Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Kensington) Holiday Inn Forum

[Blizzz]

Hello there,

I am going on vacation to London from 9/10 till 9/26.

I have never been in London, and basically no idea where to stay and actually how much to bid.

I would be happy with a 3* hotel, In a 'family friendly' area ( I am not sure what I really mean with that, maybe a park nearby, restaurants/cafes in walking distance, etc, i hope somebody undestands :-))

any help appreciated.

Sebastian

[thereuare]

There are others here that know much more than i about the city, but i'll ask the questions i'm sure others will need to know to help advise you accordingly:

-do you want to stay at the same hotel for the entire stay (16 days is a long time, why not stay in 2-3 different area of the city to get a feel for different neighborhoods)

-what sort of things do you like to do

-are there any specific plans (tourist attractions) that you do have/want to see

-will you be traveling solo or with others

-what type of accomodations are you seeking (3*, 4*, 5*... keeping in mind that European ratings are very different than US ratings)

[lwitchel]

Blizzz - try and stay in the central London districts (Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Westminster) - but also Kensington, which is a tourist area as well, has the best Priceline rates at the moment - the Holiday Inn Forum, a 4* that people seem pleased with is going for $65-75/night bids. I got it for November dates for $69/night. Thereuare is also right, the Priceline star ratings in Europe are generally one star off American expectations, but this isn't consistent. On my last stay in London, I stayed at the Marriott Marble Arch, which was a 4* in the US or the UK. But some 3* hotels in Europe, especially non-chain hotels, can be disappointing. You're safer bidding at 4* in Europe unless researching previous wins has shown that there's a good 3* that's the usual win in the zone in which you bid.

Have a great trip!

[WillTravel]

I agree with the above. I don't require 4* hotels generally, but in this particular case I consider it a good idea to bid for them.

[ShibuyaJon]

I would avoid Bloomsbury. The Hotel Russel is a dump. Worse supposed 4* I've even been subjected to.

[Blizzz]

thanks for all the replies. i will do some homework and learn about the different areas, so i can pick one out.

also thanks for the star-rating advice. i was not aware of that difference.

to answer some of the questions:

- i travel with my family (wife and 3year old daughter)

- i would love to have a park (with playgrounds) in walking distance for my daughter and for myself to go running in the morning

I'll followup shortly, thanks again

Sebastian

[WillTravel]

Priceline is likely a bad choice for you then. London hotel rooms tend to be very small, and the staff is unwilling (often due to regulation) to allow a third person in the room. That would be the case for all of the above-mentioned zones.

However, I would consider Priceline if bidding the South Bank - Vauxhall zone. The only known hotels that have come up there are the 3* Novotel Waterloo and the 2* Comfort Inn Vauxhall. Both of these allow children under 12 for free. And based on my experience, the Comfort Inn Vauxhall is a nice, comfortable hotel. There is still a risk that some other hotel would come up, but I would feel more comfortable bidding there than elsewhere.

The other Priceline option would be bidding for 2 rooms, which is probably not an economical choice.

[Blizzz]

i eventually did my bidding.

i got accepted with 100$ at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum.

here my bidding history:

stay from 9/11 to 9/17

I started with **** and 69$ with Kensington

added then westminster

added then mayfair

added then bloomsbury and increased bid to 79$

added then southbank, increased bid amount to 100$

bid got accepted.

thanks for assistance,

regards,

Sebastian

[thereuare]

Congratulation on completing your plans and doing it without splitting your stay.

Thanks for following-up with us regarding yoru results.

Enjoy your stay.

[WillTravel]

Have you contacted the hotel to find out about a bed for your child? The two-twin-bed room that I was first assigned at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum would not fit another bed (we were later assigned to an executive room due to a housekeeping glitch, but you could not count on that!).

[Blizzz]

i have not contacted them yet. my daughter is only 3 years old. i think she would always fit in the middle of our bed. in fact that's what we have done on our recent New York City travels, where the hotel didn't really want to put another bed into the room ( or could not fit it in)

I'll follow your suggestion though and contact the hotel.

So, I hope my first week is all set, now i only have to figure out what to do the second week of our trip. after browsing the web the choices are overwhelming.

We lean to do a roadtrip and maybe drive to Wales, Bath, Stonehenge, etc. I hope to buy a good travel guide at a bookstore today and hope to get some good suggestions. My wife loves castles, i hope to find a nice one which is also a hotel, and has some griendly ghosts :-)

Any other suggestions welcome,

thanks for all the help

Sebastian

[WillTravel]

The problem is that most rooms at this hotel say 2 People Max and sometimes they are very strict about that. In that case, it might be best to "sneak" her in there. Just have one person do the check-in and ask for a double bed.

If you go to this site http://www.ichotelsgroup.com and enter 2 Adults in the search box, vs. 2 Adults and one child, you come up with two different sets of rooms that reflect this difference. The rooms that hold three are somewhat more expensive than the rooms that hold two. For the standard two-person room, there is this message: "Persons includes the total number of people staying in the room, including children."