Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Silly prices for Heathrow hotels on Priceline (early July)

Stupidly, I booked a long weekend in Prague, with an overnight layover at Heathrow on July 4 (arriving at 20:00; leaving at 6:25 for Paris the next day), operating on the assumption that I could get a cheap 4* on Priceline. I certainly haven't had any difficulty the last few times I did this, getting the Sheraton Skyline, for example at around 40 pounds. But this time, there was nothing decent at a cheap price. I bid up to 75 pounds, and was still rejected. On the first day, Priceline's alternative offer was 69 pounds, but since I've generally found that those alternative offers were higher than the kind of bid that would be accepted 24 hours later. Apparently not in this case. I don't like bidding for 3* - I'd rather know what I'm getting up front if I go below 4*.

So we decided to book the Jury's Inn through BA holidays instead at a B&B and tax-inclusive price of 115 euros (a better price than my last Priceline bid, but of course it's a 3* rather than a 4*). Too bad the BA lounge doesn't stay open all night.

When you next need a hotel relatively last-minute (within 28 days!), have a look at www.wotif.com and www.laterooms.com You may even have better luck than with priceline.

Sharon

Lots of flights to LHR are sold out around July 4th weekend, it stands to reason that the hotels will also be unusually busy then too. Looks like a prime travel week from US to Europe.

So we decided to book the Jury's Inn through BA holidays instead at a B&B and tax-inclusive price of 115 euros (a better price than my last Priceline bid, but of course it's a 3* rather than a 4*). Too bad the BA lounge doesn't stay open all night.

Now, I've never been to Jury's but it is brand new (opened 2005) and so, despite the 3* rating, is probably in better nick than most of the 4*'s.

It is also directly next to Hatton Cross tube station. If you are going to T1-3, which you will be if you are going to Prague on BA, you can walk easily to the tube station for the 1 stop journey and save the s-l-o-w Hoppa Bus trip. Even if you want T4, the underground replacement shuttle bus to Hatton Cross is a) more frequent and b) cheaper (ie free) than the Hoppa.

I had a similar situation in early June. Eventually I bid, and received the 3* Holiday Inn Heathrow M4 for $48.

It was a wonderful hotel, and a quick and easy Hoppa bus ride from the terminal.

3* or 4* around Heathrow is just fine, for the most part, with me.

We're flying into to T1-T3 from Prague, so the easy trip to the hotel in the evening will be pleasant, but flying out of T4 back to Paris at 6:30 the next morning (I will persuade Mr. Canuck, who is not a morning person, to splurge on a cab).

We're flying into to T1-T3 from Prague, so the easy trip to the hotel in the evening will be pleasant, but flying out of T4 back to Paris at 6:30 the next morning (I will persuade Mr. Canuck, who is not a morning person, to splurge on a cab).Why in the world would you route PRG-LHR-CDG instead of flying non-stop? And then fret about the difficulty of getting a cheap hotel room at LHR. It sounds like an absurd waste of time given that there are numerous non-stop flights between Prague and Paris, and the lack of tourist potential at LHR.

Why in the world would you route PRG-LHR-CDG instead of flying non-stop? And then fret about the difficulty of getting a cheap hotel room at LHR. It sounds like an absurd waste of time given that there are numerous non-stop flights between Prague and Paris, and the lack of tourist potential at LHR.

Answer 1: Tier point run to maintain BA Gold card for another year. (Otherwise the tier points accumulated in excess of Silver threshold "go to waste")

Answer 2: We have a friend in London who we're going to visit overnight en route to Prague. I've hardly seen him since he served as my best man at my wedding last year, so this is one reason for routing through London and spending Saturday morning with him en route to Prague. But it's rather an imposition to crash at his house twice in 5 days (plus he lives in the City, so that's a rather long haul at 5 in the morning).

Answer 3: We don't care about the lack of "tourist potential" at LHR. Although we do enjoy passing an hour or so in the First Lounge and shopping in some of the LHR outlets that offer products not available in France. (Granted, we won't be doing much of that on the way home to Paris, but we will en route to Prague.)

Answer 4: I need to be back at work in Paris on Wednesday morning, so we need to take the first flight out.

Answer 5: We do not have unlimited funds; nor do have to we sleep in airports in order to afford our holidays. We choose to spend our money on products and services we value, especially where an incremental expenditure delivers significantly more value for the amount spent (e.g. tier point run for one of us on this trip, versus economy class - so that we can continue to enjoy the benefits of BA Gold for another year), and economise where the the added expenditure doesn't deliver value. Spending money on a 7-hour stay at the airport is not something I value highly, but I'd still like to stay somewhere reliably pleasant - and a lot of the LHR airport 3* hotels have inconsistent reviews. Value is subjective, and what we value isn't necessarily what you value.

Answer 6: Because we feel like it.

PS - We're going to take public transportation to our hotel, instead of spending money on the Hoppa Bus and then take a taxi to the airport the following morning. I expect you're going to object to the "absurd waste" of money on a taxi, or tell us that we're not allowed to try to economise on our trip to the hotel.

It makes sense, though a rather inefficient way to get BA Gold (I do it with F runs to DXB, 2 hour turnaround with decent shopping and a bed each way). I've never used the Hoppa or taxi at LHR, and stay at the LHR Sheraton which is nicely reached by free bus, though I usually manage to avoid having an overnight at LHR. These FF plans really do work, they distort flying patterns quite effectively.

It makes sense, though a rather inefficient way to get BA Gold (I do it with F runs to DXB, 2 hour turnaround with decent shopping and a bed each way). I've never used the Hoppa or taxi at LHR, and stay at the LHR Sheraton which is nicely reached by free bus, though I usually manage to avoid having an overnight at LHR. These FF plans really do work, they distort flying patterns quite effectively.

Are you flying first class to dubai as a mileage run? What does that cost if you do not mind me asking?

It makes sense, though a rather inefficient way to get BA Gold (I do it with F runs to DXB, 2 hour turnaround with decent shopping and a bed each way). I've never used the Hoppa or taxi at LHR, and stay at the LHR Sheraton which is nicely reached by free bus, though I usually manage to avoid having an overnight at LHR. These FF plans really do work, they distort flying patterns quite effectively.

You're right - it is somewhat inefficient, and certainly not the cheapest way to do this. But I've never done a true "tier point run", although I have taken slightly convoluted routings and/or chosen to fly in CE to pick up tier points. This is more along the lines of a) we want to go somewhere for a mini-break, b) let's do it before the tier points expire, and c) what's a relatively inexpensive place to fly (i) to get the points I need, (ii) that is also a place that is actually on our Top 20 List of places we want to visit, and (iii) and "exploreable" in a long weekend? At short notice and with only one free weekend between now and the early August year-end, Prague fit the bill.

If I were still single, I'd probably indulge myself more, but my relatively frugal husband generally has helped me curb my impulses. But he may have just crossed over to the dark side - he just got his own BAEC card (for the past few years, he's mostly flown on my points or on companion tickets) and has accumulated 190 tier points in the last month or so. With planned trips home to Canada in the offing, his own silver card is within reach.

So we decided to book the Jury's Inn through BA holidays instead at a B&B and tax-inclusive price of 115 euros
If it helps, I've stayed at the Jury's Inn and found it very comfortable and more importantly, extremely convenient for LHR T4.

Lewis

Answer 6: Because we feel like it.

PS - We're going to take public transportation to our hotel, instead of spending money on the Hoppa Bus and then take a taxi to the airport the following morning. I expect you're going to object to the "absurd waste" of money on a taxi, or tell us that we're not allowed to try to economise on our trip to the hotel.

^ ^ ^ ^

I have entirely given up on the Hoppa bus except in cases of dire emergency, which also means I've given up on the cruddy Heathrow hotels unless I happen to have a rental car.

It's certainly more expensive to take the Heathrow Express to/from Paddington, but generally I find it is faster than taking the Hoppa to or from a Bath Road (A4) hotel, even though the Bath Road is only a few km away. Plus, at the end of a Heathrow Express ride, you're in London! At the end of a Hotel Hoppa ride, you're, well, nowhere.

Are you flying first class to dubai as a mileage run? What does that cost if you do not mind me asking?There is no cost-effective way to do this on BA, so don't get too excited. I do this 4 times per year as an add-on to another ticket, so the extra segments LHR-DXB-LHR cost about GBP 100 extra (cheaper and more comfortable than staying overnight at a LHR hotel). But this only works if you already have a rather expensive F ticket on BA for other reasons (most full-F fares allow for some interesting routings for negligible extra cost).

I have entirely given up on the Hoppa bus except in cases of dire emergency, which also means I've given up on the cruddy Heathrow hotels unless I happen to have a rental car.

It's certainly more expensive to take the Heathrow Express to/from Paddington, but generally I find it is faster than taking the Hoppa to or from a Bath Road (A4) hotel, even though the Bath Road is only a few km away. Plus, at the end of a Heathrow Express ride, you're in London! At the end of a Hotel Hoppa ride, you're, well, nowhere.

Too true. We only stop over in a Heathrow hotel if we're leaving very early the next day (e.g. our 6:45 am departure for Paris).

I've learned how the free public buses leaving from LHR's CBT can get me to most all the hotels around LHR. Faster and cheaper than Hotel Hoppa bus, especially once you know the bus routes around LHR. I do LHR hotels for a combination of convenience related to late night arrivals/early morning departures and for the cheap prices at which they can be booked.

Well....one sneaky way to get to the Sheraton Skyline, the Holiday Inn Ariel, or the Ibis, would be to ride the Avis bus and then sneak out and walk to your hotel from Avis, which is only a few hundred yards away from these hotels. I haven't done this but it does seem that they don't check who gets on the bus or what you do after you get off. If you aren't too obvious and don't make a habit of it -- it should work.

The "free bus ride to the Bath Road" thing works too except you have to walk to the central bus terminal. They charge you coming back, however. Probably still cheaper and faster than that accursed Hotel Hoppa.

...The "free bus ride to the Bath Road" thing works too except you have to walk to the central bus terminal. They charge you coming back, however. Probably still cheaper and faster than that accursed Hotel Hoppa.All of the buses are free coming back as long as you are boarding within the free zone. The Sheraton Heathrow is still within the free zone, for example (I had presumed that all of the hotels were in the free zone). Even with the walk, it is faster than the Hoppa, as well as being free in both directions.

so the extra segments LHR-DXB-LHR cost about GBP 100 extra
Most impressive. I'll have to remember this.

Well....one sneaky way to get to the Sheraton Skyline, the Holiday Inn Ariel, or the Ibis, would be to ride the Avis bus and then sneak out and walk to your hotel from Avis, which is only a few hundred yards away from these hotels. I haven't done this but it does seem that they don't check who gets on the bus or what you do after you get off. If you aren't too obvious and don't make a habit of it -- it should work.

The "free bus ride to the Bath Road" thing works too except you have to walk to the central bus terminal. They charge you coming back, however. Probably still cheaper and faster than that accursed Hotel Hoppa.

Walking to the Central Bus Terminal isn't too bad from Terminal 1, 2 or 3 -- especially if you have a baggage cart and/or light luggage. And the public bus to the HI Ariel or Sheraton SkyLine (in one direction) or Sheraton Heathrow/Thistle Heathrow (in another) from CBT are free. In the case of the former, just inform the bus driver you'll be getting off a little past the Marriott (whether that be the case or not. :eek: )

The closest public bus stop on the way back to LHR from the Holiday Inn Ariel is not in the "free" zone, but the next pickup/stop point going to LHR is free. Even then the closest bus stop on the way back from the HI Ariel is still cheaper than taking the Hotel Hoppa or a taxi. Worst case scenario, free on the way to the hotel, 2 pounds on the way back (via the public bus). And for first flights out of LHR, I've found the public buses to have a better schedule than Hotel Hoppa. :o

Probably half that price if you have an Oyster card.

Probably half that price if you have an Oyster card.

For frequent visitors, something to certainly consider as you'll well save some money. Just note that the deposit on the Oyster card is hard to get refunded, for most non-UK residents. (Something about a check being mailed comes to mind.)

Just a quick note to say that the Jury's Inn turned out just fine. It certainly was basic, but the rooms were nicely fitted out and everything was shiny-new. Check-in and check-out were easy. We took the tube to Hatton Cross on arrival, but splurged on a cab on the way back (since our flight left at 6:20). We will think about getting Oyster cards, though, since we'll probably make several trips to, or stopovers in, London each year.

Oysters are worth the effort but you need to beware that the prepaid (rather than season) cards aren't usable on a lot of the overland train services (i.e. NOT the tube or buses) so don't expect that just because you're in the London Transport "zones" that you'll be able to use them everywhere.

When you next need a hotel relatively last-minute (within 28 days!), have a look at www.wotif.com and www.laterooms.com You may even have better luck than with priceline.

Sharon

Thanks for the tip on wotif - I'll have to add them to my not-so-short list of sites (found a nice deal in San Diego for weekends, but thats for another thread ;) )