I am ready to book the hotels for our trip to Italy in June.
I have read many of your tales of reservations gone awry. Who is the most reliable? Expedia? Travelocity?
I need all the advice I can get.

I always book directly with the hotel. Tell them all the things I need (bathub, lots of windows) and see what the desk people are like.

I use whatever service gives me the best deal. And sometimes booking directly with the hotel is best. Post the hotels of your choice, and your dates, and maybe someone can advise.

Thanks Iwan2go,
Is this assuming that I'll be able to find a website or email address for each hotel?
I guess the ease of the booking engine is appealing....but I don't want any glitches.
I will try contacting them.

Majority of reservations thru booking tools do not go awry. Expedia/Travelocity might have better deals since they have buying power, on the other hand it might be best to go direct depending on dates/property etc.

For our hotels in Europe I contacted the hotels via email and secured our reservations in that manner. I had specfics that I was concerned about - bedding, connecting rooms etc. I found that direct correspondence with the hotel and printing out those emails and bringing them with me gave me the most assurance.

Here in the states, I just use booking engines.

Use a 1010 number and call them. Have your list of questions/needs available, so you can do it in one call. Then have them e-mail a confirmation of same to you.

Venere.com is also good. I always email the hotel and book directly. It you have any special requests (like room not facing main street, some bedding configuration request, etc), it's always best to book directly.

If there aren't any special requests, I would with whoever (of reputable booking sites, or the hiotel itself) has the best deal.

Oh-oh. A 1010 number? Is that like an 800 number? I apologize, I haven't been to Europe since 2001. Please fill me in, I admit, I'm clueless on this one.

For cheap Inernational calls dial:
101 6868 011 ctry area local.

We've used this many times for both voice and fax calls overseas. It's very inexpensive. See http://www.10-10phonerates.com/intl.html for more info on this and similar.

Even if you are inclined to book through Expedia, Travelocity, etc., do not do so until you have looked at the hotel's website. Consider the trade-offs - that low Expedia rate may require immediate payment and permit no refund or change. Would you accept a slightly higher rate for booking directly with the hotel so you keep that money in your bank account until you actually stay there, and know that you could cancel without penalty?

I always make our hotel/apartment/farmhouse reservations. If the place has no website then I don't use them - email is so helpful as you can communicate quite well back and forth and you can pin them down precisely as to what type room you want, etc. I then send an email 2 weeks prior to my departure just to confirm. This last trip we had a delay getting out of the states which totally threw our timetable off - I emailed the host of the first house we were renting in France and I think because we had established a good communication prior - he was extremely helpful and flexible to accomodate our circumstance. We were gone a month and I stayed in touch with every "next place" to which we were headed just so there wouldn't be any surprises and there weren't! I think if I let Expedia or Orbitz, make my arrangements I would feel like much was out of my control.

I ALWAYS use HRS.de -never any problem - usually the cheapest deal and often i don't even have to give a credit card number and room is always cancellable up to the last day.

This is not always the case with hrs.de . My upcoming Paris hotel has a cancellation date about 3 days before our stay. I am fine with this, but you have to check every case individually.

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me just how information-rich this website is.
I will try HRS.de.
Thanks, gracejoan3 and MFNYC, for the info about 1010 and the corresponding website.
I'm not afraid now to use one of the "big names", but I think either way I'll contact the hotel directly. I like the idea of establishing a relationship (however short-lived it may be).
Again, thank you all.

Some other good sites:
http://www.hotelscombined.com
http://www.hotelbooking.com

I think there is much less chance for error if you book directly with each hotel. Clarke Howard mentioned on his radio show last week that Orbitz, Travelocity etc. were at the bottom of the list for some university study on customer service for that industry.

You should be able to get the hotel's website from Google.com; if you need help finding any, post it here. Nearly all websites have a reservation form built into their site - use that. You should receive a response by email - bring that with you on the trip.

I book direct with hotels myself, either by phone, fax or website.

When I arrive at a new place, I like to be able to say (if something goes wrong) "I've been working with (so & so, give hotel clerk or manager's name)".

That simply seems much more liekly to be helpful on the post, than saying "Well on Expedia..." wehn you're standing in a hotel lobby in Rome.

Perhaps, but never once in many dozens of hotel transactions have I had any significant issue relating to method of booking.