Why on earth say '5star' when you didn't mean it? That put everyone off on the wrong foot. True 5 star hotels go for $600, $700, $800, $1000+ per night. 4.5 star will be on the $350-$600 range.

>>I was just worried these budget inns aren't the real deal for London. <<

There are TONS of nice budget hotels all over London - but $200 is only about £130.

>> I've heard people getting the international in Mayfair for like 155$. Which is the perfect looking hotel. <<

I am not aware of a 'International Hotel" in Mayfair. Could you by <i>any </i> chance mean the Intercontinental? If so and IF you can get it for $155 -- terrific. But do realize that when taxes/fees are added to your bid it will come out close to your $200 limit.

AlphaOmeqa,

You have done a fine job of explaining what you want. I just wanted you to have a good concept of the criteria you need to get what you want. I have used Priceline when it was in a place where there weren't that many hotels and I knew exactly which hotels worked with Priceline, so I could pretty much count on getting what I wanted and I did. Price-wise, it was great for a super nice resort style hotel with beautiful pools and grounds. However, it had no local character and sometimes I want that. It was like any other nice hotel and could have been located almost anyplace else, but you know everything will be nice with good service. Sometimes you want that assurance.

In Paris, I don't know if they work mostly with high end hotels or not. Surely someone else knows. Be very careful in choosing the area.

Andrew, Agedude and others have given you some excellent advice and information, enough to make a confident decision.

I didn't know that taxes were added. I was told on another forum that whatever you bid will be the accepted total. I'll need to keep doing research. Yes the intercontinental. Sorry.

I said five star because I don't want a one star and because it was recommended to me to do only five star to just about guarantee somewhere very nice.

I don't want to stay at motel 6 or econo Lodge. I want to stay at 'this is a piece of London' hotel. That's another reason why I mentioned the no budget in.

I've heard very good things about Pl and since posting here very bad things so now I don't know what to think.

Thank you sassafrass, I appreciate it. I'm quite confident if we pick Bloomsbury or maybe Mayfair we will get something nice. I'm not opposed to pools or restaurants. I just do t necessarily need it, but I assumed the five star hotels that have those things would be nicer so that's what I want. It is my honeymoon after all. Wish we had bigger budget but we are also building a brand new house so we need to chill a little lol.

Thanks again though I'm going to do lots more reading and research and check those websites and forums for more tips :)

I did not mean to scare anyone. I do know that the problem of a new user of priceline is not the "known unknowns" such a exactly what hotel and exactly what location. It is the "unknown unknowns" that become gotchas, so I tried to highlight a few. Reading reviews of a hotel cannot help when the name of the hotel is not known before purchase, for instance. Others have since given a much better explanation of the difference between different definitions of stars.

I would not favor a pot luck honeymoon for another couple, but, as I said, that's pretty much my own honeymoon experience.

Just to add, my best Priceline experience was getting a fantastic 5 star (American concept) room for a weekend in San Francisco on Nob Hill at a 3 star price, because it was a business hotel on a slow weekend. Could something similar happen in London? Probably not at $200 per night, from any source. But that price can surely buy an adequate hotel in an adequate location, and the OP might hit a Priceline jackpot if bidding is done prudently.

The only question will be how much uncertainty and risk the OP can tolerate for a honeymoon. So, the first suggestion given here by Andrew, having a cancelable backup reservation, is a key action.

I did not mean to scare anyone. I do know that the problem of a new user of priceline is not the "known unknowns" such a exactly what hotel and exactly what location. It is the "unknown unknowns" that become gotchas, so I tried to highlight a few. Reading reviews of a hotel cannot help when the name of the hotel is not known before purchase, for instance. Others have since given a much better explanation of the difference between different definitions of stars.

I would not favor a pot luck honeymoon for another couple, but, as I said, that's pretty much my own honeymoon experience.

Just to add, my best Priceline experience was getting a fantastic 5 star (American concept) room for a weekend in San Francisco on Nob Hill at a 3 star price, because it was a business hotel on a slow weekend. Could something similar happen in London? Probably not at $200 per night, from any source. But that price can surely buy an adequate hotel in an adequate location, and the OP might hit a Priceline jackpot if bidding is done prudently.

The only question will be how much uncertainty and risk the OP can tolerate for a honeymoon. So, the first suggestion given here by Andrew, having a cancelable backup reservation, is a key action.

alpha: You do need to do more studying. You seem to have an unrealistic idea of London hotels. You used '5star' because you don't want a 1 star dump. Well, 90% of hotels are above 1 star and below 5 star. In fact the majority of London hotels (or at least the ones most people have heard of) are 3 star and 4 star.

London hotels aren't 'resorts' with grounds and few have swimming pools (some do but it is very rare).

The "Bloomsbury" zone includes areas like Kings Cross, and Mayfair includes Soho.

I would definitely look at booking.com and then see reviews on Trip Advisor before booking. I use PL a lot in the US but am shakier with it in European cities. I just booked a 3* hotel in Bloomsbury with great reviews and b'fast for a bit less than $200/night for 10 nights in Feb. April is likely more expensive.

Good luck!