If you're willing to move, you can often get better opaque deals in London, because some hotels are cheaper on the weekend. Like the well regarded Hilton Islington is often available for $80 (perhaps less with the appreciation of the dollar), but I haven't seen that outside of the Friday-Sunday time period. If you're checking HOTWIRE prices, go beyond the initial screeen to get a full quote from them. Sometimes I've seen them "forget" to charge you the full VAT (priceline never does), which can make hotwire the best deal in England. Even if you buy from PRICELINE, "fiddle around" with your dates on hotwire to see what may be a problem day. If you can stay somewhere else for a night or two, you may find remarkable opaque savings.