TripKick

Ever spent top dollar on a hotel, only to get stuck in a crummy room? TripKick, which launched in May 2008, solves this dilemma by telling you which floors are best and which rooms to avoid. When we searched for the Hilton Las Vegas, for example, TripKick told us not only which rooms had the best view, but also which were too close to the elevators and noisy vending machines. Travelers can also add their own room ratings. For now, TripKick covers 250 hotels in 12 U.S. cities — and it's adding a new city each month. The site borrows its concept from the airline-seat rating service SeatGuru, which has provided clear maps of the interior of commercial planes for years. Both sites improve your odds of having a truly bon voyage.

—Anita Hamilton