Worldwide budget hotel search engine

10/29/2007

It's been a long time since I posted to this blog. I will be posting more frequently from here on. This entry is about a hotel search engine I really like.

Most websites I go to I really hate. They just suck. Not only does this one operate very efficiently, but it does what I want!

You won't find the Hilton at HostelWorld, but it will search hostels and budget hotels. And because it has user ratings only from the last 6 months, you can see if the place is good or not.

Hostels and 2 star hotels?

In much of Europe and many other countries the number of stars has nothing to do with quality. For example, the difference between a 3 star and a 4 star hotel may be as simple as having an on site restaurant. Often I don't need frills, especially if I am just on a layover waiting for a plane or a train. I've stayed in many hotels rated as 2 stars that were much better and cleaner than so called 4 stars.

But Hostels?

Most hostels have 6 or more beds in a room. But often you can rent the empty beds at a discount, that is pay for 1-2 used bed, and a discounted rate on the other 4. You get a private room cheaper than a hotel, and most hostels also have free internet access and many are in great locations.

Clean Clean Clean

This is my major factor in staying in a hotel. I have have to endure some really horrible hotels. One reason I always carry a rain jacket with a hood is because a few times I have had to sleep in it. With HostelWorld you can check the cleanness ratings. I've never stayed in one below 80% (Still above the smiley mark), but all the ones I have been to have been great.

Ratings?

Be careful of the overall rating. I used to only look for ratings of 80% and above. Then I noticed that many of the ones in the 60% to 70% range had 90%+ clean ratings, but the overall rating was lowered because users rated them with low fun and low character ratings. If you are just looking for a place to spend the night, forget the fun rating!

More Features

• SMS - You can select SMS me. The site will SMS you the details so they are handy, and you can even ask it to delay SMS until near your arrival time.
  
• Fee - To reserve a place you need to pay a fee. But its about $2 if I recall correctly, and for about $10 a year you can eliminate the fee completely.
  

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