Priceline or Hotwire to book London Hotel--Your Experiences

I've used Priceline and gotten some amazing deals for London: about $80 USD for 4-star business class hotels. The bidding process is a bit tricky though, head to this site for the best advice:

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/

I actually use hotels.com when booking hotel rooms. They usually have great rates, you get to pick your hotel, and you can read reviews of each hotel before you pay for it. We use it every time we travel and have used it to book a hotel for our trip to London next week. (We are staying in the Bayswater Area north of Hyde Park.) I think that booking through these sites are fine, however, I also spend some time going through reviews and deciding which area I would like to stay in before booking.

In the past, I have also used Priceline to find hotel in the states (not abroad). I have received a mix of great hotels with a few seedy ones. It's a risk you take when using that kind of bidding website.

Thank you for your input. I guess I realize the risk of the actual hotel quality, however, I'm more fearful of showing up at someplace I've booked through PL or HW only to find they've never heard of me, and have nothing available, or worse yet, available with outrageous prices! I like the hotel.com suggestion, and will certainly look into it. Thank you.

I haven't used Priceline in Europe, but I have used it many times in the states and have gotten some great deals. You can put what area you want (the more areas you agree to the better your chances are, but feel free to just put one area if that's all you want) and put the star quality you want. I always put a higher star value, and actually I think the system works in you favor that way. If you know you want to stay in Kensington for example, but no other area, then put that area, a high star value and a lowball price. If they do accept your price the place is yours - no refunds. I would follow up with an email to the hotel you get, just to verify they got the reservation. I did that on my upcoming trip to Italy for the one reservation I did on hotels.com.

I have recently had lots of success booking with thetrainline.com. Started using them for the trains and just stayed there booking everything including theatre tickets which arrived in Canada within a week. Unfortunately no car bookings though.

I've used Priceline in London (although it has been a few years) without problem. I've only used it on one night stays before a flight. I agree with the prior suggestion to look at biddingfortravel.com. betterbidding.com is another good choice.

Diane,

Priceline and Hotwire are both multi-billion dollar mega-corporations. You aren't going to be 'had', like Uncle Bob's used hotel room site. Both sites are trustworthy, and no more or less difficult to use/work with than any of the other major agencies re having a room at the other end.

That being said - London is a fairly LARGE city, and hotel 'star' ratings vary wildly in my experience. I'd stick with something you know, and see if you can get a great rate! (Hotels.com, etc)

Diane,

I'm leaving for London at the end of the month. I spent a few months researching different hotels. I found a few lukewarm details on orbitz, however I found the best bets were to not go through any of those travel sites directly, but use them to find hotels in the area you want to stay, then contact the hotels directly. That method worked for me, but I've heard of others having success going through the various travel sites. I found a pretty good deal at The Henley House, check it out.
www.henleyhousehotel.com

Cheers,
John

I used priceline (name your own price) for a one-nighter (saturday) in Amsterdam when I couldn't get a single night at a decent rate on any of the "regular" booking sites or directly with hotels. I had a great 4-star plus room in a terrific location for less than a 3-star price.

Last month I got 5-star rooms in Prague (Hilton) and Vienna (Intercontinental), also excellent locations and for less than 3-star prices.

The only drawback I have found is that with a 2 or 3 star level, you usually get more perks - breakfast, internet, but you don't get bathrobes, nice toiletries, spacious rooms.

Also, after you get your hotel, you can contact them directly with special requests, like double bed vs 2 twins or nonsmoking room.

As another poster wrote, do go to biddingfortravel.com and do a bit of homework on bidding strategies. You can also view recent successful bids, so you will have a pretty good idea of what hotels are accepting bids and the prices.

I used Expedia to book hotels in London and Paris 4 years ago. I was able in both places to get a stay 4 nights, get the 5th night free deal. It worked out great in both locations and one plus was that I knew beforehand exactly where we would be staying.

Thanks everyone! Through various suggestions, I found, and researched further, Blades. It sounds like just what I'm looking for. Has anyone stayed at Blades? Your thoughts?