Summertime, and the Living's Easy

Ah, summertime. The season of capris, Coronas, and the Caribbean. Until of course, you find yourself in a hotel filled with bed bugs and a view of the ocean you can only see if you stand on your tip toes. Thanks a lot Internet photos! Turns out, I'm not the only one frustrated by false online hotel advertising. So, to help the travel challenged, Expedia released "Insiders' Select," complete with a ranking system and reviews of the best hotels throughout the world. Travelers can now find the best hotels from Budapest to Bolivia. And that means I can book my trip to Cozumel with confidence knowing that the Cozumel Palace All-Inclusive has a 91.01 rating and makes for an "awesome honeymoon!" (per the traveler opinions). Of course, the happy honeymooner review only reminds me of my own failed honeymoon, which means I probably won't be going to Cozumel now, but alas, I can hardly blame Expedia for that! According to Expedia, the hotels featured represent the top 1 percent of the more than 70,000 hotels on the site. Talk about an overwhelming amount of options. The good new is--this feature is actually pretty handy and is extremely user-friendly. Although, I'm a bit confused, is a score in the 70s bad? The Claridge Hotel in Argentina receives an "excellent" traveler review, but only a rating of 74.53. What does that mean?! Oh well, no system is perfect. Insiders' Select does give me all the info I need on a hotel in one shot. Making my life and summer easier--thanks Expedia! Now, bring on those Coronas...

-Heather Strang