Websites for Accomodation Booking in Ireland and Scotland
 

Can you please tell me your favorite website for booking accommodations in Ireland and Scotland? This could be for hotels, B&B's or guesthouses. Thanks!

trip advisor. It helps to have an idea of the area or town you want to go. For example: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...nd-Hotels.html

www.visitscotland.com

www.aboutscotland.com

www.specialplacestostay.com

Most all of the B and B's we used on our Ireland trip only took bookings by e-mail or phone. We found Trip Advisor a great resource to help with selecting and reviewing properties, but then one is re-directed to a site such as Orbitz or Expedia for booking-which most small B and B's don't use. I found it worked best to select a few properties in each town I was planning to visit, peruse their website, and then request accommodation via their "inquiry form". The owners would usually respond by email within 24 hours with availability. Then either call or email them back to make your reservation.

I don't regularly use any booking site - don't really see the benefit.

If I know I want to stay in - say Ballachulish - I just google Ballachulish B&B, or Ballachulish hotel, or Ballachulish accommodations -- and then do my own investigating/booking.

Why use a middle man?

If you are asking which website is best for booking, it's almost always best to book directly with the place you plan on staying. The websites I listed are useful if one is looking for accommondations. janisj's suggestion of googling the town you plan on staying in is also one I use, along with others, in order to get the broadest range of options.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...nd-Hotels.html

We just returned from Ireland and used the above site to find all of our B&B's. After choosing a property, we went to them direct to book. Each booking was successful in every way.

For the rest of our Ireland trip we used "Fodorite" reccommendations (ex: Dan Dooley car rental)and read the guidebooks and trip reports from Fodors and Rick Steeves.

Good Luck!

Thanks everyone.

While I book hotels directly 99% of the time, I have sometimes found better prices for UK and German hotels by using www.booking.com or www.hotel.com.

booking.com is what I used in Ireland and Scotland this year, recommended by friends in Ireland who use it.

is there anything like booking.com, venere.com or expedia.com based in the UK?

http://www.expedia.co.uk/
http://www.travelocity.co.uk/
http://www.hotels-of-britain.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.britainexpress.com/accommodation.htm

Most of the sites mentioned are semi-OK for hotels but pretty much useless for B&Bs.

B&Bs are one-off, individually owned and quite small. 2 or 3 bedrooms usually. You don't get those sorts of places through expedia or other on-line booking engines.

And TA is really not very reliable for B&Bs since they are so small and might have a couple hundred visitors in a year - maybe 10-20 % of whom even know tripadvisor exists. Whereas a 30 room hotel may have 3 or 4 thousand visitors and a 100 room hotel upwards of 10,000. TA just isn't useful for small properties.

I found a great B&B in Scotland on booking.com and there are quite a few that participate, so it is possible!

The Britian Express website above has a decent listing of B&B's in the UK. There are also specific websites that only have B&B listings in the UK. Just google.

"<i>so it is possible!</i>

Yes, it is <i>possible</i> -- but the VAST majority of B&Bs are not bookable through those sorts of sites.

"<i>There are also specific websites that only have B&B listings in the UK.</i>"

Sure, there are general B&B sites. But my question is why is it necessary to use a middle man when you can e-mail most any B&B directly and get individual answers/service?

Some may want to rely on these sorts of sites - which is fine. I've even used them a time or two. But I generally have MUCH better results finding my own place. Those sites do not guarantee anything - and do charge the owners which does tend to raise rates.

Now, when booking self-catering cottages -- I do use agencies maybe 1/2 the time. But 'non-agency' rentals tend to run 10%-20% cheaper.

OK, janis, we will defer to your expertise. Jeez.

But Janis is right. When I plan my trips I type in the name of the town/village and look under Accomodations. I review them, send e-mails and make my own booking. Very easy and I have not been dissapointed provided I stay at 4 * B&B's, although some 3* places can be a good value.

rogerdodger, you and janis aren't the only ones who do this. I was just offering the OP another option since she was looking for websites.

When I book hotels for Germany and Austria, I always go to the town's own website and check accommodations that way. But I use other websites also to get the most diverse number of hotels, etc., to choose from.