Priceline Hotel: London - 06/10 through 06/13

[chefty1]

Looking for the best option and some direction on how to bid for June 10th through 13th.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

_chad

[vanpoodle]

It's worth trying a few of the zones for a 4* (I wouldn't go lower in London) Lately, deals have been coming in for the Regent's Park zone from $60-$100 -- though June might be closer to the higher end of that range. That zone is fairly central, generally PL's hotels are a short tube ride in to the sights. 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.

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.

Careful with Kensington as, while there are some fabulous 4* ones there, a few bidders have won hotels that I wouldn't be so thrilled with if it were me. 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.

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)

[thereuare]

Based upon the info above by vanpoodle let us know what star rating and zones you'd like to try for, as well as your maximum bid, and we'll suggest a strategy for you to follow.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... and your searches too! (please click each of these previous links before replying)

Thanks.