How to choose the perfect hotel for your vacation
An important part of any vacation is the place where you'll get enough sleep, take a shower, and wait out unexpected bad weather.
We've figured out how to choose a hotel for a vacation or business trip so you can relax beautifully without spending all your money.
What criteria to consider
Neighborhood safety
Perhaps one of the most important criteria to consider when traveling. Before choosing where to stay, read about the neighborhoods of the city you're visiting. It's best to start by checking reviews from other travelers or looking at photos on popular online maps. If you use the latter, pay attention to street lighting and ideally find a police station near your accommodation.
After checking into a less safe neighborhood, the question "How do I change hotels?" will pop into your head, but the prices will already be significantly higher than if you had booked a place with a good location from the start.
Distance to the city center
The city center is not just about attractions, but also about living comfort. Nearby, you'll definitely find conveniently located grocery stores, shopping centers, and good cafes and restaurants that will always have more tourist reviews. However, you should be prepared for the fact that the cost of such hotels is clearly higher than those further away. But everything will be at your fingertips!
Surroundings: restaurants, shops
Continuing the theme above — your vacation will be more interesting if you have restaurants with local cuisine nearby and shops where you can buy clothes from Uniqlo and Zara if you wish.
Many people don't like the local cuisine in hotels, so it's always better to have the option to go out for groceries or have a delicious lunch at a well-known cafe. However, if you decide to book a hotel online in the all-inclusive category, then there will definitely be no problems with tasty food and providing everything you need.
Service and amenities
Every traveler has their own comfort requirements: some are content with just a sleeping place to come back to after a day of exploring the city, while others need evening concerts, a SPA area for relaxation, excursions, and other interactive activities. And if the former can calmly spend a night in a hostel without much fuss, for the latter, any disturbance during their vacation is an unnecessary stress. Therefore, it's better to honestly admit which way you lean more and choose a more suitable option.
Room sizes and cleanliness
If you want more "air" in the room and daily cleaning is important, you should be prepared for such a room to cost more. On the other hand, let's be honest: spending a vacation in a space where only one bed fits, there are no windows, and no cleaning for a week, but there's a queue for the shower — that's not much fun, even if you plan to walk all day without stopping. Therefore, if you want to book a hotel cheaper and find a good option, it's better to monitor discounts in advance before your trip than to live in discomfort.
Check-in time
Usually, the standard rule applies: check-in from 14:00, and check-out by 12:00. However, some hotels may change check-in and check-out times at their discretion, so it's best to clarify this when booking. Some hotels, for an additional fee and if rooms are available, may allow you to check in earlier, but it's also better to ask the hotel about this in advance so you don't have to stand at the door with your luggage until the usual check-in time or look for a luggage storage at the station.
Distance from train station, airport
A hotel near a train station or airport is a comfortable option for those on a business trip or facing flight delays. For example, for those traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, there are several hotels near Pulkovo Airport, located close to transport hubs.
Such hotels will be cheaper than those in the very heart of the city. So if you want to stay in the city for a short time and comfortably travel to another location, choose a similar option.
Guest reviews
"Should you trust online hotel reviews?" — this is a debatable question. Here's the most powerful life hack: read them on popular online map services and sort them from most negative to most positive. This way, you'll see the most critical notes about the hotel to understand what you might encounter. But after that, it's better to focus on ratings of four stars or higher — reviews with such a rating will be closest to reality. On social media, moderation will definitely be present on the account page, but photos of happy guests against the backdrop of room decor will be quite accessible if the hotel has nothing to hide.
Cost, additional fees
The cost of a hotel booking includes many things — from the mandatory tourist tax to daily towel changes and the option to park your car. Logically, the less your room costs, the fewer services will be included in your stay. Therefore, you can rely on hotel star ratings to choose along the spectrum of "less comfortable — more comfortable."
And here's the golden rule — precisely determine what you absolutely cannot do without, and immediately book a room that meets that requirement. Paying for laundry, ironing, or spa relaxation upon arrival means spending much more money than you could have paid initially.
How to choose a hotel for a seaside vacation
Planning a trip to the sea in advance is the best solution to ensure you stay in a comfortable room at reasonable prices. For example, if you decide to fly from Moscow to Sochi in July and look for tickets in late June, you'll find that only the least convenient rooms at exorbitant prices remain. It's better to start planning such a vacation in March-April.
Rely on important factors such as proximity to the promenade, proximity to the center, and your type of vacation — if the sea is within walking distance, the price will be higher. For example, in Sochi during summer, hotel prices in mountainous areas will be lower than on the first line.
If you want to travel abroad, for example, buy tickets to Hurghada, it's better to aim for the "velvet season." A vacation in late September is most advantageous: prices will be lower, the weather milder, and comfortable hotels more accessible.
Hotel for a family vacation with children
The most important thing when vacationing with children is to have everything at hand. And outside the hotel, too. It's more convenient for a mother with a stroller to get to local attractions from the center by walking on smooth paths than to travel from afar to the center using various types of transport.
As for the hotel itself — it's better to consider options where there will be an opportunity to feed the child well, send them for a swim in a safe pool, or entertain them in a small park with carousels. It would be great if your hotel has animators who can keep the little one busy while you decide to go to the spa for half an hour.
Hotel at a ski resort
The most suitable option at a ski resort is one with infrastructure and comfortable transport. The most pleasant option is when your hotel has a spa with a bathhouse where you can warm up after skiing, grocery stores, a cafe, or a restaurant on site. Slopes near the resort would be an ideal option. Living "by the lift" is not the best option, unless you've decided to claim the title of "first in line for the descent."
Some hotels provide a free ski pass to their guests during the ski season, so staying in such guesthouses will allow for a comfortable vacation and save money on your trip.
We wish you a five-star vacation, even in a hostel!
