Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Regents Park - North London) London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale

[mmj89]

Hello :)

I have used priceline before, but I still think I could use some help. My boyfriend and I will be staying in London from October 12th-15th.

I have seen winning bids to London Marriott Hotel County Hall for about 14 days before we plan on going. I would like to try for the same (risky, yes). Is there a strategy to get multiple bids in 24 hours for 5 star hotels in Westminster? Are there any zones in London which do not have any 5* hotels for example? I do not want to spend more than $110 so if I am unsuccessful I will widen my search.

If Im unable to get a 5* in Westminster (Preferably County Hall) I would like a 4* (Or 5* ofc) in 1)Soho, 2)Bloomsbury or 3)Westminster. My budget would be max $100 /night (before taxes), but as low as possible is obviously preferred (so - I would rather have a cheap 4 star than a more expensive 5 star.) Any advice as to how I should proceed to bid?

I will (of course) use the links provided here :)

Thank you!

[melrew]

I'm sure others with far more experiencee than I will chime in soon, but I have been bidding on a 5* in Westminster for the past couple of weeks with no luck. Up to $151 US. We are traveling around the same time as you (Oct 8-11). I know that inventory changes from day to day, but just thought I'd share what I have found. Good luck with your search!

[vanpoodle]

London can be tricky -- over the past year the best deal has been for 4* In Regent's Park, where a Marriott was won for $78 during the time you're in London. Worth considering as a backup if deals don't come through for your preferred areas. Both hotels that PL has been using there for the past year are very close to the tube and are only a couple stops from Westminster.

You can also take a look at Express Deals to get an idea of what might be available during your date. From experience, NYOP comes in at $10-ish a night less tha PRICELINE EXPRESS Deals.

[mmj89]

Thank you for your replies. I'm thinking after hearing about your bidding, melrew, that 5* in Westminster is a bit over my budget, and that I should try for a 4* in the areas mentioned above. If I am unsuccessful in my three preferred areas I will keep Regent's Park in mind. The most important thing for me is that the hotel is close to the tube, but obviously there are no guarantees. I have always been very happy with deals made through Priceline before, so fingers crossed for this time as well.

If anybody has a bidding strategy for 4* (or 5* - but I'm guessing 4* will be cheaper :P ) in London for oct 12-15 in the zones 1)Soho, 2)Bloomsbury or 3)Westminster I would be really thankful! :)

[yellowdog]

mmj89

If you would like to get help with a bidding strategy so please post your budget/night before tax/fee's 4* vs 5*

Is there a strategy to get multiple bids in 24 hours for 5 star hotels in Westminster? Are there any zones in London which do not have any 5* hotels for example?

Please read this link to start with: Priceline Re-Bidding Explained Feel free to post with any questions you might have regaring this,

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

Yellowdog.

[mmj89]

My budget/night before tax is $100. My aim is 4*, but I wont be upset id it's a 5*. But for the bidding strategy, just assume I'm going for a 4*, max $100, but as low as you think possible in the areas above.

Thank you! :)

[thereuare]

To confirm, your acceptable zones are: Soho, 2)Bloomsbury or 3)Westminster? If so you can begin as follows:

When bidding 4* in London there are no re-bid zones.

Soho, 2)Bloomsbury or 3)Westminster

Select 4* Soho...

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

Select 4* Bloomsbury...

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

Select 4* Westminster...

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

Select 4* Soho and Bloomsbury...

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

Select 4* Soho and Westminster...

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

Select 4* Soho and Bloomsbury and Westminster...

Bid $100

Any questions feel free to ask.

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

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[mmj89]

Unfortunately I was not able to get a hotel with my budget of $100. I also added North London/Regent's Park and The City, but was unsuccessful. I'm all out of rebids, but I'm thinking of trying again tomorrow. I guess I can't be as cheap as I've been so far. :P It seems it will be more difficult this time. Hopefully I'll be able to make a deal in the end.

Thanks so far anyway! :)

[AaronJB]

Thank you for keeping us updated and please let us know if you have additional questions.

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

[vanpoodle]

Wow, that's crazy! I know the Regent's Park Marriott was going for bids of $78 for the night of Oct 13. If your stay was longer I'd suggest splitting it into 2 stays and being open to switching hotels because the deals can be in different zones for different nights, but with only 3 nights that's hard to want to do. I also really like the Notting Hill zone, it's still very central on the tube and a lot of fun. I would consider bidding there next if it were me. Take a look and see how pricing changes for each night in different zones with Express Deals, it might give you an idea of what the holdup is.

What I have done, and only in times of desperation, is to look at staying in Kensington or Chelsea. If you stay in Chelsea it is likely the Copthorne Football Club hotel that you'd get. The location and hotel are decent enough though not top-tier like the other zones, but I must have saved at least $30 a night the time we stayed, and we had 3 rooms. We split our stay and went out there for the expensive night, it was worth it for us.

I'm hesitant about Kensington. The location is great, I LOVE Kensington, but they have upgraded the Copthorne Tara to 4* (worth checking the listings in case they put it back down to 3* in which case the zone is back to being okay!). It's got good transit links and is fun on its own merits. The non-Tara hotels in Kensington are all pretty good. I might pick Finsbury first though if you can get a good price, it is still close to the action and the 2 known hotels are good ones, but it doesn't always come cheaply. City/London Bridge zone borders Westminster and is usually the same price, I'd be open to that one if the deal was good.

Hammersmith/Wembley/Richmond are too far. Docklands is a ways out as well but it has good tube links, though one of the Hiltons they may use is on the riverfront and I think you have to use the hotel's water taxi to get to the tube, the other hotels are well linked though.

Anyhow, those are just ideas for when desperate measures are needed!

[mmj89]

Thank you everyone for your replies! :)

I have won a hotel now - the Marriott London Maida Vale. I had to pay $110/night before taxes, €304,87 in total included taxes and fees for three nights. It seems like a good hotel for our purposes, and I'm really happy. I checked hotels.com for the same dates, their price was about €855 - so it was a bargain even though I had to go a bit over budget.

Again, thank you!

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

While over your original planned budget, glad to see that this represents a very good deal for these dates and that you're pleased with the results.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board.

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

Enjoy your stay.

[vanpoodle]

Oh good, that is my favourite of the 2 Marriotts in Regent's Park. It is 5 minutes from Kilburn Park tube, and the bus stop out front has a bus that takes you directly to Oxford Street. Well, the other Marriott is probably nicer as far as hotels go, but not by a ton, this one has a good bus RIGHT THERE and tube pretty close!