The last-minute hotel booking site HotelQuickly has gone under, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded without hotel rooms and with worthless vouchers instead of refunds. The company based in Singapore was a copy cat of successful hoteltonight, offering last minute hotel stays at low prices. Meta-search sites that compare hotel and flight bookings across hundreds of sites and focus only on … Continue reading
The Kindness Hotel Hualien offers large, modern rooms near the train station with friendly service. The included breakfast and dinner, as well as drinks and amenities like bike rentals and a laundry room, make it very good value. If you are planning a visit to the nearby Taroko Gorge, the Kindness Hotel Hualien is a great base for your stay, … Continue reading
The Country Inn & Suites Dixon is a road-side hotel of California’s I-80 from San Francisco to Sacramento. It offers a large, clean room in good condition. You get a solid breakfast, friendly service and good amenities, including a pool, gym and laundry room. I liked the thoughtful touches in the room that made it feel a little more upscale … Continue reading
WOW Air was one of the low-cost carriers that sparked the fare wars over the North Atlantic, with one-way fares as low as $69 one-way, forcing competitors to respond. From their base in Iceland, they were able to fly across the Atlantic with narrow-body planes, which made for cheap, if uncomfortable flights. Now, their local competitor Iceland Air responded and bought … Continue reading
Most Low-Cost-Carriers (LCC) limit the size and weight of our cabin bags and even full-service airlines have introduced “Basic Economy”, limiting you to hand-luggage. If you want to avoid those pesky checked bag fees, you’ll need a “Personal Item” that fits under the seat in front of you – you’ll need to pack light (read my tips to do it) … Continue reading
Updated 2018: The Days Inn San Francisco Downtown Civic Center is a budget hotel in a nice neighborhood that offers basic, remodeled rooms at reasonable rates. The poor service, bathrooms in need of a remodel, poor breakfast and some safety concerns make it a more difficult choice. Find out for whom the Days Inn San Francisco can work! … Continue reading
Wizz Air (read my snapshot review here) the Eastern European low-cost carrier, is adjusting their baggage policy to match the recently tightened policy of Ryan Air. But, in this case its actually an improvement over their even more stringent and costly policy before! They are introducing a new 10kg check-in bag at a lower fee, making it potentially less expensive … Continue reading
Euowings started as a regional airline in Germany, was acquired by Lufthansa and transformed into a low-cost carrier. The airline is growing rapidly, adding new hubs, destinations and planes, resulting in head-spinning changes and some bad press from operational challenges. So, who really is Eurowings today, what destinations does Eurowings serve and what planes do they fly? … Continue reading
Ryan Air is the low-cost carrier everybody loves to hate: With fees for everything from boarding passes to seats and luggage. They’ve been in the news for horrendous name change fees and a CEO musing about fees for onboard toilet use, earning them a nasty reputation. I took a number of dirt cheap flights with Ryan Air in the last … Continue reading
Wizz Air is a fast growing low-cost carrier (LCC) based in Budapest, Hungary, focused on connecting Eastern European cities with the rest of the region. Similar to other LCC, they connect many secondary cities non-stop, often with no direct competition, and they offer low, low prices. And you won’t be able to miss their planes in their bright pink/purple livery! … Continue reading