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London Hotel Room Sale through British Airways

London Hotel Room Sale through British Airways

Old Dec 4th, 2003, 07:38 AM
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London Hotel Room Sale through British Airways

Hello all-
I received an e-mail from BA this morning for a winter hotel room sale. Prices start as $39 US. I took a quick look at the site and some hotels also offer a bonus- stay 5 nights/ pay for 4. Prices were quoted in USD, which can be helpful to some, and some of the hotels I looked at included continental breakfast in the price.
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Old Dec 4th, 2003, 12:50 PM
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Hi Erin
Do any of the hotels ring a bell as being recommended here or elsewhere?
Do you have a link to the offer?
thanks
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Old Dec 4th, 2003, 12:54 PM
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Here is a link to the hotel offer.However the Rules&Conditions say that you must have a BA ticket for the discount.
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...f/public/en_us
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Old Dec 4th, 2003, 01:14 PM
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I took a look at BA's website. On the Canadian site, at least, the small print states the sale prices listed are per person in a double room, not per room. Just a head's up, as these things can sometimes be misleading.
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Old Dec 4th, 2003, 01:21 PM
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Good point, 99% of the time the great hotel deals don't work for single occupancy
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Old Dec 4th, 2003, 05:30 PM
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It's $39 per person per night in a 2* and $99 pppn in a 5* and they mention two sample hotels in the fine print.

I have a BA ticket, but couldn't explore this "deal" because they don't support my browser. How frustrating! But I suspect that for a 3* or 4* hotel they're not offering a better deal than priceline. I'll look again from the computer at work tomorrow. I gotta know!

Thanks for the tip.
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Old Dec 5th, 2003, 01:18 AM
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hi erin too

It would be a good deal if it was per room, but alas it is per person.

I checked out some of the deals and when you add the two rates together...39 x 2 =78 this is not really a big sale, at least on the budget hotels.. Example:; the 1st two hotels on the list, I found better deals on the net, $71 and $73.

Now when you get into the four star hotels, there are some good rates, but even those can be found lower on priceline, if you are patient, but they usually do not include vat or breakfast, so these might be worth looking into for those rates alone.

Example: the millennium gloucester, my hotel of choice is advertised at $162 a night total for the room. The going rate on that room across the net is normally 85 pds per night plus vat, or around 99 pounds per night, or around $170 (at 1.72 conversion). So this rate is a little lower than the going rate.

Thanks for the info!
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Old Dec 8th, 2003, 06:04 PM
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I looked at the site today and saw some pretty good deals. Some were for the Imperial Hotel chain (Royal National, Tavistock, President, Bedford, Imperial) around Russell Square; an average per room per nite (we need a single and a twin) from $77.50 to $106.50 with full or continental breakfast. They seemed to have competetive prices for the Citadines Trafalgar and Holburn, and the Kensington Close--with full breakfast--is $98 per room. I'm in conflict!
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Old Dec 9th, 2003, 04:38 PM
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With BA you pay the entire charge up-front and if you have to cancel close to the trip, at least, you get nothing back. We once reserved a Hertz auto through BA and had to return it early.
We even bought insurance [trip cancellation but not interuption] through BA and we really got taken!
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Old Dec 9th, 2003, 04:50 PM
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I saw the cancellation policy and didn't like it--even with 3 weeks notice, there's a charge of $100 per person! But I suspect that with priceline I would lose everything if I cancelled.

They have a 4-nights-for-the-price-of-3 with Queens Gate Gardens, formerly Chequers Apartments. A 2-bedroom would be $211 per night; I was expecting to pay around $100 per night each for two rooms, so it's in my ballpark. This place is well-located close to the Gloucester Road station in South Kensington--one of the places I want to be. And I think we'd enjoy the spaciousness of an apartment, plus I've seen some good reviews. I'm still exploring other options and have contacted the Ascott Company that owns these, and other, apartments to see if they'd match the deal with a better cancellation policy. Priceline is still an option, but I think this is a tough deal to beat considering what we'd get--if there's availability. I have until 12 December to book with BA.

Waddya think?
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 05:50 AM
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Erin, thanks for posting this info--I'm probably going to book through BA--the Imperial on Russell Square today as I think it's a good deal.
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 06:22 AM
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Even though I didn't read the fine print prior to posting about the per person/per night bit (sorry everyone), I'm glad that the information has been helpful.

judybarnes- I know that you have been in search of low cost rooms for a while now- when are you going to be in London? If you do book through BA, please report back on the process and what you thought of the rooms. Thanks!
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 09:44 AM
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We arrive March 27 and leave April 4, but will visit my sister in Bath, too. Right now I'm just booking for the first 3 nights in London. I know I've got plenty of time, but the BA deal looks good and I think we'll be content with Bloomsbury as a base. The Imperial averages out to $106 per room per night with full breakfast. I think it might be a better location for us than the Phoenix in Bayswater. I will provide feedback on whatever choices I make. Thanks for all your help and patience!

I have to face the fact that I might not get the BEST deal, but I'll get a good one.
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 04:39 PM
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I missed the sale. I tried to book online this morning from work, but it didn't work. When I tried again from another computer, the sale was gone. Guess I wasn't meant to be at the Imperial.
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 05:33 PM
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False alarm! The sale notice was no longer on the front page, but I found it and I booked the President Hotel, which adjoins the Imperial. A twin and a single, full breakfast, 3 nights, for a total of $555. I don't think I'd have done better pricewise on priceline, although I would have gotten a 4* hotel. But I wanted to pick my location, and I did. After this brief stay in London we'll visit my sister in her charming Victorian guest house in Bath. Then if we want to return to London, we can, or we can go somewhere else. I'll work out those details later. I'm just glad to have the first 3 nights taken care of for a reasonable price. Maybe I'll book our last night near Heathrow from priceline. I really do want to try them. Thanks again, Erin; you did good!
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 05:59 PM
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Sounds good Judy. I agree that you would not have done much better on Priceline, bidding at a 4* level. The main difference is that you might have gotten two double/twin rooms for around the same price, rather than one twin and one single. The price you have is equivalent to a Priceline bid of about $76, which might or might not have worked for your dates for a 4* hotel.
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Old Dec 12th, 2003, 06:00 PM
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BUT - I forgot about the breakfast. If it's a good breakfast, I think you did better than with Priceline.
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