That's the question posed by K.C. Summers, the longtime editor of the Washington Post's Travel section, on our partner blog, Travel Log.

She wonders "if travel guidebooks have become irrelevant -- outdated before they even hit the shelves."

Budget Travel has compared the pros and cons of guidebooks, user review sites, and other sources of information in an article called "When Everybody's an Expert, Who Can You Trust?"

Anonymous user-review websites are increasingly popular alternatives to guidebooks, of course. But like guidebooks, they also have flaws. Zagat reviews, for example, are powerfully influential. But this SmartMoney article accuses Zagat of grade inflation.

What do you think about guidebooks and their alternatives? Feel free to add your two cents below.

My wife would love to bring our boys, ages 11 months and 3 years, to Europe. That is, until I remind her of how difficult the trip would be. The flight, of course, could be a nightmare. We're normally pretty exhausted chasing the kids around, and jet lag could push everybody over the edge. And then when we got to Spain or Italy or wherever, it would be tough for all of us to stay in a reasonably priced hotel room and actually get some sleep. Figuring out hotels that would be child-friendly is difficult in the U.S., let alone overseas.

Until now, that is. A couple of interesting new websites focus on family-friendly hotels and resorts in Europe. CiaoBambino.com specializes in Italy, and also has some recommended properties in France and England. The site, run by a couple in California, lists everything that a mom would want to know -- not only if the place has cribs and highchairs, but also how level the grounds are around the hotel (if it's on a big hill, you'll never be able to put your toddler down), not only if there is a pool, but if there is a gate and a fence for the pool, and how high the fence is. The site also details activities in the area from horseback riding to cooking schools, and what ages the activities are right for.

BabyFriendlyBoltHoles.co.uk lists resorts, hotels, and ...

--If the passenger next to you is sick... will you get sick, too, after your flight is over? No, say medical researchers, who were interviewed for this Wall Street Journal article (subscription required). Here's the money quote: "The air on planes is better than in most home and office environments since it changes much more frequently. On most commercial planes, at least half of the air comes from outside the aircraft and passes through a high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filter which removes contaminants." You're also unlikely to fall sick if the previous occupant of your airplane seat was sick. Cruises, though, are another story entirely. Learn how to stay healthy on cruises, by clicking here.

--European railways to challenge discount airlines. That's the surprising news from German business daily Handelsblatt. In December, a new "Railteam" program will aim to make it easier for travelers to book discounted travel across Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium. When the railway companies reveal more details, we'll pass them on to you. (Courtesy of the fine bloggers at EuroCheapo.)

--Has it been 400 years already? In 1607, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, fled Ireland. This event provided an opening for the British to expand their rule over the island. History buffs can learn more about talks, festivals, and marches commemorating the event by visiting a new website, Flightoftheearls.ie. (Thanks to reader John McNeal for the tip.)

--Our website has a new baby sister. And she's "green"! Sprig.com was launched earlier this week to cater to the interests of people who want to do a little bit more to care for the environment -- without obsessing over it. And, yes, there's a travel-related angle here. Sprig offers travel tips as part of its lifestyle section. For example, Sprig recommends you consider flying Virgin Atlantic because, among other things, the airline plans to start flying planes on plant-based fuels next year.

Sleep in a cave house. Thousands of residents of the cathedral town of Guadix, Spain, live in cave houses, carved out of the surrounding sandstone mountains. These cave homes feature all of the standard modern conveniences, as you can tell by the TV satellite dishes that most of the cave dwellers have stuck above their doors. Curious? Then try renting one of these cave homes for a short stay. One agency, Cuevas Pedro Antonio, offers 19 rental units, each with a kitchen, a terrace view of the Sierra Nevada, and access to a pool. Room rates are about $120 a night, assuming a four-night stay. Details here. Guadix makes a convenient stop on a typical circuit of the popular destinations in Mediterranean Andalusia. (Hat tip to the Times of London)

Sleep inside a windmill. On the Greek island of Zakynthos, two cape-top windmills are romantic places to stay, says Eleni Gage, a Budget Travel contributor. From the balconies of either of these windmills you can take in glorious views of the Ionian Sea. Rates vary by date, but expect to pay about $200 a night per family. Details here. The owners also offer small boat tours of the area's most popular attractions--including the Blue Caves, which are unusual rock formations over the Ionian Sea--at times of day when larger tourist boats aren't disturbing the scenery. Trips cost about $14 per person, and you don't have to stay at a windmill to take the trip. Details here. (On a related note, you can read about the secret hotels of the Greek Isles by clicking here.)

Stay on your own private island in the South Pacific for about $200 a night....

Moments ago, Marriott announced a partnership with Ian Schrager, the developer of some of the world's best-known boutique hotels, to build roughly 100 boutique hotels within the next several years. The partners say they will have five development deals signed by the end of the year, and that a brand name for the line of boutique properties should appear within a few months.

The news is surprising because in many ways the Marriott brand is the antithesis of what consumers think of when they think of a boutique hotel, such as Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel, where the news was announced. Marriott hotels tend to have hundreds of rooms that look interchangeable and are designed to consistently deliver a room for the night for business travelers. Schrager's hotels are small and feature modern art, unusual light fixtures, oddly-sized lobbies with wood-burning fireplaces or enormous high-definition TV sets--with no two hotels having an identical look.

Even at the press conference this morning, the different personal styles of Schrager and Bill Marriott were striking. Schrager wore a collarless black shirt and a black sportcoat, while Marriott wore a navy blue suit, a white shirt with a starched collar, and a standard necktie.

Marriott admitted that the guests going to Schrager's hotels haven't been going to Marriott's hotels. But, he said, he didn't see why his company couldn't attract them by building a new set of properties. After all, he noted, Marriott recently announced a partnership with Nickelodeon to build hotels that assiduously aims to please children. "And with this deal we're going after the grown-up kids," he said.* Schrager responded with a funny facial expression that quickly turned into a smile.

Despite differences, money talks, of course. And the boutique hotel segment of the business has been enormously profitable. Marriott's resources--its reservations systems and existing supply channels and staff--could help reduce the cost of building additional boutique hotels, and put them with an reasonable "splurge" zone for budget-conscious travelers.

Earlier: Marriott announces a deal to create kid-friendly hotels.

Related info: For delightfully obsessive coverage of hotel trends, visit HotelChatter.com. Update: HotelChatter has more info on this deal.
*A typographical error in this original blog post said "sad" instead of "said."

The success of Eurocheapo, a hotel review website, isn't exactly the world's greatest mystery. But it certainly raises an eyebrow, because modest Internet companies aiming to please budget-conscious travelers rarely make a buck, as EuroCheapo does. Founded six years ago, the website now earns enough to afford to have three full-time workers and a handful of freelance hotel reviewers in Europe.

The company's success, while modest, seems to be due to its focus on the post-backpacker crowd, meaning travelers who are too grown-up to stay at hostels but who don't travel with children and who don't insist on luxury lodgings. Most of the hotels it reviews are relatively cheap--say, in the $83 to $193 per night range for hotels in Rome's central Campo dei Fiori neighborhood in high season.

EuroCheapo pays freelance writers to visit and review hundreds of hotels. The best hotels in its reviewers' eyes are featured online. "We spotlight hotels that give you an authentic sense of the city you're in," says Tom Meyers, EuroCheapo's founder. "If I'm sitting in the room of a hotel in Berlin, I want the decor to say to me, 'Hey, You're in Berlin'. I don't want it to have that bland feeling of an international chain hotel."

A few weeks ago, EuroCheapo added "hotel meta-search" to its website. Now you can see its hotel reviews alongside listings for hotels it hasn't reviewed. Many, though not all, of each group of hotels can be booked online via partner hotel-booking engines, such as Venere and Booking.com. Similar to a TripAdvisor model, you can see expert reviews (highlighted as "Editor's Picks") side-by-side with hotels that have only been reviewed by anonymous customers at hotel booking sites such as Venere.

This move to mingle hotels that have been vetted by reviewers following consistent standards alongside reviews of hotels anonymous customers is an interesting development. Other travel websites will be eyeing EuroCheapo's move and mimicking it if it's successful.

Tomorrow: The funny and surprising story of how college student Tom Meyers raised the cash to create a successful Internet travel business.

[Correction: My original posting misspelled Campo de' Fiori. I regret the error.]

Launched in June, TV Trip's growing collection of unbiased hotel videos lets you scope out neighborhoods, lobbies, restaurants, and rooms before you book--so you can avoid any unpleasant surprises. Professional cameramen shoot the videos, which are paired with Google maps, starting rates, and descriptions by the editors.

Unlike most sites featuring hotel footage, TV Trip doesn't accept user-generated or hotel-supplied videos, nor can hotels pay to be featured (the site makes its money through ads and commissions from its booking partners). The brainchild of former managers of Expedia Europe, tvtrip.com began with 15 major European cities and tackles the U.S. in September.

Related: Trivop.com, an online travel agency in Europe, was the first website to offer videos of several hotels in Western Europe.

The airfare prediction website Farecast is taking on hotels, offering rate advice for major properties in 30 U.S. cities. Rather than predict rates, the site tells you if the rate at any given hotel is a good value when compared with the hotel's rate history and other factors.

You plug in your dates and preferred neighborhoods to stay at your destination, and then you add your wish list of preferred amenities. The site maps hotels that meet your criteria, along with the lowest rates available and advice on whether to book one or keep looking. As explained to us by Farecast CEO Hugh Crean: If a hotel rate is highlighted in red, it means that the rate is a relatively good deal when compared with the hotel's past history, local demand, and other factors.

Farecast crunches the numbers on hotel rate data that it receives from Orbitz and other sources. The site doesn't sell hotel rooms but sends you to these sources for booking.

Currently, the buying tips for hotel rates are only available for 5,000 hotels in 30 U.S. cities. Also, Farecast does not collect rates directly from major hotel chains, which often guarantee the lowest rates by booking on their websites.

Farecast has made its name as a website that predicts whether fares on a route will rise or fall within the next week. In July, Farecast had more than 500,000 users, according to the Boston Globe. It's the first company to bring data-mining techniques to hotel rates, giving it a head start on its competition.

Earlier: A new website lets you tour European hotels from home.

The folks from Hotels.com came into the office yesterday to show off their site's latest tricks. Their site now allows you to filter results by price range, amenity, property type, guest reviews, and (hotel.com's) ratings. Every one of their 75,000 hotel, condo, and B&B listings also has a new interactive map, which can help you figure out the distance—both walking and driving—to most addresses and landmarks. There's also a calendar that's color-coded to give you a rough sense of the hotel's recent rates (orange is expensive, green is cheap, yellow is in-between). Thankfully, in May, Hotels.com stopped charging its onerous—their word, not mine—$25 cancellation/change fee in May. A tip: You can find exclusive weekly deals in their Tuesday e-newsletters.

The temptation is strong. You know that many motels have an occupancy limit of four persons to a room, assuming there's two beds. And you know that it's typically against the rules to sneak your children into your room—especially if your children are under the age of 12.

So why not sneak your kids in? After all, the worst that can happen is that the neighboring guests will snitch on you and the front desk will ask you to leave.

The trick is as simple to pull off as it sounds: You park your car out-of-sight, drop by the front desk, and then check-in without mentioning your children. Next, you sneak your children into your room.

You may be tempted to pull this trick because, otherwise, you'll have to pay for a second room. And that presents its own problems, as Matthew Franck points out in the St. Louis Dispatch:

Unless a hotel can offer connecting rooms, my wife and I are faced with the prospect of splitting up and dividing the kids, like picking teams on a playground. And deciding who gets the fussy baby can ruin not just a vacation, but a marriage.

Sure, there are a few downsides to this approach.

Galway is the costliest place to stay in Ireland, with hotel rooms costing about $200 a night on average, according to a recent survey of 30,000 hotels across 1,500 locations by Hotels.com's office in Britain.

Galway, arguably Ireland's cultural center, is also one of the costliest places in the world to sleep. Galway hotels charge more on average than hotels in Tokyo, Singapore, and San Francisco. Visitors to Galway will best save money by booking their stay at an inn or hotel outside of the city.

As a recent article in the Irish Independent notes, the national average price of hotel rooms in Ireland is about $170 a night—below the average of $224 nightly hotel rates in Britain, and also below the average of $185 a night average hotel rate across western Europe.

Another option is to book a vacation package that includes stays at bed-and-breakfasts, which are cheaper than hotels. Here's one deal: Seven nights' accommodations and a five-day rental car from $599 per person, based on double occupancy, via Brian Moore International Tours. Details, here.

It may be the world's largest hotel revamp ever, involving 3,125 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. The owner of the Holiday Inn brand, InterContinental Hotels Group, has warned its franchisees that if they don't freshen up their hotels, they will not be allowed to carry the Holiday Inn logo.

The "motor lodge-style" look is out. Sleek exteriors are in, along with new decor, bedding, and lobbies. Every bathroom will get an improved shower head offering superior water pressure and a shower curtain with a curved rod. There'll be a new, business-like logo, too:

The first batch of 150 hotels with the new look will appear mid next year. Changes will be rolled out elsewhere between then and early 2010. Holiday Inn can afford to make the changes because it's one of the world's most profitable hotel brands. In some parts of Asia, it is even treated as a luxury brand.

The changes were the result of a survey of 18,000 customers. Among the complaints voiced were that front-desks looked too cluttered, and that the hotel exteriors weren't brightly lit. Customers also said that they prefer it when desk clerks address them by their name. These suggestions, among others, are being adopted.

While in Boston the weekend before last, my partner and I had a crummy hotel experience. It wasn't that the hotel was terrible, it just didn't live up to our expectations--and the fact that Boston hotel rates are high only raised the bar. I'm not naming the hotel for two reasons: 1) We may have just had bad luck; 2) The hotel emailed asking how our stay was, and Adam answered honestly (if more nicely than I would have). The hotel's front-office director responded by apologizing and refunding one night (of the two we stayed there!) to Adam's credit card. The moral: Don't be afraid to tell management how you feel. You may not get anything, but you may get something. P.S. They didn't know I'm affiliated with a travel magazine and website.

This month, Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, near Dallas (Irving), is testing an online room service feature that's an industry first. Guests can use their laptops to log onto a webpage where they can place room service orders, fill out electronic comment cards, and request that a housekeeper clean their room. In future tests, the online service will become also available through the guest room TV and remote control. If the test goes well, Omni will expand the service to its 44 other high-end properties in North America. GBCblue is providing the technology.

For comprehensive Omni Hotels coverage, see HotelChatter.

Tomorrow, a 32 room-hotel opens in London's Heathrow airport, offering free Wi-Fi and other perks. Yotel rates start at $50 for four hours (but more typically about $110). Inspired by the smart way first-class airline seats use space, Yotel offers a pod that measures between 75 and 107 square feet. Each pod has a double bed, bathroom with shower, pull-down desk, flat-screen TV—plus free Wi-Fi. Earlier this summer, Yotel opened a hotel in Gatwick airport. At last, the word is getting out that budget travelers like a bit of style.

The most respected forecaster in the hotel industry is Bjorn Hanson of the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. His predictions are closely read by investors and hotel owners. He has earned trust by issuing annual forecasts that have proven more accurate than everybody else's for 16 out of the past 17 years.

Here's what he said:

The Purple Hotel is a new budget hotel chain in Britain, with rates going for $108 to $167 a night per room at locations outside of London. Rooms are comparable to those in the Hampton Inn in the U.S., and have free wireless Internet, large showers, and air conditioning. The daily rate also includes a substantial breakfast. This week, a Purple Hotel opens at Glasgow airport. And on February 2, hotels in London, Cambridge, and seven other English locations debut. Details at the Purple Hotels website.

EARLIER London: Pod hotels land at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Many Americans don't realize that there's a world of reliable hotel chains beyond Marriott and Motel 6. Here are 39 affordable hotel chains to know.

Budget Travel's February issue includes our list of TripAdvisor's Top 100 Best Value hotels around the world, with quotes from travelers who have actually stayed in them. It's the first major collaboration between a national travel magazine and TripAdvisor, the leading resource for hotel reviews.

But what about the rejects, the dregs? What about the hotels at the very bottom of TripAdvisor's proprietary lists?

In New York City, the most poorly-rated hotel (according to TripAdvisor's ranking system) would be the Hotel Carter. The 700-room hotel, on West 43rd St. in Times Square. Customer reviews include stories of bedbugs, prostitutes, and disgusting bathrooms.

Hotel Carter overcame a second-worst hotel finish last year to plummet to dead last this year. It seems that Hotel Carter earned its "worst-place finish" on the strength of a story of a housekeeper who found the body of a woman under a bed in August, as reported on HotelChatter. You can read the reviews from customers of the Carter at TripAdvisor.

Meanwhile in Britain, the worst performer was the Nanford Guest House, in Oxford. Following closely on its heels were four properties belonging to the same company (Britannia Group), which were voted by travelers as among the dirtiest places to stay in Britain. [via the London Telegraph. A local paper has the hotel's dismissive response to the bad reviews.]

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The presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney spent the most on hotels in 2007, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings by Holiday Inn Express. Obama led his field of Democratic presidential contenders in hotel spending last year, having dropped more than $833,000 on hotels. Mitt Romney led the Republican field by spending more than $708,000.

At the Stay Smart, America website, you'll find cartoons of the 16 original candidates. Click on any candidate to see their lodging totals and an estimate of what he or she might have saved had they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, using an average daily rate.

The hotel chain promises to keep updating the information through the general election, reports Travel Weekly. This story was first blogged by Elliott.org

New York City’s storied Plaza Hotel, which was under construction for two years, is scheduled to reopen as a ‘condo-hotel’ on March 1, 2008. The new Plaza will have 282 rentable rooms, 152 of which will be sold to part-time owners for ungodly sums. Buyers of these 152 pied-à-terre residences can live in the building for 120 days a year, with the remaining days set aside for hotel guests.

For about $1000, then, one of the Plaza’s rooms is all yours—for one night. My calculator is telling me that comes to about $42 per hour of use, if you stay sequestered for a full 24 hours and never even think of leaving. For kicks, you can play around with the Plaza’s online booking and pricing engine here. You might want to stay (far) away from the ‘confirm reservations’ tab.

The Plaza, which opened in 1907 and celebrated its 100th anniversary with a star-studded extravaganza last year, was originally constructed for $12.5m—a huge sum at the time—and was conceived in the style of a French Renaissance château. Rooms originally booked for about $2.50 a night. The hotel was recently designated one of the top 150 architectural structures in the U.S. in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The Plaza has played host to such cross-era luminaries as Mark Twain (yep!), Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Salvador Dali, the Beatles, Truman Capote, and Jackie Onassis.

The hotel is set to reopen with all the frivolous trappings of a modern Gilded Age: There’s a butler on every floor (and a butler’s pantry, thank heavens!), a wireless computer system capable of changing the room temperature, and opulent bathroom faucets plated with 24-karat gold. The hotel seems particularly proud of its faucets, which it mentions at the drop of a hat and has photographed from countless, lovingly-detailed angles.

Ok, so you probably can't afford the rooms, but you might want to drop into the Oak Bar (photos are here) or the newly-added Champagne Bar for an (expensive) drink, and take a look around the historic hotel's public spaces. The bars will open later in March. For more photos of The Plaza, check here.

Near the Plaza Hotel: The hotel is on the southeast corner of Central Park, near the horse and buggy rides, and only a few blocks from the Central Park Zoo, which is a fantastic and often-overlooked venue. Zoo tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for children 3-12 years old.

There’s also a vast Apple store just across Fifth Avenue— the store is a renowned building in its own right. In fact, the same AIA poll that lists the Plaza Hotel as 81st amongst the 150 national architectural treasures, lists this Apple store at number 53.

Related Story: Think you know New York City? Prove it and take our quiz.

Image: Plaza Hotel (Anthony Falcone)

The world's first and only underwater inn is the Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Fla. Guests scuba dive about 20 feet to enter the inn, which is a converted naval station. You enter through a pool and an air lock; once inside, you breathe and walk around normally. At night, escaping air creates a soothing, bubbling sound that is supposed to encourage your body to have an astonishingly restful sleep.

Typical rate is $375 a night, per person. As a rule, only certified divers can visit. But, for a fee, you can learn enough about diving to qualify to float down to the entrance. And for an extra charge, you can get an advanced diving certification during your stay. Breakfast and dinner are served at set times. The lodge typically hosts two couples. (jul.com)

Multi-room underwater hotels may be on the way. Four companies claim that they will open hotels underwater within the next few years in Fiji, Istanbul, Korea, and Dubai....

A CIA/spy theme defines Donovan House, an 198-room hotel that opens March 28. Among the hotel's gimmicks: staff will be equipped with wristwatch communication devices. We're eager to take a peek at the promised perks in its guest rooms, such as a "cocoon spiral shower"— whatever that might be.

The hotel is named after the World War II general William "Wild Bill" Donovan, who headed up covert operations by the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the CIA. (Fun fact: A fictionalized version of Donovan was played by Robert DeNiro in The Good Shepard.)

The hotel is at 1155 14th St. NW, on Thomas Circle, on the site of a former Holiday Inn, and is several blocks from D.C.'s sidewalk cafes and nightlife attractions. But it's only a fifteen minute walk to the White House and the National Mall. While aiming for an upscale crowd, introductory rates start at $153 a night at Quikbook.com. The hotel is part of the Thompson boutique chain, which has been rigorously covered by HotelChatter.

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New attraction in D.C.: Lincoln's summer cottage.

Art Hotels for Under $200: A slide show

Spyland: A new amusement park in the works in Europe.

When you think of hostels, you probably imagine a hangout for twenty-something backpackers. (Perhaps hippie backpackers, in particular.)

But many hostels are surprisingly well-suited for families. Double room options are becoming more common in hostels in Europe, for instance. Many have kitchens where some meals can be prepared. Some hostels have bicycles, kayaks, and other equipment that guests can use for free.

London's Telegraph has a round-up of some of these hostels. The article notes that

Around two-thirds of the Youth Hostel Association's 200 hostels in England and Wales offer private family rooms and about 50 have family rooms with ensuite bathrooms.

Rates start at about $70 a room per night. The article says about 14 hostels in Britain have family rooms with double beds, and it recommends that you call the Youth Hostel Association to find out which hostels these are, as the YHA website is unhelpful on this score.

One tip: Only book at a hostel that's been favorably reviewed online at a site such as TripAdvisor and Hosteling International. For example, Hosteling International's San Francisco hostel received many favorable reviews on TripAdvisor, but those reviews also contain some warning signs for families with very young children.