Right on the heels of my trip to Japan, I’ve already started planning my next adventure. No, not London, or Paris, or even Beijing. I’m going to beautiful Kingston, Ontario. Less than an hour’s drive away. In July.
Call me crazy, but I wanted to make sure I get a good, cheap room close enough to downtown that I’ll be able to walk to where all the action is – to the Busker’s Festival and on my annual pilgrimage to the setting of my novel, The Great Dagmaru. This will be my third year in a row if you count the hospital-ridden disaster last year was. Which brings me to my next point.
Booking.com. I decided to try them out last year, taking them at their word that if I booked a hotel with them I could cancel any time. Well, last year I had to cancel. At the very last second. And it didn’t cost me a cent for the hotel. So I thought great – I’ll take a chance and book with them again for my trip to Tokyo. Again, smooth as silk. All my bookings were exactly as planned, no upfront fees.
And that’s why I already have a B & B booked for July 9th at $140/night and two nights at the Queen’s University campus in a two bedroom suite for $99/night.
What kills me? The most I paid in one of the biggest cities in the world – Tokyo – was less than $90/night. The cheapest, and it was a nice hotel, came to $66 for the night.
Canada is damned expensive. Even if you book half a year in advance.
This jot is part of Just Jot It January. Click on the link and join in! Maybe you’ll meet some new friends! https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/01/just-jot-it-january-pingback-post-and-rules/
January 31, 2015 at 2:37 am
That booking.com + calling the hotel sounds like a great idea! One summer, a few years ago, we drove from BC to MB. We’d planned to drive straight through, but stopped overnight in Brandon. The hotel was under renovations and charged $150/night in a plain room… no pool or anything!
Hope your trip goes well! 🙂 ♥ ❤
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January 31, 2015 at 8:30 am
Wow! Highway robbery indeed! Some of these places really get you at your weakest. I got rained out camping once – I’m sure the area motels jacked up their prices that night.
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February 2, 2015 at 1:17 am
Yup, like long-weekend gas prices ♥ ❤
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January 20, 2015 at 9:24 pm
Good on you Linda. Lol, Canada expensive? That’s an oxymoron! 🙂
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January 20, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Only when it comes to health care. …oh wait…
hehehe 😉
Thanks, Debby. 😀
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January 20, 2015 at 9:06 pm
I’m glad that the site lived up to their promises.
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January 20, 2015 at 9:07 pm
It’s always nice when a company does, particularly when you’re counting so heavily on them. 🙂
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January 20, 2015 at 1:20 pm
If it’s any consolation, the US would probably be even more expensive.
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January 20, 2015 at 5:38 pm
I think it’s North America in general. What I found IS really cheap for here in Ontario.
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January 20, 2015 at 9:27 pm
That’s what I was going to say :-).
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January 20, 2015 at 9:34 pm
Great minds… 😉
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January 20, 2015 at 10:34 am
Omg those Canadians obviously need the money and the Japanese don’t. 😉 ❤
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January 20, 2015 at 5:39 pm
Right? 😉
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January 20, 2015 at 8:09 am
Ahhh, my old alma mater – Queen’s quality comes at a price. ha! Kingston is a wonderful town – love it. So much energy and life. So many memories. I hope your trip goes well. i am sure you’ll have a good time Linda.
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January 20, 2015 at 5:40 pm
Yep, I thought of you when I posted the picture. Thanks, Paul. 🙂
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January 20, 2015 at 5:30 am
We’re going from New York to Oregon next month, to visit my husband’s family. We’re fortunate – we’ve got family connections for a rental car, hotel, and even the zoo we plan to visit! The airline tickets were a gift, so we’re not hyperventilating at the expense – much!
May we all enjoy our travels!
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January 20, 2015 at 5:41 pm
Wow, that’s fantastic! I need to join your family! Haha!
I’m sure we will all enjoy. 😀
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January 20, 2015 at 1:26 am
All the best Linda.
For me , it is costly irrespective of any place (conversion rates and all). I guess that is why you find it cheaper in Japan than Canada ?
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January 20, 2015 at 5:44 pm
Nah, that’s with the conversions already done. It was easy to figure out what I was spending in Japan, since 100yen is very close to $1.00 Canadian. Things are just cheaper there – especially the food!
Thanks very much, KG. 🙂
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January 20, 2015 at 1:13 am
I just saw one of your comments in Opinionated Man’s blog and popped by here, for a second I thought you were going to say booking.com was terrible, I was relieved you said it had been smooth as I have used it a few times and found the same as you. So now I can still breathe easy when I book my holiday for later this year, thanks 🙂
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January 20, 2015 at 5:46 pm
There’s nothing worse than worrying about reservations, especially when you’re traveling far from home. I’ve had a fantastic experience with booking.com. Thanks for letting me know you have too. 🙂 And thanks for dropping by! 😀
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January 19, 2015 at 11:49 pm
Your trip sounds lovely, Linda. We’re getting our travel plans together here, too. There’s a lot of baseball in our future 😀
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January 20, 2015 at 5:47 pm
It’s great to have something to look forward to, isn’t it? Thanks very much Angie – enjoy your travel! 🙂
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January 20, 2015 at 8:09 pm
Yes! Heck, I’m already looking forward to Friday 😀 You too, Linda.
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January 19, 2015 at 10:39 pm
I always look up rates on TripAdvisor, and then I call, and get lowered rates. I don’t know why it’s like that, but for hotels it is. I have a friend who swears by Priceline. No matter, getting a good trip for lower rates, makes vacations even more exciting!
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January 19, 2015 at 10:45 pm
Wait, you call TripAdvisor or you call the hotel? Lower rates certainly do make a trip more relaxing. I hate going away and then wondering how I’m going to feed my kids the next week. 😉
IT’S A JOKE! CALM DOWN! hehehe
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January 19, 2015 at 10:51 pm
If TripAdvisor says it’s $109 a night, I’ll call the hotel, tell them I see the rate as $109, “Is that right?” and the hotel ALWAYS offers an even lower rate, say $99 or less. Every time. I don’t know if they don’t want me to book on another site, but every single time, I call to confirm the rate and get a better rate. I like to read the reviews. I’m all about TripAdvisor reviews.
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January 19, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Yep, I’ve read a lot of reviews on TripAdvisor before booking too. But even being fairly new, the Booking.com ones are adding up pretty quick. I always try to write them as well.
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January 19, 2015 at 10:55 pm
I should call the places I’m staying and see if I can get them cheaper. Since I can cancel my bookings any time… 🙂
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January 19, 2015 at 10:56 pm
I don’t see why not. It’s worth a shot. Even if you don’t get a lower rate, it sounds like you got good pricing!
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January 19, 2015 at 11:03 pm
Yeah, not bad. Most of the other places in town are well over $200/night. I do love staying on campuses in the summer. The rooms are huge and usually have a full kitchen to boot. A two bedroom suite to myself – can’t beat that! 🙂
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