When on vacation, one’s hotel becomes his or her home away from home, even if it’s only for a short amount of time. One wants to make sure when planning their vacation that they get all that is needed from a hotel. Some people just need a place to sleep; others need a kitchen and lots of room. No matter what your needs are, there is a hotel to fulfill them; but how does one know which can fulfill their own personal needs? Looking at hotel reviews is a great start; and there are numerous sources to view them.
Guide Books
One place to look for hotel reviews is a good guide book. Popular guide books include Frommer’s and Lonely Planet. These books contain everything one could think of about their trip. The books have information about things from attractions and sites to places to eat. There is also price information for many things. The books may be incorrect some of the time, due to changes in prices and places closing down, but they are accurate for a majority of the time.
These books also have information about hotels. This information often includes details about pricing and the type of hotel it is (number of stars, hotel, or hostel). It also commonly tells what tourist sites the hotel is close to.
Internet
Nowadays almost everything can be done using the Internet, and finding hotel reviews is no exception. There are an abundance of online sites that offer hotel reviews to those who are interested. The sources of the reviews can range from a hotel’s own website to personal websites. Some reviews are professionally done for that purpose while others are people who formerly stayed at the hotel and what they thought of their experience. However, people’s opinions may not always be valid, due to the fact that everyone is different, and what may please or anger one person may not be the same for another.
The good thing about personal reviews is that the person may write specific details about their room and the service to give the person looking a better idea at least of what they may be getting into by staying at that certain hotel. The hotel’s website, for instance, is not going to say how the staff is rude or that “breakfast included” really only means a roll with some butter.
Friends and Acquaintances
One of the more reliable options for reviews of hotels is to ask around. See if anyone you know has been to the place you are traveling and see where they stayed. They can give you as in-depth of a review as you want and since it is a friend, the advice is more trustworthy. If you do not know anyone personally who has been to the place you are going, someone you know may know someone who has. Maybe the girl in the next office’s sister went there and knows a great hotel. It cannot hurt to ask, and you may end up getting some good advice this way.
No matter where one looks to find good reviews of hotels, he or she must keep in mind that these reviews are opinions. Opinions can vary greatly between people and may be drastically different from your own. So keep an open mind and search all your options before making a decision.
By Lauren Culliton