Tourists go online before going on road

Tourists go onlinebefore going on road
Americans will take to the road this summer with carloads of online support and information to guide them.
Launched in time for the driving season is the Mobil Travel Guide's MobilCompanion (www.MobilCompanion.com), a membership online trip-planning service that includes access to reviews and star-ratings of 14,000 hotels and 8,000 restaurants, savings on lodging, restaurants and airlines, a personalized travel itinerary with maps, driving directions, activity suggestions and en route support with a 24 -hour call center to get travel information, recommendations and dispatch roadside assistance.
There's a $149 membership fee.
Sugar & amp; Spice Spapampers the kiddies
After a long day at a theme park, some children like to be pampered. That's why Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort in Orlando offers the Sugar & amp; Spice Kids Spa.
Complete with massage chairs, the spa is the latest addition to the resort's family-focused amenities.
Girls and boys can get facials, pedicures, manicures, temporary tattoos, rock-star hairdos and glamour photos. Services are available at the spa, in-room (for an additional charge) and by the pool.
Prices range from $10 to $40 for individual services and $35 to $99 for packages. The spa also operates in Newark, Del.
For Florida appointments, call (866) 543-7772. For information, visit www.kidsspa.com.
HotelShark.com tellswhat guests really say
A Boston hotel had "heavenly beds," but the elevators were "old and worn," the TV remote was broken, and there was a "a three-foot crack in the ceiling."
This is one of the guest-written reviews found on HotelShark.com. Travelers shopping for a hotel in 31 states can visit www.hotelshark.com for the opinions of those who have gone before them. Recent postings credit a Las Vegas hotel for having "very attractive [and kinky] rooms," but pan a Miami hotel for having "walls so thin we could understand the conversation in the next room. You're advised to "bring heavy-duty ear plugs and eat elsewhere."
The reviews are not necessarily critical, though most offer a caution or two. A Tucson, Ariz., hotel is described as "a great place to stay," but guests are warned that "the topless bar across the street is very loud."
Several sites celebrateLewis & amp; Clark's journey
From coast to coast, the nation is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803.
Visitors can catch the last East Coast stop of the National Park Service's "Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future," for nine days, at Montpelier, the Virginia home of the fourth president, James Madison. After that, the exhibit follows the path of the expedition to the Pacific Ocean, with stops in major cities, small towns and American Indian reservations. The exhibit is free. For more information, call (540) 672-2728.
Heading west, travelers can see a re-enactment of the life of the explorers at a Lewis and Clark Festival in Great Falls, Mont., June 25-29. Call (406) 452-5661 for more information. Another Lewis and Clark Festival is Aug. 2-11 in Clark Canyon Reservoir, south of Dillon, Mont. Call (406) 683-5511 for more information.
Hotel room habits
What's the first thing you do when you check into a hotel room? Nearly one third of all travelers set the room temperature before they do anything else, according to a survey by the Trane Home Comfort Institute.
Another 29 percent start unpacking and hanging up clothes immediately, the survey found.
Some 19 percent turn on the TV but only 3 percent say they check the minibar or set out for ice.