What else should I know about Priceline bidding for London?
 

Below is my collection of Priceline advice for London, gleaned from this and other websites. Some of you will recognize advice you've given on past threads. :)

I've used the "Name Your Own Price" feature on Priceline a number of times,utilizing betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com rebid strategies. I use Priceline as a way to upgrade to better accommodations rather than as a way to find super cheap lodging.

I will be in London solo in September and will try to stay in the $180-220 price range before taxes. I want to be fairly central and close to tourist sites. I am not looking for nightlife. I haven't been to London since a weeklong pubcrawl almost 30 years ago when I was 20.

What else should I know regarding Priceline and London?
Ann Marie
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Priceline bidding advice
Don’t go by zone names which can mislead. Study the Priceline map. Check star levels currently available in each area by clicking the box to the left of the map for each individual zone.

Best zones
5 Kensingyon/Earl’s Court- Includes South Kensington- fairly safe bidding zone- risk of getting Olympia Hilton, but a decent hotel.
8 Mayfair/Soho- Pricey, difficult to get reasonable rate
11 The City and London Bridge- Close to a number of tourist attractions in London (St Paul's, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Tate Modern) but can be quiet evenings/weekends as most of the businesses in the area cater to the people who work there. Convenient for the Central and District / Circle lines.

OK zone
1 Bloomsbury/Marble Arch- Some of the hotels near Kings Cross aren’t good but any win would be central.

Avoid
9 Notting Hill/Bayswater- Most wins in Paddington/Queensway
13 Westminster- formerly best zone for location/price- now incudes hotels across river in Vauxhall.

Never bid
2 Chelsea/Knightsbridge- Includes Fulham & Chelsea Harbor. No tube service there, far from most sites.
7 London Docklands/Canary Wharf- Far out, great for businessmen, not for tourists.
10 Northern Regents Park- Possible win Marriott Regents Park (4*) which is far out.

The one thing to keep in mind about Priceline bidding advice for any city is that it can get stale very quickly. Priceline changes zones over time; properties drop out or join or change their participation.

The best thing you can really do is look for recent bids on the "bidding sites" like BetterBidding and see what people are getting in what zones, preferably around the dates you will stay; then check the Trip Advisor reviews for a few of those hotels and if they are acceptable, bid with a bit more confidence. You are ALWAYS taking a slight chance on Priceline that you might get a hotel you aren't crazy about - that risk is why you can save so much money.

I've used Priceline mostly in the US for years but a few times in Europe. I got a fantastic deal for a nice hotel in London in 2005 - but as I said above, the zones/participation have changed since then, so my info is basically irrelevant now. Priceline doesn't work well for every city - nice to know you can use it for London, where hotels can be insanely expensive.

Great synopsis, amwosu. Now, can you do one for New York? lol...

If all else fails, I booked at the Travelodge in Covent Garden because I love the location. It was about 80-90 pounds per night. I think it is basic but meets all my needs.

Thanks Andrew and ncounty. Advice noted.

Does anyone have advice as to the maximum number of days for which I should bid? Will I have better luck getting a deal on just two days versus trying for four?
Ann Marie

I have read that, amwosu. Try for 4 for a while but if you don't get it, break it up to 2s.

I agree, but know that there is a chance you may wind up in 2 different hotels. That happened to me once (not in London). I didn't mind because the 2 hotels were only 5 minutes walking distance apart, and the 2nd hotel turned out to be nicer than the 1st.

<i>Never bid
2 Chelsea/Knightsbridge- Includes Fulham & Chelsea Harbor. No tube service there, far from most sites.</i>
Fulham Broadway tube stop is in Fulham, and I think Putney Bridge and Parsons Green are, too (not sure about the last 2). The Number 11 bus also terminates at Fulham Broadway. But no, Fulham and Chelsea Harbor are not walking distance to any major tourist sights.

ncounty--We stayed there this past summer, so if you have any questions just ask:) They are always having sales, so keep checking the prices. We had a room for 3 of us and paid around 35 GBP.

Walkabout: All true about Fulham area tube stations. But unfortunately the most likely 'wins' in the zone are in Chelsea Harbor.

Thanks janisj. Fulham wouldn't be my first choice (or fifth) because I like more central areas. However, I've been to London enough times that I wouldn't stress if I got a hotel near Fulham Broadway. I wouldn't want to be at Chelsea Harbor, though.

Thanks mms. Did you like it? The location seems fantastic to me and I just need a decent bed to sleep in and relative quiet. It was about 80 pounds per night but I figured late June is high season. It is very inexpensive right now. I lucked out and found one of my nights went for 25 pounds so I rebooked it and got that discount.

ncounty--We were only there for 1 night, in early August. It was fine for us for that. The room itself was fine, pretty basic, but quite large. We had a queen bed and a rollaway. The bathroom was fine...clean, but needed some TLC (not horrible, but could have used some maintenance). They only left 1 bath towel for us, so we had to go down to get more bath and hand towels. There was no phone in the room, FWIW. There are 2 buildings for this place. We were on High Holburn street as that is where the quad rooms are. Our room faced a street, but we were up on the 8th floor. It was noisy from some nightclub, but I don't know if that is typical. We were there where it was roasting out (all got sunburned) so had the windows open. It was fine with them closed. I know this all sounds negative, but I am trying to give you every bit so you can decide for yourself if it would work. For another short stay, I probably would opt for this if it were a decent price. Location was great. From what you say, I think it would be fine. It was very clean and the bed was fine.

Thanks mms! I appreciate the info.

amwosu and ncounty: I meet my friends on the strangest threads. Who'd have thought I'd be looking for a Priceline hotel in Feb 2015, when I'm supposed to be in Savannah that week?! Memorial service for my late SiL is now scheduled for Feb 12 and I'm scrambling to find something that does not break the bank. The advice about splitting bids into 2 day chunks is useful -- I was wondering about that...

Oh Ted, I'm sorry about your SIL's passing. Via Priceline, I ended up with a decent hotel in Kensington for a few days. The hotel was basic and frequented by large numbers of airline crews. The fact that it was near a tube station on the Picaldilly line was perfect for returning to Heathrow at the end of the trip. Best wishes.
Ann Marie