<p>Wow, what can I add to the wonderful advice above? I would re-emphasize that one can get fabulous deals through Priceline, but you need expert knowledge to take advantage of the low low prices. Like hmom5, I have found that TripAdvisor provides the most reliable hotel reviews.</p>
<p>I have found that, in D’s college town, there are sometimes rooms available by calling the hotels directly even when the hotel’s on-line site and the other travel sites (Expedia, Orbitz, hotels.com) show no availability.</p>
<p>Another site with good reviews is Flyertalk. They also provide good advice on maximizing the return on those frequent flyer/stayer points.</p>
<p>Agree with hmom about getting good tips from Trip Advisor. Yes I could care less about a crack in the bathroom floor, but I was just reading about a hotel with lots of road noise- that IS a deal breaker for my light-sleeping family :)</p>
<p>Tripadvisor’s reviews are great! I also look at the maps to see what’s next to a potential hotel choice. Hotel located in the middle of a corporate business park - good. Hotel advertising fun karaoke bar next door - bad.</p>
<p>My ‘deal breaker’ would be bedbugs!
I’m surprised at how frequently their mention pops up in hotel reviews lately.</p>
<p>We try to use one hotel chain year round and rack up the club points. College trips are great for using free nights - you can often find a freebie at the lowest charge because it’s, say, Smallville in March. Marriott has a credit card that will give you enough nights for a free stay almost immediately, plus a number of bonuses through the year that add 5,000 points.</p>
<p>kelsmom,
where do you look for coupons?</p>
<p>I am always amazed on TripAdvisor (and other such sites) that two people can stay at the same hotel in the same week and have such tremendously varying experiences. Enough so that one says ‘I’ll never stay at this chain again’ and the other says ‘I’ll come back here every chance I get.’ Is it the hotel, or the individual?</p>
<p>Totally the individual. I’ve long since come to understand that many who take the time to post on Tripadvisor are not savvy travelers. Not sure why, and I feel those of us who do travel a lot and have a broader frame of reference need to post more. I’ve started to. </p>
<p>This is why you need to read the long version of some posts. You’ll often get to the part where they didn’t bring a fax or room service was cold which explains a bad rating among good ones.</p>
<p>You need to read it for what’s important to you. If it’s an $80/night hotel and the posts are saying it’s the best hotel they’ve ever been to, chances are, even in a third world country, this is an inexperienced traveler.</p>
<p>To me the site is absolutely perfect for finding good value hotels for those with middle of the road expectations and requires a more in depth read for those into luxury. Yet I count on it fully for both types of travel and have never gotten to a hotel that was not accurately represented.</p>
<p>Agree with hmom. There are some people who are never happy anywhere. They never eat a good meal, never stay in a decent hotel, etc. They always ask for a discount after the meal is eaten or they are checking out of the hotel. I call them “professionals”. Unfortunately some of the pros post a lot on tripadvisor.
They consider themselves expert travelers.
It is a great site though for figuring out which hotels are noisy, which have bedbugs, which feel unsafe. If there are multiple pictures of filth in the same room it is probably not somewhere you want to stay.<br>
I’ll also add that unfortunately two people can actually have widely different experiences. You check in at 4pm and the manager who is about to go off duty checks you in personally. Decides to upgrade you because he/she is having a good day, nothing to do with you. You are there for an anniversary. You go offsite and have a great meal. The room is clean and comfortable.
Couple B checks in ten minutes later with a clerk who just came on and just got off their first job. Clerk is exhausted and worried about a sick kid at home. You are staying at the hotel for a friend’s funeral. Need I say more?<br>
You get the idea.</p>
<p>I’ve written at least 75 reviews for trip advisor and my last one was a good example. The 1* review right before me was a couple who paid $150 more each night (rack rate) and got stuck in a room at the end of the hall that was alongside a busy street. I found a deal through the a Convention and Visitors’ Bureau and was lucky enough to be in the center of the hotel. We were both on the same floor, overlooking the riverwalk in San Antonio. I gave them 4<em>. The person after me rated the property 5</em>, but I noticed they got in on Priceline for $100 less than what I paid. This hotel had rates from $80-$349. </p>
<p>I’d like to see trip advisor do something along the lines of ebay, where each user is color-coded, based on the number of transactions/reviews they’ve submitted. I think there is more of a problem with phony good reviews versus unfair bad reviews. Before reading a review, I check to see how many reviews that person has written. Over half have only submitted one review and I won’t waste my time even reading those.</p>
<p>We have had good success with plans such as Choice Privileges. These work for lots of motels, but not the major hotel chains. Last year we took a 10 day trip and most of the nights were booked through CP with very good rates. This year we got a couple of free nights as rebates from the year before.</p>
<p>I use TripAdvisor more for area specific info and advice than for rates. The local forums are very helpful. Just post up a question and you’ll get some responses. </p>
<p>For $ shopping I use PriceLine after searching the web for bidding tips and advice.</p>
<p>We have had great succes by asking admissions who they recommend. Almost all had special “U” rates for prospective students. We got a $62 rate for a fabulous room at a brand new hotel that serves great chocolate chip cookies and breakfast in the morning on our last OOS visit.</p>
<p>One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that on GoogleMaps, you can put in the location of a hotel and ask for things nearby…like restaurants, drug stores, specific things just by typing in the word. When we went to Boston for a performance by our D’s school, we could note how far our hotel was from the performance location and various stops along the way. I prefer a picture over asking for directions once we get there. </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“Google Maps”>Google Maps]Google</a> Maps<a href=“click%20on%20learn%20more%20after%20Find%20businesses,%20addresses%20and%20places%20of%20interest”>/url</a></p>
<p>Thanks all - there is so much good information here. Think it will come in handy for a bunch of us.</p>