I've never paid the rack rate, in fact I wonder if anybody ever does.Maybe the hotel just posts the rack rate so that people can say, "we're staying in a room that would be £200!"
Before booking I compare the rates of the travel agencies, in Germany ADAC, DER, TUI and NUR.I suppose a similar system exists in other countries as well. Very often these companies offer specials," stay 7 days, pay just 5" or "4 days for 3".As with all special deals, they are gone fast, so I book ahead.I've saved a lot of money this way.
Because of this I won't give any prices. If I tell you I got a great deal and paid about 60 Euro for my room, because I got a special deal, this is not going to help you if this deal is not offered next year.
Generally hotel rooms in London are small and expensive. Space is expensive in any big city and you have to pay for it. The rates I get through the agencies include breakfast, usually a continental one. Occasionally British breakfast is included, but I would never pay extra for it in a London hotel. I've had excellent cooked breakfasts in small B&Bs in the rest of the UK, but in a London hotel they were without exception too greasy for my taste.
One hotel we had stayed in was the Thistle Lancaster Gate hotel. I just read it is no longer a hotel and I can't say I'm surprised. It was by far the most expensive hotel I had booked in London, as a special treat for my mother. While the rooms were really nice and large, the staff's attitude was so bad that we vowed never to return.
