Priceline Hotel: London (The City - London Bridge) - 6/11 - 6/15

[daitoshi]

Looking for assistance in finding a hotel deal - any recent knowledge appreciated. Staying in London on business from 6/11 - 6/15, need to be in The City or walking distance. Looks like some great deals to be had, but think I'd be devastated winning Thistle Tower! (Most reviews are 3.5*, PL has it as 4*)

Any guidance or advice greatly appreciated!

[vanpoodle]

I dug around a bit to see if I could find out more about the Thistle Tower and I can't seem to find it. I did lots of searching on the PL retail site, looked at other dates and don't see it. I tried Kayak, no listing for a hotel with that name. PL has a few Thistles with ratings varying from 3-4*. I went to Thistle's website and they don't have a hotel by that name. Have you come across it elsewhere? I don't know if it's undergone refurbishment or was sold and re-named or if I just can't find it for no particularly good reason.

In searching this forum I found a winning bid for the Guoman Tower in 2010 and I think that might be the same hotel, the thread says that the name was changed. I don't see it on the PL retail site either.

The rule with PL is that you risk getting a hotel you don't want in a zone that has the same * rating. I was looking to see what PL had it rated at because sometimes that changes and if it now has a different * rating in which case it wouldn't be a risk.

I don't know if that helps or not! This zone is likely marginally cheaper than Westminster, which is the only zone that I think would be walking distance to the City.

[daitoshi]

That's really helpful, thanks for all the advice. I think the name has been changed to Guoman Tower, or even just The Tower. I see the name on the pinned list of PL hotels for London, not sure how current those are kept though. When I search the main PL page by map view, it doesn't appear - but does that necessarily mean it's not included in the 'name your own price' offers?

[Romelle]

The pinned list of PL hotels is updated immediately when there is a new winning bid reported.

There is really no way to determine whether a hotel is currently in or out of the NYOP offers, nor is there any way of avoiding a particular hotel when bidding a zone/star level.

It does sometimes seem the wins run in streaks, but eventually the streaks break. Even with a successful bid posted a minute ago, that bidder might have gotten the last one in the PL inventory. Or a hotel might not have been seen as a win for ages, and it pops up for you.

I've several times gotten completely different hotels not yet reported here.

You have to be prepared to accept any hotel at the star level you are bidding within the boundaries of the map.

Romelle

[vanpoodle]

There WAS a winning bid for the Tower in 2010 where the winner made a comment that it used to be the Thistle Tower, now known as Guoman Tower, but I think the hotel list just didn't get updated.

But Romelle is right, be prepared to accept whatever they give you for that * level in the zone because these unlisted hotels show up from time to time as winning bids, which can be good or can be disappointing. I can't find the Guoman Tower on PL's retail side so I can't find out if they give it 3* or 4*, but if it is a 4*, there is a possibility it could come through as your hotel when you bid. Probably not with a high probability, but that possibility is still there.

Daitoshi, I hope the fact that it is no longer the Thisle Tower makes you more comfortable to try a bid in that zone. I checked on TripAdvisor, the Guoman Tower gets middling reviews, much like many of the 4* hotels in London seem to get! I was also thinking that some parts of Bloomsbury are adjacent to the City, but it is a big zone so there is a chance that you get something closer to the edge of the zone up by Baker Street. It would then be a fairly short tube or bus ride, which might not be ideal.

[Romelle]

In addition to reporting bookings, the other way one can help this site is to link through it to PRICELINE, HOTWIRE, and to any of the other places on the Support Page. For actual bids and purchases this site gets a little bit of revenue, and that keeps it in business.

FYI - I'm a member, not part of the administration, but enlightened self interest causes me to lobby others.

Romelle

[daitoshi]

Thank you both for your help. Still looking, might drift over to the Hotwire side to see if I can get a bit more comfort around where I'm staying. Will definitely report any bookings!

Hi there, looking for help in ID'ing a London 5* hotel. Using Hotwire, dates of 06/12 - 06/15, I'm getting a 5* in the Islington/Shoreditch/Bethnal Green area quoted 267 USD per night.

Can't find a hotel like that on the pinned list or in searches - any idea what hotel this might be??

Thanks!

[AaronJB]

Please provide the complete list of amenities showing with the listing and we would be happy to try to ID.

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

[thereuare]

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

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread, and please click each of the links above before replying.

Thanks.

[vanpoodle]

I just came across this link to a Jan 2012 thorough review of the Guoman Tower (formerly Thistle Tower), with tons of photos. It actually looks quite nice! So not sure how your bidding is going but thought the info would be helpful.

http://www.sitinfirst.com/2012/01/the-guoman-tower-hotel-london/

I found the review thanks to a forum that Romelle introduced me to, thanks Romelle!

[Romelle]

vanpoodle,

Not to hi-jack this thread, but you are very welcome. I've seen the huge help you've been to lots of people struggling with London bidding.

Romelle