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One of the biggest disappointments of any trip is getting to your hotel room and realizing that it’s too small, too dirty, or too expensive. This section offers information and advice that helps you find the accommodations that meet your needs — and your budget.

Comparing room rates and ratings

The hotels are rated from $ to $$$$$. These ratings are not an official ranking system, nor do they reflect the overall quality of a hotel. Rather, these categories reflect the approximate price range of the hotels that I recommend, related to their overall value. A ranking of $ indicates a budget gem, $$ means a pretty cheap hotel, $$$ is applied to moderate joints, $$$$ means more upscale accommodations, and $$$$$ is for a recommended splurge. These ratings are comparable only within the same city, meaning that a $ joint in an expensive place like London may cost nearly the same as a $$$$ hotel in a far cheaper area like Athens. For the top hotels, in addition to these categories I include the hotel’s actual rates, which should make finding something in your price range much easier. Of course, rates can and will go up regularly, but barring massive renovations, a budget gem or moderate choice this year will fall in the same category next year, even if the price tags are $10 higher. The rack rate is the maximum rate a hotel charges for a room — they usually fix it pretty high because, legally, that’s the most they can ever charge and they want a nosebleed-high number in case some event or holiday comes along and demand outstrips supply, allowing them to charge a premium. It’s the rate you get if you walk in off the street and ask for a room for the night. You sometimes see these rates printed on the fire/emergency-exit diagrams posted on the back of your door — and at least posted, in most countries by law, on the wall near the reception desk.

Hotels are, of course, more than happy to charge you the rack rate, but you can almost always do better. Perhaps the best way to avoid paying the rack rate is surprisingly simple: Just ask for a cheaper or discounted rate. You may be pleasantly surprised. You’ll stand a better chance of receiving a lower rate if you’re traveling in the off-season or if you’re staying several days at that one hotel. If you’re booking ahead, many hotel’s Web site often run specials that clock in well below the official rack rates.

Room rates (even rack rates) change with the season as occupancy rates rise and fall. But even within a given season, room prices are subject to change without notice, so the rates may be different from the rate you receive when you make your reservation. If you’re booking at a major international chain, be sure to mention membership in AAA, AARP, frequent-flier programs, or any other corporate rewards programs. You never know when the affiliation may be worth a few dollars off your room rate. (Mom-and-pop hotels or European chains, of course, couldn’t care less that you have a membership in some American automobile club or senior citizens’ network, so don’t bother asking them.)

Something else that applies only to major international chains: Reserving a room through the hotel’s toll-free number may also result in a lower rate than calling the hotel directly. On the other hand, the central reservations number may not know about discount rates at specific locations. For example, local franchises may offer a special group rate for a wedding or family reunion, but they may neglect to tell the central booking line. Your best bet is to call both the local number and the toll-free number and see which one gives you a better deal. Settle all hotel charges when you check in. You don’t need to pay in advance (though occasionally, a budget hotel may require it), but make sure that you and the hotel clerk agree on the rate. Does it include breakfast, taxes, and showers? What are the phone rates (although you should never make long-distance calls from the hotel)? Do they charge even for you to dial your calling card’s toll-free number? Also, be sure that the quoted rate is per room, not per person, as may be the case in resort-type coastal towns and islands.

In most European destinations, taxes are automatically included in the quoted rates. However, in some countries (often in Spain, where it’s 7 percent; in England, where it’s 19 percent; and in France, where it varies depending on the classification of the hotel), these local taxes are not included in the price quoted over the phone. Always ask, “Does that price include all taxes?”

When you check in, always take one of the hotel’s business cards. You’d be surprised by how many people forget their hotel’s name or location after a long day of sightseeing. Many cards have a little map on the back. If you’re clueless about where your hotel is, hop in a cab and show the driver the card with the hotel’s address. He can get you home.

Making reservations

I always reserve at least the first night’s stay before leaving home, especially if I’ll be arriving on a weekend. Having somewhere to base yourself right away minimizes the stress and uncertainty when you arrive tired and in a strange place. But don’t book the room for more than a few days; having the option of changing your travel plans at the last minute or looking for other accommodations if your choice isn’t what you expected is nice. I often book my first night’s stay in a new city simply by phoning from the train station when I arrive.

You should be aware that making last-minute arrangements can cause headaches. If you’re traveling with young children, you don’t want to be fumbling for coins in the train station as you simultaneously try to reserve a room and keep the kids from running off for parts unknown. You should also find out whether you’ll be arriving in town during a festival or trade fair. If you are, the gala may be the highlight of your trip, but you could end up sleeping under the stars if you haven’t booked a room well in advance (before you leave home).

If you reserve a room before leaving home for your vacation, always confirm the reservation with a follow-up fax. Most hotels prefer this, and it gives you printed proof that you’ve booked a room. Faxes to hotels should use simple language and include the following:

- Your name

- The number of people in your party

- What kind of room you want (Make sure you say “double with one bed with private bathroom” or “double with two beds and a shared bathroom,” and specify “two adults, one child, in the same room.”) - The number of nights you want to stay

- The date of the first night

To avoid confusion, always spell out the full name of the month — Europeans numerically abbreviate dates day/month/year, not month/ day/year as Americans do (so “5/6/2004” would be read May 6 in the United States, but June 5 in Europe).

Smaller, less expensive hotels often won’t take reservations for short stays (fewer than three nights). This policy protects them from cancellations, which can be particularly damaging to smaller hotels’ bottom lines, and no assurance you offer will convince the hotelier that you’ll show up. Even when you have a reservation, these hotels will hold your room only if you call from the station to say you’re on the way.

Using a hotel booking service

Either the train station or the local tourism office in most European towns has a desk that serves as a central reservation service for the city. To use the service, tell the people working there your price range, the part of the city you’d like to stay in, and sometimes even the type of hotel, and they can use a computer to find you a room. Here are the advantages of booking services:

- They do all the legwork for you. Staff members speak English, and many individual hoteliers may not, so they can act as interpreters while calling around for you.

- They’re helpful when rooms are scarce. If everything’s booked — during a convention or festival, or maybe just in high season — they can often find rooms in hotels that aren’t listed in the guidebooks or other popular resources.

- They know the hotels. The best ones can find accommodations that perfectly match your needs and price range. But booking services do have their drawbacks:

- Contacting hotels directly is generally cheaper. Booking services usually charge a fee — a nominal one (say, $3–$10), but a fee nonetheless. And in many countries, hotels often charge higher rates for bookings they receive through services.

- A tourism office booking-desk clerk offers no opinion about the hotels. Agents just provide you a list to choose from that may include amenities and prices, but little else.

- They may be biased. A booking agency, especially a private one (which is probably run by a group of local hotels), may try to steer you to places on its “push list.” Rather than an honest evaluation, its “advice” is frequently a biased sales pitch dictated by the hotel itself.

You get mixed results from the information that booking services provide. I’ve found wonderful little bed-and-breakfasts in Ireland through the glossy promotional catalog the tourist office sent me. I’ve also had a Prague hotel agency stick me in what appeared to be an old high school almost an hour from the city center; the room made me long for my college dorm. The only way to protect yourself is to read promotional fluff with a skeptical eye and ask tough questions when you call around. In most cities — Prague and Rome come to mind — and on popular islands, hotel reps will swarm you as you step off the train or boat. Some are honestly drumming up business, but others are out to fleece you. If an offer interests you, make sure the rep pinpoints the exact location of the hotel on a map and get the price in writing before you go off with him. Pay close attention to any photos he shows you — a little photo retouching and some strategic furniture rearrangement can make a dismal cell look more like a palatial suite.

Surfing the Web for hotel deals

Shopping online for hotels is generally done one of two ways: by booking through the hotel’s own Web site or through an independent booking agency (or a fare-service agency like Priceline.com). These Internet hotel agencies have multiplied in mind-boggling numbers of late, competing for the business of millions of consumers surfing for accommodations around the world. This competitiveness can be a boon to consumers who have the patience and time to shop and compare the online sites for good deals — but shop they must, because prices can vary considerably from site to site. And keep in mind that hotels at the top of a site’s listing may be there for no other reason than that it paid money to get the placement.

Of the “big three” sites, Expedia offers a long list of special deals and “virtual tours” or photos of available rooms so you can see what you’re paying for (a feature that helps counter the claims that the best rooms are often held back from bargain-booking Web sites). Travelocity posts unvarnished customer reviews and ranks its properties according to the AAA rating system. Also reliable are Hotels.com and Quikbook.com. An excellent free program, TravelAxe (www.travelaxe.net), can help you search multiple hotel sites at once — even ones you may never have heard of — and conveniently lists the total price of the room, including the taxes and service charges. Another booking site, Travelweb (www. travelweb.com), is partly owned by the hotels it represents (including the Hilton, Hyatt, and Starwood chains) and is, therefore, plugged directly into the hotels’ reservations systems — unlike independent online agencies, which have to fax or e-mail to the hotel all reservation requests, a good portion of which get misplaced in the shuffle. More than once, travelers have arrived at their hotel, only to be told that they have no reservation. To be fair, many of the major sites are undergoing improvements in service and ease of use, and Expedia will soon be able to plug directly into the reservations systems of many hotel chains — none of which can be bad news for consumers. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to get a confirmation number and make a printout of any online booking transaction.

In the opaque Web site category, Priceline.com and Hotwire.com are even better for hotels than for airfares; with both, you’re allowed to pick the neighborhood and quality level of your hotel before offering up your money. Priceline’s hotel product even covers Europe and Asia, though it’s much better at getting 5-star lodging for 3-star prices than at finding anything at the bottom of the scale. On the downside, many hotels stick Priceline guests in their least desirable rooms. Be sure to go to the BiddingForTravel Web site (www.biddingfortravel.com) before bidding on a hotel room on Priceline; it features a fairly up-to-date list of hotels that Priceline uses in major cities. For both Priceline and Hotwire, you pay up front, and the fee is nonrefundable. Note: Some hotels do not provide loyalty-program credits or points or other frequent-guest amenities when you book a room through opaque online services.

One of the pluses of Web sites is that they often include virtual brochures, so you can see pictures of the rooms ahead of time. You can also usually get the latest hotel rates, plus any discounts the booking service may be able to secure (especially at pricier inns).

But these sites also have some big minuses. Because most of them charge a fee to the hotels they list and the hotels themselves provide the writeups and other info, you must take any descriptions or recommendations with a grain of salt. Travel guidebooks like this one provide unbiased recommendations, but most hotel booking Web sites are just a new form of promotional material. Also, the bulk of the hotels that choose to be listed on these sites are high-end, business-oriented, owned by chains, or all the above. The best small hotels in the historic city centers, mom-and-pop pensions, and outright cheap places are usually absent.

Some lodging sites specialize in a particular type of accommodation, such as bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs), which you don’t find on mainstream booking sites. Others offer weekend deals at chain properties, which cater to business travelers and have more empty rooms on weekends.

Finding deals at the last minute

If you arrive at your destination with no hotel reservation, a guidebook like this can come in very handy. Before you get to town (perhaps on the train ride in), study the hotel reviews and figure out which ones best fit your taste and budget. Then rank your top choices by writing 1, 2, 3, and so on in the guide’s margin. Prioritizing the hotels prepares you to move quickly to the next-best option if your first choice is full.

After your train pulls into the station, get some change or buy a phone card at a newsstand and immediately start calling hotels to check for vacancies. This strategy gives you a head start on the many people who look for a room by marching out of the station with their bags and walking to the nearest hotel. If you’re uncomfortable making the calls yourself, the train station or tourism office may have a reservation service that can do this for you.

If you can’t find a room this way, you can try wandering the streets checking each hotel you pass. But the areas around city train stations usually are full of cheap hotels, but they’re also often bland — sometimes seedy — neighborhoods and not centrally located.

Try expanding the scope of your search, but only as a last resort. Hotels outside the center of town often have more rooms available and are cheaper than centrally located ones. You may be able to get an even better deal in the next town over, but it won’t be worth the trouble if it’s more than a 30-minute train ride away.

To get the best price on the best room, follow these tips:

- Compare different hotels. Many people don’t want to run from place to place, but if you have some time and are counting your pennies, it’s probably worth a try. Don’t assume that the first hotel you visit is the best. If you’ve called around and lodging seems in short supply around town, take a room where you can get it. But if rooms seem plentiful, tell the first hotel you stop in that you’ll think about it and head to another one nearby.

- Ask to see different rooms. When you get to the hotel, don’t take the first room you’re shown. Ask to see some other ones. Open and close windows to see how well they block out noise. Check the rates posted on the room door (usually there by law) to make sure they match the rate you were quoted and the rate that’s posted in the lobby. Ask whether some rooms are less expensive than others.

After you make your reservation, asking one or two more pointed questions can go a long way toward making sure you get the best room in the house. Always ask for a corner room. They’re usually larger, quieter, and have more windows and light than standard rooms, and they don’t always cost more. Also ask if the hotel is renovating; if it is, request a room away from the renovation work. Inquire, too, about the location of the restaurants, bars, and discos in the hotel — all sources of annoying noise. And if you aren’t happy with your room when you arrive, talk to the front desk. If they have another room, they should be happy to accommodate you, within reason.

- Bargain. Room prices are rarely set in stone, especially in pensions and mom-and-pop joints. The more empty rooms a hotel has to fill for the night, the lower you can get the price. If you’re staying a single night during high season, you’ll have to pay the going rate. But for off-season stays and for longer than three nights, ask for a discount. Many places have weekend discounts, too.