Choosing the Best Hotel Room
Choosing the Best Hotel Room skills you can learned by reading this list of benefits that lodging should provide as you pay more.
“I've always thought a hotel ought to offer optional small animals. I mean a cat to sleep on your bed at night, or a dog of some kind to act pleased when you come in. You ever notice how a hotel room feels so lifeless?”
- Anne Tyler“My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.”
- Cary Grant
People purchase homes and spend a lifetime making it their home, and refuse to pay one dollar to upgrade their Hotel Room.
Story:
Once while living in a private room in line the Malate area of Manila, Philippines where I lived for about a month I had a problem. The owner, and boys who managed the place would not clean the shower area. Enough was enough, I went the Robinson's Mall and proceeded to purchase scouring powder, Lysol, brushes and all sorts of shower items. This was my moment, it was the time I learned about living in a Hotel room.
Presently, I sometimes look a drab room, that needs a paint job that is being rented for 100 dollars a month and think to myself,
“I could pay a local to paint this room and convert it to a 300 dollar per month room, and be quite happy paying 100 dollars.”
The goal is to be comfortable, and happy, here is you list, the essentials categorized to help you understand the value of various benefits.
How Rooms Change by Price
0-10 US Dollars per Day - Backpacker 1-6 Month Trips
10-25 US Dollars per Day - Experienced Travelers - Less than 30 Days
25-100 -US Dollars per Day - Volunteers - Missionaries - Flashpackers - NGO - Less than 30 Days
100-150 US Dollars per Day - Tourist - Package Tours - NGO - 5-21 Days
150-200 US Dollars per Day - Business Travelers - Government Workers - United Nations - 0-14 Days
200-300 US Dollars per Day - Resort - Maybe not good at buying value Tourist - 0 - 14 Days
300-500 US Dollars per Day - Resort - Short Trips
Over 500 US Dollars per Day - Luxury 14 Days
Components of Good Room - This is explains the minimums you can expect by different prices levels. The benefits above each level are assumed to be included as people pay more.
Included 0 to 5 Dollars
- Helpful staff - Expect
- This is the minimum you have the right to demand from any room. - Bed - Expect
- Normally, even in the cheapest room you will get an adequate bed, if nervous about cleanliness look under the sheets, or remove a pillowcase and inspect. - Shared Toilet - Expect Western at 25 Dollars.
You can expect a toilet whether in your room, or outside, it may be a squat toilet and you cannot expect or demand a western style until you are willing to pay 25 Dollars per night. Generally, and strangely, tourist often prefer squat toilets because they hover or western toilets and do not sit. It is easier when the toilet is not below their hovering body. If you are a hovering person, please buy toilet seat covers and bring with you. - Toilet Paper - Expect over 5 Dollars - Hostels at 50 Dollars
- Include in all rooms, except in India and some Asian countries where they use their hand or poor water down the crack of their buttocks. - Fan - Needs Included at all prices level
A floor fan should be included at all levels, including at highest luxury, there are many reason to need a fan, from being too hot and wanting to faint, to trying dry off your wet shoes. - Center of Room Light, and one electrical plug.
- Wastebasket
- Window
- Curtains
- Lock that is secure, often the cheapest rooms have hasp that allows you to use your own lock.
5 to 10 Dollar Hotel Rooms
- This prices level includes all benefits from lower price range.
- Common areas to sit that are not in a restaurant or bar, or at least do not require you to drink or eat.
- Mosquito Net or Screens on windows - This should not be needed after 10 Dollar, if you see a Mosquito net in an expensive room, please inspect the windows and doors for screens, the hope is it is only there for ambiance.
- Private Shower - Expect over 10 Dollars - Hostels at 50 Dollars
- Private showers, sometimes at the bottom it is a shared shower, cold or a dip shower, if you are good at choosing rooms you do not need to accept shared showers. Although a shared shower is nice, it keeps the moisture and humidity outside the room and your room is more comfortable. - Towel - Included from 5 Dollars on up
- Note, always carry a towel, the beach towel size so you can walk around with something on you when you need to leave the room. Plus the housekeeping staff can take the towel to change, and not return, your towel is your insurance policy. In addition some towels are meager, you need and extra towel to dry. - Clean room and change sheets a couple times per week.
- Table and chair to use as desk or for eating.
- Pegs or hooks on wall to hang clothes, normally about four.
- Bar of soap
- Wall picture or one thing decorating the walls.
- Shelf in toilet to personal toilet and shower items.
- Mirror with no light
10-25 US Dollars per Day
This is the price range that experienced travelers pay, nomrally on trips of less than 30 days. When people pay more, they are normally tourist and are on shorter trips.
- Maintenance Man or person on site
- Clean the room daily and change sheets.
- Mirror with light
- Hot water shower
- Guest Kitchen for Residents outside the room
- Traps on Drains
- Free Purified Drinking Water
- Car Parking
- Television with or with Movie Channels.
- Air Conditioner
- Electrical Generator
- Closets
- Blanket whether needed or not, it is supplied.
- Reading Light Next to Bed
- Plug for Sink in Bathroom
- Plunger
- Exhaust Fan in Shower
- Toilet Brush
- Window in Shower
- Good paint jobs in the room, feels clean and pleasant.
25-100 -US Dollars per Day - Volunteers - Missionaries - Flashpackers - NGO - Less than 30 Days
- Mini Bar
- Cable Signal with HBO, Cinecanal and One News Station
- Desk
- Tour Buses Parking
- Swimming Pool
- Restaurant in Hotel or Next Door as Partner Business
- Signs on the Water to explain hot or cold
- Bar in Hotel
- Room Service
- Credit Cards Taken
- Internet in Lobby whereby you can Check Plane Tickets
- Electrical Plugs on All Walls
100-150 US Dollars per Day - Tourist - Package Tours - NGO - 5-21 Days - Fresh Air in Room
- In House Maintenance
- Taxi Waiting at Front
- Ironing Board
- Hair Dryer
- Electrical Plugs that USA American Slotted or European Round
- Shampoo in Shower
- Toothpaste
- Perfumes
- Extra Towels
- Gym or Health Center
- Quiet Air Conditioner
- Churches and Mosques are Not Close to Make Noise
- Massage Service to Call
- Business Center
- Shelves
- Security box big enough for computer or camera.
- Map of City Free at Desk
- Hangers in Closet
- Tour Sales
- Scales to Weigh Luggage
- Quiet Location in the Hotel to Read outside the Room
- Free WIFI or Internet in the Room
- Free WIFI in the central Areas or Common Areas including Bars and Restaurant
150-200 US Dollars per Day - Business Travelers - Government Workers - United Nations - 0-14 Days
- House Robe
- Equipped Kitchen in Room
- 24 Hour Maintenance
- Person on Duty
- Restaurant or Room Service 24 Hours per day
- Laundry Service in the Hotel
- Common Area with Television
- Curtains that Completely Stop Sun
- Long Term Storage of Luggage
- 24 Hour Gym or Health Center
- Balcony with Screen to Allow Fresh Air to Enter
- Prostitutes Allowed in Room
200-300 US Dollars per Day - Resort - Maybe not good at buying value Tourist - 0 - 14 Days - Concierge
- Translators on Duty
- Educated Business Center People
- Air Conditioner Remote Control
- Speak English
- 24 Hour Massage Service
- View of Something of Beauty
300-500 US Dollars per Day - Resort - Short Trips - Multi-Cultural Clientele
Over 500 US Dollars per Day - Luxury 14 Days- Golf Course
- Private Concierge
NOTES
- WIFI is better below 25 and above 150 Dollars, in between is touch and go
- Purified Water - Sadly, the more expensive Hotels do not give this,
- Semi or Big Rig Parking - This should not be in Hotel over 100 Dollars
- 110 - 220 Adapter, this needs to be extremely well marked, the Caribbean is full of these inverters and they are very hard on electronic devices. It is not recommended to use an inverter for computer, and truly not needed, laptops are normally 220-110 ready to go.
- Lock on Doors - Sadly, the most secure room are below 10 dollars per day, they will have hasp on the door and people can use their own padlock.
- General Hotel Receptionist that Smiles - A good feeling should come to you the minute you enter a Hotel, please stop and feel the location, it is
the most important thing. Problems with the Hotel will can be solved if the owner or management is willing. - Access 24 hours - A person needs the freedom to enter and leave the premises day or night. A person needs to check they have a key to the entrance gate to the Hotel compound.
- Clothesline
- Security - Deadbolt - The security of a room is the biggest problem in Hotels.
- Hasp to allow use of your own lock is one feature that sells me instantly on the Hotel, if they allow me to lock the staff out of my room, then I am happy.
Sat, 7 Aug 2010 09:38:32
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