Priceline - Which Zone in London?
 

We are traveling to London in April and would like to bid on priceline for a 4* hotel but do not know which zone(s) to bid.
We would like to be in a nice area and centrally located to the tourist areas. From what I have seen on biddingfortravel.com Mayfair/Soho and Kensington seem to be popular, but what about the other zones?
This will be our first trip to London so any help from the "experts" out there will be greatly appreciated.

Mayfair is the best area to stay in, it's very central, very convenient.

Thanks for the reply. Which of the other zones are acceptable? I may need to be flexible in the bidding process.

Kensington/South Kensington/Knightsbridge are also acceptable areas, but not quite so central. However, I'm not familiar with Priceline zones, so you're best to list them then I will be able to comment further.

Here they are...

Bloomsbury - Marble Arch
Hammersmith
Kensington - Earls Court - Knightsbridge
London Bridge
Mayfair - Soho
Noting Hill- Bayswater
Regents Park - Baker Street
South Bank - Vauxhall
The City - Financial District - Finsbury
Westminster

cruizerbob - you really should do a search for previous posts on the stratgey for bidding on Priceline, if you haven't already done so. It seems to me there's a kind of trick to it to ensure you get into the zone you want at the hotel star level you want.

Mayfair/Soho and Kensington are the best areas from the list you've posted. Mayfair is more central; it's easy to tube from South Ken - lots of lines converge there. If it were me I would only consider those 2 areas.

You can't go strictly by names, because Priceline sets up the zone maps in such a way that they do not necessarily match the name.

The best combination of price and quality, in my opinion, is a 4* bid in the Kensington zone.

A 4* bid in the Mayfair zone is somewhat more expensive, usually, but will deliver a well-located hotel in Mayfair.

A 4* hotel in the Bloomsbury zone may yield a hotel that is subpar or placed in an inferior position.

4* in Westminster would be fine too, although more expensive than Kensington for no good purpose.

4* in Hammersmith is too far out.

4* in The City is not that convenient
most likely.

4* in London Bridge should be okay, but is not the usual spot sought by tourists and likely less convenient.

I think 4* in Notting Hill gives a less desirable hotel.

4* in Regents Park - Bakers Street gives nice hotels, but a less desirable position.

South Bank - Vauxhall has no 4* hotels.

Thanks WillTravel! Thats what I was looking for. I am familiar with bidding strategies on priceline, but not with London. Now that I have a better idea on the specific zones I have a better idea on how to bid.

One more thing - the Hilton Olympia comes up in the Kensington zone, and while it's not bad, it's not as convenient as the other hotels in that zone. So for absolute certainty of a well-located hotel, the Mayfair zone can't be beat.

Buyer beware, though: we stayed at a 3* in Kensington that was a better choice for us than the 4* in Westminster. We bid the latter zone on priceline because we really wanted to get Mariott County Hall, but ended up with Crowne Plaza St. James--where I would not stay again.

We bid for a 4* in Kensington, and got Millenium Bailey's for $80 US. We were very satisfied. This was in May of 2003, so prices may be considerably different.

Is it better to bid for a London hotel on Priceline close to travel dates or as far out as possible?
Thanks.

That depends on the season in which you are traveling. We've done it both ways. Far in advance seems to work better for high season and last minute for low. Of course, this is exactly the same strategy you'd use to book directly with the hotel, as well. Cannot overemphasize the importance of having decent back up reservations already in place (that can be cancelled) before you embark on a Priceline quest.

We stayed in Bloomsbury and enjoyed the area quite a lot.

Thank you both. I went ahead and took the plunge, got the Waldorf Hilton Aldwych for $122 per night in April. I am delighted with the location and the price was considerably better than I was getting on any of the hotel websites.