Why you should never fork out for a more expensive hotel room – and what you should pay for instead
A GROUP of travellers have listed what they believe to be overrated and underrated features when staying in a hotel.
In an article from Stuff, travellers have laid out what they love and dislike when staying in accommodation abroad.
In the article, they list welcome drinks, hotel porters and in-room control tablets as overrated features in hotels.
Even though these are things you would expect from high-end hotels and accommodations the article says that these only incur headaches for travellers and higher fees.
Speaking on Hotel proters the article writes: “Do you really want to hand over your suitcase to a random person at check-in and then sit in your room for 15 minutes.”
And when mentioning welcome drinks they said: “Look, it’s a nice thought.
Adding: “But wouldn’t you rather get straight to your room, strip off travel clothes, shower, pop on some shorts and swim up to a bar to choose your own poison, rather, than be delayed at reception to sip on a sugary, garish concoction you feel obliged to swill?”
Among the other features that the article categorises as overrated were hotel gyms, hotel suites, Ice hotels and hotel bars – all of which you would expect to see find high-end hotels.
Most surprisingly they classed Airbnbs as overrated.
They wrote: “It began brilliantly, as an economical way to take a short stay in a local’s spare bedroom, gaining valuable insights into the neighbourhood way of life.
Adding: “But then it became overpriced big business, with property owners booting out regular renters for the higher returns they could earn from tourists, and turning desirable locations into ghostly shadows of their previously buzzy selves.”
The overall theme with the overrated features was the lack of character they bring to your holiday and the increase in costs that could take away your “once-in-a-lifetime experience”.
Moving onto the underrated aspects when choosing a hotel according to this article – such as all-inclusive resort stays and 24-hour hotel check-in/check-out.
According to this group of travellers choosing a mid-range hotel is more beneficial than Airbnb.
They write: “With accommodation on the short-term platforms so expensive, often hotels can be the cheaper, as well as the smarter and more secure, choice.”
Another surprise addition to what the article labelled as underrated was business hotels.
Notoriously quite bland these hotels according to the expert travellers “deserve our consideration”.
They are said to be located conveniently for those especially staying in the city and have all the amenities hotel goers need.
The article writes: “They are comfortable and quiet and the F&B will likely be skewed towards a good, honest feed rather than bursting with culinary flair.”
Other aspects of staying in hotels that were classed as underrated were hotel restaurants, hotel executive lounges and youth hostels for families.
Finally, the article says one of the best ways to maximise your stay in a hotel is to speak to the concierge.
They write: “A woefully underutilised resource, these in-the-know individuals have their finger on the pulse of everything that is new and exciting in their destination.
Adding: “Not only can they often score tickets to sold-out events and secure reservations at the hottest restaurants, but they’re also privy to a constant stream of feedback and recommendations from other guests.”