The success of our trip directly depends on how pleasant our stay was, and when we travel we mostly stay in a hotel. Well this is not to trick you to stay at a hotel, but show you the importance of a good hotel in making your travel experiences better. In severe winters if you have to bath with cold water just because the hotel didn’t had a stable geyser or a hot water supply, will surely turn off your mood for the day, or worse you will catch cold which will consume least 2 to 3 days. Hotel is just not the place you spend nights, but can also be a place of casual indoor vacation. So here we are with qualities of a good hotel.
Cleanliness – I think if there is anything most important for a good hotel, it is its cleanliness. If the hotel is going to be untidy, then trust me you are never going to like the time spent in your hotel room. The cleanliness will start from the Porch and ends to your room. If there is a little hand stain on that entrance door, you might avoid it, but that stain will leave no room in passing on the germs to you.
Hygiene and cleanliness are both important when it comes to the goodness of a hotel. Right from the clean and bleached bed sheets to clean towels, everything plays an important role in shaping your vacation experience. The interiors might not be world class in every hotel, but if they clean and stainless, chances are that you will feel good. Remember its all about the good presentation.
Wifi – We all expect hotels to have some standards. We don’t expect a super computer in hotel lobby, but a Wifi is mandatory. Internet is no longer some means of leisure, but it has became a necessity. It highly unlikely that during your entire vacation you are not going to need the internet, unless you have made a pact with yourself to go off the grid. At every step of your vacation you are going to need it.
The best part is that some hotels will give the Wifi service for free, as it hardly makes any difference to their operational costs, or they might have included the cost incurred in every hotel room sale they make. But some hotels are going to charge you for it. The point being that a hotel without Wifi should raise your eyebrows, as it is not complying with basic standards.
Location – A good hotel will always have a great location. In fact location is one of the most crucial parameter when it comes to the success of a hotel. The second name of hotels is convenience, and it comes with the location. In commercial cities every good hotel will be in heart or at center of the city. In beaches, good hotels will have sea facing views.
On mountains good hotels will be valley facing or on hill top. There is a reason why in most of the cities there is a bunch of hotels always present near the railway station or the airport. The location has always been the key. In cases when you are headed to a resort that has all the facilities and entertainment within the premises, then a location which might be far from the city will also work fine.
Service – Good hotels tend to have a fast service, as they have adequate number of people dedicated to their expertise, while they collectively work towards excellence in hospitality for that hotel. A parameter for a good hotel is that they have enough staff for particular services. In good hotels you will not have to wait for hour when you order your coffee.
It could be the kitchen service guys, that promptly answer to your meal demands in time. It could be the hospitality staff guys that are always on time to clean your room and change your linens. It could be the laundry service guys that are at disposal to clean your clothes, or iron your clothes for the day ahead. Good hotels promptly address every service call and in timely fashion.
Comfortable Rooms – A hotelier will understand that a hotel room is your space till you are in it and will keep it in way you feel comfortable, because quests of outer worlds are little tricky. Every good hotel will have spacious rooms, whether it has a coffee table or not. There are some basic furnishings that every good hotel will have in their rooms.
The most important is the bed and a comfortable mattress that doesn’t gives you the back pain when you wake up. Then there will always be some comfortable couch or chairs for seating. There will always be a spacious wardrobe to store your belongings for the time being. In countries that have hot temperatures or moderate climate, air conditioning will also be there. The pointy being, they won’t let you cringe.
All Inclusive – A good hotel will have all inclusive services. Least to start with they will have an in house restaurant and kitchen. This might sound like not important, as you have planned to eat outdoors, and not the traditional hotel kitchen food. But you are going to realize that it is important when you will not have coffee early mornings, or the breakfast to recharge your batteries.
You will also find shopping stores in much luxurious hotels. The point being that the hotel wants to provide you a holistic experience. Some of the big hotels will even have multiple restaurants, with different menus and different chefs catering to the customers. A good hotel will always have a fleet of taxis, for airport transfers, or for the local sightseeing, though that will be at an additional charge.
Pricing – Every good hotel will provide you services that have value to the money. Every customer in this world wants two thing, which is affordability in services they are seeking and if the services are worth it. Point being that the pricing of a hotel should be fair and legit. The pricing should never be in a way that could overcharge the customers.
These days there are many hotel booking portals, which also offer many deals and discounts. A good hotel will always have the same base price no matter on which portal it is listed on. Their pricing is transparent and is free from any hidden charges that might apply. If you will check the pricing of a good hotel you will always find it standard to the other hotels in the area providing same suite of services.
Recreational Arenas – As we said, hotels are not just the place where you sleep, but it is a part of your holidays. A good hotel will have recreational activities for sure. It can start from a swimming pool, and go on to gym or fitness center, to a tennis court. The avenues are endless. It could also be through a live musical show on every night in the restaurant.
A television is now a basic amenity that all good hotels will have., Some of them have even leveled up the game by offering smart TV’s that are connected to the internet where you can also binge watch your favorite show. Hotels that do not have that big budget will have a common area with seating and magazines. These things keep you occupied and give joy on days when you plan to spend the day indoor.
Warm Hospitality – This one is embedded in the character of the workforce that represents the hotel. Every good hotel is made good not just by the construction of the hotel or by the interior design of the hotel, but also by the people that work in the hotel. A made up smile is easy to spot, and one that comes naturally is hard to let go of.
A good hotel will always give you a dose of natural happiness reflected through its staff. A simple instance could be that porter carrying your luggage for sake of it, or to ease your way to room, and not for the tip that you are going to give him. Another great means of hospitality would be usage of words like thanks, or please, at start or at the end of the sentences.
Source of honest information – A good hotel staff will always give you the honest information, that will not be biased for some personal benefits. It could be information about the popular restaurants in the city, or how to reach a particular destination, or how to access the local transportation network of the city. Right from reception to the hotel managers, every good hotel will have people who are ready and also willing to help you with any kind of information you might need.
On instances like hiring a cab for city tour, chances are hotel will have their own, if not then a good hotel will lead you to one as per your need and budget, and not for the sake of their commissions.
Undue Advantage – Just because you have checked in to the hotel, and probably you will not leave it, should not give privilege to hotel for taking undue advantage. It happens in many cases, because deep down the hotel staff also knows that customers will not change the hotels just because of some irregularity. They also know that fresh hotel bookings are tiring, and subjected to availability.
A good hotel will never charge you additionally and out of the blue for asking an extra towel, or change of bed sheets twice a day, or for your son peeing in the hotel pool. This is all a part and parcel of the vacations and the holiday experience. Every customer is different and might have a different need, and good hotels acknowledge that and don’t take advantage of their customers.
Value Added Extras – A good hotel should be full of surprises, and importantly should also be spontaneous. A good hotel should go out of way to please customers. People might forget on how the hotel rooms looked or what was the taste of dishes from the hotel kitchen, but they are always going to remember the hospitality of the hotel and the people that they came across.
Many hotels will go an extra mile and give you extras like free parking, or free upgrade because it is your anniversary, or a free cake delivered to your hotel room because it is your birthday. Some of the most common adjustments could be late check outs, or early check ins. These things do not require much resources, but surely makes a hotel good.
Bathrooms – A good hotel will always have spacious bathrooms and not just for the sake of it, but because they understand it’s the second place where you will spend most of time other than bed on normal days. In fact, in most of the hotel rooms there will only be two rooms, your bed room and the bathroom. Having a nicely built bathroom is a prerequisite for good hotels.
A good hotel will always have a separate supply for cold water and hot water, no matter what the season is. Good hotels will always provide the basic toiletries, like the towel, or the the soap, or the shampoo, or the conditioner, or the hair dryer. There will always be enough toilet paper, and a mirror will always be going to be there in good hotels.
Safety and Security – A good hotel will always have adequate infrastructure for the safety and security of its customers. One important factor determining the safety and security of the customers is the location of the hotel. If the hotel is in good locality the chances are that it will be secure. Security and safety in a hotel starts with bare minimum requirement of some security staff in the hotel.
It also is determined by the usage of proper equipment to lock the door of hotel room. Hotel room these days are accessed with the help of electronic cards, but it has to be ensured that the mechanism in place is sound and safe. Many top notch good hotels will also provide you a safety locker in the hotel rooms for the purpose of storing your valuable items.
Feel of Home – A good hotel is finally determined on the experience how close it can offer to be as of your home. The feeling of home away from home is the best one that you can get in your holidays. The more closer you are going to feel at home in your hotel the better experience you are going to get out of your holidays. It could be that newspaper in morning to feel you at home.
It could be coffee coming at time you wake to make you feel homely. It could be house keeping doing their job without disturbing. It could be sunshine coming from the window to charge you up for the day. It could be food cooked in homely style during your stay. This is rather a holistic process, where alignment is required from every aspect of the hotel.
A good Hotel is where you’d stay at!
