....accommodations, restaurants, and/or destinations as a whole, there's no place quite like TripAdvisor, IMO.. http://www.tripadvisor.in/
I like a combination. Before I go anywhere, I usually hit up wikitravel, virtualtourist.com and get a few guidebooks.
I like paper guides (books). I HIGHLY recommend DK's "Eyewitness" series....even their "top 10s" are great. http://us.dk.com/nf/Browse/BrowseStdPage/0,,220412,00.html
Those are great. I even bought a few of those for places in which I had to live. They pointed me to some very cool stuff I would have otherwise missed.
I'm a cheapskate, though. I usually take pre-trip excursions to B&N/Borders....along with my little notepad when wanting to do a little extra research.
Thanks for asking. No, we depart Atlanta on Monday, May 4th. Planning to arrive in Portland on Thursday, May 14th.