Indispensable information for away-from-home lodging, from the author of the New York Times bestseller The Travel Detective
In Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective, America’s best-known and most trusted travel authority reveals the insider knowledge that can make every hotel stay as comfortable as (and sometimes even more cost-efficient than) home. With his incomparable access and nose for news, Peter Greenberg shares the secrets that people who know hotels—managers, maids, reservation clerks, bellhops, chefs, and maintenance guys—don’t want you to know about value, service, safety, security, and cleanliness. Tips include:
• How to tell if your room is really clean
• What never to order from room service
• The real way to prevent hotel crime
• How to beat excessive hotel phone charges
• The exact rooms where headline-making events took place
Drawn from the author’s experiences as both an investigative reporter and a constant traveler, Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective is an essential guide to everything from luxury resorts to motels, from airport hotels and bed-and-breakfasts to outrageous (and often secret) alternatives to hotels. |
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 A Must Read Before Travel Season Begins... |
| Review Date: March 11, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
| This is Greenberg's best book yet. I consider myself a very frequent traveler, but thanks to him, I now understand better the internecine workings of the internet and these third party websites and how to make it work for me without getting trapped by it and get a better deal in the process. That section alone was worth the price of the book! I now know how to pack much better for a hotel stay. I learned some discomforting facts about what the maids don't often clean. but Greenberg explains how how to make sure it's been cleaned. There are some funny sections as well, and I laughed a lot while reading his section on rooms with a past. Perhaps the biggest lesson I always learn from Greenberg is how to become a more savvy, but also responsible traveler, that it can sometimes be a war out there but it doesn't have to be if you arm yourself with information -- especially the kind of inside information Greenberg provides. A must read. He is my travel hero.... |
Engaging, Informative and Helpful
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| Review Date: July 13, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Allan M. Gathercoal, Norcross, GA |
So many travel writers tell you where to go, what to see and at what price. Greenberg takes a new tack - he tells you who is really in charge (within hotels: concierge, bellhop, doorman, etc.), why hotels do what they do (hotel ratings, bolting down remote controls, etc.) and, most importantly, what to avoid. The chapter that considers housekeeping is worth the book alone. This section on hotel sanitation and cleanliness is not for the squeamish.
I travel extensively and found that Greenberg's book is not only an enjoyable read, but a helpful read. I took away tips for travel that I will definitely use in the future. It would have been helpful if Greenberg had broken down the franchise hotel chains that exist today and highlighted those that he found outstanding. Yes, he does promote a philosophy that is "consumer aggressive" and demanding, but, as we all know, it has become a jungle out there and those that speak up get the best treatment and, in the hotel industry, the best rooms. Highly recommended |
PETER GREENBERG IS A GREAT TRAVEL REPORTER
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| Review Date: March 19, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Peter Greenberg is the only person regularly writing about travel who actually does research and investigative reporting. As he points out at the beginning of the book, he talks about travel as news on the NBC-TV "Today Show" and writes about travel as news in his books. There are lots of travel writers out there who give wonderful descriptions of ballooning through Burgundy or climbing the pyramids. But Peter writes about the nuts & bolts of travel. I make twenty-five or thirty trips each year to locations all over the world and I thought I knew a lot about dealing with airlines until I read his "Flight Crew Confidential." Now, I am experiencing the same sense of amazement as I read this new book about hotels. Suddenly, I am staying in better rooms and paying less money! The level of detail he offers is amazing. Every traveler I know complains about the hotel telephone charges, and he gives you a half dozen ways to beat them. I followed his advice about doing internet research and then negotiating with the hotel directly. Last week I stayed in a suite in Paris for less than it had cost me for just a room last year. If you are a nervous traveler, don't read his chapter on hotel security: the lax handling of everything from terrorism to towel theft is scary. Greenberg is both informative and entertaining in this book. If you follow his advice, you will easily save more than the cost of the book on your first trip. |
Helpful tips from THE authority on travel
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| Review Date: March 17, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Clearly the reader from Atlanta needs a vacation, because he couldn't be more off the mark with his review of Greensberg's book. I found it extremely helpful as I began to plan for an upcoming trip; I cut through the bs to find a great hotel deal, and knew exactlly what to ask for and who to ask. Greenberg is obviously the authority on travel -- it's clear from his extensive research and wide range of contacts that he knows his stuff. I'll definitely turn to this book each time I book a hotel room, and I'll recommend that everyone I know do the same. |
Don't Leave Home Without It
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| Review Date: March 19, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Once again, Peter Greenberg offers insider advice and tips and tricks you can't find anywhere else to get the best deals, stay safe and clean, and spend money wisely. His engaging and highly readable style and the book's excellent organization make it easy to find exactly what you're looking for. He's an essential travel companion whether for business or vacation...and I'm planning to give the book to every frequent traveler I know. |
REALLY HELPFULL GUIDE
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| Review Date: October 24, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Norma Gamboa Leautaud, DURANGO, DGO, MEXICO |
| I OWN A HOTEL IN MEXICO, THIS WAS A REALLY HELPFULL GUIDE TO VIEW THE HOTELS FROM THE SIDE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST PAYING THE ROOM AND STAYING THERE. GOOD TIPS, BUT SOME STORIES ARE NOT CREDIBLE |
Waste of my money!
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| Review Date: June 6, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
| I have worked in the hotel industry for 17 years in the Front Office and Housekeeping. I cannot believe the crock of baloney that this man is dishing out. I have had to deal with "know-it-alls" in the travel industry before and that is why I had to read this book. He states to get the best rate is to call the Manager on Duty, Director of Sales or the General Manager. Good luck in finding them! The manager on duty is too busy dealing with all the people that booked cheap rooms but are demanding the Presidential Suite. If you don't pay for it you are not getting it! This man has only added gasoline to the fire. Save your money-Try being nice to the Front Desk person and they will go out of their way for you. Demand the world and get the worst room in the world! |
Peter the Great
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| Review Date: June 8, 2004 |
| Reviewer: , |
Greenberg's self promotion would have you think of him as the legendary "Peter the Great." Well that's not the case. This book is a bland and boring read that reuses his old and tried tips from past books.
There's nothing new in this book accept for another chance for Greenberg to flex his ego. |
Repackaged Old Material
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| Review Date: March 9, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Nancy, San Diego, CA |
| This Book is written in true Greenberg style: It follows a similar format to his other book with slight redundancy, and more than an acceptable level of grammar and proofing errors. The travel advice is good, although lacks depth and any real secrets. Of most concern is the brazen nature and gull of disrespecting hotel employees to purely seek self gain. I suspect that the tactics do work to a degree, however, at some point these people much become the wiser and refuse service if not ban one from their hotels. |
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