Hotel booking question
 

I believe I finally have dates set for my trip in November to Melbourne, Ayers Rock, Cairns, and Sydney and have started looking at hotels. I have noticed that the prices have gone up slightly in the past couple of weeks. Just wondering if the prices will continue to go up or if they may go down yet since it is so far away. Any suggestions?

November is racing season in Melbourne, so I doubt if there would be any great bargains then.

Probably no need to pre-book in Sydney.

Uluru rarely has any significant bargains, althugh there was a beauty on Cudo just this week. Not a great deal of accommodation there, so not too much need to discount heavily.

Cairns had some fantastic offers the last few months, so probably could expect similar next November.

Are you contacting the properties direct or going on prices appearing on booking sites for the next month?

I have just been looking on Expedia. Are there any particular suggestions for places to look for hotel deals/discounts??? Any particular suggestions for hotels in Melboune, Sydney and Cairns??

I have not used this website, but www.wotif.com often gets mentioned for discounted accommodations. You won't be able to book anything in November yet on this site, but you might want to give it a look. I normally use such a site as this or Expedia to find possible accommodations, but then I like to book directly with the property.
Before we could suggest any accommodations, we'd need to know a budget and the type of place you are looking for--hostel, B&B, 5-star hotel, etc.

www.Wotif.com is linked now with 4 or 5 sites for accommodation and lists accommodation throughout the World.
I most certainly would use wotif for Australia as its the biggest and the best here.

What I meant to say was wotif is linked to 4 or 5 other accommodation sites therefore making it a very large site. They also have just extended the bookings out to 6 months in advance but not all accommodation places will have updated things as yet.

Sorry, I forgot to put what type of accomadations I was looking for. I am looking for hotels mostly, nothing too expensive (nothing over $200US preferably), but nice and in a good area. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the suggestion on the other website as well, I will look into it.

You don't mention how many are in your party or how many days you plan in each area, but you may want to consider some "alternative lodging." On my last trip to Australia, we spent 4 nights in the Melbourne area in a 2-bedroom cottage located at a carvan (RV) park. We were located a little west of the downtown area but there was a bus stop right out front that got us everywhere we wanted to go. In addition to being less expensive, we were actually in a local neighborhood which we loved.

http://ashley-gardens.vic.big4.com.au/

Be prepared. Australia has become like travelling in Europe. Very expensive. Eg. subway shops everywhere, instead of a $5 footlong, it's a $9.50 footlong. Eating out is very expensive. Average lunch for 4 was $120 at a casual eatery. I would strongly suggest if budget is a concern, staying a a serviced apartment in Sydney. We stayed in a great spacious one, called the York apartments. We were there for New Years so it was hard finding availability near the Harbor bridge in the Rocks area which really is the best place to stay in Sydney. It's close to all the great sites and restaurants, pubs, shopping, ect....Plus the subway and buses make it so easy to get around. But we stayed just outside the Rocks at the York which is in easy walking distance to the Rocks. We had a two bedroom executive suite with 3 balconies and large living area. We were very comfortable and were able to save a little on breakfasts and occasional lunch by dining in.

If you want to eat cheaply in Sydney, try the pubs in Surry Hills. It is possible to get a very good meal for $10 in the evenings. Surry Hills is just up the hill east from Central Station. An apartment in Sydney is best. You can do your own cooking then.

When you come to Melbourne you should get the Number 19 tram in Elizabeth St and go up to Sydney Road for good middle eastern food. Other food is available. Buy an all day zone 1 ticket from the machine in the tram. (coins only). The YHA youth hostel in North Melbourne is good and you can cook your own meals. It is near the Queen Victoria Market which is fantastic.

Try Sullivan's Apartments in Surry Hills in Sydney. Walk up the hill east of Central Railway Station. They are renovated apartments and quite nice. I found them on Wotif.com. Stayed there last March, The apartment building is on a corner and is near pubs. There is a good Woolworths supermarket in Crown St. nearby. The bus to the city and Circular Quay is on the corner of Crown St and Fauveaux St. If you walk along Crown St to Oxford St. you can catch the bus to Bondi and Coogie if you like the beach. There is a really nice coastal walk between Coogee and Bondi which is 6 km long. If it is hot you can take a swim at all the beaches along the way. When you get to Bondi, there is a big white building which is called the Icebergs Club and you can buy a nice lunch at reasonable prices while sitting on the balcony, behind the surf and watch the swimmers in the Icebergs pool below. I do this every time I go to Sydney. Sometimes I swim at the Icebergs pool, have a hot shower and then have lunch. The pool is shut on Thursdays for cleaning.