Travel games: Scavenger hunts by cell phone are all the rage

We're giving you the floor. To gear up for our second annual Readers' Choice issue in November 2011 we're turning to the true experts—you! Over the next few months we'll be asking for your thoughts on a variety of travel topics ranging from your favorite cruise line to your ultimate dream destination. Once your nominations are in, we'll give you the chance to vote on the best of the best. If money were no object and you could go anywhere in the world, what would be your ultimate dream destination and why? Tell us below. The more detailed you can be, the better. NOMINATE MORE: Tell us your favorite (and least favorite) airport. What is the world's most beautiful city? Tell us which airlines you love (and hate). What's your favorite hotel chain? What's your favorite national park?

National chains are opening sleek, relatively affordable hotels in downtown Manhattan. Marriott alone will open 13 new budget hotels there in the next few years. Visitors to the Big Apple are rediscovering the strengths of chain hotels. They're clean, well-lighted, quiet places, with crucial amenities in all of the right ways. Welcome to a stylish middle ground between staying in a costly closet or a fleabag motel. You won't find the following four hotels highly rated on TripAdvisor—yet. They're too new. But we're letting you know about them because they're well located, fully renovated, and well priced for Gotham. Fairfield Inn, Chelsea Opening in December on West 28th Street, this son-of-Marriott, budget business hotel sticks to the basics: Free WiFi, free continental breakfast, and fluffy bathroom towels. It's next to a row of commercial florists, making for a beautiful stroll to the Empire State Building. from $98, marriott.com, map. Holiday Inn Express, Wall Street Holiday Inn isn't dead after all—your father's favorite roadside brand is back on the scene, disguised as a showroom for functional, Ikea-style furniture. This 112-room property, opened this summer downtown. It is a test model of sorts. Your nightly rate covers perks like free WiFi and a hot breakfast, and the decor makes it feels more real than any HoJo Holiday Inn you've ever visited. from $110, hiexpress.com, Water Street, map. Doubletree, Wall Street Opening in December, this 399-room skyscraper is within a couple of blocks of a few major subway lines. On the downside, it is as impersonal as a conference tote bag. Rooms have mahogany wood tones and a bronze color scheme. But the hotel furnishes a surprising number of amenities (parking, concierge) at a fraction of what rival hotels charge. from $160, " target="_blank">doubletree.hilton.com, 8 Stone St., map. Courtyard by Marriott, Manhattan/SoHo Opened on 181 Varick St. this fall, this outpost of the national chain battles snobbery in design. Its rooms are big and warm, making it a hotel counterpart to comfort food. Need more than one wastebasket in your room? Check. Need more than one mirror? Check. Need a box of facial tissues? Check. What's more, the place is well located. It's above two major subway lines, a few blocks from the shopping heart of SoHo, and down the street from America's leading independent movie house, Film Forum. from $249 after taxes, marriott.com, map. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL World's Weirdest Hotels 3.0 World's Best New Boutique Hotels Under $150 Airport Hotels With Unexpected Perks

Once the weather turns cold, river cruises aren't exactly top of mind among travelers. That's why it's smart to think about river cruises right now. The winter lull, when relatively few travelers board or even think about river cruises, is often when river cruise operators roll out their best promotions in an attempt to stir up business. Here, examples from four big river cruise companies: Avalon Waterways will waive the single supplement or knock $1,000 off per couple on 12 European river cruises—all for departures in the shoulder seasons of early spring and late autumn in 2011. Uniworld offers two-for-one prices on "Treasures of Prague," a 10-day itinerary on the Rhine and Main rivers. Two-fers are available for 29 departures from May through early November in 2011, and a booking deadline is currently set to expire on December 15. Uniworld is also waiving single supplement charges on select departures of 15 different cruises in Europe. Viking River Cruises also offers two-for-one cruises for 2011 departures, and one-ups the competition with two-for-one airfare to Europe for bookings made by December 17. But, annoyingly, the only way to get specific price quotes or even find out exactly which departures come with the two-fers is to call and speak with a Viking agent (800/304-9616). Grand Circle Travel, meanwhile, is demonstrating that not all river cruise deals require reservations made far in advance. Like so many aspects of travel nowadays, travelers will often find the best deals by booking months ahead or by booking at the very last minute. Several of Grand Circle's Christmas cruises, which depart in the next couple of weeks, are available for about half off the brochure price -- just $995, for example, for a nine-day Christmas on the Seine cruise that is otherwise advertised at a rate of $2,295. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: Ask Trip Coach: River Cruises River Cruises: Into the Heart of Europe A reader proposes smart new routes for river cruises