Review of Hotel Calculator.com

Site Review: I’ve been asked to check out, and review the hotel search engine Hotel Calculator, and share with you what I think. While this is paid gig, I made it clear I’d give you my objective option, as always.

Many people ask me how I find great deals traveling the world. While I often try to save money by finding accommodation when I arrive, sometimes I don’t have time or need a safe place to sleep when I arrive late at night. When I was asked to review Hotel Calculator I thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce you to a new internet tool.

Save Time

I’m a big fan of searching for deals online but I often get frustrated by having to search multiple databases. What makes Hotel Calculator nice, and different from other similar sites like Hotel.com, Booking.com and Wotif.com is that it searches multiple hotel sites simultaneously. It searches 28 hotel and travel sites delivering you the results in about 30 seconds. I found I saved a lot of time only going to one site rather than my normal three.

Easy Design

The site is not busy or complicated. All you have to do is enter the city you want, check the dates, number of guests and rooms, and you’re off. I put the Hotel Calculator though its paces and searched everywhere I have been recently, Slovenia, Tokyo, Amman, and even Prishtina, Kosovo. In most cases it delivered deal worthy results which you can further narrow down by price and amenities. I like that its also easy to search nearby towns if the prices in Tokyo are too high. All you have to do is click on the towns to the left organized by how far away they are.

The Calculator had more trouble with Kosovo and didn’t return any results. I tried a few more uncommon areas, Iraq, Afghanistan, and East Timor just to cover the bases. No hotels showed up, so if you’re planning your next humanitarian mission this is not the tool for you. But if you’re looking for a regular vacation to most places in the world the Hotel Calculator will help you save time and hopefully money.

While the site is a “hotel” website, I did find some nice deals for the more budget minded traveler. I found prices as cheap as $7 a night in Amman, Jordan. While there is a rating system, it would be nice to know how many reviews there were so that you can trust something so cheap.

On the Go

One other nice feature is the free Iphone app that lets you search and book while you are traveling. I really like the idea of checking out the price of a hotel while I’m using their free wi-fi in the lobby. This way you can get the best price possible, either at the desk or through the Hotel Calculator.

The app is very similar to the full site on the internet, but is optimized for the small Iphone screen. I found it easy to use and the icons large enough that I didn’t have to hunt and squint my way to a booking.

The Verdict

Pros

• Prices are competitive with other hotel search sites
• The interface and design is easy to use
• It saves you time by searching all the other sites for you
• Great mapping features to see if hotels are close to the sights you are most interested in

Cons

• The rating system needs work by showing how many people have voted
• I couldn’t find any hotels in Afghanistan. Yes, I may be too picky here

All in all, this is a solid website that delivers on what it promises and I would recommend it.

If you have used Hotel Calculator I’d love to hear your experiences.

Review of Hotel Calculator.com is a post from: Todd's Wanderings