Hotel (Holiday Inn) Wifi or pay as you go dongle?

[Turkey Machine]

Only if you pay them an arm, a leg and a kidney for the privilege. Tis why I carry my Vodafone PAYG dongle with me when I travel.

[jrhnewark]

Originally Posted by Pauls9

Travelodge with internet access? You're winding us up, aren't you?

What, they don't offer it? Fair enough. Better than choosing to charge silly money for it.

[Halcyon]

I have stayed in plenty of hotels in France where Wifi is free. It really should be included free with the room here.

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by danielf

When I last looked into this (slightly under a year ago), Vodafone was the only provider that had a non-expiring PAYG option (they just had a log in once every 180 (now 90) days or lose your credit condition). They have since withdrawn this option, and I don't think other providers have this option. There are some sellers on ebay that still sell the non-expiring dongle, but it's fleabay, so you take your chances.

I got the vodafone one in Argos just before Xmas and it is still the 180 day one. (549/0464) it was on promotion so I guess they were making way for new stock. Bargain at £29.99 including £15 (1 gig) top up installed.

[tweetiepooh]

I tend to prefer Hilton's and use wired internet. Last time I paid £15 for BB for 24 hours and it included movies in room too.

The main issues I've had are that things get routed via Germany so you get German versions of pages (Google) and streaming can get blocked. Else I simply connect up, VPN to office and I'm away.

[gasontour2004]

Hi All,

I agree that the cost of broadband in hotels is ridiculous. At present I have been paying between 10 and 15 pounds for a 24 hour period. I've also noticed that hotel systems don't seem to like you using more than one computer (I travel with both a business laptop and a personal one). I have found that when I plug in my personal one, I get charged again (I always make sure I check the bill and question the 2nd charge).

I stayed last night in the Wembley Plaza (a Hilton hotel) and they are a BT Open zone, 24 hour access was 10 quid. I am also staying there next week. When I was in Brent cross ealier in the day and at the O2 shop, I bought a half price dongle (10 quid) and then topped it up with 30 days (15 quid). So I outlayed 25 quid.

The cost of last night and next weeks Hilton internet access comes to 20 quid and I have another stay in Elstree Holiday in next week (possibly another 15 quid) means I have a return on my investment in only 3 stays.

The 15 quid top up gives me 3Gb of access, however I get unlimited (kinda got that rubbish fair usage policy applied) wifi access to BT openzone and the cloud.

Last night my access was flying at about 4Mbs per second (connected to BT Openzone), allowing me to get hold of the lastest episode of lost and watch the Barcelona football match in good quality and I still have my 3Gb usage left!

Most Holiday Inn hotels I have stayed in lately have internet provided by Ibahn, looking at their log in requirements they are a bt openzone partner. I am hoping that I can use my dongle to piggy back on Ibahns network.

The only downside is that I won't get as many loyalty points!

I also have a Vodafone PAYG dongle that I really rate and would recommend to anyone, the coverage is awesome. I have even used that connected to 3G to stream football (about 400MB for 90 mins - that works out at about 6 quid to watch football....).

I hope my ramblings help..........