How to choose a hotel

All opinions are mine and mine alone

How to choose a hotel 

Choice is the distant relative of procrastination. You don’t actually need choice to prevent you from making a decision (a couch and Netflix is all you need to avoid life for whole box sets of time), but when we’re given choice, we can sometimes browse the options over and over and over and still have no idea where to begin with picking the thing we want. 

Choice is no bad thing, of course. The people with money in life will tell you that money isn’t everything. And they’re right, it’s not. But what money does give you is options, and when you have options you never have to settle for your second or third or fourth choice. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a way to live that I’d like to try. And so we move on to vacations and choice of hotel.

Now, most hotels are up to date. For the most part, you don’t need to worry about 1970’s constructions that saw the prolific use of asbestos as a building material (if you don’t know why this was a bad idea, see the life expectancy of those diagnosed with Mesothelioma). Let’s look at how to choose a hotel, so you can save time and get on with getting excited about your trip. 

Understand the difference

Having a wide choice slows us down the most when we really don’t understand the critical differences between the options. When it comes to hotels, there are some major differences that can slow your decision making process right down if you’re not prepared. Basically, you need to know how exclusive you wish your stay to be. The more exclusive, the higher the price. 

For example, are you OK with a hotel that boasts no distinguishing features, with rows of rooms and corridors filled with people variously arriving and leaving at all hours? Great. You can save some money. Likewise, if you choose an overlooked villa complex with a shared pool, your booking budget won’t have giant holes blown in (comparatively speaking). 

But if you want private seclusion with peace and quiet and a swimming pool the size of a football field all to yourself, be prepared to pay for it. 

Look at Google Maps

Google Maps is a gift to humanity that the two hundred thousand years of our ancestry had to live without. I recently visited Prague, and I desperately wanted to stay at the Czech Inn (come on, that’s gold). But a swift check on Google Maps revealed it wasn’t central to my needs. 

Use Google Maps to find out the true location of the hotel in comparison to everything you’re hoping to see and do. The beach. The city sights. The restaurants. Don’t book a hotel on  a mountain top with 10 miles donkey rides to the nearest café – you have been warned.