Oyster and Raveable -- New items added to the Hotel Resources List

More additions!

I've just added two more resources to the link list at the bottom of the page.  I thought about adding a separate list for hotel reviewing sites, but figured most of you were already well aware of the Kayak, Expedia, etc. type of sites so I figured I wouldn't crowd the page with commonly known resources.  I also didn't want to add too many review sites because they can be cumbersome to browse through and incredibly subjective.  I suppose my reviews will be subjective as well, but for the most part, the design is the primary focus, and nice features are pretty much nice features no matter how you look at it.

The two new sites I just added are Oyster and Raveable, which provide hundreds of reviews of hotels good and bad.  Both sites focus exclusively on hotels, versus more travel oriented sites that discuss hotels as just a part of the total travel package.  In addition to being able to search for hotels and reviews, both sites feature extensive listings of the best hotels by city as well as categories, themes, and features.  Oyster also features very extensive photo galleries for the hotels on the site, which is very helpful for getting a good feeling about the hotel.  Raveable also features a blog list of the best travel blogs out there on the web.

Reviews on both sites are very thorough, although Oyster claims to post professional, unbiased reviews versus Raveable, which pulls reviews from real customers primarily through TripAdvisor and MyTravelGuide.  I think both types of reviews can be useful, but it depends on which you trust more.  Both sites also allow viewers to check rates and availability for the hotel you are checking out...just some added convenience so you don't have to bounce around between multiple sites.  The only downside to the sites is that they are basically limited to US and nearby destinations at this time, so you world travelers out there will have to wait until they extend their coverage.

Until next time!

.sb06