Sunday, April 01, 2007

The Sunday Review:HotelReservations.com Under The Scanner

On entering the portal for the very first time you would not find anything that stands out in terms of the design but it still is easy on the eyes. It is a run of the mill travel reservation website but then that is ironically the forte of this portal, as it is user friendly and the ease of use is commendable. It might not be setting new benchmarks on the website design front but the design is affable.

You can not only make hotel reservations but also choose vacation packages, rent condos, book flight tickets and rent cars etc. That is an exhaustive list, isn't it? The site is meticulously crafted and attention to the tiniest need of the user has been paid. You can access the site in four different languages; namely French, English , German and Spanish. Three toll free numbers are listed on the website and you can call on them depending on which part of the world you are calling from. If you have any queries then you can either go to the comprehensive FAQ section or make a call.

The most pleasing aspect is the ease with which one can make all the bookings, even if the purported excursion spans the entire globe. Right from the air tickets to the pick-up car at the airport and the hotel, all with the click of the least number of buttons possible and at an alluring price. The investigative and inquisitive journo in me decided to embark on a voyage to a land across the Atlantic, but alas it was a figment of my imagination. Just to get the hang of the website. I decided that my hypothetical journey would start from New York and end in New York. Do not worry,the interlude would have me in London. So, here are the details of my journey:

Air Tickets:I got return tickets, and hypothetically I always fly first class , for $3850.40. This was the best fare, available on an Air India flight. There were other flights but were at a premium and it would have been highly prodigal of me to book them. They were 60% more costlier than the flight I opted for.

Arrival at Heathrow airport: I arrived at the airport at 7:45 A.M. I had rented a car through the website. I rented the cheapest economy car, promptly christened Thrifty, available for $34.63 a day .

Hotel: I had booked a hotel, through the website, near Hyde park. Interestingly enough the option of choosing hotels near various landmarks of London was available to me. I again was the epitome of austerity and picked up the cheapest room at $33.

Well, I am exhausted after my hypothetical trip to London, maybe next time I will book a hotel near Buckingham palace. Who knows the air that royalty breathes might make feel like a royal and then I will get pampered like one. Anyways the review is over but hotelreservations.com is not. As the website is one of the best of it's kind and highly user friendly. Visit the website to find the most enticingly priced deals on everything from flights to Hotel Reservations.


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