WEB BUZZ : Searches that let you see in triple vision

Goby.com shows you that searching with one box is for sissies. It uses three boxes to find travel recommendations based on what, where and when.

What’s hot: Goby feels like a travel website, but it’s really a search engine. It was refreshing to find information I could immediately use to make a decision on a restaurant I wanted to explore: positive user reviews, photo, business name linking to its website, an easy-to-read address plus a Google map in the sidebar so you can see where it is in relation to other search results. Google and Bing hit only some of those features. Goby’s look and feel also were inviting and easy to navigate.

What’s not: Once you have your search results, you can sort them. That’s great, but have patience. I found the “relevance” rankings to be hit or miss. Make sure you select which hotel star rating you want first (in the top left section of the page) before you use the other sorting links. Otherwise, it will use the default setting of “any” star rating and you might be surprised to find favorable reviews for hotels that don’t quite measure up.

-- Jen Leo