Holiday planning can be fun, but also very stressful. Especially when it comes to choosing the best hotel for your trip. There are literally thousands of hotel options available so choosing the best hotel for your trip can sometimes be daunting, particularly when you are choosing accommodation in a foreign, unknown land. To help you choose the best hotel stay for your trip, I am going to share my best tips to help you find your dream hotel. 

Location

One of the most important factors in choosing a hotel for me is its location. Many of the top tourist sites of different cities are usually located close to the centre of the city and that’s because cities were a lot smaller a few hundred years ago to what they are today. As I presume I will not have a car to get to places and will be relying on my own two feet to walk or to catch public transport, I like to choose a location as close as possible to the centre of town. Or, what I have come to the place for. This way I can easily walk to many of the attractions and be close to cafes, restaurants and the nightlife!

If I am flying to a location, I may need to consider hotel options close to the airport, depending on the time of the flight. So one of the first things I do is check the location of the hotel or hotels on the map that is usually provided. The hotel location is extremely important to me and this is why I have put it as the first things on my list to consider when looking to choose the best hotel for my trip. I always consider the reason I need to stay in a hotel and choose the location of my hotel according to my holiday reason.

Price

Price to me is the next thing, after location, that I look for when choosing the best hotel to stay in. As I know my budget, I will do my damnedest to stay within that budget. But I won’t compromise safety, location nor facilities for it – well sometimes!. So I firstly look at the hotels in my price range to see if they offer all the things I am looking for, or needing, for my holiday accommodation. If not, sometimes I have to bite the bullet and upgrade. This is when travel hacking has proven useful. So while looking at the price, I look at the facilities and services the hotel offers.

Services and Facilities

To me, the more services and facilities offered the better! Unfortunately, this can lead to the hotel charging a little more for these facilities.

I begin my search with my budget in mind and this helps me to decide whether or note I require all the services and facilities. If I am having a one night stay in a hotel then I probably won’t need the kitchen facilities but if I am having a one week stay in a hotel, then I probably would want the kitchen facilities. So what services and facilities are important to you? For me, I want free wifi because I am a travel writer, blogger and content creator. Plus I want a comfortable bed, my own bathroom and tea and coffee making facilities will come in handy. And if I am driving, I want free parking. Here are some of the services and facilities hotel’s offer:

• Free wifi – safety use of free wifi
• Parking
• Private bathroom with clean towels and hairdryer plus free soaps and shampoo and conditioner.
• Early/late check in and check out.
• Tea and coffee making facilities
• Mini bar/snack bar – although I don’t usually partake in these – or a coffee shop or restaurant or room service.
• Daily room cleaning
• Different bed arrangements – as I don’t always travel as a solo female traveler, sometimes I travel with my partner and other times I need a family room when I travel with my kids. So being able to choose a room that has the right number of beds is crucial.
• Lift if the room is up many flights.
• Air conditioning and heating

Other hotel amenities are nice, but not always a necessity.

• Gym
• Pool
• Balcony with a view
• I do like fresh air so a window that opens
• Iron and ironing board
• 24 hour desk
• Luggage storage – very useful if I have to check out but my flight is not until later. I appreciate the hotel that will mind my bags.

Online Reviews

After I have narrowed my choice of hotel down I read the online reviews and look at the star rating system. These are both very essential to choosing the right hotel stay as these reviews have been left by people who have already stayed at the property. 

Reviews mention scores for staff friendliness and helpfulness, facilities, cleanliness, comfort, location and value for money.

I also like to look at the photos provided, and the more the merrier! Plus I check the location of the hotel as mentioned in 1. the hotel’s location.

Booking the Property

The last step in finding the best hotel for your trip is the booking procedure. I prefer to book hotel accommodation that offers free cancellation up to a day or so before arrival. Just in case my plans change at the last minute.

Places to book a hotel room are directly through the hotel itself, so if you have a particular chain you like to stay at like Hilton, Mercure, Marriott, Sheraton, Budget, etc. then book directly through them. But there are a number of booking sites such as Expedia, Trivago, TripAdvisor, Viator, Agoda and Booking.com. My preferred booking site is Booking.com – read my review of it.

A quick word on ‘All Inclusive Resorts’. An all inclusive resort is a resort that includes your accommodation, pick up from the airport, meals at the resort and sometimes the airfare. These are particularly popular in the Caribbean. I stayed in an all inclusive resort in Cancun, you can read my review of the Fiesta Americana here. 

And if you are wondering should you book a hotel in advance or just wing it. Well, since country shutdowns from Covid-19 pandemic are over, I have found many people travelling. I have been caught twice while travelling Australia with no accommodation for the night and having to sleep in my car. So at this time, I suggest booking in advance particularly if you are travelling with kids.

Are You Ready to Choose The Best Hotel for Your Trip? I think so!

Picking a hotel for your trip can be an extremely daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. I hope my tips in this post will help you find your next holiday hotel. Let me know if you any questions!

More Accommodation Options

Looking for a hostel? Read my tips on how to choose the best hostel for your next holiday.

Why not try Housesitting and never pay for accommodation again.