Priceline Hotel: 4* London (Kensington-Earls Court-Knightsbridge) Hilton Olympia

[durant durant]

Hello,

First post here. Forgive me if I'm asking a dumb question. Or point me in the right direction if I'm in the wrong spot.

I'm looking for a hotel in London for 4 nights (4/29/10 - 5/3/10).

My ideal scenario would be to score a 4* hotel in the $80-$100 range, or a 5* in the $100-120 range.

I'd like to be pretty centrally located. At this point my preferred areas would be Mayfair-Soho, Westminster, Kensington, or Notting Hill.

First question - are these reasonable goals?

Second question - if so, can somebody please help me out with a bidding strategy?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. I really appreciate the idea of this site, so I assure you that I'll follow up on how things go.

- durant durant

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

At first glance your budget appears to be sensible.

Did you want to first try for a 5* up to your limit in any of these zones, then if rejected, try for a 4* up to your limit... or did you want to first try for the lower priced/lower star rated hotel?

Also, just to confirm, Kensington is part of the larger (Kensington-Earls Court-Knightsbridge) zone, i assume you're fine with a hotel anywhere within the shaded boundaries of this zone (just making sure you only listed Kensington in order to abbreviate, and not that you were only interested in this one part of the larger zone)... same with Nottting Hill being part of the larger (Notting Hill-Bayswater) zone.

Let us know the above 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.

[durant durant]

I'm glad to hear that the budget sounds sensible. I guess my first preference would be to land a 5* in my price range, and then move onto the 4* options if that didn't work out. I think I'd be happy with either option, but I'll probably aim high first. And I'd like to get it booked sometime in the next couple of days (if that affects the strategy at all).

You are correct, I just abbreviated the zones on Priceline to abbreviate. After looking a little more closely, I think this would be my order of preference...

Mayfair - Soho (zone 6)

Westminster (zone 10)

Kensington - Earls Court - Knightsbridge (zone 4)

Bloomsbury - Marble Arch (zone 1)

Notting Hill - Bayswater (zone 7)

Really, my main objective is to be as centrally located as possible. I haven't been to London before...I'm just reading guide books and looking online to figure out where I want to be. So I'm open to suggestion if you think any of these zones are better for that purpose than others.

Thanks again for your help. Let me know if I left out any important details.

[thereuare]

I think this would be my order of preference...

Is zone or price more important?

Did you want to bid up to your limit for your first zone choice, then if rejected try your second zone choice, etc, etc... OR is your goal the least expensive 5* or better in any of the above zones (and if that is rejected then try for the least expensive 4* or better in any of the above zones)

It's easier to bid, and you'll likely get a lower price/better deal if you're looking for the least expensive hotel in any of the above zones, and this how the majority of users bid, but some people are willing to pay more to be in their fist choice of zone. Let us know your own thoughts as to how you'd like to proceed 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.

[durant durant]

My preference would be the cheapest 5* I can find, followed by the cheapest 4* I can find...in any of these zones. I ranked the zones in order of preference, but I guess that really only comes into play if I can get a 5* for the same price in multiple zones. For example, if I can get a 5* in Mayfair-Soho and also in Bloomsbury-Marble Arch for the same price, my preference would be the one in the Mayfair-Soho zone. But if I can get the 5* in Bloomsbury-Marble Arch for $15 less per night, then I'd probably go that route. Does that make sense?

I think I can be pretty flexible on location within these zones...they all seem to be located pretty centrally in London. I'm not going to get too hung up on one location.

Thanks again.

[durant durant]

Sorry. I just reread my answer and realized I wandered a little from your main question.

To answer your question - price is more important than zone.

[thereuare]

OK, to begin, Bloomsbury-Marble Arch doesn't have any 5* hotels so we'll leave that out of the bidding for this first cycle.

At the 5* level you have FOUR re-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

(NOTE: 're-bid zone1' is not the same as priceline's Zone1, 're-bid zone2' is not the same as priceline's Zone2, etc, etc)

Select 5* Mayfair-Soho...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 5* Westminster, Kensington, Notting Hill...

Bid $90, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $95, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $100, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $105, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $110, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 5* Westminster, Kensington, Notting Hill, Mayfair-Soho...

Bid $115, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $120, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $125, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $130, if rejected close browser and use our link to re-access PRICELINE

Select 5* Westminster, Kensington, Notting Hill, Mayfair-Soho and re-bid zone4...

Bid $135, if rejected add re-bid zone1...

Bid $140, if rejected add re-bid zone2...

Bid $145, if rejected add re-bid zone3...

Bid $150

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.

[durant durant]

I tried several cycles of bids on the 5* hotels, but wasn't having much luck in my price range. Once I started getting up out of my range, I switched to looking for 4*'s. I ended up with the Hilton London Olympia in Kensington - Earls Court - Knightsbridge for $95/night. The reviews online are pretty hit or miss. I was a little disappointed at first with the location, but it should work out OK. Hard to argue with $95/night I guess.

Thanks for your help. Do you want me to start a new post to show this in the subject line? Or is there any other info I should add?

[yellowdog]

durant durant

Thank you for sharing your result with the board!

Enjoy your stay.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

PS. I have edit your topic so you don't have to do anything.

[vancruise]

Hi Durant

I've stayed there. The hotel is nice and fairly roomy. The location actually has several advantages.

1. It's right beside a train station (we were able to take the train directly from Gatwick). Or tube from Heathrow.

2. There is a bus stop right there and is a few stops from the High Street Kensington tube stop.

3. You're right beside Abbaworld! :)

4. A great Asian Fusion restaurant "The Hare & Tortoise" right across the street.

Have fun.

re is a train station right b

[MrB]

Some more tips. I found it a bit confusing at the train station myself as there are a lot of trains going through etc. that are not connected to the underground. Note that this is a spur of the tube that goes to this station and not a regular tube stop so you need to understand when/if the next train is coming which can vary. Taking the bus to the more frequent proper tube station is likely preferred as the bus stop is right outside the hotel and buses are frequent. Also, when you walk to the main street from the Olympia station you need to turn left not right (like I did) to go to the hotel which is not far (if you walk far you likely went the wrong way). I didn't find many memorable restaurants in the immediate area but try the one recommended above. The hotel itself is fine though a bit dated. I preferred the Hilton Islington which is usually about the same sub US$100 rate on HOTWIRE as it was newer albeit a bit further to walk to and also had a more interesting area in my opinion (antiques, week-end farmer's market). See what is going on at the Olympia convention centre when you are there as you never know, it may interest you (a ski exhibit was on when I visited).

[durant durant]

Thanks everybody for your help and advice. I really appreciate it.

I'll be moving on to book 5 nights in Paris now and I will definitely continue to use this site for that leg of the trip. If anybody has any useful tips for Paris, I'd like to hear them. Otherwise, I will figure it out on my own. Haven't really delved into that part of the trip yet.

Thanks again.

[vancruise]

Hi Durant

I am staying at Hotel Tourisme in Paris for the 2nd time and I recommend it. Reasonably priced at around 90 euros and right beside 3 metro stops. Walking distance to Eiffel Tower. If you are coming in early in the week, get a Navigo Decouverte 7 day transit pass. A Paris Museum pass can also be a good deal if that's your thing.

Good luck