I agree with so many of the other posters - try Priceline, or work on some of the wonderful hotels (the Rubens for 84 GBP!) that have been mentioned.

Earl's Court is not the most beautiful area and it looks really convenient on paper, but it can be a super-long walk to the tube station there. I've stayed in several places in the area, including one less than a block from the entrance to the Earl's Court tube - sure, that's what it said. What it DIDN'T say is that you walk the equivalent of several city blocks inside the tube station. And that the elevators weren't working. It became a very long walk most days.

Priceline is really pretty darn simple. You choose a region and a level of hotel. You tell them how much you want to pay. They either agree or come back with a counter offer or tell you to "go pound sand." If they agree with your price, then you're booked in, say, a 4-star hotel in Kensington....easy, and wonderful. I've used Priceline to stay near Heathrow and it has worked great.

I've read tons of reviews from others right here on Fodor's and, honestly, I can't think of ONE negative comment regarding Priceline/London (I'm sure there's one out there somewhere, but the overwhelming consensus is that this is one of the best ways to get a London hotel, when price is a concern).

Go for it, Pixie!

Or, at least try the places others have mentioned. Earl's Court is just sort of "dingy."

Gayle

Yes I know it's a bit dingy, but I don't think it's a bad area at all. I know London and have stayed btwn EC and So Ken quite a few times, either station is convenient to me. the K & K George was quite nice, but now too expensive. I also love to walk in the neighborhoods, don't necessarily like being near the touristy traps ie Harrods.

I have booked and may cancel if I find something better, but I've looked and looked and for the dates I want nothing is cheap in So. Ken or Kensington, never mind Knightsbridge. I'm not a fan of the Notting Hill/Bayswater area. If the above mentioned hotels do not include tax/breakfast that adds quite a bit to their nightly rate. The Base2Stay looks exceptionally clean and new compared to some of the earlier suggestions that I have reviewed. I'm not discouraged by my reservation, but I may poke around.

BTW for 60 pounds from what I've seen in EC or any other area they are dumps.

Hi BettyK, thanks for the tips. however I looked at reveiws for Copthorne and they were the pits. Not convenient either if one has to travel to Paddington then get to Ken High St. from Heathrow. The mill Gloucester didn't get raves either, and it's also much more expensive.

I always have trouble with the londontown website, it is never working properly when i use it. Also I don't believe tax is included.

EC is direct line to Heathrow which is a bonus to me.

I will look at the Rubens since you've personally stayed there and had good reveiws.

Copthorne Tara Kensington is going for $80 - $120 USD in August. No breakfast, but that's about 3 GBP at a bakery!

Royal Horseguards Mayfair/Soho for $164, in Sept.

Thistle Marble Arch, August, $55.

The prices include VAT. These are more than "decent" hotels and at or below your price.

In response to an earlier question, when you bid on Priceline, you see your bid price per night, plus taxes and fees, totalled. Thus, you know exactly what you are going to pay, if you are successful, before you click Buy. London hotels do not add any additional fees on to what you pay Priceline.

If you are willing to pay as much as you are, consider restricting yourself to 4* bidding in the Mayfair-Soho zone. It would be almost impossible to be disappointed there, in either the hotel or the location. But of course if you are not comfortable with the concept, bidding is just not for you.

Like kswl, I also insure the entire cost of the trip. The chances of a child being sick and unable to go are too high for my comfort, when I'm paying for nonrefundable tickets and so forth, so once I decide to have the insurance, there's no reason not to include hotel costs in that.

Pixie, don't know what problems you are having with the website, as each time I've been able to go right to it.

For your dates, I also found Jury's Kensington. A double room is 85 GBP including tax and it gets excellent reviews on Tripadvisor.

However, if you are comfortable with your selection, then I think you should stay with it.

Hi BettyK,

I would like to find something cheaper, but The Rubens was 114 pounds no VAT, etc. It seems everytime I look at hotels suggested I'm not seeing the same deals as everyone else. It's frustrating to say the least, but I do appreciate everyone's suggestions. Thank you

The best way to use Priceline is to review the hotel FAQ's on www.biddingfortravel.com, do the rate checks, and request bidding assistance. It's also useful to familiarize yourself with the Priceline areas and the hotels within each (and their reviews).

If you spend the time and effort, the results could be exceptional. In the past two years, I've been very pleased with the results I've gotten on Priceline. We've stayed at the Thistle Marble Arch, Millennium Bailey's, and the Waldorf Hilton.

alright I'm going to give Priceline a try, but as a side, I looked last night for mid range hotels - they started at 136/noc Holiday Inn Kensington (for instance. (I'm not sure if VAT included).

I haven't done any bidding because of the reason stated previously, you don't find out until you pay.

Do you just research the hotels listed for the neighborhoods and keep your fingers crossed you get a decent one? Or do you bid on a specific hotel? I'm confused.

read the FAQs on www.biddingfortravel.com

read others' bidding stragegies about free re-bids and zones. It's not rocket science, but it does take a bit of planning. I'm glad you're going to try it! And if you don't get something on the first try, you can wait 72 hours and try again.

We will be in London for one night in November, on the way home from Croatia, and I found a room at the Hotel Paddington for 55 pounds on venere.com. Its near the Paddington Station and a short walk to Hyde Park.

I'm not sure how much it will be for your dates, but it may be worth checking out.

Tracy

Pixie, go to londontown.com and look at "London Hotels". This will take you to a screen where you can select "mid range hotels" for Central London with your check in date of Aug. 1 for 3 nights. Have the results sorted by Price. (I initially had you staying 4 nights which is why the Rubens price was 84 GBP. It is cheaper if you stay a Saturday, I guess.)

The first hotel returned from this search is Jury's Kensington for 72 GBP. If you add VAT of 17.5% then it makes the total 85 GBP.

Pixie, go to londontown.com and click on "London Hotels". This will take you to a screen where you can select "mid range hotels" for Central London with your check in date of Aug. 1 for 3 nights. Have the results sorted by Price. (I initially had you staying 4 nights which is why the Rubens price was 84 GBP. It is obviously cheaper if you stay a Saturday night.)

The first hotel returned from this search is Jury's Kensington for 72 GBP. If you add VAT of 17.5% then it makes the total 85 GBP.

Other hotels are listed but these you seem to have problems with. But I checked out Jury's and they do get good reviews.

But your hotel choice also got some good reviews and if you are comfortable with EC, then stay there.

I've never been a Priceline user because I want to know in advance where I am staying -- usually The Rubens -- and don't like paying upfront before I go.

I know that many people enjoy the 'game' aspect of Priceline, but it drives me crazy; I find it gimmicky and time-consuming. To me, there's a dollar value associated with not having to go through all that, not to mention knowing what one is getting in advance.

That said, I don't hold it against Priceline that they require payment in advance: all the the best hotel deals I've seen, regardless of who is offering them - Priceline, other agent such as laterooms, hotel website itself - require payment in advance. Generous cancellation policies incur an overhead cost to the hotel which of course is passed along to the consumer. On the other hand, the inability to cancel also might incur costs for you, depending on your circumstances. I note that you are booking relatively late - i.e., just 3 weeks to go - which suggests you like at least some flexibility and the ability to be spontaneous. This might make sticking with your humbler, but cancellable, EC rez worthwhile.

One last word of warning about Priceline - it has its own star system, which has come under fire from time to time on biddingfortravel for being too generous from time to time (i.e, 3 star hotels being rated 4 star, etc. etc.) So verifying details on Tripadvisor and biddingfortravel is a good idea.

We are traveling to London in early September. We have booked the Copthorne Tara in Kensington for our trip. We booked through www.laterooms.com and are paying 75GBP per night for our stay.

We have not stayed at this hotel previously, but there are many good reviews on TripAdvisor.com. So we are taking our chances.

Dock:
Where are you getting that price? I just checked the Marriott site myself for the RCC, and it is 288 GBP per night!

Okay, I've been reviewing bidding for travel and everyone seems to be getting great deals. I started to fill out Priceline bid, after all info placed it asks to hit Buy MY Hotel...if hotel bid accepted it charges hotel. Does this mean there isn't necessarily a counter offer. Also is $100 in Mayfair/Soho area too cheap an offer. I looked at Royal Horseguards/Millenium Mayfair websites and there are no rooms available for 1st Aug. - 4th Aug. Is is likely there are no rooms available for Priceline? Sorry for all the questions, just don't know about this site even after reading bidding for travel etc.

Also Londontown doesn't show the cheap deals that others have found. ie Jury's Kensington 89 pounds plus VAT is what I'm getting.

I've read lots of bidding strategies and if you have lots of time, which you obviously don't, you can start out with a lowball offer. Otherwise, look at the deals other people have gotten on PL. Try to bid as closely as possible to that price if you're comfortable with it. The PL service is strange---the inventory is constantly changing. If PL has a room at a certain rate, it will sell it to you above a pre-set ceiling. That's what all the strategy is---trying to determine that ceiling. But if they don't have access to a room, period, no amount of money you can bid higher will get it for you. At least, that is the way it has been explained to me, and I must say that all my experience fits into that framework. If you have free bidding in other zones, then start with a lower price and work your way up.

kswl - I hope you are still reading this thread...I would love to stay at Thistle Marble Arch for 55-anything. Can you tell me where you found that rate? Thanks.

Wow! A $200 a night B and B. Again! if your room is simply to be place to sleep, forget booking. Visit a tourist office near a train station. Better yet, park your luggage and check B and B window postings near any station. Prices will go down the further you get from the station. Thousands of Poles have taken up most of the inexpensive housing available. As that is not available, prices are up on what is left!