I recently warned someone about hotel names: The "Holiday Inn Downtown" might not be downtown, "Ramada Airport" may be miles away, etc.

NY Times story at http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/05/0...l/08prac.html? (free registration required) "What's in a Name? Maybe a Surprise Location" By Chrisopher Elliot discusses that "Hotels have long stretched the truth about their locations, but now they appear to be doing so more frequently."

Check the hotel street address on a mapping site before you click.

Thanks for pointing out this article.

Certainly, threads on this board by visitors to Boston have illustrated the problem. As the article says, "A recent Web search found a Sunday night stay at the Hilton Boston Back Bay, near the city center, for $199, plus $30 to $36 for parking, while the Hilton Boston/Dedham, about 10 miles out in Dedham, Mass., was $149 with free parking." The article fails to note that there is no handy public transportation from the Dedham hotel into Boston, so anyone staying there will have to somehow drive or pay to get into Boston anyway, eliminating much of the cost saveings and taking at least 45 minutes of precious vacation or business time each way.

Several hotels that aren't actually in Boston have "Boston" in their name, and hotels wtih "airport" in their name can be 5 miles or more from Logan Airport.

Also misleading are statements like: we are 5 minutes away from...

5 minutes may become 1/2 hour in traffic, 1 hour on foot, 1/2 hour on public transportation.

As long as we have this website we're nearly safe

Anonymous, others and I have been warning travelers about this phenomenon in Boston for ages - I am sure it also applies to other cities.

I object to this devious move by hotels, especially in cities like Boston where sticker shock at the price of lodging causes otherwise careful people to do something like book Boston/Waltham and think it can't be that bad.

But you are correct - with this site, nothing bad can ever happen to us when we travel!

Hi rb, I find this true also with SF hotels, I cringe often when I read their ads, they are so false regarding their locations and what they are close to. Thanks for the "headsup" for all travellers.

I've always been somewhat amused by the Sanibel Harbor Resort, which a number of people here have questioned. You could read their ads and see their pictures in which they talk about Sanibel and the beach they have at the resort, and never realize it isn't even on the island of Sanibel and their "beach" is on a river -- not the Gulf at all. It may be a nice place, but I always wonder how many people have booked there not realizing they are a traffic jammed $6.00 toll away from Sanibel Island where most of them probably think they are going to be.

Patrick

thanks, I was looking at Sanibel Harbor resort as a short get-away for our 16 yr old in Jul/Aug.

Since it's now off my list. Do you have any recommendation in the area?

I always found it interesting that the Boston View Hotel in Walpole is on a hill about 20 miles away from Boston. On a clear day, you can see the skyline. I guess that's the view. The view next door is a home center bargain outlet, but they don't tell you that part.

Had that same problem a few years back with the Marriott Baltimore Inner Harbor. It was really on the outskirts of the inner harbor and right by Camden Yards. There's also a Marriott Waterfront, which is really more of what people think of when they want an "Inner Harbor" location.

However, perhaps they received one too many complaints, because I've noticed that their website now calls it the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards, and the description notes that it's on the "west side of the inner harbor." Score one for truth in advertising.

The most common description I have seen that gets people is "Oceanview" or "Beach Front", or "On the Beach"...some that use that will have a road between them and the beach, which is not a "big" deal, but NOT what people expect...and as for OV, some hotels you would get whiplash trying to see the view, but one little glimpse allows them to claim it as such.