Top 5 Considerations When Booking a Hotel for Your Adventures

Top 5 Considerations When Booking a Boutique Hotel for Your Adventures

Booking a hotel for an upcoming trip can feel like an endless task when there are hundreds of options to choose from. There are a few key considerations that should be made when booking a hotel for your adventures. You need to consider what will be important for you on this trip, including hotel location and accommodations, customer service, and the local experience. The first thing to consider when booking your hotel is the location.

Consideration 1: Location of your Boutique Hotel

How close do you want to be to activities and local attractions? Would you prefer to stay right in the heart of downtown, where you’ll be within walking distance to everything? Or would you prefer to stay just outside of the city where you’ll find quiet and relaxation? Take a look at what you’ll be doing on your trip and try to find a location that is central to those activities. A remote hotel may sound nice in theory, but after the second day of wasting time commuting all over the city, you’ll likely start to regret it.

Considering your ideal location is the first step in booking a hotel because it will help you narrow down the search area. Once you’ve determined where you want to stay, you must consider what things must be included.

Consideration 2: Accommodations of your Boutique Hotel

Now that you have the area, it’s time to look for hotels that offer the amenities that are important to you. Is it essential for you to stay in a hotel with a 24/7 gym or a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast every morning? Now is the time to figure out what are the must haves for you during your trip. Peruse different hotel websites to see what they have to offer and how that aligns with what you are looking for.

Some hotels may offer excellent accommodations but attach an extravagant price tag with them. Consider what you are willing to pay and how the accommodations in any given hotel fit into that budget. Take into account what the accommodations are like and if they are worth the overall cost of what you would be paying. Does it fit into your adventure budget?

Consideration 3: Hotel Customer Service

In line with accommodations, how is the customer service at the hotel? Is there any mention of a concierge service or other employees who can assist you in executing the details of your trip? Ideally you will want to find a hotel that offers premier services that can help you book extraneous accommodations that will elevate the adventure of your trip even more. It is essential for the employees of the hotel to have a working knowledge of the local area so they can best help you during your trip.

Customer service can be a tricky area to find information about online. Consider calling a prospective hotel and see how the employees interact with you on the phone. You will be able to get a sense of how helpful and friendly they will be during your trip. Another great way to determine the quality of customer service is by reading reviews of the hotel.

Consideration 4: 5★ Reviews

Reading reviews is key when choosing a hotel for your adventures. Reviews can be found on the hotel’s website, on Google, and through other review websites such as Oyster.com and TripAdvisor.com. While it is important to listen to what other patrons have had to say, you should also be wary of revies that may be biased or be from people who had impossible expectations.

When reviewing reviews look at both positive and negative reviews to get a well-rounded sense of what other guests liked and didn’t like. Try to only take into account reviews that were written in the past year or so, because anything past that may be outdated and irrelevant to the hotel’s current offerings. For example, if someone had written a negative review three years ago, the hotel may have addressed the issue since then, and another patron may have written a positive review about the same topic more recently.

While it’s good to keep a critical lens when looking at reviews, don’t completely disregard poor reviews. If there are hundreds of reviews that say similar things, it’s likely that you will also encounter these issues if you were to book there. Look for patterns in the reviews to get a better understanding of what your time would be like if you were to choose that hotel.

Consideration 5: Local Experience/Neighborhood

One of the last considerations is the local experience and neighborhood. Especially if you are staying in a big city, you want to be sure that you are choosing a safe location. Most people bring valuable items with them on vacation so it is good to know your things will be safe when you leave the hotel. It is also comforting to know that you will be safe when you leave the hotel! Do a little research into the local area to make sure there are not high incidents of crime that could pose an issue to you on your vacation adventure.

Overall, there is a lot to consider when booking a hotel for your grand adventures. Once you have determined if you want to stay in a large hotel, a boutique hotel, or a small bed and breakfast, it’s time to start looking at location, accommodations and customer service. Follow these with research into past reviews and the local neighborhood to make sure that you are reserving a room in a hotel and an area where you will feel safe and secure. These are important considerations for any trip, especially if you are booking in an area you’ve never been (such as overseas). Your hotel is your homebase, and as such, it is important to make sure it is safe.