Regarding the dreaded Kensington Copthorne Tara - when bidding, I've ended up with it several times. It worked for me. A two block walk to a tube station and I could get anywhere in London. Some good little restaurants in the area. The rooms had everything I needed, including a coffee/tea maker and supplies. Quiet, comfortable, clean.

I did learn the rooms seem to get nicer the higher up one goes, so it is a good idea to very politely ask for as high a floor as possible.

I don't hesitate to include Kensington in my bidding.

Romelle

If you read those reviews closely, some of the objections are things like no washcloths and European hotels rooms rarely have washcloths. Other objections are the lack of help from Concierges, and this sometimes can be a matter of approach and reasonable vs unreasonable expectations.

[vanpoodle]

Hey Romelle, that's good to know. I've only seen the Tara from the outside but most of the reviews seem to skewer it. I've stayed at other Copthornes which were only okay. Kensington with that one and the Hilton Olympia now upped to 4* is now a zone to bid on if I can get a lower bid accepted when nothing affordable seems to work in the zones I like.

I really do like Regent's Park so, greatdeals, I'd keep working that one a little!

I'd also toss in some bids in Notting Hill -- that zone has been good to me in the past. I think the worst hotel they use in that zone is the Hilton Kensington which my husband stayed at. He said it was a great hotel, just a bit inconvenient to get to depending on which tube line you're on -- coming in from Heathrow it needed a few too many interchanges. My winning bids in that zone have always been at the Hilton Hyde Park which I love. Yes, perhaps it's showing some wear, but we've had it for less than $85 a night a few times (weekends mind you), and the location is really fantastic. The Sunday artists' market on Bayswater Road is right there in front of the hotel.

[greatdeals]

Saw a 4* HOTWIRE Hotel in the Bloomsbury-Marble Arch area come up for $145 excl taxes today and decided to go ahead with that option after trying one last time with PRICELINE in the same zones for 140.

Hotel I got is not listed so far in Hotwire boards (was hoping for the Doubletree) - got the Ambassadors Bloomsbury instead. Location seems fine but the hotel itself leaves some to be desired in terms of the size of rooms. At least it's just for 1 night! :) Thanks again for the help folks! Good luck to the rest trying to hunt for London hotels during this busy period!

[greatdeals]

Bid and got the Ambassadors Bloomsbury for $145, $183 (inc taxes).

Looks like a new hotel that Hotwire's using for this zone. Doesn't quite look like a 4* to me, but gotta try to find out I guess!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

While not perfect, glad to see you're pleased with the results and this will be convenient for your plans this trip.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board. So we can properly add this hotel to the Hotwire Hotel List, can you please add a reply to this thread with the amenities shown before your purchase... you can still view this information by going to HOTWIRE and clicking the MY ACCOUNT link near the top right of their home page..

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

Enjoy your stay.

[greatdeals]

Thanks! :)

Amenities shown were:

Free Internet, Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Laundry Facilities (self-service).

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up.

[vanpoodle]

I'm not familiar with that hotel, but I'm wondering if it's a case in point about how PL might only give something 3* while Hotwire gives it 4*? I took a look at the PL retail site out of curiousity but it does not appear to be a hotel that they use. They give the Doubletree West End 3* -- I have seen that hotel from the outside and it looked REALLY nice (location couldn't be beat) and sometimes its room rate on the Hilton site is more expensive than some of the Hiltons in Central London. (I mention that because greatdeals was hoping for the doubletree). I am very much hoping that we get to go back to London in October so I can do my own bidding instead of just living vicariously through others!

[greatdeals]

Looking at the Hotwire Star Ratings Guide, 3 and 3.5 Stars include the Doubletree and 4-4.5 should be the flagship hotels already, which is why I too feel it's a bit deceptive. That said, I have had luck getting great hotels in the past through HOTWIRE, so it's quite a hit or miss thing. In any case, thanks again for the all the help vanpoodle! Hope you make it to London later on in the year! :)

[vanpoodle]

greatdeals, I'm not sure how familiar you are with London but we've had a fantastic time with London Walks for having great wanders in the usual touristy areas as well as some more esoteric walks in areas that I never would have thought to see which turned out to be wonderful surprises. It was good cheap fun. I have a few other ideas as well if you're not already completely booked up for your stay, message me if you'd like.

[vanpoodle]

I just checked, teh Copthorne Tara is back to 3 stars if anyone is interested. Kensington now resumes to being a lot less terrifying for bidding 4*!