Freelancing during the summer months can be a juggling act for some of us. Trips to visit grandma, vacations in the sun, sight-seeing with the kids, getaways with friends — unless you make arrangements not to work during these minibreaks, you’ll need to know how to access the internet while away from home.

Hotels with free internet access are, unfortunately, not as common as one would hope. It is typical, as this New York Times article laments, for budget hotels and motels to offer free internet access, while the more luxury chains charge anywhere from $9 to $25 a day for internet access.

Here is a handy list of hotels and inns offering free wifi in either the room or lobby (or both):

• Ayres Hotels – These family-owned California hotels offer free wifi in most locations.
• AmeriSuites – Owned by the Hyatt, this chain offers free wired and wireless internet.
• Aloft -These chic Starwood hotels, closely tied to the ultimate in boutique-feel W Hotel brand offer free wifi in most locations, including international.
• AmeriTel Inns – If you are traveling to the Pacific Northwest in the U.S., these inns have free internet access in each room.
• Baymont Inns and Suites - These Wyndham inns across the country offer free in-room wifi at most locations.
• Clarion Hotels – From the Choice Hotels International chain, the Clarion Hotels give guest free internet access from their rooms.
• Comfort Inns - Another Choice Hotels International chain, you can get free internet access at every Comfort Inn, according to their site (still, we recommend calling ahead to verify).
• Country Hearth Inn & Suites – Located in 25 of the 50 states (U.S.), these inns advertise free high-speed internet access from every room.
• Country Inns & Suites – These Carlson brand hotels offer guests free internet.
• Couples Resorts – These Caribbean resorts offer internet cafes at most locations, but are increasingly giving free wifi in pool and lobby areas. Call to verify what yours offers.
• Days Inn: Inns, Hotels & Suites – Most of these Wyndham family hotels in Canada and the U.S. will offer free internet access, but verify your destination in advance.
• Doubletree – This chain from the Hilton Worldwide brand of hotels offers free internet in certain locations and sometimes only for Hilton Honors members. Call ahead to check.
• Drury Hotels – This chain claims the “extras aren’t extra” and they include free internet access in that offer at every location, whether it’s a Drury Inn, Drury Hotel, Drury Plaza, etc.
• Econo Lodge & Suites – These Choice International Hotel brand lodges offer only “free wifi hotspots” — which doesn’t sound like much of an in-room guarantee to us. Check with your destination for individual details.
• Element – These “green”-focused hotels do offer free wireless in the rooms and the lobbies of every location. (It’s true, we checked – though if they’d put this info front and center on their website it would definitely attract more of us tech-savvy travelers.)
• Fairfield Inn – This chain of Marriott extended-stay hotels offers free high-speed internet.

• Four Points by Sheraton - They are Sheratons, they are Starwoods … we can hardly keep up with the chains within chains within brands, but they do promise free high-speed internet at every location.
• Golden Tulip Hotels and Inns - From the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group international chain, these fine lodgings need to be checked individually for free (or any) internet access, according to the FAQ on their home page.
• Hampton Inn: Hotels & Suites – This Hilton chain on three continents seems to offer free (hard-wired, at least) internet at every location.
• Hawthorn Suites – These extended-stay hotels from the Wyndham chain offer free internet to those who are Wyndham Rewards members.
• Heartland Inns – Free high-speed wireless in every room — this Iowa chain knows what guests are after.
• Hilton Hotels - The master brand that made Paris and Nicky rich heiresses is rumored on the net to have free internet at most locations, however the website didn’t make it immediately clear and the 800-HILTONS line hung up on us twice … so we wouldn’t know. We advise checking your location.
• Hilton Garden Inns – A Hilton chain with more than 260 locations, their website guarantees complimentary high-speed internet access from your room.
• Holiday Inn Express – These hotels are designed for the working types who need internet access — in the room, in the lobby, in the meeting rooms, etc. It’s free and it’s high speed.
• Holiday Inns – The website for the legendary hotel chain says they have free high-speed internet in the rooms, but the fine print says you’d better check your actual destination to be certain.
• Homewood Suites -These Hilton family hotels have free high-speed internet in every suite — with no fine print.
• Hotel Indigo – From the InterContinental Hotel Group, this chain is rumored to have high speed internet access, but when the folks at the 877 number can’t verify this, one has to wonder. Check your individual destination to be certain.
• Hotel du Vin – This European chain apparently has a “philosophy”of free wifi, but someone needs to tell their website, as you’ll be hard-pressed to find the information there.
• Hyatt Place – These Hyatt hotels offer free wifi throughout the rooms and lobby.
• Joie de Vivre Hotels – These California boutique hotels often carry free wifi, but as their site states: “No two hotels are alike.” So check yours for their wifi standards.
• Kimpton Hotels – Some of these Kimpton Hotels offer free wifi, but as with most boutique hotels, check your destination for their policy.
• La Quinta Inns – These inns and suites typically offer free internet in the rooms, but check your destination to find out if it’s wireless.
• Lexington Hotels – If you join their Lexington guest rewards program, you’ll get free internet access.
• Microtel Inns and Suites – These Wyndham hotels offer free wired and wireless in every room.

• Omni Hotels- You’ll get your free wifi … if you join their club.
• Pacifica Hotels – Some of these hotels will offer free wifi, so check yours before booking.
• Peninsula Hotels – Some of the Peninsula Hotels around the world will give you free wifi. You’d better check your destination to be certain.
• Quality Inn & Suites - From Choice Hotels, this chain offers free breakfast and free internet.
• Sleep Inns - This other Choice Hotel chain also gives guests free internet from their rooms.
• Spring Hill Suites- These Marriott suites offer “ergonomic workspaces” as well as free internet.
• Staybridge Suites – This Choice Hotel chain gives you free internet access from your room.
• Suburban Extended Stay Hotels – Once again the Choice Hotel chains get it right. These extended-stay rooms all offer free internet.
• Super 8 Motels – You don’t need to be in a rewards program to enjoy free high-speed internet at these motels.
• Towne Place Suites – These Marriott “long term” stay hotels do offer high speed internet to guests.
• Vista Hotels – Some of the hotels in this Select Hotels chain offer free wifi. Check your destination for their policy and amenities.
• Wyndham Hotel & Resorts- Some of the hotels and resorts in this chain will offer free wifi to members of their Wyndham Rewards program.

Because hotels, inns and motels frequently change their policies, we recommend calling your destination to verify the internet access, even if the chain is on this list. (Have we gotten any of our facts wrong? While we’ve done our best to research this list, let us know in the comments below if we’ve got an error above.)

Check out our other free wifi lists below:

• Places to Eat with Free Wifi
• Airports with Free WiFi

(Because the two lists above are from 2009, we recommend visiting each website to verify the current wifi status of each location.)

Check out these other free wifi hotel listings and handy charts:

• WifiFreeSpot.com Free Wifi International Hotel Listings
• ExecutiveTravelMagazine.com Free Wifi Hotel Listings
• TravelPost.com Free Wifi Hotel Listings
• USAToday.com Free Wifi Hotel Listings
• OpenWifiSpots.com Free Wifi Hotel Listings
• HotelChatter.com Wifi Report 2010