julies

I'm looking at the possibility of a winter trip to London. With Go-today I can get a package for 2 that includes tourist level room and round trip air for just over $2000 for a 9 night stay. If I just look at airfare I can get roundtrip air for 2 for $975. This would leave me about $1100 or 625 pounds (where is the symbol for this?). Break this down to 9 nights and it is 70 pounds a night. What can you suggest for this rate? We have travelled a lot and have only done a package one time. I always just find my own hotel and do my own booking. But, now I am wondering if I can really do better than this price.

Thanks for the help.

Intrepid1

you might take a look at a site such as www.londontown.com and price hotels there for comparison if nothing else. Some folks have had good luck using discounthotel.com as well as Hotwire and Priceline.

bardo1

Here's a place that starts at 25 pounds/night(no window). Great location:

http://info.easyhotel.com/GB/14LexhamGardens.html

isabel

I did a go-today package to London three years ago and felt it would have been hard to beat their price. I choose the Apollo Hotel in Bayswater which wasn't their absolute cheapest hotel, but I think second from the cheapest. It was OK. I don't think they have that hotel on their list this year. I felt go-today was a good company to do business with and was overall pleased. Then last year I went to London again but needed a single this time and their single supplement makes them no longer a good deal. So I found the Craven Gardens Hotel, also in Bayswater and loved it. Great location only half a block from Kensington Garden, full breakfast, clean, etc. Not luxury at all, but only paid 39£ for a single in March (prices rise for spring-summer).

By the way, the £ is "Alt" and 156 (at least on my computer).

julies

Second from the cheapest is also the levl I'd be looking at with the Go-Today package, so my needs aren't too great.

pjsparlor

I always use priceline for London. I have stayed Dolphin Westminter Hotel for 99.00 usd. I have stayed at Tara Copthorne for 65 USD. So that is pretty cheap when you convert to pounds!

mclaurie

The best way to get a great room for 70GBP or less is bid on Priceline. People regularly "win" 4* hotels for under $100/night. Have a look on betterbidding or biddingfortravel.

handfordr

70 pounds a night is not scrapping the barrel at all, certainly not in the Bayswater / Paddington area.

If I was looking to spend 70GBP I'd personally go for the Stylotel near Paddington Station which is comfortable and comes with a good buffet breakfast.

Bayswater is a great place to stay on a budget. There are half a dozen 2/3 star hotels that deep discount routinely, often down to 50 GBP.
You'll find the most popular ones at:
http://www.londontoolkit.com/accommo.../bayswater.htm

Rates at weekend are usually not as deeply discounted as midweek.

surfmum

julies, try laterooms.com
Hotels dump available rooms on this site. It's possible to get great deals at nice hotels.

janisj

London is one of the best cities for Priceline. Instead of staying in an clean but basic B&B hotel in Bayswater or Victoria (both decent areas but Victoria ia a bit more convenient) for £65-£70 (approx. $110 - $120), I'd definitely use priceline.

You would get a fairly upscale hotel w/ all amenities/services for $85-$100. No comparison value-wise. Biddingfortravel will give you all the info you need before you bid on PriceLine.

Or if you don't want to go the Price Line route, Laterooms.com has really good rates w/i 2 weeks of your trip. Londontown is good too - not quite as cheap as laterooms, but one can book more than 2 weeks ahead.

Daisy54

We stayed at the Oxford Hotel in Bayswater in April of 2004 for £50 per night for a twin room, ensuite with continental breakfast & VAT included. It was a very nice little place and I'd recommend them. It's on Craven Terrace just a block up from Hyde Park. I found them originally on Smoothhound and I belive they offer a discount if you tell them you found them listed on that website.
Also to get the symbol for the British pound, press Alt + 156.

zebo

Check out Unitedvacations.com. We booked a very reasonable hotel through them and I know they have airline packages as well. Make sure whatever you book includes breakfast. London is VERY expensive if your currency is the US dollar.

cobbie

ttt

travelbunny

..if you can live with an adequate hotel, use priceline...you must do your homework on biddingfor travel. I would suggest getting out a map of London and map out the districts (AS DEFINED ON THE PRICELINE MAP!!!). Figure out where you want to stay and then work out a bidding strategy. Check the hotels as listed in bft against tripadvisor...decide if you can "live" with the hotels listed in you desired locations (or if 2 locations figure out which location has the more of the hotels you want for your $). You will find a 4* for less than $100 in all areas excpt maybe Mayfair (and even then will prob be about 120).

LondonSue

We have a recurring 'discussion' about Priceline on this board.

Key thing is to do your research before bidding and factor in an amount in addition to compensate for the risk of being allocated a dud hotel.
e.g. at the moment many of the hotels in London typically used by Priceline you can get through normal channels around 70 GBP including taxes and sometimes with breakfast. The Priceline owned Active Hotels currently has the Selfridge Hotel in Oxford Street and most Thistle Hotels in London for around 70 GBP including taxes for this rate.
Lastminute.com have the same hotels but cheaper, but you have to do some homework as they don't name the hotel but you normally can work out which one from the extensive description.

In other words don't bid more than $100 on Priceline for a room in London.

julies

So, this probably is a situation where I may be able to do better on my own and have more range of seection. Thanks much.

flsd

Check out the Belvedere near Paddington Station.