I'm seeing the lower prices right now. Did you search for 2 persons instead of 1? Even so, with the same number of people, I've seen the price of a hotel fluctuate wildly.

Hotwire charges some extra fees, but it's usually not quite as much as Priceline.

Thanks -- yes I think I searched as 2 last night, thinking it doesn't make a difference on Hotwire.

Prices can fluctuate on Hotwire. I used it once for a Chicago hotel a few years ago -- maybe 2006? So I experienced that first hand.

But I don't think that either potential Hotwire choice is acceptable because the Westminster 3* is unknown and the 3* City is probably that hotel with not very good reviews on TripAdvisor. Even if I get it for less than $100 I'm not sure if I want to stay there.

I think I'll continue to try PL or look at some other option.

I can see why the risk is too great for Hotwire, given the risk and the lack of significant upside.

Some other possibilities:
Express by Holiday Inn London City
- 64 pounds including breakfast, if prepaid. It's a little bit north and east of St. Paul's, possibly too much so.
Express by Holiday Inn Southwark - not sure, but I think there may be a deal.

Both of these prices probably will increase once the 14-day window is passed.

If you really want the Northumberland House/Thistle Charing Cross location, the Club Quarters Trafalgar is right next to Northumberland House, but not, I think, available for a bargain. You could check Londontown.com also (as suggested above by someone else, I think).

Thanks for the latest suggestions. I just bid $100 for 4* Mayfair and failed. Again the counteroffer is $167 + tax.

I've booked the Ibis for 69 pounds for now since I'm allowed to cancel up until day of arrival. The Days Hotel is no longer available at a cheap rate. It's over $160 or something like that.

I tried Priceline again for $100. Failed. Counteroffer at $166, $1 less than before.

I'd recommend checking Hotwire every day. You never know what will pop up (then disappear).

If you search the packages (air + hotel, the hotels are shown), you can often determine the hotels on the hotel only search.

Same goes for Priceline.

Used to be, you could start a new bid with the same price but a different area (as opposed to adding areas and raising your bid). Not sure if you can still do this.

USUALLY if the counter offer is at $166 (example) and you can bid again (using a free bid zone so you don't screw up and over bid a lesser zone) a bid of $133 (example) will win you the bid. Don't bid the full counter offer.

Margo is correct. Often you'll receive a message that your bid is too low and should be raised to at least "$...." or a counter offer.

When bidding on Priceline for London, to my recollection, I bid $95 and received a counter offer of $145, or something like that, but added a free re-bid zone and upped to $100, and it was accepted (for the Waldorf Hilton).

With either Priceline or Hotwire, the total for your stay, with taxes/fees itemized, will be shown before you finalize your bid/booking.

For Hotwire, if you cannot figure out the hotel or possibilities on betterbidding.com or by shopping the packages, click on "Continue" for each hotel, and look for "Our 3.5-star hotel suppliers include:
Hilton, Millennium, Crowne Plaza, plus other top brands and quality hotels." BIG CLUE. More often than not (and I use Hotwire a lot), the first hotel chain is the one, and I can't recall that I've ever gotten "other", although I don't always pay attention, because I'm pretty sure of what I'm going to get.

For only one night, I wouldn't obsess so much...

I tried again today. I've from seeing counteroffers in the 167-169 range. I bid 120 but it failed. Still for Mayfair 4*.

My backup is at 69 pounds a night, so I probably shouldn't bid much higher than 120. Or maybe I should change strategy and bid 3* Mayfair.

Mayfair is the most expensive London PL zone. Even at $150, most any 4 star in Mayfair would be a HUGE bargain.

If you want cheaper - bid another zone. if you want Mayfair, you'll probably have to bid higher.

How far off is your visit? They may well come down when you are a couple days out. Would just plan on using the backup reservation, and bid until the backup's cancellation date. Wouldn't bid over $130. Have a hunch you'll get it.

I really doubt $130 for 4* Mayfair will happen, unless there is a significant pound devaluation.

111op, what service did you use to get a cancellable 69-pound hotel?

It's for this Sunday. I mean, the counteroffer has been at $170. I know I've failed at $120. So an offer in between these two should be acceptable -- it will be less than $170 as people say. I just don't know how much less.

I booked the room on the Ibis website directly. I'm checking the confirm again to be sure.

"Cancellation delay: No cancellation charge applies prior to 19:00 (local time) on the day of arrival. Beyond that time, the first night will be charged."

Actually in this case I have a friend in London I can stay with, so that's always an option, but I don't want to impose too much.

Just in case anyone still cares -- I tried 120 again today and it still failed. The counteroffer went up to 185. So I bid from a different account at 130, which was also rejected with the same counteroffer of 185.

Looks like the winning bid will have to be above 130 at this stage. I still have a few days to decide (including staying with a friend if I really want to).

The Waterloo Days Hotel is available for about $130 again on Orbitz, so this is a non-refundable option (well with $25 fee if cancellation prior to 72h). In the meantime I've my Ibis City backup.

On BFT it looks like people are getting the Copthorne Terra in Kinsington for $85-$90 for Feb. The CT is ok and it is very close to the tube in Kensington.

AisleSeat: the Knightsbridge/Kensington/Earls Court zone was suggested before - but the OP doesn't want to go there . . . . . .

OK.

Priceline is good if you book early!

Yeah, for PL I think that I'll stick to Mayfair. I've never tried another zone, and I don't like unpleasant surprises.

I've stayed in the Days Hotel Waterloo and that's fine. I don't mind being in that area. City Ibis is fine too. I know both these areas and it's not worthwile for me to try to save some money on Priceline with a different zone. My goal with Priceline is to get a better hotel than these chains hotels without paying much more -- and yet in a central location.

I should check tube schedules though. I'm going to the British Museum to see the terracotta soldiers exhibition that night. It will be after midnight when I'm done probably, but I think that I should be fine even though it's Sunday night.

I'll think it over and look at the maps and make a final decision.

don't worry about being out later than the tube runs. The night buses are easy to use . . . . .

I don't really know the night buses. I know it's not hard, but in the past I've resorted to walking late at night (so I stick to hotels where I think I can find some interesting nightlife).

It's not looking good for Priceline. I tried 4* Mayfair 125-140 and both bids were rejected. There are no longer any counteroffers.

I guess I'll think about it tonight and probably stick to one of the chains.

Hotwire has some pretty good offers for your dates - maybe it is a last-minute thing.

Thanks! I'll take a look. Can you be more specific?

The only one that looks interesting is the 4* City for $113. Does this include taxes? I need to check BB for what this hotel could be.

No, but taxes and fees are usually less than for Priceline.

Oh, if it's the Hilton Islington (not sure, but possible), I'd say that location is probably not what you want.

Don't know if this has already been mentioned as I just skimmed through the above responses, but you might want to check out the following:

http://www.laterooms.com/en/r100_hotels-in-uk.aspx

http://tinyurl.com/2e8gf4

has www.londontown.com been mentioned? or
www.booking.com
www.gtahotels.com

Thanks for the suggestions. Londontown has come up before, but I've not used it.

I'm intrigued by the lastminute.com hotels. Is there a list maintained somewhere?

The hotel below is 60 pounds for a single.... Sounds really good, no?

Example: Stylish hotel 5 minutes from Covent Garden - 4* - London

This centrally located hotel is just a stroll away from Oxford Street, Soho and Covent Garden. Offering delightful guestrooms and excellent facilities, this hotel is the perfect choice for business and leisure travellers alike. *The hotel is currently completing enabling refurbishment works, due to commence in January 2008. All work is being carried out between 08.00hrs - 16.00hrs daily with minimal disturbance to in-house residents*

When I click to the next page, I see that the Glass Restaurant & Bar is near this "secret" hotel. And this is in Radisson Marlborough. Maybe that's the hotel? (The webpage says 0.12 km away though.)

Interesting....

Oh, are there taxes on lastminute.com?

Never mind -- webpage says VAT included. Thanks! Let me see if I can figure out this hotel.... :-)

My guess is that it's the Novotel St. Pancras (formerly Novotel Euston). The reason is that the description refers to a mirrored restaurant, and guess what the Novotel has.

If you go for this, you may as well bid 4* Bloomsbury, because this is the most remote (not that it is remote) hotel in the zone, so far as I can see. (Actually maybe Holiday Inn Kings Cross, which is unaccountably a 4*, is about the same?).

Where do you see the mirrored restaurant description, WillTravel?

How about this one? It's 63 pounds.

"Perfectly located for all London's major attractions and within easy reach of the city’s business district, this wonderful 4 star property provides everything you need for a stay to remember. The hotel’s traditional, elegant guestrooms enjoy some stunning panoramic views of London's Hyde Park, are all fully air conditioned and feature high speed internet access"

I think the other one is near Bayswater/Paddington, whatever it is. So that's out for me. But the 60 pounds a night one sounds intriguing, if it's really near British Museum.

I need to start packing and planning the rest of the trip, I think. :-) I'm not really so obsessed about the hotel, but it's an interesting learning experience.

Hopefully this URL will work:
http://hotels.lastminute.com/hotels/selectCategoryHotel.do?CATID=4&accommCode=2101 36-1-2-EXT:988$v1v$

It has the same description you gave, plus the following (and a few other things):
Restaurant and Bar: Contemporary restaurant with wooden floors and an interesting selection of individual mirrors on the walls. Serving modern british dishes using fresh herbs and spices. A great venue for a pre theatre drink and dinner with warm service, it also features the salon for small private dinners, and has an area that can be rented privately for up to 30 diners.

The Hyde Park one I would guess to be Darlington Hyde Park, although I can't remember why.

Oh, I had to scroll down on that page. Talk about details. :-)