Lastminute.com - Top Secret Hotels REVEALED (London ONLY)

Pelican_eats_pigeon

Techno wrote: »

Many thanks P_e_P - 2 questions if you don't mind
Would £550ish be a good price and is it likely to come down any more do you think (Lastminute have 10% off so was also going to use that and quidco.)
Would it be worth upgrading to a king (200 more) or is the queen big enough - some Trip reports say some rooms are very small but that could just be the standard rooms
Thanks again
Techno

Seems like an OK price I guess, shop around booking sites a bit (travelsupermarket, trivago, kalico's interesting link from 2 pages back).

I doubt any prices will come down too much as end of July really is peak tourist time.

I can't comment in detail on the rooms as I haven't stayed there myself, only heard reports from others. Sofitel's site says the Superior rooms are 26 square metres so it's up to you to decide if you think that's big enough. I would consider it ample myself but I care more about design than size.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

vgyjm wrote: »

Thanks Pigeon, :T

Am tempted to wait until the midweek prior to the booking date as you suggested to superug

Bearing in mind your comment about the tourist season, how risky to you think this approach would be?

Cheers,

On balance I reckon you should be OK as I think most people will arrange their London stays to fit with the couple of weekends before the one you're going for (Easter/Wedding/Bank Holiday). Can't take that for granted though.

It's always worth looking for deal you can refund up to 48 hours in advance that you think is reasonable and booking that now as insurance, then looking for a good deal a few days before and cancelling the first one.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

jmio wrote: »

hi there,
looking for 4-5* hotel 27-30 march. like small and boutique style. travelling with young daugther: location is important (near tube...) any deals you may recommend? thank you!!!!

Any particular area of the city you want to be in/have easy access to? What is your budget? Generally you have to pay a bit more for independent/boutique hotels as a secret deal as they don't have the volume of rooms to get rid of that the big chains do.

atruefaker

Pelican_eats_pigeon wrote: »

That location is a bit limiting with regard to secret hotels but hopefully something will come up. Prices on LM look rather high just now, not sure if that means hotels are getting heavily booked (*bad) or whether they're just playing hard to get until nearer the time (*good). Either way, no deals matching your criteria at the moment.

Would be worth a look on Travelsupermarket (or kalico's interesting link a page back) to see if you find anything that tickles your fancy.

Thanks for looking, trying to find a hotel for people watching my partner in the marathon. Will look nearer the time.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

atruefaker wrote: »

Thanks for looking, trying to find a hotel for people watching my partner in the marathon. Will look nearer the time.

Ouch, didn't realise it was marathon weekend. Chances of getting a really good deal are therefore fairly slim. That would also explain the high prices. I'm not so sure if waiting will be a good idea with this knowledge, it's a real gamble.

Tinkerandmolly

Hi, can anyone help?

I'm looking for a 5* for 25th March, 1 night only in Mayfair. £150, but will go up if it's worth it. Just want luxury and comfort, nothing touristy if possible. Is The Connaught an option? When is the best day to book?

Thanks a lot.....

Pelican_eats_pigeon

Er, don't think you'll get the Connaught at this price range. Specifying Mayfair cuts your choice down quite a lot.

Lastminute has the Athenaeum "Top West End Hotel" at £150, I like this hotel a lot, service is impeccable, the room's aren't huge but they've been furnished recently and excellently. Food isn't the best for a 5* hotel so I would eat somewhere else.
Also, there's the May Fair Hotel "Luxurious hotel in Mayfair with Spa" for £138.49 but it isn't exactly the same kind of quality.

A bit outside of the Mayfair area, Kalico's link a couple of pages back reveals a nice price of £165 including breakfast for the Renaissance Chancery Court. This is a really good hotel.

Royal Horseguards is also a bit out of the area, available at £162 (exc breakfast) on Lastminute.

cazziebo

I've spent hours ploughing through all the helpful advice here...

Hoping Penguin eats Pelican is on with a brilliant idea for a nice hotel 4 or 5 star for my daughter and I for Wednesday 23rd March . Really has to be Central London, twin room. I'm a Hilton Hhonors Gold member so usually get a room upgrade and free breakfast and drinks so Hilton would be good but I think I've searched thoroughly...

Any ideas anyone - it's a bit of a belated 21st treat but don't want to go above £170.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

cazziebo wrote: »

I've spent hours ploughing through all the helpful advice here...

Hoping Penguin eats Pelican is on with a brilliant idea for a nice hotel 4 or 5 star for my daughter and I for Wednesday 23rd March . Really has to be Central London, twin room. I'm a Hilton Hhonors Gold member so usually get a room upgrade and free breakfast and drinks so Hilton would be good but I think I've searched thoroughly...

Any ideas anyone - it's a bit of a belated 21st treat but don't want to go above £170.

No luck with any Hiltons I'm afraid, Wednesdays and Thursdays are never good for cheap deals and prices look sky-high. How central does it have to be? And what sort of standard is good enough for a treat? To be honest we're mainly looking at Holiday Inns and places of that sort of standard that are coming in under budget for Wednesday, which as a Hhonors gold will probably be a bit below what you're used to.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

cazziebo wrote: »

I've spent hours ploughing through all the helpful advice here...

Hoping Penguin eats Pelican is on with a brilliant idea for a nice hotel 4 or 5 star for my daughter and I for Wednesday 23rd March . Really has to be Central London, twin room. I'm a Hilton Hhonors Gold member so usually get a room upgrade and free breakfast and drinks so Hilton would be good but I think I've searched thoroughly...

Any ideas anyone - it's a bit of a belated 21st treat but don't want to go above £170.

OK, done a bit of a search and there's a few moderately attractive possibilities but nothing like the deals you get at weekends or in the deep midwinter. Please note I can't vouch for all of the booking sites mentioned as I haven't used some of them, and also note that I can't be 100% sure twins are available at all of these hotels, I've tried to weed out the ones where they were clearly sold out but some may have slipped through the net. It's always worth trying to check direct with the hotel to see if they can match/beat the web price as well. All prices exclude breakfast unless stated.

Montagu Place Hotel £132 (booking.com)
Megaro Hotel £140 (lastminute non-secret)
Darlington Hyde Park £159 (or £169 for a suite!) (booking.com)
Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel £168 (alpharooms)
Mint Hotel Westminster £165 b&b (easyclicktravel)
Stylish Kensington hotel ideal for museums - Crowne Plaza Kensington £119 (lastminute secret)
Milennium Bailey's £136 b&b (onhotels)
Royal Park Hotel £164 b&b (tripsta)

Those were the best ones, now a bit more cheap and cheerful:
Best Western the Cromwell £102 b&b (alpharooms)
NH Kensington £103 b&b (hotelstayuk, follow kalico's link)
Danubius Hotel Regents Park £104 b&b (olotels)
Pestana Chelsea Bridge £111 (lastminute non-secret) - this is actually a v good hotel but the location is bad.
Holiday Inn Kensington Forum £113 (hotelstayuk, follow kalico's link)
Holiday Inn Camden £125 b&b (hotelstayuk, follow kalico's link)
Superior Hotel next to Regent's Park - Melia White House £133 (lastminute secret)
Holiday Inn London Bloomsbury £134 b&b (tripsta)
Marriott Maida Vale £139 (hotelstayuk, follow kalico's link)


This was quite time-consuming, might have to start charging for some of the more detailed requests