A one-stop travel shop (expedia.co.uk)

Member Name: doctordarke2389

Product:	expedia.co.uk
Date:	27/07/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Detailed, convenient, competitive

Disadvantages: Daily fluctuating prices

Expedia may be seen as a 'one stop shop' in terns of one's travel and accommodation requirements.

I bookmarked it, which probably says where I'm coming from. In terms of personal experience, I used Expedia to book a flight-plus-hotel package to Thailand in April, and I was impressed by the variety of hotels on display. The site gives detailed at-a-glance flight information well in advance, thus helping one to plan your travel to and from airports. It also shows integrated price information for the day in question, although admittedly the price swings from day to day can be quite bewildering.

What I also liked was the way that many of the hotels had been rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by previous visitors; whilst this can be rather subjective, I think it's a quite useful guide to the kind of quality - or, lack of it - one may expect. The site allows the visitor to click on specific hotel detail, to find out more about its amenities and where it is located, and thumbnail pictures of lobby, bedrooms, restaurants, etc.

Rather than book online, I rang the 'phone hotline and was patched through to an operator fairly quickly (without all this irritating 'please press 1 for ...' rigmarole) who sorted me out like tout de suite. Oh, and I got 3,000 Nectar points as part of a special promotion.

The site offers the visitor the option of either looking at the 'Expedia recommends' section, or one may choose by hotel name, price, class, or traveller opinion.

In addition to the basics described above, this site also has other features that the traveller will find useful; business travel facilities, insurance, cars, travel activities, and destination information. I have used other competitor sites, but on balance I think this is just about the best. Perhaps the best testament I can offer is that my work institution's appointed travel agent books our travel and accommodation through Expedia, as they let slip to me a few months ago. A ringing endorsement?

Summary: Up there with the best of 'em