Hotels and Lodging

Staying at a European bed-and-breakfast is a bit like having your own temporary mother while you travel. 

In the morning, your hostess might help plan your day, tipping you off to the best places for lunch and about the live folk music in the village pub that evening. She then sends you out the door with a smile, handing you an umbrella… just in case it rains. 

The best B&Bs ooze warmth and local color, making these some of my favorite accommodations in Europe.

On a trip to Argentina that my husband, Jerry, and I made with another couple in October ’12, the experience would not have been nearly as rewarding had I not followed the advice of some ITN readers (April ’06, pg. 58; Nov. ’06, pg.

For our stay in Bangkok, Thailand, during an independent trip to Southeast Asia, my husband, Earl, and I followed the recommendation of an ITN reader (“Woman Driver in Bangkok,” April ’12, pg. 32) and contacted Rat of Rat Service (phone [66] 08 9108 2170, email rat_bkk@yahoo.com). 

My wife, Berdine, and I took an independent trip to Peru, Feb. 21-March 3, 2013. We flew on LAN, nine hours nonstop from San Francisco to Lima on a Boeing 767. Business class had flat beds. 

We felt safe everywhere in Peru. Lima, a city of about 11 million, was a real surprise. While it has its share of poverty, it was much more prosperous than we had imagined, with good hotels, great scenery (especially in the Miraflores beach area) and wonderful restaurants. Traffic could be very congested.

I wanted to tour the Italian islands of Sardinia and Corsica, and the only appealing itinerary I found that included both was offered by Saga (Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3SE, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1303 771190. Note: US residents cannot book online; they must book via phone or email). 

There is lots of advertising by both Priceline.com and Hotels.com about price matching. Here is what I encountered with both of them.

• On Oct. 16, 2012, I scouted prices for an Oct. 21-23 stay at the Hotel Algarve Casino in Portimão, Portugal. The price at Priceline.com was $107. I then found a British site, Hotels4U.com, offering it for $67 (it gives its quotes in US dollars as well). 

by Margie Weathers; Hayesville, NC

About three miles outside of Siem Reap is a gem of a hotel: the Angkor Spirit Palace Hotel (Phneachey Village, Svay Dangkom Commune, Siem Reap, Cambodia; phone [855] 17 908 007). I found it on the Internet, and my husband, Bill, and I stayed there Nov. 16-17, 2012. The price per night was about $47 for a double or $36, single, breakfast included.