Using hotel internet

[flustercuck]

For the security aspect, ALWAYS use a VPN on public wifi. You would be wise to invest in a dedicated VPN service. Do some shopping around and choose one that aligns with your values.

[sigstroker]

The laptop doesn't have wi-fi, like I said in the OP. I also want to bring my home phone, ethernet only. It would be easier to use just one gadget. Less space in my bags, fewer a/c adapters and cords strung around my hotel room, etc, etc.

[socal m1 shooter]

Internet in hotels these days is usually wifi. [...]

The next issue would be security on the wifi. Since I don't have control over the router like I would with a home network, am I just out of luck wrt security? Are the various encryptions I can set just completely inadequate?

I use an iPhone, iPad, and sometimes an Apple laptop when traveling. One collateral benefit is that I can use a single VPN account for all my devices (and all my family's devices). The one I use is Encrypt.me, and it doesn't require an external device like a router or hot spot so long as I have access to hotel (or other) WiFi. It doesn't even require an Apple device-- it works on several platforms. It is basically set-it-and-forget-it; once the app is installed on your phone, tablet, whatever, any time you use an untrusted WiFi network, it automatically puts you on a VPN so you can do just about whatever you want (except watch Netflix).

The only time I would use a WiFi hotspot would be if I was traveling outside the country, where my cellular provider has sloooooow data roaming.

[local_nobody]

I don't see where I can plug in my ethernet devices, which is what I said I need in the OP.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-150Mbps-Wireless-Repeater-Charging/dp/B0197W0T6G/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1550132786&sr=1-5&keywords=wr710n

this acts as a client to connect to the hotel wifi, and the computer connects via ethernet, with a second port for your phone. you may not be able to get your phone working correctly if the hotel internet has a login page, though (problem with the early roku/chromecast too)...depends on the phone setup itself, and if it has a way to bypass that login page.

i've also bridged connections with one of these to get a chromecast working, using a laptop to bypass the login page; something similar to the device above was my access point, and i connected to the hotel wifi with the build in wifi in the laptop. pain in the butt, but it worked; depending on your phone, this concept may be, in effect, what you'd need to get the phone working (as it gets around the login page).