When you're planning a trip — whether it's a solo escape, a romantic getaway with your partner, a fun family holiday, or a brief business meeting — finding the best hotel for your needs is the biggest priority. The establishment you choose will be your home away from home for the next few hours, days, or weeks, and you have to be absolutely sure that your stay will be a safe, comfortable, and ideally enjoyable one, no matter what your purpose for travelling is. When you have an excellent place to rest and unwind at the end of the day, you can consider your extensive planning and preparation a success.
So what are the things that you should look for when picking out a hotel? Here are six crucial factors in selecting hotels that can make your holiday or business trip a memorable one.
1. Location. This is always the top consideration because whether you're planning to visit a series of tourist attractions or meet your business partners over dinner and drinks, the hotel should ideally be close to the venues in question so that you can easily go from point A to point B without spending too much time and money on transfers. Also, if your trip is meant to help you indulge in some R&R, you'll want the hotel to be strategically located in scenic or remote areas where you can get close to nature's most spectacular landscapes and seascapes.
2. Customer reviews. Websites that enable guests to leave their feedback regarding establishments they've stayed in can be a great help for other people who are considering staying in the same place. While you can learn much about a hotel from its website, nothing beats a firsthand account from a former guest. These reviews will be able to give you an idea of what the facilities are like, how great or unpleasant the hotel staff's service was, what amenities are available and which ones are missing, and whether other guests were able to enjoy their stay. If you pay attention to the most recent reviews, you can better picture how your own stay will turn out.
3. Price. Booking a hotel room is not exactly cheap, but what you should be focusing on is the value you'll be getting for the price of your stay — this will help you narrow down your choices more. Depending on what you need, you can pick a hotel that includes a complimentary breakfast or fullboard meals, use of all or just certain amenities, shuttle services, extra recreational activities, and other features.
4. Facilities. Some hotels will be nothing more than a place to sleep, while others will have provisions that will enable you to get things done with the least amount of hassle. There are hotels that also have different restaurants, coffee shops, bars, conference rooms, swimming pools, guest lounges, business centres, fitness centres, spas and other facilities onsite so you won't have to head out and drive off to look for them. This is a great convenience for guests because they'll have just about everything they need without stepping out of the hotel.
5. Solo guest, family or petfriendliness. It's always a plus when hotels strive to be genuinely accommodating to different kinds of travellers. Some will be spending their time alone, others will come with a partner, others with their entire family, and some with their pet cats or dogs. Having special provisions to make these different guests feel welcome says a lot about the hotel staff's dedication to their guests' satisfaction.
6. Customer service. People will be more than happy to come back to or to tell people they know about a hotel that went the extra mile to make their stay absolutely extraordinary. From making sure that all of the room's provisions are complete, to enquiring about any additional supplies or services that the guest would like to have, to helping guests find their way around the grounds and recommending the best restaurant dishes and activities to try — that extra special touch is always a good indicator that a hotel commits to delivering topnotch service.