A guide to choosing the best hotel

A guide to choosing the best hotel

Whether a trip is for business or pleasure, it’s important to find a hotel where good food and a good night’s sleep are guaranteed. Finding a good hotel can make any trip a delight, and smart travelers learn how to do it even on a low budget. Good hotels aren’t simply about luxury and every individual is looking for something slightly different, but a well run, customer-focused place knows how to deliver exactly what’s needed.

A guide to choosing the best hotel

Quality guaranteed

Anybody who has done a lot of traveling knows that hotel rooms don’t always look the way they do in the brochure. To find a good hotel, it’s better to focus on reputation than on advertising. Customer reviews can help with this. Sadly, some places do use fake reviews, so glowing ones don’t necessarily mean very much, but if a hotel is getting consistently good word of mouth, it’s worth looking into.

What is worth looking at on a website is a full photo gallery. The more pictures there are, the better the chance that they represent the place properly.

Sublime service

What makes the difference between a good hotel and a truly great one is the quality of service. The quality of service can be hinted at in that first telephone enquiry and it’s worth testing it by making any necessary requests early on. Things like check-in dates, room type and luggage storage can often be negotiated in a customer-focused hotel. Good service means staff won’t fuss or push expensive upgrades but will listen and aim to be accommodating.

A room with a view

A hotel with plenty of natural light coming into the rooms and a good outlook is much more pleasant to relax in, and makes it easier to enjoy a special location, even during downtime. Good hotels should be attractive on the inside as well as the outside. All hotels want recommendations and repeat business, so if a room doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s worth asking for an upgrade. If the hotel isn’t full, it’s often possible to be moved into a higher class of room at no extra cost.

The perfect location

It’s great to get a hotel right beside the main attractions, but often better quality hotels are to be found at lower prices a little further out – checking local transport links makes it easier to choose well. If you are lucky enough to have some rental car coupons a good deal on a rental car can probably be found in the area, then it’s even easier to get around. Ensure that the hotel has adequate parking before you book. Secure parking directly beside or underneath the building is best.

All about the little things

A good hotel always gets the details right. Little things like 24-hour service and free Wi-Fi throughout are a good sign of a place willing to make an effort for its guests.  Ideally a hotel should have more than one restaurant and it should be possible to get food at any time. Ultimately, these things contribute to a good star rating and happy visitors.