Reviews about Travel Web Sites

LisaCarey says "Does your travel search here there and everywhere " about SideStep

LisaCarey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:24:27 GMT

I was first introduced to SideStep when it was in it's "infancy" about 8 years ago. My supervisor loved using it to make travel plans and found it very helpful in finding and comparing quickly and easily airfares from many major and not so major companies. But Sidestep isn't just for airfare, so I feel it needs it's review broken down into different sections I have used.

SideStep for airfare:

I like that I can quickly and easily compare airfare and check out even ones like JetBlue and Frontier. I like that it tells me how long my search will take. However, rarely do I find that their search provides me with any airfare that is lower than the other sites except by dollars. Not exactly helpful in that way. But good searching tool and fast too.

SideStep for hotels

Although I have searched for hotels on sidestep I have never booked. The prices just aren't that great especially when compared to Priceline, Hotwire or Expedia.

SideStep for car rentals:

Great for searching and the...

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LisaCarey says "Hit or miss with pricing, travel and service " about Priceline

LisaCarey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:10:18 GMT

I admit when I was traveling on my own and I didn't care about time, but I cared about the costs, make a offer on Priceline usually got me where I wanted to be for about the price that I wanted to pay. I have used Priceline for airfare, hotels, and car rental reservations and find that normally my results are hit or miss for satisfaction.

I am most satisfied with Priceline's make an offer on hotels option, I can designate a specific star rating and area where I want to stay. I have stayed in New York, DC and San Francisco at places like the Westin, Marriott and Hyatt for at times under 50.00 a night. Now that makes me happy.

However, if you have to know more about your travel plans before you make them Priceline works much like Expedia or Travelocity with prices and airlines listed, you don't make an offer you just choose you airfare and book your flight.

I admit that the majority of my success has been on Priceline. I did manage to get a great last minute airfare for my parents...

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LisaCarey says "My first stop to my travel destination " about Expedia.com

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:26:14 GMT

I admit, whenever I am planning to travel there are two sites I visit first, Expedia and Continental. I like Continental because they have non stop flights from Houston to Dayton, where my family lives. Expedia helps me get started on traveling to my final travel destination by giving me airfares, car rentals, cruise prices, hotel prices, and even amusements in the area. I admit I don't buy the amusements, but they are great for ideas.

What I like about Expedia:

easy to use no matter what type of travel help you need
saves my searches so I can easily visit again
allows me to quickly and easily switch to other local airports
competitive pricing
good customer service

What I don't like about Expedia:

Ok, I admit this is silly but I don't really like the site, I think it's unattractive
they tempt me with all these "coupons" but I never get to use any of them

Expedia helps me get on the road and in the air. And when I am tired it gives me a place to sleep too. I really...

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LisaCarey says "Great when my sister was wondering where she was going to sleep " about Hotels.com

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:50:32 GMT

Let me tell you a little story about Hotels.com. Normally I look at it but find it's not very competitive with its pricing so I take a peek to get ideas and then move on to the hotels own site or someplace like Priceline where I have never been disappointed in my hotel bookings and price. But recently, my sister while traveling on business was in a jam and Hotels.com really took care of her, me and the reservation.

After visiting Hotels.com I found exactly the hotel I wanted (airport Sheraton in Orlando Florida) for $62.00 for the night. They had shuttle service so I didn't have to worry about my sister getting stranded. Her travel arrangements didn't work out, her office was closed and she was scheduled to go into a school fare for college recruitment in minutes so we needed someone who could find and book the hotel for her.

Wanting to make sure she would be safe and secure, as well as make absolutely certain of some other details I called Hotels.com customer service line. The...

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LisaCarey says "Not as "hot" as it used to be for booking travel " about Hotwire.com

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:38:04 GMT

Hotwire used to be my "hot hot hot" travel planning website, about 7 or 8 years ago. Now, not so much. This travel site does offer options for booking airfares, car rentals, and hotels and is often quite competitive but there are some things about the site I just can't get past.

When booking with Hotwire.com:

I don't get my Frequent flyer miles
It is like priceline where you can't see the airline or company name until you book your adventure
the site has made some improvements along the way but it still is a bit of a pain to search and use, especially when going through your booking process
Does give me great car rentals prices almost every time

Hotwire isn't the worst, it isn't the best. It's hard to get a real live person, but that's ok, because they rarely make mistakes in my booking. I do get tired of being "timed" out of the site or my search, let's face it I am a busy WAHM I get distracted and can't always be online as much as I need or want. Overall, Hotwire is one of...

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LisaCarey says "Not my way to travel from city to city " about Travelocity

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:25:35 GMT

I don't have a lot of spare time. I am lucky that we get to take vacations and planning one takes lots of time so I don't need any trouble when I decide to start my planning and research. Once upon a time about 7 years ago I did use Travelocity frequently for my personal and business travel, now I stop by to see the fares, but I would be hard pressed to book travel there, let's put it this way, the savings better be astronomical to put up with both their website and their awful customer service.

What do I like about Travelocity?

can search for more than one airline and fare at a time
fare watcher

What don't I like about Travelocity?

Travelocity how do I hate thee, let me count the ways. . . . here are just a few

they have a fare watcher but I never get my notices
prices are about the same as everywhere else
hard to search for most things
customer service is the WORST I have ever seen anywhere with any company

Let me tell you a story, and this is just one of many...

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LisaCarey says "Saves you money while having fun in San Antonio " about Save San Antonio

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:12:30 GMT

My husband and I were considering a trip to San Antonio for the weekend and in my efforts to find ways to save money (including an Entertainment Book for San Antonio) I found SAVE San Antonio.

What I like about SAVE San Antonio:

easy way to get ideas about fun, places to go, hotels, and theme parks
download coupons or order a brochure that includes coupons
the home page gives you a peek at the coupons you will get without having to download all of them sight unseen
helps you get a free visitors guide to San Antonio
free to use
no email address needed

What I don't like about SAVE San Antonio:

the web page is set up kinda weird with one side WAY longer than the other
parts of the pages seem more like advertisements but not in a professional way - kinda of like a blog with categories just set there

I have actually made three trips to San Antonio since that initial planning process and all three times have found SAVE San Antonio to be helpful in finding places to go...

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housefull7 says "VRBO is the place to go to find your home away from home." about Vacation Rental By Owner

housefull7 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:37:33 GMT

I found VRBO several years ago while looking into the possibility of using a vacation rental instead of the traditional hotel. Having a family of seven it is quite expensive for us to find a hotel that can accomodate our entire family in one room or suite. I was surprised at the number of rentals available. Also, it seems that they have rentals available in places that I truthfully was shocked to find. The site is very user friendly, there are no surchages to renters and you can communicate entirely through their site if you want. You are able to immediately look to see if a particular rental is available during your time frame as well as see a detailed list of amenities at each rental. We have now used VRBO to rent on three different occasions in three different areas. I have had a smooth experience each time and only have great things to say about the site. Each rental has been easily accessible as well as clean and we found that they were described to a tee. If you...

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FrankPhillips says "they are too busy to help and demand a $150 fee to give quotes" about Unforgettable Honeymoons

FrankPhillips — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:23:52 GMT

We spoke with a lady name Laury and a gentleman named Jay. Both were eager to get me off the phone from the get go. Several times they were late to return my calls and the prices of the trip would increase. When I asked to be assigned to a different agent they showed indifference and said that nobody was really there to help. We had however called during the day and several people were available.

Really bad experience, beware of handing them any money.

Their website is very misleading and does not have enough information, which leads you to believe their rates are the best.

I found another company that was very helpful and got my trip prepared, they spent enough time with me.

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john-r says "Hotwire stole my money and there's nothing I can do about it." about Hotwire.com

john-r — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:10:53 GMT

I was on Hotwire's site and evidently ordered airline tickets by mistake (although I swear I never got a screen that said I'd made a purchase). When I got an email saying that I now owned two tickets, I immediately called Hotwire's customer service line. That was just the beginning of a long and tedious story that I'll skip the details of, but that ends with me out $400 with no recourse. If the American Express statement said "Hotwire" I'd appeal it, and I think I'd have a good chance of prevailing, but the way Hotwire works, the statement is from Delta, and I have no beef with Delta -- quite the contrary. They were as helpful and sympathetic as could be. Hotwire, on the other hand, wasn't even polite, much less sympathetic, and forget about helpful. I will never, ever deal with them again, and I am writing this with the hope that I'll save someone else the grief.

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Mama6998 says "SideStep outsteps the rest" about SideStep

Mama6998 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:17:02 GMT

Sidestep.com is the best travel website out there and it is known as the traveler's search engine for a reason. If you are looking for cheap airline tickets, hotels, cruises, rental cars or vacation destinations, sidestep.com is the site for you. You put in all your criteria and sidestep.com does all the work for you and give you a side by side comparison. You can also register and they will send you emails on fare alerts. This allows you to track your fare and be notified when your airline price drops. This site also allows you to check out special flights to many popular travel destinations worldwide. Not only does it allow you to check out flights, but it allows you to check out and compare discount hotels and car rentals as well as cruises. It allows you to see all your options in an well organized eay to read manner. Once you register, it saves your search history making it very convient for you. You can book directly with sidestep or book directly with the...

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greenswitchgreg says "Worth the gamble" about Hotwire.com

greenswitchgreg — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:41:15 GMT

Its a good thing. There is always risk in anything. Some of the negative reviews say that you might end up with the worst room. I travel a lot, and there are times i get a bad room when i am paying full price. So what is the difference? I am not sure i would be inclined to take a chance if i was purchasing a 2 star or below. The idea of a 2 star is scary enough, but a 3 star, hampton inn, holiday inn express etc are pretty consistant. So not much risk there. I saved a ton on a rental car. I usually rent with Hertz, but Hotwire put me with AVIS, that is good because i saved almost $900 on a 2 week rental. That is substantial i dont care how much money you have.

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whiskerpudding says "Using Cheap Caribbean is more trouble than it's worth!" about cheapcaribbean

whiskerpudding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:11:06 GMT

I used Cheap Caribbean to book a vacation at an all inclusive resort on the Rivera Maya in Mexico. Flight, hotel stay, and transfers were all purchased through the company. Upon arriving at the airport, however, no representative was there to greet us. We were forced to take a taxi to the resort, costing us nearly what we had already paid for the round trip transfers.Once we arrived at the hotel, we were admonished by the Cheap Caribbean representative for not having printed out a voucher for the hotel. Instead of providing this service for us, we were marched to the business center and told to do it ourselves.

Likewise, we were told that we should have looked for the man in the orange shirt at the airport, not a sign with our names on it (of course, that makes perfect sense!) We were initially told there would be no refund of our payment for the transfer, however after much heated discussion we were comped a portion of the transfer fee. In conclusion, had...

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imallaskew says "The first place I go to book a hotel" about Priceline

imallaskew — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:38:12 GMT

Can't count the number of times I've used this site and have yet to be disappointed. I typically name my own price and am willing to spend several days to get what I want at the best possible price. (Only one bid for the same area, star level is allowed per 24 hour period... you can bid more in a day if you are willing to expand your choices). If you begin your search early enough, and are patient you can be confident that you are getting the best deal for your money. I've overheard others boasting about the price they paid for a hotel while I secretly smiled knowing that I did much better....

governorgirl says "Poor Website Layout- Not the cheapest price!" about Expedia.com

governorgirl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:00:46 GMT

I am someone who uses online travel search engines everyday for personal and professional use. It continually frustrates me that expedia has not updated their website. I think they have a lot to offer, but unfortunately appear to have fallen behind with the times. The best websites out there use grids which make it easier to see what the best price is. Expedia's model requires you to work through tabs and scroll down a long page to try to find the best price. Because they get kick backs from some companies they put them on the first tab that customers come to so sometimes if a customers doesn't realize there are multiple pages they think they are getting the best price, but really are only getting the best price for that page. I have personally seen better deals for the same trip/car/flight from the same company at other sites when I was searching. I don't think they realize they are not the cheapest, but who would with their layout. Because I'm a busy person I want a quick efficient......

kathrono says "Disappointing" about Hotels.com

kathrono — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:34:26 GMT

I booking a room last summer. When arriving at midnight it was absolutely not what we had ordered. I called customer service but was stuck listening to music for half an hour. I just wanted to sleep but not in that room because it was HORRIBLE. Was luckily able to get the room I ordered for a little extra from the resort. I understand these things might just happen once in a blue moon or so I assume but I didn't like how Hotels.com Handeled the situation. They didn't want to accept fault and offered me a few bucks off my next booking which is weird incentive for a first time user with a bad experience, but I guess it was I nice offer none the less. Maybe I will try them again maybe not

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EttaAlpha says "great deals - with some consequences." about Hotwire.com

EttaAlpha — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:55:57 GMT

I have used hotwire.com several times with good results. The hotels matched the general description given by hotwire (star rating etc.) but realized that I get treated differently by the hotel because I booked with hotwire (or another discount site, like Travelocity or Priceline). This really isn't a review of hotwire so much as it just a warning... if you're booking a 4 or 5 star hotel and not paying full-price you might get treated poorly by the hotel staff.

For instance, I stayed at the Benson hotel in Portland, OR and paid full price and was treated like a queen... ended up there again after booking on hotwire and was treated very poorly and got what Im sure was the worst room in the place. Which is truly a testament to how snobby the Benson is. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only occurance. It seems every time I've booked in a major city at a nicer hotel - I get treated like trash if I get a discounted rate.

Anyway - I spoke with a rep at Hotwire and asked if the hotels could...

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RobPertzick says "Fully functional site, handy design and menus-Gulivers.com" about Gulivers Vacation Rentals

RobPertzick — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:23:36 GMT

Hi, there ! I'm Rob Pertzick, I live in Poland. I actually enjoy travelling, although haven't been to many countries. I've been travelling basically through Europe, and got some experience, a bit. I Decided to write a few words about Gulivers website, as it was useful to me, and viewpoints seems to be missing it.

This summer was dedicated to new travel destinations and new feelings. The targeted spot was Morocco. All the accommodation stuff is always managed by getting in touch with owners, directly and by phone, preferably. I came across to a nice bloke from Tangiers renting an apartment, and having it listed on Gulivers (it was the only site he'd posted his listing to, that wondered me a lot :). Rentals rates weren't too low, but after a bit of negotiating, we came to a deal. I paid 40% in advance, and the rest by arrival. I was pretty happy, as got to my Tangiers vacation rental. A nice, quiet apartment. Im not very pretentious, but it was truly cozy; equipped as described. In a nutshell,...

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Bryan-Carey says "Trip Advisor: Good Supplement for Your Travel Planning" about TripAdvisor

Bryan-Carey — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:16:11 GMT

If you like to travel as much as I do, then you are likely the type who utilizes the internet for news and official information about your destination, activities, and the like. You probably also consult the internet before you make a selection for your place of lodging and one site to which many seasoned travelers are fully aware is Trip Advisor, a web service that specializes in reviews of different places of lodging.

Web Service Commentary:

Trip Advisor is, like its name suggests, a web service dedicated to the traveler who could use some advice on finding places to stay and things to do. This web site offers member reviews on places of lodging, restaurants, and more. There is also a trip ideas section that asks a few questions and helps you select a place to travel, as well as access to free travel guides for thousands of destinations.

Trip Advisor is most notable for its massive database of places of lodging and this is one of the main reasons I visit this site as frequently...

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Bodhisci says "Yapta.com saved me so much money!" about Yapta

Bodhisci — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:55:25 GMT

I discovered www.yapta.com through budget travel magazine (highy recommend!) and it has already saved me so much money that I recommended it not only to friends and family, but to my boss as a way to save our company money. While I initially joined thanks to Budget Travel magazines recommendation that Yapta.com could be used to track airfares and help you with the refund process if the price drops on the ticket you booked (I had NO IDEA that a lot of american airlines have policies that if the ticket price drops for the same trip you booked, you are entitled to a refund on the difference. Yapta.com monitors your trips and notifies you if the price drops and, for $15, will fill out all the paperwork for your refund, but you can do it yourself for free). While I haven't had any of my airfares drop yet, I have been able to save a tremendous amount of money on my hotel for my upcoming trip to Vegas. My hotel initially started at $70/night. Yapta.com notified me whenever the price...

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