debstaj

We are looking for the best and safest agencies for B&B's (Hotels)in Britain.
We have been told not to go direct as it is not safe! So what is the best way please?

thanks Deb

debstaj

Oh, as we are from Australia would be interesting to hear from other Aussies perhaps!

janisj

And who, pray tell, told you it wasn't safe to book directly??

LJ

Yes, I would second that question...the B&B guides are numerous and reliable in my experience. I think you will be just fine going direct.

Curt

Well, you mean you folks have not heard of Jack The B&B Ripper? He posts fakes adverts for his "B&B" to lure innocent tourists in and then blimey! HE does 'em in!

daveesl

Well, I've used Farm Stay UK and Country Rover, both gave absolutely correct descriptions of the various properties and with the exception of one "snooty" owner, they were all great.

With Farm Stay UK you end up booking direct with the owner.

lizcakes

What on earth do you mean by "safe"? We just walked the Cotswold Way (105 miles) and just showed up at B&Bs (mostly) - all of which were wonderful! What are you afraid of? Do you travel often? We love to travel without reservations! How on earth could any agency make sure that a privately owned B&B is "safe" whatever that means???? It would be safEST to stay home. Wait. Maybe not. Look at it this way: you're really not 100% safe ANYWHERE.

jsmith

The Automobile Association has an excellent site for accommodations, restaurants, etc. for travellers. Take a look at:

http://www.theaa.com/travel/index.jsp

flanneruk

You live in a country where the spiders kill, the jellyfish kill, the suburbs are forever burning down and no white person can step outside their house without covering themselves in oil, neck-to toe coverups and a hat.

And you're frightened of a B+B landlady?

Woosiness like that almost qualifies you for the England cricket team.

lincasanova

maybe the op is talking about the safety of the reservation/deposit/confirmation reliability.

nbodyhome

The B&B industry is a two-way street. How do THEY know that you aren't going to rob them blind?

I have had only wonderful Bed and Breakfast experiences so far. I found the one we stayed at in London on Trip Advisor - and went by the reviews of everyday people. I knew we were going to a top-notch B&B after a couple of dozen great reviews.

clairefraser

Dear Deb,
If you are travelling outside the peak tourist season, you could probably just find a b and b when you arrive at your destination. My husband, my son and I have just returned from a trip to the UK. (We are Aussies too.) And we just found accommodation as we travelled. We were there in late September through to October. We only had one dud the whole time we were away.If you do want to book ahead, I would agree about tripadvisor. It is a great site to help you decide.
Enjoy your trip.

debstaj

I am really sad to see how some or most of you think! And thank you to the nicer people particulary Clare and Lincasanova who thinks with both sides of his/her brain. Yes I was referring to the reliability/reservation/deposit (you know having to give some unknown person my credit card details) and silly me thought that this was one of the better places to get construction advise. Obviously I am not going to the right place anymore, I have had some good advice in the past but now you get the p*ss taken out of you. You are not doing Fodor any favours! As for the jibe about the English cricket team I was going to suggest that some of you may be ticked off because they are doing a lousy job down under and perhaps taking it out on me. But I see that you beat me to the punch! While I may not have explained myself fully it just goes to show by your response how nasty you think.
Thanks again to those who ARE doing the right thing and trying to help people, and no I have not had the chance to travel that often which is why I came to this site for help.

P.S Flanneruk I don't know which country your referring to with the burning thing and the white business but it's not Australia

ozgirl

Hello deb, as a fellow Aussie, firstly let me assure you that this site can be very helpful - sometimes people can misinterpret your query.
When we travelled in the UK (admittedly November, NOT high season) we relied almost exlusively on the "AAA Bed & Breakfast Guide" available in SA from our RAA and I'm sure from equivalent agencies in other states. (Also Borders or other large book stores.) We didn't have any 'duds' from this book and simply rang a day in advance to book as we went. Hope this helps, keep coming back to Fodors!

shandy

Deb, don't give up on this forum yet. I think that you are being a bit overly sensitive here. Quite simply, your original request was very badly phrased and was thus completely misunderstood. I myself assumed you were referring to personal safety and thought it a very odd statement.

Several people gave you good advice as to what they THOUGHT you were asking about giving you the names of guides to use or relating their experiences. Certainly you did get several other replies, a couple of which I would say were just trying to be smart alecs and wanting to raise a laugh.

However, for you to start labelling "most" people on this forum as being "nasty" does not put you in a good light either as it is obviously a gross exageration. The number of people who give good advice on this forum far outweigh the occasional nasty comments. You have already acknowledged that you have received good advice in the past so you do know better.

By the way, flanneruk comments re white people and covering up are quite true. You seem to think she/he was making some racist comments whereas it is obvious to me that it was simply a reference to the fact that Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world and those with light coloured skin (white) need to cover up. The comment might not have been relevant but it's true and I thought it was rather funny myself, and I'm an Auusie too. If did think it was a racist comment it simply demonstrates that you have interpreted flanneruk's comments incorrectly which is exactly what everyone else did about's your original post.

Incidentally, to answer your real query, if someone wants a credit card number to secure a booking, I never send it by email but send it separately by fax for security reason. This has always worked for me. On the one or two rare occasions where there was no fax service available at the other end (which may well be possible with a B&B) I have sent the number in two separate emails. Half the number in the first email and half in the second email. I believe the chance of both emails being intercepted are negligible.

debstaj

Shandy - Touchy perhaps, but there is no need for those comments. And no I did not take F's comments as being a racist remark, simply asked what he/she was getting at in respects to the suburbs burning down??? white people covering up (did not have a clue what he/she was getting at there) and the jelly fish,spiders was over the top.
Take a leaf out of Lincasanova's book, and the comments of some of the other people who were constructive with their comments. I came looking for help not a dressing down.
Thanks ozgirl I have tried Borders, Dimocks and the like for that AAA B&B no luck. Strange. But I can order one via VisitBritain. I have been to Britain but did a tour, stayed in London did my own thing for 4 days. But this time there are places I want to go back to specifically see and my husband is coming. He is not a traveller but when we went to Tassie and Port Arthur he was blown away with the history. Imagine what he gets to see in Britain! I can't bugger this up or no more trips for us. I'll have to go alone

Dukey

Obviously not everyone misunderstood your original request and hopefully you have received adequate information and reassurance.

Sorry, but there is absolutely nothing anyone here can probably do to help you with the relationship issues.

LJ

Shandy-thank you for your calm and reasoned response, an attempt to pour oil on troubled waters-I appreciated it-'nough said!

audere_est_facere

Deb,

In each area there is a government run tourist agency. They run tourist information centres in popular areas and also produce brochures of accommodation. These are mirrored on the relevant websites.

So search for the area you looking for eg "lake district official tourist information" and go to the official site. Any B&B, guesthouse hotel etc that is listed on that site is pretty reliable - they won't list ones that have caused complaints. Ditto if the B&B has AA/RAC awards it's likely to be respectable.

All that, and our spiders won't bite you on the bum!

Mimar

Sources of information about B&B's/hotels in Britain:

The English and Scottish Tourist Boards rate B&B's:
www.enjoyengland.com
www.visitscotland.com

British Automobile Association: www.theaa.com

www.smoothhound.co.uk (not so good on Scotland)

Alistair Sawday's books and web site: www.sawdays.co.uk

Karen Brown: www.karenbrown.com

I have made reservations from the US at a number of B&B/guest houses. Not everybody responds to email. Sometimes you have to call. And I send my credit card number via email in 2 parts. In a couple cases we sent a check, the owner held it until we got there, we paid in cash, and they returned our check.

Mostly we go to what is called a guest house. They have en-suite rooms, hard to find in real B&B's. And a guest house is more likely to have a web presence.

We like to go to Britain in the spring (lots of fresh green, things blooming, wonderful gardens, oh, and longer days). Invariably we overlap with the Spring Bank Holiday and the school half-holiday. For these times we book well ahead.