(FORTUNE Small Business) – When staying at a hotel, who among us has not had to suffer through a dial-up connection that would have been blazing fast in 1985? Hotels are finally reaching out to tech-needy travelers, evidenced by our survey of some of the nation's largest chains (see box). If you're ever in Cambridge, Mass., go to geek heaven, and no matter where you are, don't forget a GSM cellphone and web services that let you leave the laptop behind.

Cellphone Technology Travelers Need Now: GSM

It's all too easy to tune out the alphabet soup of wireless network standards. So let me help: Frequent travelers should sign up with a carrier on the GSM (global system for mobile communications) cellular system. GSM chips use less power, so phones run longer on a single charge. It's the basis for the most popular higher-speed wireless network today, GPRS (sorry). And it's the standard in Europe and Asia, so your phone works almost anywhere. U.S. carriers? T-Mobile, Cingular, and AT&T Wireless. --George Hobica

The Most Tech-Friendly Hotel

Hotel@MIT Any hotel with a conference room named for Norbert Weiner--or as we call him, the father of cybernetics--is not your typical hostelry. Partially owned by nearby MIT, the Cambridge, Mass., hotel proudly displays robots in its lobby from the university's artificial-intelligence lab and features funky design touches like exposed circuit boards in the elevator. But there's far more than high-tech kitsch that makes this place special, like free high-speed Internet access in every room and wireless Net access in all public areas. The business center even provides free printing and faxing services. But folks, isn't it time to upgrade the in-room videogame systems? Playstation One is, like, so 1999. www.univparkhotel.com --Josh Taylor

Three Must-Use Web Services While on the Road

MapQuest.com When I need driving directions, I don't ask at a gas station--I go here. It's the most reliable mapping site (although it, too, has led me astray), and I love the little maps showing each turn along the way. Print them, or download to a PDA. GoToMyPC.com Need to access your desktop from the road? GoToMyPC makes this easy from any Windows PC on the Net. At $19.95 a month, it's pricier than remote-control software, but far easier to use. MyDocsOnline.com Sometimes you don't need anything but your files. Save them here; then, from any browser, wireless PDA, or web phone, retrieve them or send them as e-mail attachments. Starts at $9.95/quarter. --Larry Seltzer