Priceline Hotel: London 4 nights

[lynx28]

Hello I am new to all of this. I am wanting to book a double room in London-Westminster area. Monday 25th june for 4 nights.

Thank you

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

What would be your desired budget per night for this stay? Additionally, is Westminster the only zone that would be of interest?

Thank you for using the site's PRICELINE or HOTWIRE links to start your purchases and searches.

[Romelle]

You can get a general idea of what the rates might be if you put your dates and "london" in the HOTWIRE link (upper left hand corner). Priceline tends to be a little less expensive, but not necessarily so.

Priceline rooms are always for two people. Hotwire lets you select the number of people.

Romelle

PS - I'm a member, not a moderator.

[lynx28]

Hello i have about

[thereuare]

Please change the currency drop down menu on the top right of HOTWIRE's page to US Dollars (and if applicable the country to United States). Then continue to search HOTWIRE and post to the board in US Dollars so that rates are consistent and not subject to interpretation due to future currency fluctuation. Once you're ready to purchase simply change the drop down menu to whatever currency you'd like to use and complete your purchase.

Please use the US versions of PRICELINE and HOTWIRE for your bidding, searches and travel purchases.

Thank you.

[Romelle]

Are you also new to the London area?

Regarding "...not too far out", that can mean different things to different people. I'm personally OK clear out to the Docklands area, but I know it means about a 1/2 underground ride into the more main parts of the city.

When you are looking at the HOTWIRE maps of the different areas, you can zoom in on them. The little blue and red circles with bars across them are underground train station points. Then you can check the distance scale and see if you'd be willing to walk the furthest distance within the area to an underground station. Assuming in the first place, you are willing to ride the underground? Some people prefer to stay much closer in, and use cabs.

In addition to HOTWIRE, you can of course bid via PRICELINE. Sometimes a better rate can be obtained there. It usually is worth exploring first. My same comments about transportation in Hotwire apply to the Priceline zones. I'd suggest carefully studying the map and then deciding with which zones you'd be happy.

Romelle

[vanpoodle]

If you're going to bid with PRICELINE, I have a few thoughts on the zones they use.

June is a tough time to find something especially cheap. I have found I have done well with Notting Hill, it's an area I really love and I've won sub-$85 on a few occasions. But never in June!

Theoretically, Mayfair is the most expensive zone, and perhaps lower bids in Notting Hill or Bloomsbury are worth trying. I consider both of those zones as being worthy central bases for a visit to London. I think Westminster (also very central) is likely to have similar pricing to Mayfair. Docklands would be less expensive (I have seen winning bids at what I thought were expensive times below $100) but it is not central (though has good tube access), worth bidding on if nothing within budget working in the more desirable zones and the hassle of getting in and out of there is worth it considering the savings. The two Docklands 4* appear to be a Hilton or a Crowne Plaza and they're both pretty new. And the tube is close. 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.

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.

Careful with Kensington as the most likely hotel is the Hilton Olympia I recommend to only bid there if you can't get reasonable bids in another zone and this one gets accepted at a low price. The hotel is actually pretty good but there is no tube closeby, so you're most likely going to take the bus to get to the tube to go out. There are many wonderful hotels in that zone but I know how my luck tends to be and to brace myself for a less desired property.

There's nothing really wrong with City/London Bridge either, it should be cheaper than Mayfair/Westminster.

The 2 known 4* in Finsbury are both very nice hotels, they're just more than 10 minutes' walk to the tube. The east end is really getting revitalized and there is certainly night life there and it is hopping. It wouldn't be a hardship to take the tube to get to a more central zone from there to see the sights.

If you bid on Chelsea you're likely to get the Copthorne Football Club which is entirely decent, less than 10 minutes' walk to the tube, but in zone 2. Or maybe you'll have really good luck and not get this property but instead get a better one. 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 $150s were getting rejected for 4* in the Westminster, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Bloomsbury, Regent's park). 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 in the same opening bid 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)

[AbO eLsHo2]

Can I bid using PL for a family of 2 adults + 2 small kids? kids have no problem sharing our beds.

Thank you

[Romelle]

Can I bid using PL for a family of 2 adults + 2 small kids? kids have no problem sharing our beds.

Thank you

The first F.A.Q. (above left) is a good discussion of your question.

Romelle

[AbO eLsHo2]

Thank you Romelle for your quick reply. I actually read those FAQs. However my question is that accepted in London? In other words, can I win a bidding for a DBL room in a 3 or 4 stars in London & check in with my wife & 2 kids without being rejected by the hotel?

[Romelle]

Thank you Romelle for your quick reply. I actually read those FAQs. However my question is that accepted in London? In other words, can I win a bidding for a DBL room in a 3 or 4 stars in London & check in with my wife & 2 kids without being rejected by the hotel?

You probably want to start your own thread for your bidding? The "Start New Topic Button".

Now you are asking a tricky question. There can be fire code and other issues.

I'm pretty far over into "the spirit of the law" personally.

The "letter of the law" people would say no.

People of my leaning would probably say "...carefully, quietly, leaving the room at least no worse for the wear if not better (I often fix little things in a room), and tipping those maids...".

FYI - I'm a member, not an official of this site.

Romelle

PS - In Europe, it is usually suggested one stay with the 4*s rather than the 3*s. The star rating seems to be a little different there.

PPS - If your kids are of the right age, they will probably love the Underground, so you can stay out in more distant zones if you'd like.

[vanpoodle]

In thinking back over the 4* hotels I've stayed at in London, they generally come with either two twins or a queen/double bed and you're squeezing around the bed and puzzling over where to put your suitcase. The most central zones like Mayfair, Westminster and Bloomsbury tend to have the smallest rooms and the bed is a double in the worst case and it definitely wouldn't work. If you have your heart set on Westminster, it is not likely that Priceline will be the best route for you to go to fit your family in one room since it is a high rent area and space is at a premium.

It sounds like the Marriott in Maida Vale, for example, has the more North American style room with two double beds in it, but there isn't much of a guarantee with Priceline. Take a look at the hotels that tend to win in Regent's Park. There are a couple of Marriotts and a Holiday Inn and a few others. Read the reviews for each of the hotels there, maybe check with the hotels directly and see what they say. I suggest that zone because I have heard of it working for Marriotts (but perhaps not all) and I know that Holiday Inns tend to be a kid-friendly hotel. I'm not sure which other hotels tend to win in that zone.

Finsbury/Islington have so far only reported a Crowne Plaza and a Hilton for 4* and you could check the policies of both hotels there, if acceptable, try bidding that zone and cross your fingers that a third hotel hasn't been added. Chelsea tends to have the Copthorne at the Football Club as its go-to hotel (so long as Chelsea aren't playing during your stay) and you could also check there. I haven't seen any other hotel reported to the board. But if PL surprises you with a better hotel in that zone, you would end up with a hotel in a high-rent area, built before washrooms in hotels were standard, and the room was made much smaller to fit in a washroom and then there's a problem.

Priceline is clear when bidding that it is for two people. Squeezing more people in would be a bonus but not guaranteed. I have seen postings to the board where people have been pleasantly surprised and I have seen postings where other hotels got a bit nasty and either made them pay for extra people or for a second room. Again, this is me guessing at it and with Priceline you take your chances. Hotwire will actually let you book a room for the correct number of people and would be the safer way to go.

[thereuare]

AbO eLsHo2,

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please start by reading your messages, then to continue this discussion please start a NEW TOPIC for your own trip as this thread.

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

Thanks.