It can be hard to find a hotel that ticks all the boxes. A hotel can look absolutely lovely from the outside, but might not be so pretty on the inside. As well as that, there are hotels that don’t look great from the outside, but are magnificent inside. It is not always the best thing as they say, to judge a book by its cover. With the recent economic downturn, less and less people now travel for fun. Even business travel has had cuts. It is no wonder hotels are constantly competing with the larger hotel groups for filling bed space. So how do you choose the best hotel from the choice you have? Cost isn’t always a deciding factor. A 50 pounds a night hotel in one area may be tonnes better than a 50 in a popular area, simply because that area is in demand. So in a big place like London, how do you come to your decision?

Check out the hotel’s facilities first. These days most hotels with have their own websites that will detail their facilities. As a bare minimum, try and find a hotel with an en-suite and tea and coffee making facilities. Once upon a time hotels would have shared bathrooms. Luckily, these days you should definitely expect the privacy of your own bathroom. Tea and coffee making facilities should normally be on offer. Don’t fuss too much if you don’t have the more minor facilities such as the trouser press. Is the trouser press really necessary as well as the mini bar? Don’t forget as well, you can normally expect to pay an arm and a leg for a chocolate bar! The bottled water is normally more than the cost of a good bottle of wine!

Study with much more detail the more important facilities you’d expect to have access to for an extended stay. For stays shorter than a couple of days, why not check out the local restaurants? However for longer stays a hotel with its own restaurant might be worth considering for convenience and cost. Whether a bar is needed, is completely down to the individual. If you stay is for work purposes, you are most likely going to want to hit the sack after a long day! However, should the purpose of your travel be for pleasure, you really need to unwind at the bar!

Always make sure you do your research on the hotel. The local tourist board should be able to help. It is much quicker though, to jump onto Google and type the hotel name in! You should find the hotel on plenty of review sites. Take the reviews with a pinch of salt though. Some people’s reviews reflect the fact they are impossible to please. For 50 pounds they are probably expecting a 500 pound service. Similarly some people are too easily pleased and shy away from saying what they really think. The best reviews go into lots of detail from the start of the experience to the end. It’s easier to work out how fair a review is when it is longer and more detailed.

Ringing the hotel before hand is another method to work out the quality of service you will experience. Kind, considerate staff are worth patronising with your hard earned cash! Avoid any hotel where the staff aren’t up to scratch. Remember to ask the staff to confirm the room facilities.

You should after a little work be able to find the perfect hotel. Always bear in mind locations such as London can be very busy. Make sure you book in advance so you don’t miss out. Wherever you choose to stay, enjoy your trip and make sure you leave reviews for others.