When bad hotel rooms happen to good people

It's a common lament of travelers.

You arrive someplace exhausted after a grueling trip only to discover that the hotel described in the tour brochure or Web site as "first class" turns out to be anything but, at least by your personal standards. Perhaps the room is too dirty, too small, too hot, too whatever, to be satisfactory, considering the price you're paying. Maybe the hotel's location is undesirable. Or maybe the place is rundown or in the midst of renovation. There's no end to the potential surprises awaiting a traveler at check- in.

In these days of easy access information and Internet insights, it's relatively easy to find a list of accommodation possibilities for most places in the world, complete with addresses, contact particulars and a menu of amenities. All the major hotel chains have Web sites and toll-free phone numbers travelers can use to book a room in distant places. One good umbrella site listing that links to a variety of hotel chain Web sites is www.travelpage.com/hotel.htm.

But finding out about all the little particulars that add up to a hotel's overall ambiance can be more difficult.

One problem is that no common standard is used to judge hotels around the world. Simply, terms like deluxe, first class and budget do not mean the same thing everywhere. Another is that all travelers have their own particular expectations for what constitutes a good hotel.

Numerous hotel chains and associations claim to maintain consistent standards among their participating properties, but even a famous brand name is no absolute guarantee.

Many countries run their own national hotel rating systems, with quality expressed in terms of stars or classes on a one-for-low to five-for-high basis. These government-operated systems generally employ professional inspectors who personally and periodically check and rate the individual properties. While no absolute guarantee of satisfaction, these classification systems do usually mean that rankings within that country are fairly consistent and reliable.

For example, the French hotel rating system considers more than 25 different factors when evaluating a property and its rooms. Thus, four-star hotels in both Paris and on the Riviera are supposed to be comparable, although each may have quite different ambiance. Canada has recently introduced its "Canada Select" accommodations rating system, which can be accessed at www.canadaselect.com.

And government-run systems are fairly consistent among countries enjoying similar living standards. Even in less-developed nations with such systems, the top categories approximate those found in wealthier countries. The real disparities occur at the bargain end of the spectrum. That's why smart travelers are especially wary about hotels labeled "tourist class" in a developing nation.

But many important tourist destinations such as Britain, Germany, Japan, and even the United States have no government rating systems at all, forcing travelers to rely on independent rankings. British hotels post designations from one of two automobile associations, the AA or RAC, which provide only ratings of hotels and bare-bones contact information. For a more comprehensive advance look at a hotel, you'll have to check a private hotel guide.

There is certainly no shortage of hotel guidebooks, Web sites and booking services around these days. Many are informational compendiums assembled by various hotel companies and associations. Although these publications are packed with alluring photos and enticing descriptions, they suffer from the fact that the editorial copy is often provided and paid for by the hotels and resorts themselves, which makes independent critiques difficult.

Independently written guidebooks offer another option. When it comes to recommending hotels, these consumer-oriented publications fall into two basic categories: those listing a variety of hotels across a broad, geographic range and those that offer detailed descriptions about a few specific recommendations, often within a particular city, region or country.

The first group of hotel guidebooks, including the AAA, Michelin and Mobil guides, provide long geographic listings with basic information about hotels and their facilities but relatively few specific insights into their ambiance.

More narrative guidebooks, such as those by Fisher, Fodor and Frommer, often focus on a few up-scale hotels in a city or area, while series by publishers like Rough Guide and Lonely Planet review a broader price range of accommodations. But these evaluations can often be a narrative of the author's experience rather than any standardized system of measurement.

Another weakness: Because hotel information changes frequently, printed guides can get dated quickly.

If you use a travel agency or online service to help you select a hotel, it's a good idea to inquire about the source of its information. With the proliferation of hotels around the world in recent decades, few agents have firsthand experience with more than a handful of properties. Most rely on guides published for the travel industry.

The Official Hotel and Resort Guide uses a variety of information sources but conducts no actual on-site inspections, relying on information supplied by the properties. The Star Guide, on the other hand, does research and can provide pointed insights about a particular property, but only about a limited number of selected hotels in a given area.

Travelers who are particular about where they sleep should always get a variety of recommendations and gather as much information as possible before they make their final decision. If you'll be someplace for more than a night or two, it's also wise to check with the hotel directly by phone or e-mail to obtain the best answers to specific questions.

But always remember that the most reliable information still comes from recent, first-hand experience of a reliable source, ideally someone you know and someone who knows your particular tastes.