Orbitz allows you to choose a hotel based on price, star rating, chain (there are dozens), proximity to the airport, or a combination of these factors. In New York, for example, you can even narrow your options by neighborhood.

You also get more than one price. Orbitz provides a range of prices based on room size and amenities, and it also gives you hotel photos, a description, and a map—things which are now standard on virtually every Web site selling a hotel room.

Orbitz found several dozen hotels in New York at prices ranging from $75 to $399. The most reasonable choice, given our budget and neighborhood choice, was the Ramada Inn Eastside for $152 a night. Located at 30th and Lexington, it's a short walk to Midtown, and it's a nicer place than some of the old warhorses in the theater district that were suggested.

At the Prescott in San Francisco, Orbitz found a room with a queen-sized bed for $199 a night, which was on the high side. Overall, Orbitz was fast and easy to use, and the site is reasonably uncluttered.

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