Searching for Your Perfect Hotel with Expedia
QUICK SEARCH - CHECK AVAILABILITY AND SPECIAL RATE OFFERS!
Expedia.co.uk is one of the biggest names for all forms of travel, holidays and accommodation needs online, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that their site can provide you with some of the best deals around when it comes to booking a hotel room.
As you would expect the site also covers the entire globe, meaning that whether you need a basic hotel room in France, or a five star luxurious hotel room in Egypt, Expedia is the ideal place to begin your online search.
Using the search facility
You can find the search box to help you find your ideal hotel by clicking on the hotel tab near the top of the page. You will then see a simple three step process that will return the best hotel choices for you, depending on the answers you give.
The site gives you three options for a hotel location – a city based hotel, one that’s by an airport or a hotel near a particular attraction or landmark. You then enter your dates and room requirements before adding any preferences you might have, such as whether you want a five star hotel or you have a particular chain of hotels in mind.
The dates are easy to fill in as you will see a drop down box containing a calendar as soon as you click in the date field, from which you can select the dates you need.
Your results will then appear on the screen, and can be further sorted depending on the facilities and type of hotel you require; you can opt for a beach front hotel which provides a complimentary breakfast for example, or a city hotel that has a swimming pool. This is an excellent feature which helps you to cut down on the amount of time it takes to find the perfect hotel and room for your needs.
Once you know which hotel you want to book, all you need to do is click on the ‘book it’ button on the right hand side. This will take you through to a page which features everything you need to know about your booking – how the fee is made up, what rooms you are going to book and any restrictions which cover any stay at the particular hotel you have chosen.
Once you are happy you simply need to go forward to the next page to make your booking.
QUICK SEARCH - CHECK AVAILABILITY AND SPECIAL RATE OFFERS!
How user friendly is the site?
The site is well laid out and very easy to use. Considering the amount of information that is included with each hotel that appears in your search results, it is very easy to sort through them and select the ones that appeal the most.
When you come to a hotel you like the look of you simply need to click on the link to go into more details about that hotel. Here you’ll be able to see pictures, access more information and read more about the rooms and the area in which the hotel is located.
Expedia.co.uk have also made it possible for you to read the reviews and opinions of other people who have already stayed at that hotel. You will see an overall rating out of five, and the site also tells you what percentage of people enjoyed their stay. This can be extremely helpful when comparing different hotels, as you can also read individual comments left by others.
Other useful features to help you find your ideal room and hotel
There are also virtual tours on offer for some of the hotels, which can give you an even better view than the stunning photos you’ll also be able to look at. The tours make it easier to gauge how well a particular hotel will fit your needs.
Furthermore, if you click on the ‘location and map’ option offered with each hotel listing you will be able to find out a lot more about it, with the help of an interactive map which marks the location of the hotel with a virtual red push pin.
The best places to visit nearby are also listed on this page, together with the distance in both kilometres and miles – so you can be sure that you’re close to the beach, the golf course or whatever else takes your fancy while you are away.
Making the most of special deals and offers
As you look through your results you may see a green tag on some of them. This will alert you to any special offers or bonuses connected with that particular hotel, such as a discount for booking straightaway, or a free service of some kind.
If the price has been discounted the old price will be crossed through and the new lower price will appear in red, making it easy to see exactly what you will be paying. If you are staying for more than one night the total price for your stay will also appear in the results box for each hotel option.
The main page of the hotels section also shows you the best current deals for specific areas, and also for certain times of the year, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter and Christmas.
You can also click on the deals section in the menu bar near the top of the page to find other hotel only offers that are currently available.
If you need help
If you find you need some further assistance or you have a query of any kind, it’s a simple matter of clicking on the customer service option at the right hand side of the menu bar.
This brings up a separate screen which features the ten most common questions on all subjects, plus a search box which allows you to enter your own specific question or topic. You can also simply select ‘hotel’ from the drop down topic box and search through the results in that way.
There is also a further link at the foot of the page which takes you into the online help section. This is packed with the answers to everything you could ever wish to know about using the Expedia.co.uk site, booking your hotel and even changing your reservations if necessary.
Of course you can still email the site in the unlikely event that you can’t find the information you are looking for, although Expedia.co.uk has taken great care in giving you all the information you could ever need.
In conclusion
Expedia.co.uk is well known for being a great place to go online when you want to book your holiday. But they are just as good when all you need is a hotel room.
So whether you are staying away from home for just one night or for a week or two, make Expedia.co.uk your first stop.