How Modern Travelers Should Select the Correct Hotel

While exploring a new city is thrilling, choosing a place to stay may be difficult and seem like an infinite list of alternatives. I’ve created a helpful guide to assist you in selecting a hotel to aid you with that. I’ve included some crucial things to think about along with errors I’ve made that you should stay away from.

First, decide what matters most to you.

The question here is not how to pick a nice hotel. In actuality, selecting the ideal hotel for your needs is what matters.

Consider what you will not compromise on. Do you require quick connection to the Internet in order to survive? The ideal place to explore the city? a breathtaking view of the mountains or beach?

Generally speaking, I’m searching for a decently large room with a contemporary, clean bathroom and strong shower pressure! While I don’t mind a tiny room if I’m just staying for the night, I like a bit more space for a truly pleasant vacation. I detest cramped hotel rooms and bathrooms that don’t allow me to move about comfortably. I too detest it so much when there isn’t a sturdy door separating the bedroom and the bathroom! While not all hotels explicitly state the room size, I personally try to strive for a minimum room size of about 325 square feet whenever I can.

Choosing a hotel room will always involve some trade-offs. The ideal hotel is the one that best suits your needs and satisfies your most pressing requirements.

Consider what you “want” in addition to what you truly “need” after making your decision. Maybe there are some aesthetic trends you like to favor or steer clear of. Verifying the geography of the destination is also a smart idea. When I travel to a city, I make reservations at hotels with views of the city lights. When venturing off the established route, particularly in developing nations, I make care to book accommodations at respectable hotels where I feel secure and can easily get a bite to eat if necessary.

How to Select a Hotel: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Examine reviews of hotels.

I have been in hotels that didn’t resemble the images that were shown on the establishment’s website. For this reason, it’s crucial to read evaluations from a variety of sites.

The hotel’s website is not nearly as trustworthy as review sites. I use Oyster.com to compare a hotel’s benefits and drawbacks. Verified websites such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor offer objective evaluations from actual visitors. I’ve stayed in hundreds of hotels around the world, both personally and as a Modern Travel editor. While I’m occasionally surprised, I’ve discovered that if a hotel receives 9 out of 10 stars on Booking.com and 4 out of 5 stars on Tripadvisor—and assuming there are a lot of recent reviews—the likelihood that it will be a positive experience is high. Read the unfavorable evaluations as well, particularly if the same problems plagued more than one person. This will alert you to the hotel’s shortcomings or provide you with a hint about them.

Places with a high review score but few reviews should be approached with some caution. Don’t get me wrong—this may be your chance to locate an undiscovered treasure! However, by relying on a smaller sample size of crowdsourced viewpoint, you are taking a risk.

Important tip: be careful to read the guest reviews that have been out there in the previous year! An average hotel rating score might be raised by a number of excellent evaluations from years ago, even if the hotel has had problems more recently.

Pro tip: I’ve been in hotel rooms for more than 100 nights this year, and if I simply follow this one step, I’ve had a very high success rate with wonderful hotel stays.

2. Find out what the hotel has a reputation for.

In addition to reading both good and bad reviews, it’s a good idea to look into the hotel’s reputation. Is the hotel a well-known location for honeymooners or couples? Perhaps you should think about making your reservation somewhere else if you’re traveling to recover after a breakup. I know because I experienced it myself.

The same is true of hotels with lots of children; although this can be ideal for family vacations, if your goal is to unwind in peace and quiet and read a book by the pool, you might want to avoid locations where lots of families congregate to have fun by the pool.

When you spend the most of your time touring the city, standalone boutique hotels are fantastic. However, a lot of people like lodgings that are a portion of well-known chains. In addition to the extra protection, I like being a part of their reward programs. Reward points may be exchanged for savings and upgraded accommodations, particularly if you travel frequently! Extra benefits might be late check-out and early check-in.

3. Examine the hotel’s amenities.

Remember to go over the hotel’s amenities as well. Do they have room service, a restaurant, a spa, a pool, or a gym? Find out from your hotel whether these are offered. Several could be building when you visit.

The Internet connection, air conditioning, and parking of hotels are the most often voiced issues. Determine in advance whether WiFi is offered across the entire property or only in the lobby or your room. Verify again whether parking is available on-site or off-site in a garage owned by a third party.