For those of us who don’t frequent hotels on a regular basis, booking a hotel and knowing exactly what to look for can be a challenge at the best of times. We always have some nature of regret after the fact for not checking one crucial detail which would have made the hotel a much more pleasant stay. In the below points, we will cover a few details that may seem insignificant but could make your stay a much better one.
Reviews
As obvious as it may seem, reviews do matter. When deciding on a hotel, especially for a longer stay, be sure to read as many reviews as possible. Do not trust the star system on hotels, and do not trust the reviews supplied on the hotel’s own site. Trusted 3rd party review sites will be the best option and the best understanding you will get of a hotel, it’s room size, service, and other important factors.
Wi-Fi
This is especially important if booking for a longer stay or you enjoy crypto thrills games. Wi-Fi or just internet access may seem like a bit of an obvious point when looking through hotels, but it is not always as simple as it may seem. Unfortunately, there are no real rules surrounding the advertisement for internet availability, meaning that they could advertise free Wi-Fi even if the Wi-Fi is only in the lobby and not accessible in your room.
Another trick to be aware of is hotels that offer free Wi-Fi in your room, but the free access is massively throttled, making for a slow and near unusable experience. If there is an offer to upgrade to a faster or premium Wi-Fi, you can be sure that the standard supplied Wi-Fi will likely not give you a good experience.
Breakfast
There is something to be said for being able to roll out of bed and head straight downstairs for a good breakfast. While it isn’t the end of the world if a hotel doesn’t offer a complimentary breakfast, they usually offer a good value proposition, and the convenience in itself is worth the extra potential spend. This however is more of a cautionary tale than advice to go for breakfast.
Different hotels offer different natures of breakfast, while this isn’t always an issue, it can make a rather large difference when you are staying at a hotel for more than a day. Be sure to check what kind of breakfast is on offer as part of the included package. Reviews are another good place to check, as if others don’t feel it was worth the cost, they will likely mention it in a review.
Location
A lot of people neglect to take the location of a hotel into consideration when booking, as they are familiar with the good public transportation they have at home. When travelling out of country, be sure to be sure about the location of your hotel in relation to what you plan to do. It would also be advisable to check on the public transport in the area. If not public transport, there may be other services like Uber available in the area.
Budget
When taking all the above into consideration, it is important to remember that your budget always has the final say. Always be sure to check a hotel’s fees for any hidden charges before making your reservation. Reviews are again great to see if other people mention having to pay any hidden fees.
