am i spending too much?

[mariamargarita]

Hi everyone!

I am a newbie on this site. My boyfriend & I are going to go on a trip to London, Amsterdam & Copenhagen from 31 March - 17 April. I have never done this before and I have never taken an "adult" vacation where I had to stay in hotels, so I am not sure how much I should be spending on our lodging.

In London, I booked us a hotel for about 400 dollars USD for 4 nights and in Amsterdam, I booked us 5 nights at flying pig in a 14 bed dorm. The total is going to come to about 400 dollars USD. I'm staying at the hostel for the social aspect, but I'm wondering if this is just the right amount or if I could find anything cheaper. A london hostel would be about 50 dollars less. Any thoughts??? I'm really confused as to how much I should be paying for lodging on this trip!

Thanks!!

Cheers,
Maria

[WillTravel]

I have used Priceline for London several times and I always get a nice double/twin room at a 3* or 4* hotel for a price that works out to about 40-50 pounds per night. See www.betterbidding.com for tips (and read and prepare very carefully before making any bids, because you can't back out once you've done it).

I used Priceline in Copenhagen also. The hotel I got has since closed down and reopened. I can't say for sure how great your luck would be now. The URL for the hotel I stayed at is www.hotel27.dk/ - you wouldn't be able to get Priceline rates, though.
Also check out www.chickens.dk - although this is not nearly so cheap as it once was.
Danhostel Copenhagen City is a new hostel that looks very nice, and I wouldn't hesitate to book there.
www.danhostel.dk

For Amsterdam, I found that two hostel beds and breakfast and towels in a dorm would be about 45 Euros, and I found a nice 3* hotel for 65 Euros including breakfast. I think that's worth the difference. See www.bookings.org to see if you could be similarly lucky (it was lucky, as most people do not get hotel rates anywhere near that low). Priceline is also possible in Amsterdam, but more expensive than London.

The social aspect of hostels is nice, but I'm sure it will be much more pleasant for you and your boyfriend if you have your own room. The StayOkay Vondelpark in Amsterdam has private rooms for about 80 Euros per night - but these book out very quickly.
A cheap hotel that seems to be good in Amsterdam is:
www.hotelprinsenhof.com