How do you know which is the best hotel to book for your holiday?

It can be a bit of a maze, trying to find a good hotel in an area you are not familiar with. We all know about star rating and diamond rating, but these are only an indication of the services available at the hotel and tell you nothing about the standards or the welcome you are likely to receive. I find the best way to find out about a hotel is to give them a call and ask about the hotel and the surrounding areas, a good hotel will be proud of it's standards and happy to talk to you about it, the ones which are not so confident may just refer you to their star rating and website.
The websites can be usefull to let you see pictures of the hotel, but they won't guarantee how good the Entertainment is, or how Friendly and Approachable the staff, manager and owner is. The website will not tell you about the Cleanliness & Hygiene of the hotel nor it's rooms.
There are many hotel review websites which can be useful in helping you to understand the hotel a little better, look for comments and testimonials from people who have stayed at the hotel, they are likely to tell what it is really like. But always, just phone them and have a chat.

I have listed below my idea of what to expect from different types of hotel, and suggested some internet search suggestions for each type. Please let me know if you find this useful, if you have any suggestions to improve this guide, then please drop me an e mail.

Thanks for reading.

Phil Coyle

Bed and Breakfast ( also shortened to B&B or bnb):
This is the basic Hotel rate. Bed and breakfasts often offer the simplest package, with just a bed&breakfast package you are free to travel locally without returning to the hotel for meals, this is best if you prefer to find your own enjoyment during the day, it can leave you free to visit the more out of the way places.

Internet search on: b & b, b and b, b&b or bed & breakfasts to find all the b&bs available.

Discount hotels:
A discount hotel may offer cheap hotel rates for travellers who wish to stay in an area overnight or for a short time. Although they offer cheap hotel rooms which could be ideal for the business traveller working locally, they should not be thought of as simply cheap hotels, they often offer a high standard, though basic accomodation.

Internet search on: discount hotel rooms, hotel deals, hotel discounts, hotel deal, last minute hotel, discount hotel rates, standard hotel

Small family run hotels:
Hotels in this category are often a comfortable way to enjoy a quiet holiday in a home from home environment, usually friendly stress free places to stay with limited food and bar facilities.

Internet search on: Guest Houses, Guest house, Family run hotel

Coaching hotels:
Normally 25 to 50 bedroom hotels which specialise in dealing with groups or with Coach companies and travel agents. These can sometimes offer the widest range of holidays at great prices. They often offer profesional entertainment most nights and nearly always have a bar. Although they tend to deal with older people and pensioners, they can usually offer great family holidays at the lowest prices. Because they are set up to deal with travel agents and coach companies, they often don't have a star rating, but are usually regularly inspected by their clients so it is normal to expect a high standard of cleanliness, and good entertainment. Check they have a car park before booking.

Internet search on: Coach holidays, Bus Holidays, tours, group holidays, hotel packages

Some other internet searches for hotels

(After the search add the area you are looking for): hotel, accommodation, book hotel, hotel reservation, hotel booking

Half Board includes bed and breakfast with an evening meal.
Full Board is bed and breakfast, lunch and evening meal.