Finding Your LastMinute.com Top Secret Hotel: Is It Still Possible?
LastMinute.com (LM) has come up with some clever ways of using the internet to offer us cheaper flights, holidays and rooms. But perhaps one of their best-known and longest running campaigns is Top Secret Hotels, which offers four- and five-star hotels with a discount of 35 per cent or more. However, people love a mystery, and as such have found ways of discovering the name and location of their hotel (and subsequently if it's any good or not). LM has become wise to these tricks.
So, is it still possible to find this information out?
Hang on, what exactly is the Top Secret Hotel offer?
Simply enter your preferred dates and location into LastMinute.com, select the Top Secret Hotels button, and click search. You'll be presented with a number of hotels that fit your needs, but you won't be told the name or exact address.
Of course, for many people, the mystery of where they will stay is part of the fun. But some of us want to enjoy a heavily discounted luxury hotel without worrying about where it is located. How will I get there? Where will I park? Will the hotel be as good as the website suggests?
So, for the mystery-adverse among us, here are some tips for making your Top Secret Hotel a little less secret.
Google It
It's an old trick, but it still might bring up the name of your hotel: Copy parts of the LM description, paste into Google and search. Try a few different sentences/paragraphs. LM however is wise to this manoeuvre, and ensures you won't find the description anywhere else on the web. Copying parts of the description may still bring up the hotel, although it will not be an exact match.
You can also add certain key data into Google provided by the description. For example, one Top Secret London hotel was entitled "Fully refurbished hotel, exciting London location!" and gave the following information: 'near Kings Cross and Angel tube station', 'recently refurbished', 'adjacent car park', among other pointers.
Searching those terms in Google brought up a number of listings, the top five of which discussed the Hilton London Islington. Doing such a search may also bring up TripAdvisor and Yelp! reviews so you can see how good the hotel is. Most Top Secret Hotels are of high quality, but doing these kinds of quick searches can make sure you're not getting a place with poor service or amenities.
The Old 'Distance From' trick
In the past you could also narrow the search by using the 'distance from' search feature. For example, you could list Top Secret Hotels and see the 'distance from' a landmark such as the British Museum; the distance would be detailed in the listing. You could then use Google Maps or other map service to plot the hotels you suspect might be yours, and pinpoint the culprit by doing an A to B search and noting the distances. However, today LM has removed the distance information from its Top Secret Hotel listings, but has kept it for regular hotel listings.
Clues?
LM has taken a can't-beat-them-join-them approach now, offering a hotline number where would-be customers can get clues about their hotel.
The Best Deal?
There are some great deals on LM, but be sure you know exactly what you're getting. For example, breakfast or wi-fi may incur extra charges. Check this first.
If you think you know the hotel you have, you can also search for it on other hotel search engines like Expedia.com or LateRooms.com, and see if you can get it cheaper. If you've already booked, check the cancellation fee and see if it's cheaper to re-book with another hotel booking site. And remember that hotel prices can change, so it's worth looking at prices again even a few days before your trip.
In theory LM will offer to refund the difference if you find a deal cheaper elsewhere, but it must be exactly the same offer and you must find it within 24 hours. Small differences in the terms and conditions could affect how ‘exactly the same' is defined.