One Traveler's Opinion: Information Overload
 

An otherwise perfectly wonderful hotel in London will not be getting our business in May. The reason? They have Edward Hopper prints in the breakfast room. My wife made the discovery while reading one of the roughly 75 London hotel guides available at our local Borders bookstore. She reasons that Edward Hopper prints are symptomatic of a deeper problem. A hotel that forces you to gaze at a reproduction of "Nighthawks" while buttering your morning croissant probably also plays atonal music at the honor bar and offers only Farsi-dubbed Hong Kong kung-fu DVDs in its video library.

Planning a vacation was not always like this. On my first trip to Europe 35 years ago this summer, my sole preparation consisted of the purchase of a dog-eared, second-hand copy of "Europe on $5 a Day" and a hopelessly out-of-date railway timetable. The former book served me adequately on that youthful sojourn, the latter was left behind on a platform in Rotterdam where it doubtlessly caused a succession of young travelers to believe that there was still a 23:30 through train to Munich.

Each vacation since then has cultivated additional planning resources: the purchase of a Fodors Guide, examination of articles clipped from the New York Times, that sort of thing. For years, an instinct for the unusual and the right 'code words' in a description were all we needed to send us to a particular property. We booked the Hotel Quisisana e Ponte Vecchio in Florence one year on the strength of a single mention in the Times, and found ourselves throwing open our window each morning to a stunning view of the Arno and Pitti Palace. In 1977, a one-sentence mention in Travel and Leisure caused us to book a room at a small, out-of-the-way resort in Hawaii. We would return to the Hotel Hana-Maui annually for fifteen years.

The arrival of the internet has been a mixed blessing. Expedia and Orbitz allow pricing to be known to the penny; no longer are there 'rates on request' or a surprise VAT/service/breakfast surcharge. But, what of the hotels themselves? Expedia is in the business of selling rooms and so room descriptions, and even the star ratings, are provided by the properties. All hotels are charming, all rooms spacious and filled with antiques.

Fodors' on-line mini-guides with reader ratings are a godsend, but several evenings ago an interesting-sounding property un-rated by Fodors sent us on a Google search that led us to tripadvisor.com. Now we were confronted with individual reviews that showed an alarming range of opinions. Should we trust the New Yorker who found the rooms cramped and the bathroom 'a converted coat closet', or the traveler from Malaysia who assured us this hotel had earned his perpetual business because of its charm and spaciousness? Reviews posted a week apart describe a hotel's décor as 'dated' and 'freshly renovated.'

Individual hotel web sites offer views of rooms, lobbies and even views from specific rooms, but in planning this trip, those photos have been used to weed out properties with too many swags or frou-frou in the bed chambers, or bathrooms with claw-foot tubs. Conversely, hotels without websites or photos are viewed with suspicion. What are they hiding? Will they not show us their king-bed triple because it is just two double beds pushed together with a tell-tale crease in the bedspread?

Last night, I found myself surrounded by an inch-thick folder filled with printouts of hotel information, and realized I was no closer to finding the right hotel room than I was two weeks ago. If possible, we are further away from that decision because we have ruled out all of the hotels in our price range. Clearly, I'm suffering from information overload.

I still have those yellowing clips from the New York Times. Perhaps it's time to pull them out and see what they have to say.

How true, how true. And thanks for the heads up on the Edward Hopper prints!! LOL.

How true, how true! I'm off to Capri with my son and daughter next month and had been worrying about our hotel since no one seemed to have stayed there, not even tripadvisor but then my son said "so what, we won't be in the room much", now I feel adventuresome! and will write a review upon my return.

In addition to all hotel rooms being spacious and charming, you left out the vendor's insistence that the hotel is close to absolutely everything, even though the city map shows absolutely everything to be scattered over a wide area. (This should prompt a search for hotels located in moveable trailers.....)

I loved your post. Please hearken back to your wedding, an event over which your wife probably also obsessed, but nonetheless she ultimately did make the only important decision: (she said, "I do."):)

I assure you her madness is completely curable, starting with the first day of your holiday.

Oh, and Edward Hopper prints are a sure sign that the lift doesn't work properly. Guaranteed. :)

Oh so true, Mr Sanders! I remember our first trip to London, all we were told was to ask for a room on the courtyard, we did and the St James Hotel on Buckingham Gate is forever imprinted in my mind with that view of the flowers in the courtyard.
While I agree with everything you have said, (I usually do, you know) I also want to cheer you on for your refreshing and thoughtful posts. I wish you would post more often ((F))
Scarlett

Hey Neal,

You've done this to yourself, you know.

Start over again.

Send in a post headed "I am going to xxxx, where should I stay?" and take the first suggestion.

Regain that old sense of adventure.

Even if you are 35 years older and no longer think that sleeping upright on a train is fun. :)

Therealbobbie's son has it right. I don't travel to spend time in a hotel room. I have never spent more than 5 or 10 min looking at a guidebook to choose a place to stay. I have never had any bad experiences at any place I have stayed.

Tripadvisor.com has given me some great tips. In Washington, D.C. we ate at a great restaurant 2 blocks from the White House that has served several Presidents since 1856. The articles on London have provided me a wealth of information on my favorite city.

And, of course, our fellow Fodorites have come up with some great ideas on these boards.

I totally agree with Ira's comment about regaining that sense of adventure.
I am off to Iceland very soon and I am chomping at the bit. Travel is one of the joys of my life.

So, Neal, I would say your old methods worked well for you and led to some great discoveries. Many times in my travels I will not have any plans what to do for the day. I will open my guidebook, pick something out and go.

Enjoy your travels!

Serindipity is 95% of our plans and it yeilds amazing results.

Sue, I should have known that Edward Hopper prints and a non-functioning lift are inextricably linked, and I am grateful to you for calling that oversight to my attention.

Scarlett, most of my posts (and responses to others' posts) have been on the U.S. board because this forthcoming trip will be my first to Europe in over two years. This post has been forming in my heard for the past few days and today's Nor'easter gave me the luxury of time to compose in peace.

Ira, sitting up all night on trains (or sleeping in the baggage car) in order to avoid paying for a hotel is an idea that held a certain appeal in 1969. Today, my aching body demands certain amenities at the end of a day of sightseeing that are best satisfied by a long, hot soaking bath and a snooze in a large bed equipped with duvet and down comforter.

Exactly such a room and bed are available at The Berkeley, where I stayed on my last visit to London. Unfortunately, while the price of a junior suite at the Berkeley has risen by only 15 GBP since that last stay, the dollar has withered in value against the pound, safely ensuring that Room 527 at the Berkeley will be occupied in May by someone toting a passport in a color other than blue.

I shall take under advisement your suggestion that I post a 'tell me where to stay in London' message on this board. With my luck, though, the first response will come from Mr. Hopper's heirs' solicitors.

So true, but even worse, you have not mentioned the terrible guilt that afflicts us when we <i>don't</i> do all the research we feel we should!

I recently read a piece in the New Yorker that theorized two different types of consumption. In one, we find the item that &quot;will do,&quot; and look no further. In the other, we feel we must find the &quot;perfect and ultimate&quot; item, so we must look at every possibility.

I think a lot of travel has slipped into the second category, partly because we are now able to do so much more research because of the internet, but also because travel has become so popular that there is a large market which drives the glut of books, magazines, newspaper articles, etc.

Cigalechanta hit the nail on the head. It has led to many great experiences. I never have felt guilty about doing too little research. Every trip I have been on has been just great. There is a book called the Art of Travel where the author states that 50% of traveling is suffering. What nonsense.

I respond, by way of topping another recent thread, on which I had coincidentally made a comment apropos of this notion...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34482989

Have to keep this near the top, Neil's post is just too good to let drop.

I've been asking myself this very question lately: when do we decide that we've got a 'good enough' hotel room?

For example, how do you evaluate the asking price? (As a student, it was easy. You either had the money - or, more often than not, you didn't. )Now we have a little more money than when we were students. We are finding that a little more money breeds a lot more headaches in the decision making department.

As a student, the value-for-money was easily answered. You generally got lousy value, because the innkeeper knew darn well his was the lowest price in town, so he could give you a room even cockroaches would abandon if they had the choice (as a student, my cockroaches seemed to have no more alternatives than I did.)

If you let circumstances or chance decide for you, it's an easy decision. It's living with the decision that can be problematic.

ttt

The March 22 issue of Newsweek has an essay by Robert Samuelson titled &quot;The Afflictions of Affluence&quot; which references two recent books &quot;The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less&quot; by Barry Schwartz and &quot;The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse&quot; by Gregg Easterbrook.

One comment from Samuelson's essay jumped out at me in respect to this thread: &quot;some choices just don't matter that much&quot;.

When I am faced with a wide range of contradictory opinions and no way to evaluate which ones I am likely to agree with, I tell myself to find another hotel (or restaurant or whatever.) Since my time and money are limited, I'm not often willing to gamble, though more so on one meal than on a week's stay. However, even a less-than-great hotel is unlikely to turn out to be actually dirty or located next to the landfill site, if I've done any research at all, so the downside is usually not that far down if I do take a chance.

The worst hotel I've ever stayed in was in downtown Los Angeles, in a Best Western, which I came to suspect rented rooms by the hour. I didn't want to touch any of the dirty furnishings, and we left the next morning with a bad case of the willies. I always use that place as my basis of comparison for a &quot;bad&quot; hotel.

There are SO many good hotels out there, we too often here (&quot;here&quot; being fodors.com, a seeming &quot;enabler&quot; for those of us who suffer from OverPlanning Syndrome) focus on finding the &quot;best&quot; hotel in a large city, as if there's only one.

I thank heaven every day that I am well past the age of having to write term papers or book reports these days. How DO the kids winnow down the information?
(I used to use card catalogs and took notes on index cards.) But I disgress.

Jsmith has it, some choices are just not that critical. Neal, perhaps we should start our own fund of peculiar information on hotels. For example, the Hotel Bristol in Vienna, an otherwise &quot;grande dame&quot; hotel, has an endless loop of Strauss waltzes tinnily (?)playing in the background every morning at breakfast. Don't recall any depressing art work though,and the kids said the hot chocolate was very good.

Being an art historian, I've rarely found appropriate art in any hotel and/or restaurant. If I judged every place solely on the art, I'd have to stay home. :-) But yes, the morass or opinions can stymie a traveler. Outside of travel, I like to visit epinions when I'm considering a purchase and the same thing is found there - this printer is great; no it's a piece of garbage...sometimes research can only get you so far and then you have to leap. Good luck with your plans!

I meant &quot;morass of opinions&quot; above.

Elaine, the idea of a central repository of quirky information about travel destinations is positively brilliant. Allow me to offer two in addition to yours: the Broadway Diner at Broadway and 77th Street in New York, for some inexplicable reason, plays a continuous loop of Beethoven's Sonata #1, &quot;Appassionata&quot;, which is quote likely the least breakfast-friendly piece of music ever written. And, the otherwise elegant Hotel Tramontano in Sorrento insists on including in its music 'loop' in the lobby, Elvis Presley's 1961 clunker, &quot;Surrender&quot; (which undermines the integrity of &quot;Sorrento&quot;, whose melody was stolen for the purpose).

And my thanks to all who chose to append their comments to my essay. It's nice to see such an erudite community in action!

Why not just &quot;wing it&quot;. We have been touring Europe together for 17 years, the last 10 solo, no tour, on bikes. We make few reservations, the 1st and last night, but in between it's wherever we got to that day and after cycling for 30 miles you're not to choosy. By the by, I'm 66 my wife 57.
Quit buttering your croissants, your heart will thank you.

My first trip (well, actually my second but I don't count the first as that was over 30 years ago) in 1998 we stayed in the inexpensive 2 star hotel our travel agent suggested (she'd also gotten us a $399 RT to Paris on Air France). It was in the 11th and apparently &quot;Nobody&quot; stays there. We loved it. When we went to Italy for 3 weeks in 2000, I used recs from here (Hotel due Torri for Rome, Casci for Florence and Leon Bianco in Venice) and filled in with places I found that fit our budget and looked neat! We even picked two place out &quot;on the fly.&quot; Since then, I've decided on locations, then picked what fit my budget from lots of sources. Last year we had about half reserved in advance, and winged it for the rest. We must be getting good at this, as we really didn't err on any selections. Aside from fitting the budget, I look for something with ambiance that looks inviting to me. (Frankly, I like Edward Hopper, but to each his own!) Since London is expensive, I'd look for a good deal in a neat area. That's how we got the Moat House at Sloane Sq a couple years ago. This year, we'll only have one night in London, enroute to Cape Town SA...and because of Marriott points we're &quot;splashing out&quot; at the Renaissance Chancery Court and depleting my Marriott points :)

Good Luck Neal. I'm sure you'll pass through this information Overload soon.

Mr. Sanders (chuckling) I wish there were more who write like you do. The theme of your post is shared by many and has been presented on this forum before, but never quite so amusingly as you have done. I firmly believe that when the exasperation of information overload confuses one's choices, one should think of what one might have done before the information age beset us. Choose the 'old-fashioned, leap-of-faith, knowing-less-is-better, way'. It is the reason why my own tired, tattered and dog-eared copies of FODORS guides to the Caribbean (1985) and London (1989) are still called into service from time to time, for certain things. And I'd keep an eye out on the benches and platforms of train stations. I am sure there is someone out there waiting to pay you forward.

Thanks for your usual high-quality contribution, Neal.

I am a card-carrying, certified, monomaniacal, obsessive-compulsive, addicted victim of that syndrome. I think I and my ilk (some of you too? - Be honest now) ought to form an &quot;Overplanners Anonymous&quot; group where we can parse the signals sent by hoteliers through their lobby art selections or scented (ooh, no) soaps.

In a perverse way, though, I've also found myself going deeper into what I think is a reverse-snobbery groove. Now I will <i>look</i> for Ibises or Priceline targets in cities, even though I know that they are more likely than not going to be someplace else than next to the palace or festooned with flower boxes. Biddingfortravel.com is now an enormously important website to me, full of hundreds of delicious reports to sort and weigh and mull over. How much more satisfying is it when you not only get the 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets <i>and</i> the marble bath, but get it for &euro;50 instead of &pound;200? Talk about a boost to your own self-worth! Look, honey, now we can afford the Tour d'Argent! Ain't I the best?

I mean, this site itself is an overplanning enabler of the first magnitude, isn't it? Spontaneity is widely advocated here but not especially facilitated. On the contrary - you can plan your European trip down to the parking space at the town square. Look at the threads above and below this one that talk about individual hotel room nos. in Paris. Damn, I can't get Room 7 at the Casa Cucaracha. Trip's off.

Well, we're flying over there in a couple of weeks. I still haven't evaluated where to have dinner that's close enough - but not that close - to Stansted airport, from which we're flying on EasyJet to Rome for &pound;5 7/ 8d. Plus tax. The cab (Black cab? Minicab? Benz limo?) to the airport will likely cost more than the flight. Perhaps I can find something in the Entertainment book. Not the best, maybe, but half off. How clever of me.

Priceline is great for short-circuiting overplanning - at least for hotels. You make your bid, get your hotel, and then you're stuck! No more reading and trying to weigh the immeasurable.

Of course, after air and hotels, there is still a wide, fertile field of topics to obsess about.

too

Hi, my name is ncgrrl, and I'm an overplanner.

I love data, time trying to figure out the 'right' plan. I don't really consider myself a control freak, but maybe I am. Hmm, something to think about.

Neal, I've thoroughly enjoyed your posts on the Hudson &amp; the Excelsior hotels on the US board. =D&gt; I definitely relate to your info overload, #-o

I've actually been feeling guilty lately. I'm usually the first one to tell <i>someone else</i>to go to tripadvisor. I recently went there to look up a London hotel for myself &amp; found everything from fabulous to don't ever stay at this place. But why haven't I learned my lesson. I've stayed at the places others have raved about &amp; didn't much care for them myself.

Personally, I'd prefer &quot;Nighthawks&quot; in the breakfast room to a photo of the Tower or a portrait of Phil &amp; Liz. What about just having breakfast in your room?

Not a control freak, ncgrrl, -- &quot;organizationally enhanced.&quot;

Aha! Just have breakfast in your room you say?! Not so simple!
There may not be muzak or Hoppers in your room, but what about the art work? Is it conducive to breakfasting?
Or is the artwork more lunch-y?

Personally I'm still trying to figure out the relationship between &quot;Nighthawks&quot; and kung-fu videos. Would breakfast be better if the Hopper print were a Cape Cod lighthouse rather than a lonely diner? Inquiring minds want to know.

Information overload - how true! And just as soon as I narrow down my 25+ hotels that have been recommended and are in our price range, etc., etc., THEN - I will move on to my list of restaurants (will probably by 100+ by the time we go in October) - and this is just for Paris!!! That doesn't include Brugge, Vence, Provence, and Burgandy! The files are already running over - think I'll purchase a new filing cabinet to take care of all wonderful info I've been copying and printing. Then there's that bookcase full of all those books!!! Don't know what I used to do with all my time - this traveling is a full time job!!!

Neal
You might be interested in this article:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/hea...p?story=497484

Sounds like a classic case of Analysis Paralysis - too many choices and fear of not making the absolute best one.

I don't fall into this often in life but, with travel, I do tend towards it more often!

Neal: Very much enjoyed your post and the thread in general. I too am a planoholic. The manila file on Croatia grows daily and is bulging, and the Washington DC folder isn't in complete order yet and we will be going there first.

I suppose I'm much like a mountain climber--he climbs the mountain because it's there. So is all this seemingly important information at the time I see it on my screen and decide to print it.

I'm afraid at this stage in my life, I won't be going back to winging it, however, and will continue overdoing my trip planning, but honestly thoroughly enjoying doing the research for each of our vacations.

kavey, Analysis Paralysis! That's my problem! I'm so glad I have a name for it. :-D

I love this post! I, too, am an obsessive-compulsive planner - and the internet has contributed much to this condition. I obsess for months, first WHERE I'm going, then WHAT hotels, make reservations, cancel, and start over. And I wonder why I have alot of headaches. Oh, well, don't they say &quot;planning is half the enjoyment&quot;??

Worse - the enormous dining resources on the web with photos, menus...

In one afternoon, you can easily assemble dozens and dozens of appealing possibilities for a trip that will include only 30 ,meals (and only if you can manage three meals each day).

Marilyn
It's an expression that I think was invented (or certainly introduced to me) by another poster here, I am not sure what ID she's using but she used to use keelx2 I think.
:D
Perfect isn't it?

That particular expression has been around for decades at least, but it certainly is apt.

Elaine, I was originally going to equate Edward Hopper prints in the breakfast room with a lone, inferior Polish-language translation of &quot;The Bell Jar&quot; in the hotel's library. Alas, the hotel library is a fast-disappearing tradition, so kung-fu DVDs it is.

Richard, perhaps you have croissants every morning and you would no more butter them that you would spread them with Vegemite. To me, a freshly baked croissant is a vacation luxury, as is a pat of that distinctive English butter, and I shall indulge in both, and hope there's strawberry jam as well.

A lone copy of a Polish edition of The Bell Jar. What a wonderful image.
That might indeed discourage me from staying there, between that and Nighthawks I'm already depressed.

Mdv-obessive-complusive planner, but the DH is not, so it all works out.

Actually, I plan everything, have tons of notes,recommendations etc, then tend to ignore about 90% and just wing-it.

Great post, Neal. Glad to see you back on the Europe forum.