Secrets to Finding a Picture-Perfect Hotel Room

May 9, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- Before you book your summer vacation, how do you pick the best hotel? Which is the most luxurious at the best price? Which is the safest for travelers? Now consumer specialist Ric Romero reveals the secret to finding the picture-perfect vacation spot.

Catheryn Reardon's family does a lot of traveling. And because they go with a child, a teenager, sometimes with an elderly grandfather, and Catheryn's brother (for a total of six), the Reardons have special needs -- especially when it comes to hotels.

Catheryn Reardon, uses trip advisor: "When traveling with a large group, most hotels don't accommodate more than four people in a room. When you have a travel [group] of five or more, you need to research and find hotels that are family-friendly."

Fortunately Catheryn has the Internet, and she gets a lot of help with places to stay through a Web site called TripAdvisor.com.

Catheryn Reardon: "You can just go online, see what a gazillion other people have said about the property, and get all of your facts right there. Your statistics, your facts, your reviews -- everything's right there. It's wonderful."

TripAdvisor has actual photos and critiques of hotels submitted by real people who have actually stayed at the hotels. In fact, the Reardons have posted their experiences from a recent trip to Hawaii.

The Waterfront Hilton in Huntington Beach has gotten very high marks on TripAdvisor from its guests, and that's where ABC7's Ric Romero met up with John DiScala. He's a world traveler who logs hundreds of thousands of miles a year and has a travel Web site called JohnnyJet.com.

TripAdvisor warned him about thefts at a hotel in Rio.

John DiScala, world traveler: "So what I did is I went and bought a laptop lock and a regular lock for my bag, and locked that thing up like you wouldn't believe -- like my life depended on it."

TripAdvisor might tell you if there is construction near the hotel, or if you have a fabulous view. It can give reviews on the bathroom amenities, the size of the room, the bed linens, and the type of television.

But Johnny Jet says TripAdvisor is not perfect.

John DiScala: "You have to throw out the best and the worst, because the best could be written by the marketing department, or the hotel could pay someone to write about it, and the worst could be from a competitor or a disgruntled worker."

Besides TripAdvisor, there are a few other travel Web sites that have similar features and information:

• LINK: TripAdvisor (www.TripAdvisor.com)
• LINK: VirtualTourist (www.VirtualTourist.com)
• LINK: IgoUgo (www.IgoUgo.com)
• LINK: JohnnyJet (www.JohnnyJet.com)

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