TTT*: TripAdvisor
Happy new year! Hope everyone is safely home (or will be when you’re supposed to be) from wherever you’ve been traveling. We just returned from Vegas to visit/meet up with some of our best friends. I hope to catch up on here regarding my recent Asheville and Vegas experiences within the next week or so. But I’m up late to get this travel tip shared with you.
TripAdvisor is the best place I’ve found online to find reviews for hotels (and, to a lesser extent, attractions). You’ll find reviews for almost anywhere you can find! That 4 star on Expedia? Read the reviews - it may be more akin to a 2 star! I like to start my hotel searches using a combination of TripAdvisor and Expedia/Travelocity/etc. I’ll find what’s in the price range I’m looking for and then find out which place has the best location and best reviews. My only word of warning: take the reviews with a grain of salt. Sometimes a BIG one! Some people really expect a 4 or 5 star hotel even though they’ve only booked and paid for a 2 or 3 star. You get what you pay for (or, at least, you should!).
I also like the forums on TripAdvisor. There are locals on most of the boards, and they’re generally willing to help you figure out how to get from point A to point B with a stop for X along the way or to tell you where to find the best French toast or $3 craps. Again, a word of warning: these are (fairly) anonymous message boards, and people can be a bit rude or ridiculous at times. Someone may berate you for asking a particular question or tell you that you shouldn’t stay at any hotel that costs less than $500/night. I can’t help but point out that these individuals need not respond if they don’t have anything useful to add, but it’s usually best to ignore them. You’ll find other very friendly, helpful people if you’re patient. Don’t, however, forget to use the search feature or at least read thru a few pages to make sure your question hasn’t been answered 15 times in the past day!
*TTT = Travel Tip Tuesday
Add comment January 2, 2008
