Tips for Finding the Right Hotel

Since I posted a few hotel reviews yesterday, today I thought I'd share some tips for finding the right hotel for your stay.  

"Tell me what you want, what you really, really want."

What's important to you besides just location?  Are the hotel amenities as much a part of the destination?  Or do you just need a clean, comfy space to drop your bags and sleep?  How much of your travel budget are you willing to spend on accommodations.  We usually go for a mid-priced hotel that is clean and comfortable.  One extra we usually look for is a restaurant/bar on site or within walking distance (no driving after a nightcap.)  We also typically will pick someplace unique over a mundane chain hotel.

"What do you think?"    " I don't know.  What do you think?"

We always go on the recommendations of others.  Our first stop is TripAdvisor.

I heard recently that TripAdvisor is a place "to either rant or gush", so you have to throw out the worst 5% of the reviews as well as the best 5%.  Then you can usually get a pretty good idea about a place.  You also want to pay attention to the dates of the reviews.  Things can change quickly with new management or new construction.  Another positive sign, is if managers are responding to reviews in a proactive way. 

"Location. Location. Location."

Along with TripAdvisor, when selecting a hotel we always have a tab open with Google maps.  Nothing is worse then being so far away from all of the activity that you can't pop back to the room to freshen up or grab something you forgot.  You should also take into account how close you are to public transport stops, just in case the weather turns on you.  (Side eye London.)  Street View is also very helpful as it shows you the surroundings.  Before we went to Paris we took a virtual walk around the hotel to see what was close by.  You can even use Google Earth to see if that pool really is as big as the brochure indicates and just how far is the walk to the beach.
 

"You paid how much for that?"

Perform a little internet magic to get yourself the best rate.  There are all sorts of discount websites that will give you a deal. But don't forget, that sometimes a direct phone call to the hotel might get you an even better price. And bundle deals with hotel and airfare, may not necessarily get you the lowest price.  Calculate it out both ways.  Also, if you are staying in hotels often, take advantage of the loyalty plans offered by most chains.  (But, read the fine print.  We missed out on some loyalty points because we booked through a discount site rather than direct.)

And one last random tip...

In the US, Best Western has a reputation of being one of the many middle-of-the-road, cookie cutter, highway hotels.  But in the rest of the world, it's completely different.  Most of their international hotels are boutique hotels that may have been privately owned for years.  They've met a standard of service, taken on the Best Western name and become a part of their franchise network.  We've always been very pleasantly surprised with a Best Western in Europe.  They have the amenities and standards that we like in a unique local setting.  So don't let the chain name, scare you off.  (I have absolutely no affiliation with Best Western.  I really just think it's a good tip.)

Do you have any good tips for finding the right hotel?

I've linked this post up The Expat Diaries!

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