yk

Here's my 2 cents:

79 pounds = about $113 right now.

Looking at biddingfortravel, folks have been winning 4*s in Kensington for $60-70. Even after you add on the extra fees/taxes, the total via Priceline will still be around $80-90, which is less than Northumberland House. Those bids are mainly for April, but let's just assume it'll be similar for June.

True, the location is excellent for Northumberland House, but for LESS money you can get a much nicer hotel with real amenities. You can add about 15 mins extra travel time from Kensington to Trafalgar Sq.

I have stayed in Kensington (Gloucester Rd tube station) several times lately, and it's not too bad really, esp it's directly on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow; plus walking distance to V&A.

What you can consider doing is:
1) Go ahead and book Northumberland House AS LONG AS you can cancel it without penalty (say, 72hrs prior to arrival)

2) Go on Priceline and bid for a hotel up to a max of $90. At a $90 bid, your total will come out to about $110. If you don't get anything with bidding, stick with Northumberland House. If you do, cancel your Northumberland House reservation.

Alternatively, if you don't feel comfortable with bidding on Priceline, use Hotwire instead with the help of betterbidding.com. If you see any 4* hotels under $90 in a desirable neighborhood, you can grab it.

Kyliebaby3

You might have a look too at the Ace Hotel in West Kensington: http://www.ace-hotel.co.uk/.

I've stayed there twice now; once with friends in a dorm-style room (bathroom on the hall), and once with my mom in a double room ensuite. Both were great, IMO, and it was very easy to reach everything being that the West Kensington and Baron's Court tube stations are nearby.

Twin private ensuites are just about $90 for both of you in June. I'm not sure if that includes tax, but you might do a faux reservation on their site just to see how it prices out compared to others you're looking at. I think this is a place your 19-y-o son would especially enjoy since it's predominantly a younger crowd.

Happy travels!

CAPH52

Thank you, kybourbon. That certainly answered my question. Sorry I missed it but glad you saw it!

yk, thank you very much for taking so much time to so thoroughly answer my question. I really do appreciate it and it sounds like very good advice.

I can't do anything until we've settled our dates. There's a possibility that we may be able to get there a day earlier. But I'm not going to know that until some time this weekend. Meanwhile, I wanted to figure out what course of action I'm going to take as soon as I have the dates.

CAPH52

Thank you, Kyliebaby! I'll definitely take a look at that!

Kyliebaby3

I forgot to mention that it has a hot tub out in the garden too, which I think is a really nice touch for a budget hotel. Of course, you have to pay for it, but if the weather's right, it would be one of those nice-to-have things

yk

CAPH52-

You may also want to take a look at this thread started by Apres_Londee, regarding the Holiday Inn Camden Lock. While the HI in Camden is not as handy as Trafalgar Sq or Kensington, I thought your 19 year old son may actually LIKE the Camden neighborhood.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35181857

Apres_Londee

You bet me to it, yk!

The HI Camden Lock is coming up for as low as US$65 in June although that rate isn't available on all dates in June. It can up to as high as US$100/night. I also checked the actual hotel website and they have twin rooms with 2 double beds available.

It's about a 10 minute tube ride from Camden Town to Leicester Square (only 5 stops away).

I think a 19 year old might like Camden Town more than South Kensington too.

CAPH52, on my other thread I list the amenities of this hotel so you can identify it on hotwire. It's pretty easy because there aren't any other 4 star hotels with 5 amenties including non-smoking for that zone.

Whether you go priceline or hotwire you're sure to find something good for $100 or less. Good luck!

CAPH52

Thank you for adding that, Kylie.

And thank you very much, yk and Apres! That does indeed sound very interesting! I know absolutely nothing about Hotwire and have to confess to being very nervous about trying it. But that deal just might be what it takes!

I'm going to take your earlier advice, Apres, to go to better bidding and bidding for travel to try to figure it all out.

I'm also going to google the hotel and take a look at it.

Thank you!

CAPH52

Wow! If we could get that for $65 a night I'd be very, very happy!

Apres_Londee

There are a lot of reviews and photos of the HI Camden Lock on tripadvisor. I've also got a couple of pictures up in my London xams 2008 album.

http://apres.shutterfly.com/

Actually I don't think I put up any pictures of the hotel itself but there are a few of Camden High Street taken in the morning before the shops open so the streets are emptier than normal.

Here's another trick that can help you figure out the hotels on Hotwire (this is what I do)

First do a hotel search for your dates and make note of the hotels that look interesting to you- the zone you want, the price you want, etc. Make sure you write down the no. of stars, the zone, the price, and the exact amenities listed.

Then go back and do a search for a hotel + flight package for your dates. When you search packages, the hotels aren't "blind" so you can see exactly what they are.

Then open another window and go back into hotwire and do the hotel only search again for your dates.

With both windows open and your notes and a pencil and piece of paper, it's pretty easy to "match" the hotels from the package search to the blind hotel search so you can figure out what the blind hotels are.

Then it's a good idea to cross reference with the hotwire London hotel list on betterbidding:

--Scroll down to the "Hotels - International Winning Bids for Priceline/Hotwire" and click "other countries".

--Then click "hotwire other countries"

--Then click "hotwire hotel list- other countries" and scroll down until you see London.

yk

Another way to "confirm" your HOtwire hotel is actually what you think it is; is to look for the tripadvisor rating listed on Hotwire for the hotel. It usually tells you what the rating is and approx how many reviews (eg, 3 out of 5 stars and 80+ reviews). You can then look up on tripadvisor for the hotel you *think* it is, and see if the ratings and # of reviews match.

kybourbon

If you bid Priceline or use Hotwire, are you able to get a twin room? I've never bid for any hotels in Europe and I know in the US they only guarantee one bed. Of course you don't ever see twin beds in the US.

yk

I think the concensus on Fodors from various posters, is that for London hotels, you usually end up with a room with twin beds.

Apres_Londee

I've only booked with Hotwire 3 times all in London, but I always got a room with one king-sized bed. But at check-in they always ask/confirm if I'm alone.

I'm sure I read posts here that indicate it's rarely a problem to request 2 twin beds at check-in as long as the hotel has such rooms in the first place. Or people call the hotel directly after booking to request a twin room. This is for London, I have no idea about other cities.

yk

Apre_Londee- did you enter 1 person or 2 persons when you book via Hotwire?

The one time I used Hotwire in London, I entered 1 person and the room I was assigned had one full-size bed. It was the Holiday Inn Regents Park.

The other times I used Priceline, it has gone various ways:
I've had twin rooms for 1 person
I've had twin rooms for 2 people
I've had queen/king rooms for 2 people (on request)
I've had queen bed room for 1 person (on request)

Apres_Londee

Good point- I always booked for 2 people so my sister would have the option of staying with me in case she could make it down (I don't think there's a price difference between 1 or 2 people on hotwire)

When I'd check in (alone) they'd ask if I was staying alone. It always turned out I was so I'd say yes.

I've always gotten a room with a king bed but I've never specifically requested it as I don't have a preference either way (and my sister and I could always share a bed so it never really crossed my mind in the first place)

I've only booked with hotwire three times total though. The hotels were:

Park Plaza-Victoria
Holiday Inn-Camden Lock
Crowne Plaza-the City

Apres_Londee

I should correct that, at the Holiday Inn I had a queen-sized bed but at the Park Plaza and Crowne Plaza the bed was super huge.

CAPH52

Thank you all again for the help.

Being 19, of course my son is far more computer literate than I! So he went on Hotwire last night to scope things out. He said the Holiday Inn came up $113 a night on our dates.

But he saw a 2 1/2 star in Chelsea/Knightsbridge/Kensington with breakfast for $49 a night!We'll definitely use the above suggestions to try to figure it out. But does anyone have a guess what it might be? Or any advice based on the area?

Believe me 2 1/2 stars is fine with me! My daughter and I stayed in a 2 star in Paris and were very happy with it. And $49 a night with breakfast?! Wow! Heck, for that price, we could take turns sleeping on the floor if we wind up with one bed!

yk

CAPH52-

check this out:
http://www.betterbidding.com/index.p...pic=63541&

Sounds like that 2.5* will be Holiday Inn EXPRESS Earls Court.

All HI Express provides free breakfast. Don't think of it as a cooked British Breakfast, but more like what you'd get at Hampton Inn or La Quinta.

I think 111op stayed at a HI Express on the Southbank a few months ago, and he commented on the breakfast. I'll see if I could pull that up.

The Earls Court location is so-so. Farther out than I'd like. But at least it should be a decent hotel. You can go on tripadvisor to read the reviews.

kybourbon

Tell your son to check out betterbidding and biddingfortravel for London wins and which hotel you will likely get.

I had to share a twin bed one time with DD. We slept at opposite ends, but she is short.