A diverse, basically middle-aged group gathered in Tokyo at a Western-style hotel.

Conventional wisdom would have one believe that in a war-torn country like Israel the bigger, Western-style hotels were the safest, but Harvath knew differently.

Business travelers were the first to discover the difficulties of finding a hotel room, even though most big Eastern European cities have at least one Western-style hotel.

One alternative to Western-style hotels is Chinese guest houses that used to accommodate national leaders.

As the region moves into a market economy, many of its sterile, poor-service hotels are being upgraded, and Western-style hotels are being built.

Aristo, 2 Dindigul Road (26565), is a modern, Western-style hotel.

When traveling with families, they avoid Western-style hotels and the more pricey ryokan.

Chinese investment is powering the construction of huge, Western-style hotels in Myanmar's cities.

And now some first-class Western-style hotels are attracting a higher-paying clientele from beyond China.

Some can be expensive, but rates at others are considerably below Western-style hotels.