What do you think about this London hotel price?
 

Holiday Inn South Kensington (not the Forum), 4 nites, 11/2-11/6/08, 3 adults (2 double beds), GBP 803.70 total for 4 nites stay (now about $392 per nite). Seems like a lot; seems like I should find a lot of great options for that price?

We've stayed there before & like the hotel & it has rooms large enough for 3 adults & the 3rd person does not have to sleep on a cot or sofa bed. That's important for us.

We would like to experience staying in a different area such as by the Tower of London or other tourist spot (with close tube station), but I have not found anything with 2 double beds for a better price.

Anyone have any suggestions? If not, guess we shall return as before! :-) love London!

Thanks

Oh, and we want an elevator & ensuite bath. The price I mentioned does not include breakfast.

have you checked www.londontown.com or www.gtahotels.com, or www.ryanair.com?

good luck.

Hi

Priceline - www.priceline.com - gets the thumbs up in this forum.

We stayed at the HI South Ken in April and got a great rate online about 5 or 6 weeks before our stay (99 GBP a night inc. breakfast). We like the hotel too but be aware it's in the process of changing hands. I can't remember which hotel group is taking over ( wyndham??) but they were remodeling the 6th floor while we were there.
Maybe you should keep looking at this stage as Nov is so far off...

Have you tried Londontown.com for a price comparison? You can easily shop by neighborhood, price and amenities. Then see what TripAdvisor says about the place you find. $392 sounds like a lot, but I am way out of it regarding prices in London nowadays. Yikes.

That is "only" about £198 a night - definitely not outrageous for that hotel/neighborhood.

Priceline won't work for you unless you bid on 2 rooms - but 2 PL rooms will be cheaper than $392 - about $100 cheaper.

What about an apartment? You won't be there in high season so you might be able to find one to let for only 4 nites. It would let you spread out a bit more when you are there.

Thanks everyone. I don't feel comfortable with Priceline because there are 3 of us & we don't want a cot or sofa bed.

I'll try londontown, gta, & ryanair & see what I find. I've researched venere & tripadvisor & my Rick Steves book. The issue seems to be the 3rd person's bed comfort.

I have booked this hotel with a AAA rate so I have until the day of arrival to cancel in case I find something better. I do & will keep watching it to see if it goes down.

Thanks a lot, Julie

London hotels are very expensive and triples are difficult to find. That triple rate you quoted is not too bad actually especially for two double beds. Many times they can't accomodate all three in one room unless you book a suite (very very pricey and it's with a sofabed for the third person) or two rooms (still very pricey). I think we stayed in that HI (used to be the Forum Hotel prior?). If it is the same the triple they gave us was actually a double...which was tiny.

Since you don't want to book with discount hotel sites (never tried it myself) I hope you get something.

&quot;<i>I don't feel comfortable with Priceline because there are 3 of us &amp; we don't want a cot or sofa bed</i>&quot;

When I suggested PL - it was to bid for <u>two rooms</u>. PL only deals w/ doubles in London - w/ no option for a sofa bed. But 2 PL rooms will be a good deal cheaper than what you've booked at the Holiday Inn - and you'd get a LOT more space and 2 bathrooms.

(BTW - DO NOT ask for a cot in the UK - that will get you a baby crib)

A flat is another good option - many will rent for less than a week.

As you are all adults why do you need to share a room? It will probably be a lot cheaper to find 2 double rooms or a double and a single room than this 'family' room you want with 2 double beds. 2 double beds is an unusual combination in the UK anyway, so you are limiting your choice. Otherwise you could look for a triple room, which won't have two double beds, but will sleep 3 adults in proper beds. I think it's the insistance on the 2 double beds that is causing you problems.

Best bet is Priceline and get 2 separate double rooms. This will work out a lot cheaper than your current option.

But if you absolutely HAVE to have one room with two double beds, that deal you have found sounds reasonable to me.

JulieAgain, we have stayed at the Holiday Inn Mayfair several times. It also has 2 double beds per room and the location is amazing - right next to the Green Park tube station. Our AAA rate usually averaged less than 150GBP (a little less on weekends, a little more on weekdays). I haven't checked the rates currently.

We would like to experience staying in a different area such as by the Tower of London or other tourist spot (with close tube station), but I have not found anything with 2 double beds for a better price.&gt;&gt;

a laudable idea, julie, but a bit pointless in London - there's very little else near the Tower, excpet St. Paul's and the whole city of london area virtually dies at night.

a much better option [and probably cheaper] is to stay somewhere more central, and visit the city on noe day - the tower [first off, so i gather from other trip reports] then leadenhall market [if you like that sort of thing - I do but it's not to everyone's taste], lunch [some good restuarants nearby], St. Pauls' in the afternoon, then back to the west end or whereever. [if you get a [no 11?] bus down ludgate hill and along fleet street, there are lots of interesting things to see, and you could get off at the royal courts and tour the inns of court between the road and the thames].

the other posters have given good advice about finding accommodation.

regards, ann

Dear Julie,

I just spent a lot of time trying to find a reasonable hotel in London. After a lot of searching, we did find that when we called direct we got a bit better price and breakfast thrown in as well. If you like to have breakfast, that can equal a nice savings.

Prices are definitely steep for us in the UK with the weak dollar. I think you found a good price if you like this hotel but I'm not so good with the whole priceline thing. I agree on searching for a double and a single. The single rates can be very attractive compared to a double and you'll have the extra bathroom that way too.

Good luck.

gruezi

Some more good ideas. We do not need to stay 3 to a room, it is just in our prior travels that has been the best price. Sounds like London may be different in that regards. So, I will try the 2 rooms. Having 2 baths would be very nice!

I'll take a look at the HI Mayfair. Didn't know they have 2 double beds rooms.

Thanks everyone, I'll work on this today. I'll also try calling the hotel direct &amp; see what I get.

Hi julie, again, again,

i agree with gruezi that it's always worth trying the hotel itself to see if they will match/better the on-line offer.

though when I tried that last week with a central london hotel for one night later this week they were very unhelpful.

i went back to the net and got a near-by hotel for less with breakfast thrown in. as there are two of us, this was a considerable saving.

serves them right!

good luck in your quest.

regards, ann