How to choose the right hotel for you
There is as much choice in hotels now as in any other consumer category. From big, glittering havens of pampering and luxury, to quaint little rustic lodges, the choices are even more numerous than the hours to look at them. . Step one is to decide what it is you’re looking for.
Know what you want from a hotel
If you’re the type who is up with the sun and out trekking the area for things to do and people to see, then having the most luxurious hotel room might not be a good use of your money. Why pay for fancy soaps if you’re not going to be around to use them?
On the other hand, if the gentle hum of a high-quality air conditioner makes you want to settle back into the cool comfort of high thread-count sheets? Go for the posh room.
Consider too what you want with regard to amenities. Will you want to work out? Go for a swim? Have a nightclub downstairs or a fine dining lounge on the rooftop? Is the building near the other sites you want to see while staying there? Are airport shuttles on offer and, if they’re not, what are the transportation links like?
Filter and sort your hotel list
Once you’ve decided on the type of hotel you want, make a closer comparison of your www.Comparetosave.co.uk results and choose a few top picks. Go over the features and prices and throw out any of them that don’t suit your tastes and your budget.
Check the hotels location on a map
If the hotels matches what you want inside, and it fits your budget, then check to make sure it is near what you want to be near, or has easy transportation. Sometimes it’s worth paying a bit extra to be within walking distance of the sites – but sometimes a quiet distance between the place you sleep and the noise and bustle of a major centre is good too. Decide which is most important to you and remove any hotels from the list that don’t match your expectations.
Has the hotel been refurbished?
As a word of caution, don’t always trust the photographs provided in the advertising. Some hotels – especially smaller ones – use images that can be years old, and the rooms they show might have suffered considerable wear and damage since the photos were taken.
Even large hotels will put their best foot forward, showing the best of the higher-end rooms on the booking site. Make sure to check recent reviews, or even contact the hotel to make sure you get a recently refurbished room.
Read the Hotels Reviews
If you’re reading reviews though, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Most people who have a good experience at a hotel will not review it at all. Most reviews are a reaction to something unsatisfactory to the reviewer. For every negative review, assume there are at least 100 positive experiences that went unmentioned.
Next, consider the content of the negative review. What was it the person expected from the facility, and was that a realistic expectation based on what is advertised? Was the problem within the control of the hotel? For example, terrible, rainy weather isn’t something the hotel can do anything about, so a negative review based on that is of no use.
Finally, read the negative reviews first, and try to recognise a theme. If several people complain that the place is dirty, then there is probably an issue with cleanliness. After you’ve heard the criticisms, then read the positive reviews. This will turn your mind back to the positive feelings a holiday is support to evoke. If everything is good on balance, and you decide to book a room with that hotel, you’ll want the positive attitudes and experiences to be foremost in your mind.