Then one thing I want that I can't find in a format that never works well for me, is somewhere I can put in parameters for a trip, and it will let me build by those parameters rather than their own 'drop down' lists.

i.e. I want to go "somewhere" for the weekend. I need to leave Friday after 6pm for airport A or B, and return no later than 1am Monday morning to either airport A or B. I want a direct flight, no more than 5 hours in length, and a hotel that is at least a 4* for the Friday and Saturday nights.

But the key detail, that most sites require, is for me to tell them, at least vaugely, where I would like to go (or, if it doesn't require that, it limits me to a timeframe of their choosing - e.g. 7 day package holiday). And that is the part I don't want to do. I want the system to say 'hey we have an amazing weekend in "somewhere I've never considered" for $399 per person because of seat sales / hotel sales that fit your criteria. Often I just want to go 'somewhere' but not too bothered where. Other may want to be able to specify hotel chain, airline chain etc. but for me, I just want to say when, and direct, and it show me where I can go, for what cost.

At the moment I have to pick a city I want to go to and compare a few destinations - I did this at the beginning of August - instead of using a map etc. I used the MLB schedule to narrow down the city list, and then tried a few options. I would like a tool that let's me omit the unimportant to me parameters, and lets me search on ones that do matter (like date, or cost).