Hotels

Want a break from big expensive hotels or drab, cheap “tourist courts?” It may take a bit, but with the Internet and a phone, you can let your fingers do the walking to some great boutique places to stay on your next vacations.

A chain hotel brand can offer you amenities and cleanliness, but the decor and ambiance seems to be repeated from hotel to hotel. It makes sense that frequent travelers would enjoy a chance to stay in a unique inn or bed and breakfast, yet these accommodations are often little known. It can be difficult to find out about them in the first place.

One thing you can try is keeping a file folder of unusual boutique hotels you happen to read about in papers and magazines. Hopefully, when it comes time to visit that particular locale, you will have the information you need. File away travel brochures, too, if you like the idea. However, making your hotel reservations online is a simpler way to search for an unusual or little known inn. Doing a web search can take time and yield scant results unless you are familiar with several websites.

A website that can help you locate a boutique hotel anywhere in the world is TabletHotels.com. These folks have examined tens of thousands of hotels and listed only the ones that rate at least a 15 on a scale of 1 to 20. Only registered guests who have actually visited the hotels make the ratings. Most of the hotels featured on this site are cost over $200 per night, but offer a unique experience.

Another website that provides information about a unique little known hotel or bed and breakfast hotel is UnusualHotelsoftheWorld.com. This site lists facilities by categories such as “floating,” “tree houses” or “crazy decor.” There are a limited number of listings in some of the categories, but you can still find unusual hotels in most areas. The website features hotel pictures.

EatSleepGo.com is a site that can help you find unique, historical inns of all types for your special hotel stay. The only way you can see pictures of the bed and breakfast hotel you are interested in is if they have a website link included. Choose the city you wish to visit and you’ll be shown a map. Scroll down a bit for the descriptions of the hotels.

A site called simply Inns.com can help you find a bed and breakfast hotel in any city you desire. This website provides links to the bed and breakfast website as well as small pictures to guide you on your search. A similar site is BedandBreakfast.com, which also helps you locate unique homey accommodations in various locations.

Any bed and breakfast hotel will probably offer boutique style accommodations that differ from your run of the mill hotel or motel. Unlike most hotels, many are decorated in antiques and are housed in historic buildings or homes. Handmade quilts and other charming items are often seen in the rooms, while gourmet baked goods are often featured in the breakfast. Since a Bed and Breakfast is usually a family-run enterprise, the rates are often lower than those of a chain hotel. This is especially true when the inn is located away from major cities.

Now, how can you get the best hotel discounts?