How I Choose a Hotel

Choosing a place to stay is one of the most important decisions we need to make when planning a trip.

There are so many options nowadays. Even if I’m traveling to an area I’m familiar with, things change all the time, so I start the process of choosing a place to stay with internet searches, researching blogs and travel websites. For me, the most important factor is location, location, location. Ideally, I want to be in the heart of an area that has shops, restaurants, and cafes that I can walk to. Preferably it will also be convenient to the airport or the train station, as well as to public transportation. So the first step for me is deciding on a neighborhood or two that seem to fit those criteria.

Next I’ll again use the blogs and travel websites, as well as guide books such as Lonely Planet and Rich Steves’ guides, to choose some possible options. Ideally I’ll find around six properties that look good to me. I’ll also look on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo to see if there are units in my chosen areas that are reasonably priced. It’s always nice to have a kitchen, so that I can shop at local markets and make some of my own meals instead of always going to restaurants. However, I usually find those units to be more expensive than I feel is worthwhile, so most often I end up at a hotel.

My next step will be to research the hotels I’ve decided are good possibilities. I’ll look at all their reviews and eliminate anything that seems like there may be issues I’d be uncomfortable with. I would like to add that I always take reviews with a bit of a grain of salt. If reviews are overwhelmingly positive and just a few are negative, I’ll decide how much credence I feel the negative reviews merit. As a business owner, I know there will inevitably be customers who, rightly or wrongly, are less than pleased with their experience, and I’m always hopeful that potential clients will give me the benefit of the doubt, so I try to do the same.

At any rate, once I’ve narrowed the possibilities down to 3 or 4 that seem like they’d be good, I’ll shop for the best price. If at all possible I like to book a place that offers free cancellation. You never know what might come up that could force you to change your plans. Life happens, and it doesn’t stop because you’re planning a trip.

In terms of which properties will be my final choices, if I’m traveling to another country, I always like to choose a place that’s locally owned over an international chain. While that can be a little riskier, I’ve had wonderful experiences talking to the owners of such properties, who normally have a great deal of pride in their property, their city and their area. I’ve been directed to restaurants owned by relatives, offered sightseeing services provided by locals, etc. Even if I could afford luxury hotels like the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, which I most definitely cannot, I wouldn’t choose to stay there. I’d prefer to spend my travel money on sightseeing and great meals and souvenirs.

All that said, I am also pretty low maintenance when it comes to the room itself. I need only a clean room with a reasonably comfortable bed and a full bathroom. I’ve stayed in rooms so small that I could stretch out my arms and touch both walls. It’s my firm belief that if you’re spending a lot of time in your room, you’re not doing it right.

As an example of putting all this together, I have an upcoming trip to Paris. I know from past experience that my favorite area to stay in is the Left Bank, in the 5th and 6th arrondissements (the Latin Quarter and St. Germain de Pres). There are a couple of hotels that I’ve stayed in on previous trips that I liked, but no place that I absolutely loved. So after doing my usual research, I’ve decided to try a new property for this trip. I’m anticipating a tiny room, but the room has a balcony, the location is perfect, the reviews are great, and the price is very reasonable. I’ll be blogging from Paris, so if the place is as good as I think it will be, and if it’s okay with the owners, I’ll provide the name and website link in those upcoming blogs.

Clearly the process described above takes time and effort, but I’ve found it to be well worthwhile in terms of having a reasonably priced home base from which I can really enjoy the place I’m visiting. My choices haven’t always been perfect, but more often than not they’ve worked out well.

Happy travels!