There are three crucial questions to ask before getting room key, questions that will help ensure you have a quiet, relaxing and safe hotel stay.

"The Travel Detective" Peter Greenberg says you should start by making sure that your stay won't be interrupted by any construction taking place at the hotel.

He says you need to start by asking ""How close is my room to the construction? Because every hotel has a cyclical nature, at least one floor or one wing at any given time is closed for renovation or reconstruction, and if you don't ask that question, you will be given the keys to the jackhammer suite, and you don't want that."

After dealing with noise concerns, Greenberg says there's something you can do to ensure your stay is both a quiet and safe one.

"Question number two is you really want to make sure that you get a room below the eighth floor." He adds that although it's a sad situation "there isn't a fire department in the world that can fight a fire above the eigth floor effectively."

Greenberg thinks it's worth trading that plum sky-high view for safety, and for speed. Since the higher up you are "the longer it's going to take you to get down," which means spending precious time in the hotel elevator.

For women travelling alone, Greenberg also suggests asking uniformed hotel personnel to walk you to your room when you arrive "to make sure there's nobody lurking in the hall."

After dealing with noise and safety issues, Greenberg says there's also a way to make your stay a little more comfortable, by avoiding a common problem of highrise hotels.

"Every hotel has a big problem mainting consistent water pressure in their bathrooms, so what they do is on different floors...they put in booster pumps," he says.

Greenberg recommends asking the front desk clerk to call the hotel's engineering department to find out what floor the booster pumps are on, and then taking a room on one of those floors so you're sure to get a strong shower.

Finally, as to the eternal question of how to get the best price, it is possible to get a better rate by calling the right people.

Greenberg says you shouldn't call the 1-800 number provided, which is just a clearing house that will charge the hightest rate and has no ability to negotiate. He says you should call the hotel directly, and preferabley on a Sunday.

The reason is simple, "because at every major hotel they have people who work as what they call revenue managers. These are the people who set the rate for the room much like the airlines do, but Sunday's they don't work, so when you call at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon and you talk to the front desk person, it's not the price they said, it's what the market will bear, and guess what, you're in."

To get an upgrade once you're at the hotel you need to "establish relationships." Greenberg suggests speaking to manager on duty or the director of sales, because they are the people who really know their room inventory and can make a deal.

Greenberg adds that since hotels make money from repeat visits and recommendations, it's a good idea to introduce yourself and even "do what my mother always told me to do, write your thank-you letters and say you're looking forward to meeting them."