The right hotel can really make or break a vacation. So before we go on a trip, we do lots of research, both on and offline, to try to find the perfect places to stay. But sometimes, it seems like no matter how much trip planning we do, we’re still disappointed. The hotel’s not awful. The location is good. And it has all the requisite services. But it’s just lacking something — that indefinable quality that separates good hotels from great hotels.
Our first step used to be consulting sites like Frommers, Fodors, and Tripadvisor. But these days, we’ve reversed the process, and we use those sites to validate our short list. Our new strategy has produced better results for us. So we’re happy to share it with you.
Here are our tips for finding hotels that you’ll love:
* The first step is to figure out what you really want do while you’re there. Is your goal to just relax and unwind, to see every square inch of the city, or to eat in all the best restaurants and shop till you drop? When we went to Kauai, we realized that one thing that we really wanted to do was to swim and surf. It’s hard to believe, but there aren’t many good swimming beaches in Kauai if you visit in winter. Once we narrowed down the choices, it was a pretty simple decision. We ended up renting a vacation rental at Kiahuna Plantation and it was the perfect place for us. If we’d ended up down the road at the Grand Hyatt Kauai — which gets high marks from Fodors, Frommers, and Tripadvisor users — we’d have been unhappy with the rocky beach there.
* Once you have your days figured out, think about your evenings. If you’ll be going full tilt, hiking, biking, or kayaking from dawn until dusk, chances are you won’t want to expend a lot of energy getting dinner. That country inn that’s away from it all may seem a lot less appealing when you’re beat and the nearest restaurant is a 20-minute drive away. Especially if you were thinking a couple of cocktails sounded appealing. Having to eat virtually every meal at an overpriced resort can also take the fun out of things pretty fast. What works for us is staying in a hotel that has a few restaurants within walking distance or a few minutes drive.
* With your daytime and nighttime activities figured out, you should concentrate on which neighborhood puts the things you want to do in easy reach. If you want to dine in Michelin-starred restaurants and shop for haute couture in Paris, you’ll find the 1st or 8th arrondissements convenient. If you prefer bistros and boutiques, choose the 6th — St-Germain-des-Pres. What’s true for real estate is equally true for travel. The most important thing is location, location, location.
* When you know which neighborhood appeals the most to you, figure out how much you want to spend. There are usually accommodations available in a range of prices. When you compare prices, use the superior room price. Standard rooms are actually sub-standard rooms that are the least desirable for one reason or another. Chances are, you won’t be happy in one. When you look at price, also bear in mind that if you stay at a more centrally located hotel, you’ll save on transportation costs. Once you have a short list, use a travel site like hotelscombined.com to check prices. Although most travel sites are owned by the same two or three travel conglomerates, there are some bargains out there. Just be sure that you’re comparing apples to apples and read all the fine print. To us, paying a non-refundable rate in advance isn’t worth saving 10 or 15%. And be sure to contact the hotel directly for a rate. Because there’s no middle man to compensate, the hotel will sometimes give you a better deal.
* Not all hotels have the same amenities. This is especially true in Europe, where many rooms don’t have an alarm clock. So if there’s something you need to feel at home — a pre-dinner cocktail, laundry service, or a wake-up call — confirm in advance that’s it’s available. It only takes a few minutes and it could save you some disappointment.
* Read user reviews on sites like tripadvisor.com, but remember that no matter how great a hotel is, someone will always be disgruntled. Reviews can tip you off to a potential deficiency that might be a deal-breaker for you. But we’ve stayed in hotels that every trip advisor user gave five stars that we really didn’t like. So take the reviews with a grain of salt.
Finding the right hotel isn’t that hard, but the more trip planning you do in advance, the happier you’re likely to be.
Read more travel advice here.
