How to use secret hotels to get deals on 5-star stays

Want cheap hotels on your next holiday without compromising on quality? Explore secret hotel deals as a way of snagging 4- and 5-star hotels at bargain prices.

The catch is that the mystery hotel you choose remains unnamed until you book it, after which you can’t cancel.

Our comprehensive guide will let you in on the sites to use, the best ways to get luxury hotels, and the tricks for uncovering hidden hotels before you book. 

What are secret hotels?

Hotels would rather give away their rooms for a discounted rate than have them go empty. So they’ll often team up with third-party booking sites to advertise their rooms at a massively reduced price. This results in a win-win situation for both you and the hotel.

But when they appear on these sites, you won’t get the name of the hotel, hence the ‘secret’ element. The reason they remain a secret is to avoid advertising a room cheaper than the price other guests have paid for the same stay.

Also known as hidden hotels or mystery hotels, this little trick is a great way to save money on your holiday. It’s particularly effective for last-minute bookings where you can save as much as 60% on a luxury hotel for short breaks. 

How do secret hotels work?

It’s pretty easy to find secret hotel deals when you use dedicated sites. Simply put in your location, dates and star rating then click search to reveal the secret hotels that fit your criteria. 

If you’re searching in popular cities like London, there’ll be a wider variety to choose from, so you can filter a bit more specifically.

While these secret deals are available throughout the year, prices are likely to drop closer to the date of your stay. So if you’re flexible on your accommodation, last-minute hidden hotels can mean big savings.

How to find secret hotel deals

Not all third-party booking sites feature hidden hotel rates, so we’ve listed below the top UK sites for finding secret hotels.

lastminute.com is one of the biggest names in secret hotel deals. Their website is easy to use: simply search for your location and dates as you would on any other booking site. 

Add in any filters you like then scroll through the results until you find a listing that’s marked as a Top Secret hotel.

You'll get a brief overview of the total cost and the hidden hotel discount price. Secret hotel prices mean you can often bag a 5-star stay for a 3-star price.

In line with the lastminute.com terms and conditions, you’re guaranteed savings of at least 10% on luxury accommodation compared to the named rate of the same hotel on any other online travel agent. They state that you can save as much as 40% on your secret hotel and that 95% of all of their Top Secret hotels are 4 and 5 stars.

If you’ve booked your secret hotel and then discovered a cheaper price for the same room elsewhere, you’re covered by their Price Match Guarantee. You’ll need to submit a claim within 24 hours to receive back the difference.

Hotwire

US travel site with great rates on secret hotels globally, although prices appear in USD.

Hotwire is a popular site for secret hotel deals, but always check reviews online when booking as these can be variable. It's easy enough to use: simply search as normal with your location, dates and filters, then click on the Hot Rate tab to show the best deals.

The secret Hot Rate from Hotwire means you can get 4-star hotels at 2-star rates.

You'll be given three hotels, one of which the hidden hotel is guaranteed to be. So if you’re new to secret hotels and a little unsure, this can give you a bit more confidence in what you’re going to get.

The drawback to Hotwire is that their prices aren’t shown in GBP, so there’ll be a conversion involved when you get to checkout.

Save more money by booking through the app, with exclusive rates and 10% off your first booking. At the time we checked, the app wasn't available for download in the UK, but you can find exclusive offers when you create an account and sign in.

Hotwire also offer a Low Price Guarantee, so if you find the same booking elsewhere for less within 24 hours, they’ll match the difference.

Priceline is particularly popular for hotel bookings in the US. So if you’re looking to save big on short breaks in New York or San Francisco, this could be the way to go. There are two ways to get secret hotel deals to give you flexibility on both price and transparency.

For the biggest discounts, use their Express Deals feature to uncover hotels in your chosen area discounted by as much as 60% off their usual price. Simply search as normal with your location, dates and amenities, then filter the results by Express Deals.

Priceline picks your hotel for you and you choose the room. You’ll get a good idea of the general location, rating and amenities, and will be provided with a guarantee your hotel is from one of five hotel brands with higher star-rated hotels.

If you want a bit more security in knowing what hotel you’re going to get, opt for their Pricebreaker feature. You’ll still get hotel discounts of up to 50% off their normal price, but with a guaranteed booking of one of three hotels. Don’t like one of the three hotels you see? Select Edit Hotel Options to replace any of the options you don’t want.

Save between 20% and 70% on quality hotels worldwide, with a specific focuson mystery hotels in Asia. Popular destinations on Agoda include Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia, although there are still plenty of luxury hotels in London and Europe.

Finding secret hotels on Agoda is as simple as ticking the 'secret deals' filter box to see the top deals in your destination. We found there are generally fewer on this site than others, but the quality is still high and there is a wide range of worldwide destinations.

Agoda secret hotel listings give you a huge amount of detail about the hotel's amenities, so you won't even need to wonder if there's a socket by the bedside or where the nearest ATM is.

How to uncover your hidden hotel

The catch with secret hotels is that you don’t know what you’re getting until you’ve already booked it. However, there are ways and means of uncovering the name of your mystery hotel before you book. It’s important to note that these tricks aren’t failsafe, so don’t bank on finding out the name of your hidden hotel.

 Google the hotel description

Once you click through to your chosen hotel, there’s often a short description listed just below the title. Copy and paste this description into Google and with any luck, the first few results will be your mystery hotel. 

This works best for lastminute.com, the site we’ve found to most consistently provide a hotel description. This trick has always been a reliable go-to for uncovering secret hotels, however, it’s becoming more difficult as the sites are trying to prevent people from doing this.

 Use What The Hotel

What The Hotel was built around an algorithm that means all you have to do is copy and paste the headline or title of the hotel from lastminute.com. 

This could be something like 'A Modern Hotel in the Heart of Edinburgh'. Occasionally, the tool won’t be able to figure it out, but on the whole, it seems to be pretty reliable and quick at finding the hotel name.

Open in multiple tabs

Instead of clicking straight through to view your chosen hotel, right click and select open link in new tab. Do this three times to open the listing in three new tabs.

If you’re searching through Hotwire, which narrows your selection down to three guaranteed hotels, each tab you open should generate a different selection of three hotels, but leave you with one that stays the same. This is your secret hotel.

Google image search

If your mystery hotel listing comes with an image, you can do this simple browser trick to reveal where it’s come from. Head to Google Images, select 'search by image' then copy and paste the image link from the listing. Google image search will come back with a list of other websites that also feature this image. More than likely, the name of your secret hotel will be there.

You can also right click on the image and 'select search images with Google Lens' to open the function on the right-hand side to view and identify the mystery hotel.

Check by rating & reviews

After you’ve plugged in your search parameters, you’ll have a list of results. Each result will display a short summary of the hotel’s key points like area, price, top amenities and rating. The rating can come from either customer reviews, Expedia or TripAdvisor. Use these ratings to compare against regular hotel listings and narrow down the options.

For example, if you’ve found a secret hotel on Hotwire that is rated 4.4/5 and has 114 reviews, you need to find the non-secret hotel with the same. Search for Standard Rate Hotels, pop in a filter to show only ratings of 4.0+ and scroll through until you find one that also has 114 reviews and a rating of 4.4.

You can also add in other filters like area and star rating that match the secret listing until you’ve narrowed it down.

Pros & cons of secret hotels

Tips & things to remember

 Be flexible

If you’re looking for a very specific hotel deal, this isn’t the option for you. You’ll need to be flexible on your booking in order to get the best out of this money-saving experience.

Know what you won’t compromise on

Sometimes, secret hotel listings can be fuzzy on the details. If you have non-negotiable features, then make sure you add them to your filters when you search. 

The tricks don’t always work

Uncovering your hidden hotel isn’t foolproof, so don’t rely on your research to be 100% accurate every time. There’s always a bit of a gamble when it comes to booking a mystery hotel.

Secret hotels aren’t always cheaper

If you’ve used a trick to identify your hotel, check against their official website to make sure it’s enough of a discount to be worth it. Alternatively, browse hotels of a similar rating and area to see how they compare in price.

Go 4-star or above

Secret hotel deals work best when they’re used on higher-rated ones. For the best outcome on your discount, filter by 4-star and 5-star stays so you’re getting a better deal and nicer accommodation to make your gamble worth it.

Factor in tax

For some overseas accommodation, you may have to pay city tax on arrival that’s not included when you book. This usually occurs on Priceline, but do your research around which cities in Europe may require it and read the small print when you book. 

Haggle with the hotel

This is a more advanced trick for those really looking to save money on accommodation. Once you’re sure you’ve figured out which hotel you’ve found, get in touch with them directly for some negotiation on price.

Secret hotels pay a commission to the third-party site, so if you’re a money-savvy hustler, you can contact the hotel and negotiate an even better deal for you and for them without the middleman.

Get cashback

We feature Priceline, Agoda, and lastminute.com as brands on our site, meaning you can make a double saving: secret hotel deals and cashback.

All you need to do is visit the brand on our site, click the 'get cashback' button and make your booking as normal. The brand will pay us a commission for sending you to their site, which we give to you as cashback in your account.

So even if you’re not confident enough to try haggling with your accommodation, you can easily make a percentage of your booking back.