TRAVEL Q&A

TRAVEL Q&A Searching for a hotel Q My son is studying in Toledo, Spain, through the University of Minnesota. I would like to visit him there but don't know where to stay. What is the best way to find a decent hotel since I cannot stay with him in the dormitory?

A Before the Internet age, picking a hotel in a faraway land, especially without benefit of a knowledgeable travel agent, was risky. These days you can turn to the many websites that provide user reviews. But there is the sticky issue of whether you can trust the reviews. How can you tell when a complaint comes from a crank with an outsized sense of entitlement or a compliment comes from the owner's aunt? You need to weigh the preponderance of comments and follow your gut.

Some sites won't let people review a hotel unless they've booked a room there through the site. Among them are www.hotels.com and www.booking.com. Others, such as www.tripadvisor.com and www.travelocity.com, screen reviews, but rely on the honesty of reviewers.

Once you've narrowed your options, check out the hotels' websites, but bring a realist's eye to those photos of spotless rooms and blooming gardens. Most places are not as perfect as their websites want you to believe. Of course, nothing beats firsthand knowledge. If you're still uncertain, ask your son to visit hotels you're considering and to check out the rooms. Most hotel managers are happy to oblige, and you should be wary of those that aren't.

Answers to travel questions appear weekly in Travel and at startribune.com/escapeartists; send your question by e-mail to travel@startribune.com.

KERRI WESTENBERG

Insider's guide to the Dells A new mobile travel app helps visitors sort through options in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., which TripAdvisor recently named the nation's top family destination. The app, offered by Sutro Media, details attractions in the water-park hotspot with descriptions, prices, travel tips, a Google mapping feature and nearly 1,000 photos. It is available for iPhones, iPods and iPads for $1.99 and can be purchased from the App Store by searching for "Wisconsin Dells." A version for other mobile devices is in the works.

When it's Greek to you Howjsay.com helps you avoid the embarrassment of mispronouncing words when you're in a foreign land. Just choose a language, type a word or phrase at www.howjsay.com (its dictionary has more than 135,000 entries) and move your mouse over the pink word that pops up (or click "submit"). You'll hear a pleasant voice pronounce it for you. Howjsay is also available as an iPhone App or a BlackBerry app (both $3.99).

LOS ANGELES TIMES

A week at the airport It is probably fair to say that spending a few hours at an airport, never mind an entire week, is most folks' idea of pure hell. Not Alain de Botton, author of "A Week at the Airport" (Vintage, $15). On the contrary, the author believes that airports symbolize who we are: our reliance on -- and faith in -- technology, our dependency on one another, our romanticizing of travel. So when he was asked if he would like to spend a week at London's Heathrow Airport for the purpose of writing a book, he accepted. The result is this book, with which De Botton has accomplished the nearly impossible feat of creating beauty from the unlikeliest of places while fashioning a lovely, poetic meditation about one of the more sterile inventions of modern life.

MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE

Monsters on deck in Duluth Fans of fright can board the retired ore carrier William A. Irvin during the annual Haunted Ship Tours, Sunday and Wednesday through next Sunday in Duluth. Ghouls, haunting sounds and a pitch black maze in the ship's hull await visitors. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday, 6:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 6:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for 12 and under (1-218-722-7876; www.duluthhauntedship.com).