alpha0meqa

Hello friends,

We are ready to begin booking our hotel for London (April 24-28th--then onward to Paris). I've heard some good things about doing Priceline to get a better deal. It will be our honeymoon by the way. Thinking of just trying for 5 stars, and hoping we get something nice . We will do it for London, and the other two stops if it's good, if not we won't bother! I've heard very positive things though.

Which Town in London, or section....would you all recommend aiming for? Anyone have any experience with Priceline? I'm reading through http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/top...DON-HOTEL-LIST
currently

Andrew

Try BetterBidding.com for more info on successful Priceline bids (Hotwire wins too). You won't get "attitude" there if you phrase a question in the wrong way or something.

My info on Priceline for London is more than ten years out of date now so not useful to you, but I did do well with it then - got a fantastic deal on a London hotel. I used Priceline in 2013 to get a decent deal in Paris and have used them many times over the years with great success. The key to a successful Priceline win is research and flexibility. Use sites like BetterBidding to see what hotels others have gotten; if those dates are still in the future, you can check the prevailing rates, then check your dates for the same property; if they are about the same price, you might win the same hotel for the same offer price (or even less).

Be prepared to accept different hotels than what research might suggest you should get. And don't bid too high the first time - rookie mistake. Learn what "free rebid zones" are - meaning, learn how you can add a zone you don't want and re-bid immediately at a slightly higher price, without fear of getting the undesirable zone (it doesn't work in every city - depends how the zones are setup).

And - be patient. First book a hotel in London you can live with even if not ideal but one you can still cancel near the last minute. Then - start playing with Priceline, being careful not to bid too high. Don't be afraid to bid low and work up over time. If you win with Priceline close to departure, cancel the original London hotel you booked; if not, stick with it.

FYI, if you want a great hotel deal for Paris (or perhaps London), consider getting a Hyatt Chase Visa card. They have a deal going - still available - whereby if you get a Hyatt Chase Visa, you get two free nights at ANY Hyatt hotel as a bonus - and no annual fee the first year - after you spend $1,000 in the first three months. It may be late for you now as it takes time to get the card and have the nights available, but you might still get it in time for late April. I used this offer in 2013 to get two free nights at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, an expensive hotel that was going for something over $700/night. Sounded too good to be true, but it wasn't. (I had to call Hyatt to get the nights - there was no availability on line; you never know if they will have availability for your dates but it's worth a try.)

agedude

I stay in London this past October for a week and booked a hotel using a Priceline Expess deal. I looked for a 5 star in the The City - Tower Bridge - St Paul's area. I stayed in the Mondrian London and really enjoyed it. Great hotel and easy walking to all major sights. In fact, my wife and I never used public transport while in the city and walked to the theater (25 minute walk to Leicester Square), the Imperial War Museum, the British Library, the Museum of London and everything in between. It's also a 15 minutes from the Tate Modern. I've been to London maybe 20 times, always staying near Hyde Park, but this was much more convenient.

It was very easy to get to from Heathrow, took the tube, changed trains once and got off at Blackfriars tube station. It took about 1 hour and cost about 10 pounds. It's a 10 minute walk across Blackfriars bridge from the tube station to the hotel.

After reading your post, I looked the dates you gave 24-28 Apr)on Priceline and it looks like it was available for $197 a night (I paid $188 in Oct). I can't be 100% certain it's the same place, but if I were going again in April I would book it and feel pretty confident. As mentioned above, using Betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com allows you to really narrow down your choices and book a specific hotel either using an "Express Deal", hotwire.com or through the bidding process with a high degree of certainty.

I've used Priceline to book hotels in Europe a dozen or more times and think I've only been disappointed once(Paris,but got good hotels in different areas two other times). I often read posts about budget travelers wanting to spend less than $200 a night in London or Paris and wonder why they aren't jumping on some of these Priceline deals. I stayed in Prague during the same October trip at the Intercontinental for $102(Priceline) a night and got upgraded to an Executive Suite.

alpha0meqa

I was looking at that site but didn't see many posts under 'other countries "so I didn't keep looking. Where would you recommend I post at on there if im looking for European hotels?

Thanks a lot for the information and advice. I really appreciate it. I'm actually kind of excited to try priceline. I'm for sure going to lowball a little at first . I'll have to read the tips section.

alpha0meqa

Wow awesome news agedude, thanks for sharing your experience and the location. I think we would definitely like to stay somewhere convenient for you but apparently there's a hundred trains so everything sounds easy to get to .

We are very excited, maybe we will get an upgrade since we will be on our honeymoon .
Also I agree. Our budget is probably 200 ish so I think priceline is our best bet. We shall see! Thanks again

Andrew

There are lots of London results on Betterbidding - just go to the "Priceline - Other Countries" forum then search for "London" . You can post on that forum requesting bidding advice for London, with star level, dates, budget, etc.

Try to use the referring link for any of the sites you use for this kind of research to click through to Priceline or Hotwire before actually making your bid, so that those sites get a commission if you book something; the cost is the same to you whether they are paid a commission or not.

AJPeabody

You sound like you have little or no experience with priceline, so, two warnings:

One, once you click, you are fully committed. Absolutely no refunds, even if you mix up the month and day (6/4 is June in the US, April in Europe) or any other unexpected event causes a change in plans.

Two: Zone names are not necessarily accurate. Many times a named zone will include areas far out of that named area if you check the Priceline map against a tourist map. It is completely buyer beware.

One other thing. A honeymoon is an exceptional trip. Double check everything before committing unless you can tolerate disappointment. And get trip insurance.

nytraveler

A luxury hotel for $200 a night would have to be priceline or similar. In London or Paris true 5* hotels will probably be close to $1K per night at full rack rate. Obviously other discounts are available - but can't imagine they would be anywhere near $200 - which is more a 3* price in expensive cities.

Agree that you must be sure you understand the rules. No refund means exactly that. It will be charged to you even if you never get to the city at all - for any reason. (I'm not sure even death would negate the charge - although at that point why would you care?)

janisj

I have used PL several times in London but IME you don't get the huge deals that were once common. Unless you know London very well I would not use Priceline w/o getting a LOT of advice. A few of the zones are drawn so they include areas that are not convenient. Hotwire is a bit less opaque so you have a better idea which hotel/area you are getting. There are bargains to be had -- but you might do almost as well using booking.com where there are often quite reduced rates is you are willing to pre-pay (That's a non-issue since you are talking about using Priceline which is always prepaid)

Few true 5* places need to put inventory into PL. They do quite well without it.

I would NOT use PL for Paris because none of the zones are worry-free.

Andrew

nytraveler: <i>Agree that you must be sure you understand the rules. No refund means exactly that. It will be charged to you even if you never get to the city at all - for any reason. (I'm not sure even death would negate the charge - although at that point why would you care?)</i>

Priceline isn't quite that strict. While you can't get a refund simply because you changed your don't like the hotel or canceled your trip, they will refund a prepaid hotel reservation in some extenuating circumstances. A few years ago, I booked an airport hotel with Priceline for a late arrival, and my flight was canceled due to snow. I called Priceline and all they asked for was my flight number before issuing a full refund.

Not sure how they would handle a death in the family.

janisj

Yes, I've found PL accommodating - for deaths in the family, acts of war, a cancelled flight - that sort of thing. Otherwise you are on your own.

alpha0meqa

Hmm interesting comments. I'm still going to give it a shot as I expect to get something better than what I would have normally got. If I choose 5* that is. We shall see. I don't expect it to be a rat hole regardless, hopefully the location is good as well, that's the only part I'm a little worried with --Never considered hotwire, didn't know about it to be honest. I'll have to read up and look into it as well.

AJPeabody

Your plan to learn more about the use of opaque sites where you do not know what you are buying until you are already committed is a good idea.

For instance, you speak of five star hotels, probably thinking opulence and pampering. Priceline and similar sites give stars based on facilities, not quality. A bad restaurant in the hotel, inedible expensive room service, and bathrooms that have flaws are counted exactly like services and facilities that are top notch.

A bid for X dollars can have fees added on top after you commit. The theater district zone can extend into skid row. And, since you are paying less than anyone else for a room in that hotel, which will also have a fat commission removed from your payment, don't expect anything better than the least desirable room (over the night club, next to the slamming door or elevator, view of garbage compactor, smallest, etc.).

On the other hand, you could get a great hotel for the price of a mediocre one, or you could do just as poorly openly paying full price at a lower quality hotel booked on your own as you could if priceline put you in a five star dump. So, the question is, how much uncertainty can you tolerate on your honeymoon.

But don't let me frighten you off. On our own honeymoon, before the internet was even thought of, we had plane tickets, the first two nights at a hotel (in London), and for the rest of the time we winged it. The rest of the hotels were what would now rate as two stars at best, two had the bathroom down the hall, and we had a wonderful time.

historytraveler

Just a quick note to consider. Have a look at booking.com or hotels.com as they frequently offer special 24 hour deals up to 40% off sometimes more. I just booked the Chesterfield Mayfair ( larger room ) for £ 200 which really is a bargain. I usually book through one of these sites ( after checking hotel website ) and have never had a problem.

Christina

<<For instance, you speak of five star hotels, probably thinking opulence and pampering. Priceline and similar sites give stars based on facilities, not quality. A bad restaurant in the hotel, inedible expensive room service, and bathrooms that have flaws are counted exactly like services and facilities that are top notch. >>

Let's assume the OP knows what a 5* hotel is and that means a rating. now I think Priceline may give its own stars rather than using the official country's measure, but this complaint about how 5* are meaningless doesn't make any sense as there is no alternative and any 5* hotel is going to be very highly correlated with exactly what anyone mentioning they want a 5* hotel wants. What on earth does "bathrooms that have flaws" even mean. I just don't understand the point of people thinking they need to instruct people that 5* ratings are based on actual facts as to certain things the hotel has rather than expecting any website to magically rate hotels the same way you would. In fact, I think basing them on facts is exactly what I want, as it isn't subjective. But I think some websites' star ratings are more subjective than I would like, I wish they would just use the official ratings as I know what they mean.

Sassafrass

Bookmarking

Sassafrass

If someone has not traveled in Europe, and sometimes even if they have, they may not have an understanding of the use of stars in Europe to rate hotels. So, if AlphaOmeqa is knowledgable, great, but it is not amiss to let someone, who seems to be relying on stars to determine the choice of their hotel, know the difference.

First, it is different in every country.
Sometimes it is regulated by the government in order to decide taxes, and sometimes what the hotel is allowed to charge.
Sometimes it is regulated by a hotel or tourist association.

AJPeabody is correct that it relates to number and type of amenities, not to the quality of those amenities. You would need to see other review sources for quality reviews.

One example is that in Italy, if a hotel has a check in office that is separate from the area with entrances to the rooms, no matter how luxurious the rooms or spectacular the location or wonderful the service, the hotel can not be awarded more than one star.

Having a parking garage will contribute to increasing stars in some countries. If you are not driving, it would be of no use to you anyway. A pool will add stars. If it is outside in winter, how does it matter?

One of the most beautiful, luxurious hotels I have ever stayed in, with the best service I have ever experienced, is given 5 stars in reviews by guests, but officially only 3 stars because it has no pool, no parking, no in-house restaurant and no elevator. Didn't matter. Porters carried all my luggage. Staff personally delivered food within minutes from a fabulous nearby restaurant along with white table cloths and silver. The floors were covered with antique rugs. A magnificent Bosendorfer piano was available for guest use. A driver was available at almost any time.

What AJ, I think, was saying, is look for reviews of the hotels. Do not rely on stars for choosing a hotel in Europe.

janisj

>>I just don't understand the point of people thinking they need to instruct people that 5* ratings <<

Christina . . . You travel to Europe often enough to know very well that star ratings don't mean the same as they do in the States. And Priceline uses their own criteria so that is at least three different standards a hotel can be rated a '5star, or '2star' or any other classification.

alpha0meqa: What is your actual budget per night (with or without Priceline). Me personally would not rely on PL (especially for Paris) for my honeymoon.

janisj

Meant to add -- I <i>might</i> use it for London -- but I know London very VERY well having live in the UK for a few years and now visiting London at least 3 times a year - so if I got a loser -- It would only be for one visit and I know I'll be back in a few months. For a honeymoon -- probably not. But that is just me.

alpha0meqa

Hello all,

I believe I did a horrible job at explaining what we want. We are looking at 200 or a little above it. USD. Per night. We don't want a pool or a Butler or a rose bed. We just want a nice clean safe European experience. That is close to the action. I was just worried these budget inns aren't the real deal for London. I figured if I said 5 star I would have to get something pretty nice. I've heard people getting the international in Mayfair for like 155$. Which is the perfect looking hotel.

I don't know. Not trying to be rude so I hope it's not coming off that way. I just dont want a rinky dink hotel or some like franchise hotel that's on every corner. The better bidding hotels listed in 5 star for xyz locations in London all seem nice?? I don't know. If we pay 200 or less it just doesn't seem like we would get something with the potential to be as nice as to what we would get on Pl or hotwire.