If your hotel has wireless access, then there's not much to choose between modern wifi cards / built in facilities these days. But its much more questionable as to how your hotel will be set up for their wifi to operate. I travel - a lot - as part of my job; away last week and I stayed at three hotels all of whom claimed wifi access but ...
First Hotel - wifi just disappeared and it sounds like it's not the first time. Not fixed when reported.
Second Hotel - wifi was through t-mobile and seems to block Skype
Third Hotel- turns out that claimed wireless access is in the adjacent 24 hour service area not in the room at all.
Best comments? Know your computer well. Check ahead with the hotel. Have a "webmail" style service so that you can check from an internet cafe / shared system if need be. Take an ethernet cable in case it turns out to be wired access. Check for other wifi hotspots in the area. Even a modem cable and an a roaming account can be useful. And you may be able to check via your mobile phone.
Actually, it gets easier. At least in most parts I travel to, there are nearby alternatives if the hotel system fails me and it's more an inconvnience than anything else to find an alternative.
An answer written for more "local" use .... which I felt was worth sharing! (written 2007-09-12)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
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[514] Crazy Day-sies - (2005-12-02)
[619] If its Sunday, it must be the Norland - (2006-02-23)
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[1026] The Wheatsheaf 2, The Bell 0 - (2007-01-09)
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[1205] Arrival and Departure experiences - another hotel - (2007-05-26)
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[1301] Plastic or China - (2007-08-12)
[1333] Kasteel Elsloo - Michelin rated hotel. - (2007-09-05)
[1354] Match the Bedroom to the Hotel - (2007-09-17)
[1356] Crystal Ball - How long do I need to be online? - (2007-09-18)
[1374] Maidenhead Coffee Challenge - (2007-10-02)
[1406] Away or home - which do I prefer? - (2007-10-25)
[1413] The little gestures that can really count - (2007-10-27)
[1454] From Sunday to Monday, from Melksham to the Balkans - (2007-12-03)
[1458] The wrong way to put up prices - (2007-12-05)
[1525] Just one thing let the service down - but that is my memory - (2008-01-31)
[1547] New bathing idea for hotels from Hotelympia - (2008-02-20)
[1597] Comparing hotels - as a guest and from the proprietors view - (2008-04-01)
[1672] The Composting Cone Challenge - (2008-06-10)
[1758] Lindors Hotel, near St. Briavels, Wye Valley - (2008-08-18)
[1915] Quietly putting prices up - (2008-12-02)
[2007] Launch of Melksham Food and Drink Festival - (2009-01-24)
[2105] Hire Car, from Atlanta Airport - (2009-03-27)
[2127] Call in the professionals! - (2009-04-12)
[2308] A new place in pictures - (2009-07-28)
[2311] Floor to ceiling - (2009-07-30)
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[2502] Monday night, Tuesday night - (2009-11-13)
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[3754] Eyes Wide Open - (2012-06-06)
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[3794] Should hotel staff sit on the toilet in the customer bedrooms? - (2012-07-02)
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