Feature: Affordable Hotels That Offer Broadband
Along with proximity to an espresso bar, I place a fast, in-room Internet connection high on my list of amenities to consider when choosing a hotel. Plug a cord into a hotel telephone jack and pay exorbitant phone charges just so I can 56K my way onto the Internet? I'd rather drink cold instant coffee.
At the same time, I don't want to have to stay in a W or other high-end hotel just to get that high-speed Internet on-ramp. The good news is that broadband Net access is becoming more widely available in moderately priced lodgings as well as in top-tier hotels. Here are some places you can go online to find affordable hotels with guest-room broadband Internet access.
Just Browsing?
If you have no particular hotel in mind, start your search at one of these sites:
GeekTools. This no-frills Web site, produced by CenterGate Research Group, includes a section called GeekTels, a guide to hotels around the world with high-speed Internet access. At last count, GeekTels listed 3488 properties. While the listings are fairly extensive, the content isn't regularly updated. It's worth a look, anyway.
Expedia.com. The travel site continues to expand its database of North American (and a few European) partner hotels with high-speed Internet access. You can browse the listings, organized by city.
HotSpotList.com. You can search for Wi-Fi hot spots by city, state, or country, but not by location type (such as hotels).
Wayport. The company provides wired and wireless broadband Internet access to hotels in North America and some European cities, such as Prague and Milan. Among its more moderately priced partners are Best Western, Days Inn, and Holiday Inn. You can browse lists of Canadian and international properties, and there's an interactive U.S. map for browsing by state or by hotel brand.
STSN. This Wayport competitor provides in-room broadband Net access to moderately priced chains such as Comfort Inn and Hampton Inn. STSN partner hotels cover a fairly wide geographic area that includes Australia, China, Germany, and Singapore, along with the United States. You can search for properties by location or brand name.
Guest-Tek. This service provider offers high-speed Internet access in hotels in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Lebanon, the UK, and the United States. Most are at the high end, with exceptions such as Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn. For more info, browse the list of Guest-Tek properties.
Penny-Pinching Nationwide Chains
Several moderately priced national chains are now offering (or have announced plans to offer) high-speed Internet access in every room. Many provide the service for free.
Hilton's Garden Inns. Hilton offers mid-priced accommodations for business travelers, with complimentary high-speed Internet access in each room promised by the end of this year. The company's Web site lets you search for hotels by location, brand, and amenities, including high-speed Internet access.
Courtyard by Marriott. Marriott's chain of modestly priced inns were "designed by and for business travelers," according to the company. Earlier this year, Marriott began offering free in-room high-speed Internet access in more than 330 locations in North America.
Summerfield Suites by Wyndham. This chain of extended-stay properties promises a dedicated workspace with high-speed Net access in each suite for a fee of about $10 per day. For more info, browse the list of locations.
Wingate Inn. The company claims that this business traveler hotel chain is the first to offer free broadband Internet access in all guest rooms. You can search for a location at Wingate Inn's home page.
InTown Suites. This chain, designed for low-cost extended stays, offers free broadband Internet access in every guest room. For locations, go to the site's interactive map.
Big Apple Bargains
Apple Core Hotels, a group of five moderately priced inns operated in collaboration with national chains, offers free Wi-Fi Internet access in all guest rooms. The group includes Comfort Inn Midtown, La Quinta Manhattan, and Red Roof Inn Manhattan. A spot check on the Apple Core site found rooms with a queen-size bed for $130 to $140--a true bargain in the city that never sleeps.
San Francisco: Style for a Song
San Francisco's Joie de Vivre Hospitality is a collection of stylish and (mostly) reasonably priced boutique hotels in the Bay Area. Many provide complimentary high-speed Internet access.
Each room in the recently opened Hotel Adagio, for instance, includes Ethernet-based Internet access, a 24-inch Sony Wega television set, a CD player, and other high-tech amenities. Rates at the Adagio, which is located near Union Square and the city's financial district, are about $140 to $160 a night.
Additional Resources
Looking for info on a particular hotel? Try Boingo. This wireless Internet service provider for many cafes also serves hotels such as certain Holiday Inns and boutique properties.
To learn more about high-tech hotels, check out "Highs and Lows at the High-Tech Hotel," in which I describe a night's stay at the wired Westin San Francisco Airport, and "A Night in the Hotel of the Future," by Michael Lasky.
Hotel Suggestions
Care to share a good (or bad) experience you've had staying in a hotel with high-speed Internet access? Send me an e-mail.
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