When you have not visited a place before and need a place to stay, there are several choices. You go with a big chain, you ask friends, you look on the internet. Sometimes we do the big chain either because they have a deal or we have points to use or the other choices don't look so good. In Sopot, we stayed at the Sheraton Sopot Conference Center and Spa. It was a very nice hotel but very expensive. Internet in our room was $30 a day but taking my computer down to the lobby was free, just inconvenient. A nice drink out of the mini bar (YES, we have one and I love them) was about $12. There is fresh shampoo and conditioner every day in the bathroom. So yes, there are perks and sometimes you just need them to feel good about traveling.

                As we are not super rich, staying in something like the Sheraton or Hilton or Intercontinental does not work for us in every town . Possibly if we did vacations of only a week or two, we could swing it but as we do month long vacations normally now and I’m traveling for 4 months, just not going to work. And often, in the neater places, out of the way places, very newly discovered to tourism places, the bigger chains are not close to the things you want to see and then getting to the places of interest means time wasted and money spent taking a taxi or whatever.

                Second option for hotels is ask your friends. This works when we are staying in places in the United States as we have friends in many different states and can get some recommendations and some ideas of things available. I’ve now visited over 115 countries and am busy trying to visit more so a good many of the places we visit now are places that a good many of our friends either haven’t heard about since 5th grade geography or have no interest in visiting or want us to go first so we can check it out. That shoots that option into the rubbish bin.

                Third option and the one with most options, the internet. How did we ever travel without it? You can type in a city and ask for accommodations and get everything imaginable and in just about every price range. In some countries we have learned to stay away from certain types of hotels. Not doing 2 star in China as that was a bad experience. 2 star in Korea can be ok. 2 star in Paris is usually a lovely little family run hotel in a small cozy neighborhood. 3 star in most countries, so far, are basic and what we go for when not doing a 4 or 5 star chain. (except 'the Stans, try to avoid them there).

                Having said that, you are now left with what the hotel is telling you which basically can be boasting and false claims just to get you to come stay with them. The photos can be their absolutely best room that the owner lives in so you never see it. The neighborhood photos can be photoshopped so it looks like the hotel is in the middle of the district where you want to be when in reality, it’s several miles away by tram (as was our hotel in Berlin). There are places to go look though and see if the hotel has a good rep or if people are trashing it big time. TripAdvisor.com is where I usually look. I drop off the two worst reviews – someone had a run in with the staff, someone was not having a good vacation, etc. and I drop off the two best reviews – a plant, someone with no reference to other hotels, and then try and decide if it is going to be a good match for us.

                Sometimes I email a lot of places before I decide. That doesn’t always work though. We like to do bed and breakfast so we can meet local people. I figure that if they answer in English, they speak in English but sometimes they have agents. Both in Russia and in Italy we ended up in bed and breakfast establishments which were quite lovely but not as enjoyable because no one spoke English. I’m pretty good at the pantomime but still we make mistakes due to that.

                That leads us finally to our hotel in Krakow. It had good reviews, it was close to the center of town, it was not expensive, it was 3 star, it seemed perfect. Made the reservation with a problem. Our train was late in arriving so we got to the hotel later than expected. We were the last people to check in and get a room today. I ask if there is internet – in the conference room. I ask if there is breakfast – of course (sometimes I forget whether there is or not). I ask if there is a lift (an elevator) – yes, at the end of the hall. We go to the end of the hall and get in the lift and it goes to floor 3. Our room is on floor 4.

                We trudge up the stairs and find our room, a garret, under the alcove, under the eaves, under the sloping roof. It’s not a bad room as my last under the eaves room was in a super fancy hotel in Slovenia where my traveling roommate and I had to go outside to change positions in the room. This one is at least twice that size and we even have a sitting room of sorts with a small table and lamp.

                So in the end, I am not complaining about the hotel here in Krakow or the room. It is lovely and it will only be inconvenient twice, coming and leaving. But it does show my point, you never know what you are going to get no matter how hard you try to make the best choice off the internet. Luckily my hubby is a very resourceful and easy going guy and can make the best of anything.