Raven01

Hi folks!

I am doing early, preliminary research on hotels for a September, 2009 trip. The current plan is to go to the following cities, in this order:

Edinburgh, 2 nights
York, 2 nights
London, 4 nights
paris, 3 nights

The budget is 100 usd per night. My goal is to find safe hotels with air conditioning [though I'm not sure that will be necessary in September?]. Close transportation is essential; for instance, in London, I'm looking for hotels close by tube stops.

I realize I'm searching much too far in advance to nail anything down. My hope is to have an idea if my budget is reasonable, or if we should focus on saving a bit more money. I have been looking into priceline for London; is it suggested for the other cities as well?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

bettyk

It's highly unlikely that you will find anything to match your guidelines for 50 GBP in Edinburgh or London -- York perhaps.

According to some here on Fodor's, Paris hotels do tend to be somewhat cheaper but $100 is only around 70E per night.

I think the only chance you have of getting that rate in London is to use Priceline and since your trip is so far out that's not an option right now.

nytraveler

Well you won;t need AC in Edinburgh and York - and will have trouble finding hotels with it at any price.

Plus your budget is VERY low - $100 US is only about 75 euros - and the only thing I can reco is to bid Priceline and pray. (That's the cost of perhaps A 1* hotel - or 2 beds in a hostel.)

(This is like asking for a hotel is NYC for $100 per night in September - which I would say simply isn't possible, although you might look at small B&Bs in the outer suburbs with shared baths.)

nytraveler

Before you go any further with your planning I would search some of the major hotel sites with that budget - to see if anything at all turns up. And believe me, if there is anything, it will not have AC.

I don;t wish to be discouraging - but have you put together a budget for your entire trip - considering realistic costs for transport, meals and sightseeing? (For instance, entry just to the Tower of London is more than $20 a person.)

janisj

I agree -- for that much money (about £50/€65) you won't find much of a hotel in Edinburgh or London. Priceline is brilliant for London and you can get a decent place for around $100 but by the time you add taxes and fees your will be up around $125.

In York and Edinburgh - nice hotels will cost more but you will find nice B&Bs w/i your budget. However - few, if ANY, bed & Breakfasts have a/c

As for Paris - you will be able to find a modest hotel for those prices - but almost surely w/o a/c

And when you consider that prices will probably be higher 18 months from now

But the good news - you have 18 months to save up more $$ so you can pay more per night . . . . . .

(you really don't need a/c BTW)

janisj

Oh - to follow on from nytraveler's &quot;<i>entry just to the Tower of London is more than $20 a person</i>&quot;

The Tower currently costs &pound;16 / $32 (probably more by next year)

janisj

Oh - I just realized we've helped you w/ your itinerary on other threads. This is for you and your Mom - right?

So are you budgeting $100 per person, or for the both of you?

I was answering re $100 single occupancy. Doable but mostly in B&amp;Bs w/o a/c. But if you meant $100 double - a REALLY tall order in any of those cities. You can find decent-ish places for about $75 per person . . . . . .

ira

HI R,

The Hotel Picpus in Paris has been recommended by another poster, and is in your price range:
www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75012lux.htm

It doesn't have has A/C though.

hetismij

I doubt very much you will need A?C anywhere you are visiting in September. Do consider B&amp;Bs as an alternative.

flanneruk

Is there a reason for this &quot;close transportation is essential&quot; insistence?

London and Paris are mostly designed around public transport. There's scarcely a hotel in London more than quarter of a mile from a tube station (or 100 yds from a bus stop). The metro in most of Paris is even denser. So for most people proximity to transport isn't really worth specifying in a list of criteria.

BUT if one of you has mobility problems, that quarter of a mile might be an issue, and you can't specify extreme proximity on Priceline. But, as long as you avoid the outer suburbs, every hotel you get (or rather that I've got) on Priceline for London and Paris is - by most people's standards - handy for transport.

In York or Edinburgh, there are cheaper suburban places on Priceline that can be (by European standards) a bit of a distance from bus stops. I wouldn't normally notice the distance, and I'm older than your mum, but I've stayed in at least one York Priceline place where the walk to the bus stop was fine to avoid driving into town for a pissup. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to hoik suitcases to it from the hotel though.

caroline_edinburgh

Apart from the fact you definitely won't need it, even most of the 5 star hotels in Edinburgh don't have AC. $100 (currently c.&pound;50) is very low if you mean for 2 people, quite good if you mean per person. If your total budget for 2 is &pound;50, you'll need to look at B&amp;Bs in fairly distant suburbs. If you confirm that is what you mean, I can suggest roads on good bus routes to look out for.

Travelnut

These Paris hotels have a/c and are inexpensive (but not $100):

Hotel Atlantique - 75&euro;
54, rue Falgui&egrave;re 75015
http://www.parishotels.com/Hotel_Atl...e_star_en.html

H&ocirc;tel Jules C&eacute;sar Bastille - Internet rate 65-75&euro;
52, avenue Ledru-Rollin 75012
http://www.julescesar-paris-hotel.com/

Ibis Grands Boulevards Opera - 83&euro;
38 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre - 75009
http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhote...he_hotel.shtml

kenderina

With a reduced budget it is way too early for hotel research. You have to be alert for specials for your dates...but I don't think you can find any until 2009. Right now, Ibis hotels have one for 49 euros in Paris (not their most central ones, though) but that doesn't mean nothing for the next year.
In London or Edinburgh just try Priceline when the time comes.
But if you can , budget a bit more (like $ 150 per night) and you will have a lot more options.

kenderina

Ooops, I meant &quot;it means nothing&quot; , I'm not very bright today !

james1982

Hi,

I'm afraid I have to agree with the other contributors: you've chosen just about the most expensive cities in the UK and it's going to be very difficult to find hotels to suit your budget.

York is a lovely city and you won't have a problem finding nice hotels (though again price may be a problem for you). You can preview a range of York hotels on a portal site called de Bretton. I'm sure that some of the hotels they feature will have air conditioning, though in September you should be thinking more about heating! http://www.debretton.co.uk

Best wishes,

James

Raven01

Well, it looks like it's a good thing I posted this question! The budget was 100 usd total, for both me and my mother [and yes, that was me from previous posts!]. I am in the process of trying to fine tune what up to now was a basic budget. With airfare going up and other costs to figure, I'm hoping to save on hotels. Yet, it is important to keep my budget reasonable, and that's why I'm posting.

It sounds as if we should each look to spend $25 usd more a night each, making the total nightly budget for the two of us to be $150. I've been seriously thinking of priceline for London, and may use it for Edinburgh and paris as well.

As for my transportation comment, we're on a limited schedule, so I don't want to struggle to get in to town. If staying in the suburbs saves us money, but it then costs much more to get to where we want to be, it defeats the purpose. We don't have mobility issues, per se, but we both have feet issues that makes me wary of extensive unnecessary walking. I don't want to deal with a 3/4 mile hike to the nearest transportation hub at each city either. For me, it is less to worry about there if I do my transportation research BEFORE booking a hotel.

Air conditioning doesn't seem to be a major concern, so I'll knock that off my list of considerations. I forgot to mention, however, my mother's single hotel request: a private, nonshared bathroom.

caroline_edinburgh

And are you looking for a shared room or 2 single rooms ?

caroline_edinburgh

P.S. A Daysaver ticket for unlimited travel on the main Edinburgh bus operator's buses (excluding airport buses &amp; night buses - after midnight) is &pound;2.50.

Raven01

We're sharing, definitely. So a single room, hopefully under $150! I'll alter our budget and save accordingly, with the idea to pay less if possible.

It also seems like paris I can get for around 100, London too using priceline. Edinburgh and York? I'll just keep looking!

ElendilPickle

You might be able to find something within your budget at www.travelodge.co.uk

Lee Ann