Travel Thought Thursday #30- How to Pick a Hotel

Hotel room at the Baronne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans

In the last month I’ve had to book a couple of hotels for various trips like my New Orleans trip and my trip to New York City later this month. This is a departure from what I usually do. Whenever I travel, I usually end up either staying with friends or family or crash in a hostel. If I do stay in a hotel, it’s usually because I’m travelling with an organization and they booked the hotel.

So when I started looking at hotels, I had literally hundreds of places I could choose from to stay in. I needed a way to narrow down the list of places. So I’ve developed a checklist of things I like to look for when picking a hotel.

1. Recommendations from friends or family- This more then any other factor puts a potential hotel high on my “book it” list. If someone I know had a positive experience at the hotel, then odds are good I will like it there too.

2. Location- What makes a good location varies by destination, but I’m usually looking for someplace close to where I want to go and that it’s close to public transit (if available). I also want to avoid sketchy areas of town.

3. Price- Obviously, a hotel doesn’t do me much good if I can’t afford to stay there to begin with. What makes a hotel affordable depends on the city. In New York, for example, finding a decent Manhattan hotel for less then $200 a night is a good price to me. But in New Orleans, paying $200 a night for a hotel would have been quite excessive for a weekend when no major events were going on.

4. Wi-fi- Ever since I got an iPod touch and discovered how incredibly useful it can be while travelling, I’m constantly on the hunt for wi-fi hotspots. So a hotel that offers wi-fi, especially if it’s already included in the room rate, is a must for me.

5. Continental Breakfast- If I’m in a culinary hotspot like New Orleans where there’s great food everywhere, having a hotel breakfast isn’t a big deal. But otherwise, being able to start the day with a bagel or a bowl of cereal before heading out the door is a big plus for me. It saves me the trouble of having to stop at a coffee shop along the way.

Things that don’t matter as much to me

1. Airport Shuttle- It’s a nice perk, but there’s usually other ways that I can get back to the airport/train station/major transportation hub.

2. Reviews on websites- The reviews on the various hotel consolidators’ websites are useful for getting an overall impression of a place, but the reviews alone generally don’t cause me to pull or add a hotel to my list.

3. Hotel Pool- I live in Florida. The beaches are just down the highway.

4. Mini-bar/Cable service/Room service- I don’t spend much time in a hotel except to sleep and shower. So a hotel that offers a lot of in-room entertainment and services just doesn’t interest me much.

Things that turn me off

1. Mandatory “resort fees”- If a hotel feels the need to charge a resort fee for the use of the pool, exercise room or other amenities but give guests no option to opt out of it, then the fee needs to be included as part of the room rate. Period.

I suspect the reason that many hotels have this seperate fee is so that they can have a lower room rate which gets them higher rankings on websites that sort rooms by price. It’s a deceptive practice and I refuse to stay at any hotel that engages in this kind of behavior.

2. Not having a well-maintained website- This is more of an issue with non-chain hotels. I like to check hotel websites for more information, so if their website isn’t well-designed or is outdated, it really annoys me.

Of course, everyone’s list of what’s important to them is different. What’s important to you?

 

Thursday’s Travel Thoughts #11- Hostelling in America

I was talking with a fellow traveller last weekend about where we liked to stay while travelling. I mentioned that I liked to stay in hostels in the US and he looked at me very surprised. He only thought that hostels existed only in other countries. It hadn’t occurred to him that there would be hostels here in the US and that he could stay at them, even though he was from the US. I’ve gotten similer reactions from other people as well.

I’ve stayed in hostels across the country from San Francisco to Philadelphia with plans to stay at more this year. The main reason that I like staying in hostels is the cost- usually around $30. It’s also a great way to meet people around the world and find people to explore a city with. If you are travelling alone, hostels are a fantastic way to meet up with other solo travellers. The downside is the fact that you are sharing a room with strangers, but I haven’t had any issues with security or having stuff stolen.

Most hostels I’ve stayed at are clean and well-maintained. Most provide breakfast and some will also include linens and/or free internet. Some also provide activities ranging from group tours of local attractions to bar crawls to movie nights. In many cases, hostels are located near public transit and are close to local attractions. In Seattle, for example, my hostel was located across the street from the Pike Place Market (this photo was taken from the front entrance to the hostel).

Hostel World has listings on thousands of hostels and provides reviews of them. Becoming a member of Hostelling International can get you discounts at their member hostels and other travel benefits.

In short, staying at a hotel or on a friend’s couch are not your only stay options. Hostels can provide a traveller with international connections in a local setting. They have certainly provided many adventures for me and a chance to find companionship while travelling.

 

Thursday’s Travel Thoughts #8- It’s Not Where You Go, It’s Who You (Don’t) Go With

Last year, I did a bit of solo travelling- I went to Seattle, Vancouver and Philadelphia for several days on my own. To me, travelling solo was no different then travelling with friends or family- it’s a chance to spend time with myself and get to know myself a little better. But I got a lot of different reactions from friends and family. One of my friends said she could never travel alone because she would go crazy by herself. Another thought I was “brave” to go alone and wished she had the courage to do it herself. Others were a little concerned about safety issues and some just wanted to know why I’d want to go alone and not share the adventure.

What they didn’t realize is that travelling alone for vacation is an adventure all its own. I was able to go where I wanted to, when I wanted to, without having to worry about other people’s preferences. Some of my first solo trips resulted simply because I couldn’t find other people who were free at the time that I wanted to travel. But rather then not take the trip, I went anyway and haven’t regretted it yet.

Travelling solo opens up a whole new level of flexibility. If I wanted to spend an afternoon exploring the Seattle underground; walking around Vancouver’s parks;  or taking pictures inside one of the nation’s oldest prisons in Philadelphia, I could (and did). I didn’t have to worry about boring other people or rushing the experience to keep up with other people. I could enjoy things at my own pace.

I am also an introvert. At the risk of sounding narcissistic, I like my own company at times and I need a break from other people occasionally to recharge my own batteries.

As for the safety issues, it’s never been a problem. Common sense, researching locations ahead of time, and letting other people know my itinerary is has worked well for me. And even if I’m alone, I still call other people to see how they are doing and to reassure my mom that I am still alive.

And even if I’m travelling alone, it’s still possible to share the experience with others through pictures, video, and even the old-fashioned postcard. One of my favorite ways nowadays to share the adventure is to use Twitter and Facebook to post updates along the way.

Of course, travelling solo does have its downsides. When I goofed up and took the wrong train in trying to get from Philadephia to Delaware one time, I had no one to blame but myself. Had I been with others, they probably would have noticed my error and I never would have been on that train. It’s also nice to discuss what I’m seeing with others and get their perspective on things. And I always feel a bit weird asking strangers to take my picture in front of things, although I’ve never been refused.

But the advantages dwarf the disadvantages. Travelling solo is something that everyone should try at least once in their lifetimes. It doesn’t even have to be a full trip- I often tack on a day to myself before or after spending a week with family or friends. It’s something to think about when you’re planning your next trip.

 

Thursday’s Travel Thoughts #1

Since traveling is a huge passion of mine (It makes up nearly half my list!) and often appears on other people’s dream lists as well, I plan to write about travel on a regular basis. Every Thursday, you will find a post relating to all things traveling- either a personal story, tips and advice or recent news. All of the posts are designed to inspire and help you pursue your travel dreams.

Since the holidays are just around the corner, you might be shopping for an avid traveler or hoping to be gifted some useful travel items of your own. So what does every hardcore traveler need?

-Noise-canceling headphones.
If you’ve ever sat in a window seat next to an airplane engine, you understand why this is so nice to have. Most headphones start around US $25 and up. Earbuds start at around $15.

-Eye mask
I tend to take a lot of redeye flights and night trains, so having some means of blocking out light is essential. I confess that I haven’t bought one myself. But after trying to sleep through a night train trip with a light shining in my eyes, I’m getting one before my next trip. Eye masks are quite cheap, starting at around $4. They are also sometimes found in high-end amenity kits.

-Travel Pillow
Because most airline pillows just won’t cut it. If you even get a pillow in the first place. Many travel pillows resemble neckwraps and some are inflatable, which saves space when they’re not being used. They are priced at around $10 and up.

-Camera
My parents gave me a digital camera last year as a birthday present and it has proven to be a wonderful gift. With a large memory card, it’s easy to take hundreds of pictures without worrying if I’m going to run out of space. Plus, many cameras come with features like taking video, so you don’t have to lug along a separate video camera. Cameras start at around $100 for a simple point-and-shoot to thousands for a high-end digital SLR camera. Camera accessories like a waterproof case also make a good gift.

-Carry-on bag
With many airlines now charging fees to check a bag, traveling with just a carry-on makes more sense then ever. Besides saving money in fees, you can also save a lot in time since you don’t have to wait in line to check bags or wait to pick them up at baggage claim. Plus it’s rather hard for an airline to lose your bag if you don’t give them a bag to lose in the first place. A website called One Bag offers a lot of great packing tips and some recommendations for carry-on bags.

Other gift ideas include an iPhone since there are many travel apps like flight trackers out there that can be installed on it. An Amazon Kindle or other electronic book reader also works. Happy traveling!