Want to plan a trip to somewhere other than Orlando, San Diego, Washington D.C. or Seattle? No problem. You can find sophisticated (family-friendly) hotels in any city... within any budget! Get started with these four travel-planning tricks:

• Ask Your (Social Networking) Buddies

Update your status to say "[Your Name Here] wants to know if you’ve ever visited [city]"... or, better yet, "[Your Name Here] wants to know if you have any friends living in [city]." On social networking sites, there seem to be fewer than six degrees of separation — and that also applies to travel experiences and cities of residence. Maybe one of your buddies will connect you with one of their buddies. Maybe one of your buddies will re-post your status to expand your reach. Regardless, you'll log off knowing more than you knew when you logged on.

• Ask Your Local Friends for a Favor

If you're visiting people in their hometown, don't be afraid to ask them for a favor: Would you mind stopping by this hotel, just to make sure it's clean and safe? Your friends want you to enjoy their city when you visit: They’re certain to see that hour-long favor as time well-spent.

• Read Traveler Reviews, But More Importantly…

Like most smart travelers, I'm skeptical about travel review sites: Who's to say that beaming review wasn't written by the hotel manager? What if those hotel-bashing comments were written by a competitor? So here's the rule I follow: If it's a flawless review, I take it with a grain of salt (few hotels are that perfect). If it's entirely negative, I take it with a grain of salt (few hotels have zero redeeming qualities). I prefer the ones that list the good with the bad, and then I decide which characteristics are most relevant to my travel style and needs. But don’t skip the travel review sites altogether! After all, they do have one other very valuable feature: traveler photos! Since they’re not shot by the professional, hotel-hired photographer, they reveal a truer, er, picture of what the hotel really looks like — as opposed to the omnipresent "supermodel sipping her morning coffee on the balcony of the most recently renovated room with the most spectacular view on the property" picture.

• Call the Hotel Directly

Don't call the 1-800 number. Call the front desk and ask the reception staff about the hotel's facilities and locations. (It doesn’t matter if you already know the answers, this is only a test.) View the way they treat you on the phone as a reflection of the way they’ll treat you when you’re there in person. In fact, theoretically, they should be even nicer on the phone since they’re still trying to make the sale — once you’ve arrived they most likely already have your credit card number. If they aren’t professional and patient on the phone, chances are they won’t be any more courteous when you arrive.