Priceline for London hotels
 

I have never used Priceline - my GUESS is that is would be good for last minute deals but for planning a trip to a big city - why would the hotels want to pre-sell rooms at a discount esp. during regular season? Anyways we are going to London in Sept. (after the Olympics) with two other couples. One of the couples believes they can get a good deal on Priceline for $150 USD?! I have found a nice hotel for about $250 per night - I know I could pre-book that hotel and then wait and see how the Priceline plays out but that doesn't seem quite right to the hotel I am booking up.

I am looking for feedback from this board as to whether in your experience, Priceline has lived up to its hype. Thanks!

I have had 3 good results from Priceline London and one not so good result.
The Thistle Charing Cross was my fav. Also had the Russell Hotel,and Thistle Marble Arch. Millenium Copthorne Chelsea was fine, but not the area I wanted.
Do look up biddingfortravel site and pay attention to the details.
There is nothing wrong with prebooking a hotel in advance IMO, then cancelling.

Judyrem - I used the search feature and read about your bad experience with Priceline, I guess in the end your were OK with how the "Chelsea" hotel played out? I guess that is the kind of result I am a bit leary of - I don't know London very well at all - I don't mind research (I spend hours on Tripadvisor) but the whole not knowing what the hotel will be leaves me a bit wary.

priceline is very good for London, not absolutely great/fabulous like in years past but huge deals are still doable. It is good for late booking, but IME even better for booking a month or two+ ahead.

I've never had a bad 'win' on PL, but am very careful about which zones I try. For instance Westminster used to be a great zone w/ no bad locations. But PL re-drew the boundaries so it now covers south of the river in Vauxhall -- so now I won't bid that zone.

If your friends are PL pros, then give it a shot. But once your bid is accepted, that is it. No going back, no refunds - you have paid and are stuck. So IMO all of you have to aggree to 'live' w/ the results no matter, or not do it. BTW, you'd have to bid for 3 rooms and there is no guarantee you'd get 3 rooms at the same hotel (probable, but no guarantee)

topping for the evening posters

I have been bidding on Priceline for our London trip in late May. No luck yet, but probably just becase I am holding out for a 4 star in Mayfair for around $150. Hardest part is just being patient as people on biddingfortravel and betterbidding have reported wins in the $140 range.

As for Westminster (I still have a lot of research to do) are there 4 star hotels in the the Vauxhall region, or is this only an area to avoid if looking at 3 star and below?

Just a thought.. have you checked out Airbnb where you rent people's apartments? We're using them for our honeymoon in June and we got a really adorable apartment for about $110 a night. There are cheaper and there are more expensive on Airbnb. Some of the places are really cool though!

There is also HomeAway (using that for the bachelorette party in Austin), though I'm not sure if it has stuff for Europe.

BYW, I had the Jumeriah Lowndes also as a Priceline bid. it was great.
The Millenium Copthorne Chelsea turned out to be a very nice stay for us, but just a bit farther than we were used to.
However, I actually like that area.

Like Janisj said, be VERY careful, and I am sure that many posters here would be glad to help.
janisj, does Westminster include parts of Vauxhall now?
Oh no! Say it ain't so.

Judyrem: "<i>janisj, does Westminster include parts of Vauxhall now?</i>"

Unfortunately, yes. It includes both sides of the river - the unfortunate part is it includes the Albert Embankment north of Vauxhall bridge and also Lambeth North. And yes-- there is a 4 star property right there on the Albert Embankment.

rachie205: "<i>Just a thought.. have you checked out Airbnb where you rent people's apartments? We're using them for our honeymoon in June and we got a really adorable apartment for about $110 a night</i>"

First - we all hope it works out OK for you, but it might be better to wait until you've actually seen the place before recommending your 'adorable' apartment or airBnB. Where is the flat?? W/ all due respect, I'd never personally use airBnB in London. Some have been lucky, and some have been very VERY unlucky.

thank you for the additional replies - esp. wishing the honeymoon couple a good experience with aribnb - a young man I work with is a host home here for them and just loves meeting people from all over the world.

one more question - does the accepted bid include the 20% VAT tax? - that is a wicked amount to add to already high hotel prices. London seems to be much pricier than Rome or Paris - I'm thinking this will be my one and only visit there!

Last summer we bid about $150 for a 5 stars in the Mayfair area and got the Intercontinental Park Lane. I think taxes were extra but I'm pretty sure the total wasnt more that $180. We loved the hotel and the location. London is one of thsoe cities where using Priceline is a very good deal. I think we bid a couple of months before the trip.

No, I don't THINK the accepted bid includes VAT.
But don't quote me on this!!!!!
It has been a while.
Anyone else know for sure?

The bid price does not include VAT or the small PL fee (which was $10 last time I used PL)

suec1: Yes, generally hotels of the same quality will cost more in London than in Paris or Rome. But PL is much better in London than the other two cities - mostly because of the zone boundaries. PL is basically useless in Paris (Don't know Rome as well so not as sure there)

So you can actually get better hotels for less money in London -- using PL there and not using it in Paris or Rome

VAT was included on PL bids. It took us five days of bidding but we got a four star hotel near Gloucester Rd station for $105. Stick with four stars (or five) and allow some time. We did not change areas/zones during the bidding process.

Bumping an older thread- would westminster 5 star in that bad area? If I'm bidding for 5*, should I worry???

Any additional experiences to share??? Thanks

In the past three years I've had amazing luck thrice and so-so luck once. All three times were last minute, as in 1-2 days before arriving in London.
Spring 2011 - two rooms for two nights at the Grosvenor House Park Lane for $150 per room/per night.
Summer 2011 - two rooms at the Marriott Hotel West India Quay, $150 each/night. There was a little arm of one of the priceline areas that went into Docklands. The hotel itself was gorgeous, 5 star. But it was far off the beaten path. (this is my so-so luck reference)
Summer 2012 - the Intercontinental Park Lane for $150/night. Great room in a great location.
Summer 2013 - the Grosvenor House again for $150. Love that hotel and location!

I use Priceline often for NYC and I've never gotten the deals I get in London.


If you don't mind last minute and are willing to take a little risk, priceline is good in London (assuming nothing's changed since last summer!)

I have used Priceline for hotels for years and recently used it for Berlin, a few weeks ago.

I do my research on the website betterbidding.com, where people post successful bid results, so that's how I knew what to bid and where for Berlin. I'd do the same for London (go to the "Priceline - Other Countries" forum).